I currently have a 2011 Canyon Nerve XC and a OO 456 ss. I’m in the process of selling the canyon frame as although it’s been great I’ve never been convinced on the fit. Sooo I’m looking to get a 26″ frame so I can use my wheels fork etc.
I’m mainly ride welsh Trail centers to be honest with a recent trip to BPWs with the odd natural ride thrown in when I can but I’m looking to expand my riding a bit with some natural stuff in the peaks and mid Wales.

Most of all I want something that’s fun on the downs but I still want to be able to go for a long ride. I love the look of the Metas as they look strong , stiff and playful and flipping handsome IMHO but I don’t think I could get a test ride on one as I don’t think the 26″ is still in production.

I’m swaying towards a SL that I’d run with my 140mm Velvets but I’m looking for any real world experiance with either of these bikes.

If you’ve got the 29″ ones or 650b ones that’s great but budget dictates I’ll be getting a 26″ one from the classifides or fleabay.

Thanks in advance. Any relivant opinions appricated and some pics of your builds would be good too.

Isnt the am now called the hiphop this year on 26″ wheels? the 2014 am’s are in 27.5 & 29″ only.
I had the am1 in 26″ last year, looked fantastic but I just never got on with it & sold it after 5 months (for a massive loss) for the am1 29er instead, which I find much more enjoyable to ride.

You should be able to get a HipHop, it’s a 26″ bike that takes a 140mm fork, the SX is also a 26er but that takes a 160mm fork.

Also have a look on Commencal UK’s web site. There are some good deals on 2012 and 2013 26″ AM’s, full bikes & frames.

http://www.commencal-store.co.uk/PBSCCatalog.asp?ActionID=67174912&PBCATID=2167112&PBCATName=ALL MOUNTAIN META V3

Just make sure you don’t buy a bare frame (no shock) by mistake!

Thanks all. Had a Look on commencals site and crc still got some sl’s in stock but ideally I’d be looking to pick one up secound hand.

Marky was there anything in particular you didn’t like about the AM??

I’ve had an SL for over 12 months now and love it, I have 130mm forks on mine which imo improved it. I ride in the Welsh trail centres and also took it to Spain where I did loads of climbing on it as well as riding it locally and on natural stuff

It had issues from the word go really, felt harsh compared to my previous gt sanction, the sram gears were bad. It just didnt feel like an upgrade after spending a stack of cash.
In hindsight I could have fitted a volume kit to the shocks to make them work better, like I have just done for my 29er, & the chain was too long from the factory messing up the gears.
I always had a niggle that I wanted to try the 29″ bike when I bought this one, but my mindest at the time was an am bike had to be 26″ with 150mm of travel!
The 29″ monsters the 26″ bike (for my riding style). Its faster, more stable in the air & downhill, steam rollers the rough stuff, flatters poor line choice & gives huge confidence. It also feels more playful than the 26″ bike. Tougher to pedal uphill though which surprised me.
However if I had kept the 26″ bike Im sure I would have gotten used to it & had just as much fun, as long as I hadn’t compared it to the 29″ version 🙂

Fair enough Marky.

Kuco, has yours got Slants on it? Any pics of your build?

Yes it’s got Slants, no current pic but it’s got Easton Haven wheels running tubeless, SLX double chain set and xt gears.

Found this pic of mine, sorry it’s not great.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/nAx1Zt]DSCF0015[/url] by DO.1, on Flickr

Nice

Have you had the Slant s lowered or are they the DLA ones? Also how’s the SL one the climbs and just riding along bits? Bit of a chore/not bad but not great/totally fine.

Sorry for all the questions but there doesn’t seem to be many of these about.

The Meta Hip Hop (2014) is the Meta SL – only with 140mm forks rather than 120mm. It was apparently been much more popular than the SL which didn’t sell well at all.

I’m sure plenty of shops would do you a chain-reaction-esque deal on a frameset if you asked, if you decide you want to go new (warranty etc).

We really rate the bikes but they’re not going to be in many shops from now on, I wouldn’t have thought.

The Slants are DLA I did have a cartridge blow but Freeborn cycles sorted it quickly and without hassle and they have been fine since. I’d be honest there is better climbing bikes out their other than the SL but if you are willing to sit and pedal then it climbs fine though my rear shock is in desperate need of a service. I don’t have any hassle riding along and going down hill on it is just pure fun. They do have a low bb height but the 130mm Slants have improved the clearance.

If you was going to buy a Meta AM/SL IMHO would be buy frame only and build it up how you want it.

My only gripe is the BB You have to modify the bearings slightly by hacksawing part of the plastic off before pushing them in as there is part of the frame in the middle that stand proud slightly with means you can’t use bb that screw together. Other than that I love it.

Cool thanks for the help Kuco.

Ahh that makes sense about the hip-hop. As I’ve already got some 140mm forks I could stick those on a sl frame

The Meta Hip Hop or the SL would be great choices.

Be careful with the SL as it has a max fork height of 500mm A-C. That rules out a lot of forks.

The hip hop seems perfect, in fact I’m waiting till a price drop happens later this year, I hope, and I’ll snap one up.

Have a look on fishface cycles. Some bargains there.

EDIT – putting 140’s on the SL will ruin the handling and void any warranty.

Just had a look a review of the hip hop and it’s way slacker than the sl and a bit beefed up I think perhaps to accomerdate the 140mm fork. I’m sure a 140mm on the sl will be fine from what a lot of people have said. Slackens it out a bit and raises the bb height but I don’t see this as a bad thing. I’ll be buying 2nd hand any way so no warrenty. If it feels wrong at 140 I’ll just lower my forks to 120.
Not seeing a lot of love for the Meta AM on this thread yet?

I ran my Slants a few times in Spain at 150mm and it didn’t affect the handling to much.

If I still did the Alps trip and the occasional days downhilling i’d have gone for the AM as its meant to be a great bike but for the type of riding I do now for me it’s to much travel and the 130mm front and 120mm rear seems spot on for me.

Something else. Stumpy Evo (a few frame onlys in the classifieds)

I asked commencal about the SL and was told anything higher than 500mm a-c would not be good. In fact they were really adamant for me not to do it.

Commencal base their geometry on fork A-C not travel so your 140’s could be way out.

I’ve thought a lot about a stumpy evo and I am tempted. Seem to be really reasonably priced secound hand but there is just some thing about the commencals that appeal to me. After reading some reviews on the hip hop I’m likeing the idea of it more and more. Looks mega fun with a super slack HA. I love the slack HA on my summer season so maybe the hip hop could be the one to go for. I’m going to try and get some test rides in over the next few months on a SL, a AM, a hip hop, a stumpy evo, and a cotic rocket by begging/borrowing other peoples bikes.