After riding a hardtail for the last 5 years (10 years on full suss before that) I finally came to the realisation that my back (broken in a motorbike accident years ago) couldn’t cope with a hardtail anymore. It was time to go back to full sus.

Originally I looked at 29ers – a Specialized Stumpy Evo was high on my list, as was a Cannondale Trigger, but as I was about to decide I spotted the Commencal Meta Trail Origin (27.5 wheels) on CRC. 120mm travel at both ends and ~28lb weight actually meets my riding needs very well.

Looked on the Commencal site and ordered direct from them. Came in at about £1,250 with shipping, which I think was an absolute bargain.

The X-Fusion suspension, Velvet fork and O2 RLX shock, is great, as good as any other brands I’ve used in the past (albeit less adjustable), I love the 1×10 gearing, the large I went for (at 5’11”) is spot on with a nice long reach to the bars. The bike climbs really well with the shock open, lots of traction but little bob, and descending is very stable and confidence inspiring. The only negative after a few months of Bristol trails, BPW, and Glencorwygg is that I get a lot of pedal strikes, especially on slow technical climbing. Then again I have been running maximum sag so I’ll try upping the air pressure in the shock to see if that helps.

Overall very, very happy with my purchase, especially at that price. All I’ve changed is adding a Reverb (150mm) and an old Charge Spoon saddle.

Lovely that! Not seen a Trail outside the sterile photobooth environemnt.
Looks like a great bike with enough travel for most of the Uk. Enjoy!

Looks nice mate! Great price too.

I get the impression the Trail isn’t a big seller, in this country at least. Now 120mm is considered “short travel” (I remember when the Judy DH was a long travel fork at 80mm!) I guess a lot of people overlook it in favour of longer travel bikes. There doesn’t seem to be many bikes in between 100mm travel XC bikes and 140mm+ travel bikes.

For me, quite light at 11 stone and a not very aggressive rider 120mm is about spot on.

I’m thinking 120mm might be just right for me too. Looks ace.