Waiting for 2019 Commencal Meta Power

[GOSBTS]

Is anyone else waiting (in vain) for their 2019 Meta Power to arrive? Original delivery was September 5th, the delivery date keeps slipping. Also there is no outbound communication from Commecal - which IMO is poor customer service. I have to email for an update only to be told there is another delay each time as the delivery date slips. Website now saying 10th October - I ordered in July.

 

[Albez]

Is there much difference between the 2018 and 2019 models, both look the same to me apart from the different colours. Which one did you go for out of the 2019 bikes? Sweet looking bikes though even if the battery isn't integrated in the down tube still looks cool, shame no bottle cage though.

 

[GOSBTS]

I went for the Race. It has a coil shock which was the clincher for me, plus Shimano motor, great angles. Not bothered about integrated battery, plus Shimano batteries aren't too long so you can carry a spare if you want to extend.

 

[Albez]

Great, the meta power is one of the bikes I'm looking at so will be interested to see pics and reviews from you when it turns up.. bit of a risk buying online and would buy immediately if my lbs stocked this bike and I could test ride it also. Hope it works out for you and their customer service don't let you down.

 

[HeatproofGenie]

Very fun bike. I'm lucky in that the US distributor is 20 mins from my house. I demoed the '18 Meta Power 29 and liked it a lot. It was really fun and descended really well. Also climbed very well with great geometry. It is heavy though which isn't that big of a deal but I suspect it affects range a bit. The bike rode great.

The lack of a bottle cage sucks to be honest as I hate riding with packs. When I demoed the bike I played around with ways to maybe stick a bottle cage on the bike and there is kind of room but not a lot and good way to attach the cage with straps or whatever, probably would only be room for a small bottle. I used a frame bag I have hold pump, tool, tube and a juice pouch and one in my shorts for the rides I did but I'd rather have a bottle.

I was ready to buy one but waited for Levo release and also waiting to hear details on the new Intense.

US distributor has all '19s as far as I can tell. If you are upset it's probably not Commencals fault but rather customs. That's what delayed US availability a bit.

 

[GOSBTS]

Have an update, bike was shipped 19/10/2018. SLOWLY making its way through France. Good updates posted by FEDEX as to why its sooo slow:-

 

[spacemonkey]

Just pulled the trigger on a Meta Power Race 27. Yihaa

 

[HeatproofGenie]

I realize I never updated here that I bought a '19 Meta Power Race 29 about 3 weeks ago.

It's been absolutely awesome and is a beast in every way. Have matched some best descending times compared to a Yeti SB5.5C and that's at 3rd overall on segment with like 3000 riders. Not bragging just illustrating that these bikes are really good.

I added Vittoria Airliner tire inserts to both front and rear and changed the Schwalbe non SG MM to a DH casing Maxxis Assegai in the front. Kept the rear SG Hans Dampf and that's a great tire but maybe a little overgunned by the heavy chassis. Did a bunch of helicopter taping and mastic on chain and seat stay. Still wish it had a bottle cage but I've been making due with a pouch of water in a vest. Will need to address this come summer though. Wish it had maybe a bit more battery capacity but I've been able to do 3500ft climbing rides and still have 1.5 bars or so left on the battery. Would be nice if the Shimano display could show percentage of battery!

 

[Kernow]

More people realising what awesome bikes these are now , as said here mine also made my strava decent times look much better , the bike is so capable and confidence inspiring .
Love to try that 29er too
Shimano display shows range left in battery , I just wish it meant what it said , it would be an ebike record . 60 miles ?

 

[HeatproofGenie]

29er is good! RockShox Super Deluxe coil is also SO good. New Lyrik is quite good too although I think I am going to extend it to 160 even thinking of 170 if I can from the stock 150mm of travel.

 

[spacemonkey]

@HeatproofGenie : I just ordered a meta race 27,5. I've been in doubt so much about going 29 or 27,5. My normal bike is a YT capra 29, which i adore. I would never go back to 27,5 wheels on a normal enduro bike.
I used to have a 2016 Levo (140mm front&rear), loved it but could do with more travel. I ride mainly harsh natural enduro trails.
I'm afraid the 29 meta power is not enough travel for me. So i decided to go with the 27,5 (160&150mm) and thinking of changing the front to a 29 wheel (maybe i'm gonna have to change the fork also). Or bumping up the front to 170mm (little slacker headangle too)
What do you think about this? I can still change my order....

 

[HeatproofGenie]

I ride hard enduro trails as well, my first preference, also race enduro on non assist bikes.

My race bike this season was a '18 Specialized Enduro 29 with a Fox 36 front and Float X2 rear, so quite capable, last year was a Yeti SB5.5C. The Commencal Meta Power 29 is every bit as capable as either bike, especially with good tires and inserts. Tires and if you choose inserts become even more important on an Emtb due to the heavier chassis weight, way more load transmitted. Anyway the Meta Power 29 even though it only has 140mm of travel uses it very well and the kinematics seem to be quite progressive so it handles the coil very well. I have not had a harsh bottom out event and I've definitely gone full gas on it.

I feel the same way about sticking with 29 for my non assist bikes and wanted to keep the same feel on my emtb as I use it as a training tool to get more descending time as I don't have time to shuttle or do many lift assist park days due to having a young family, etc. I personally don't like the vague nature of plus tires although the 2.8 stuff is getting better. I can't stand sidewall deflection or folding so I have to run pretty high pressure in plus tires to get them to feel good when cornering so then they aren't great elsewhere. I haven't run tires wider than 2.5 with a insert and that might make a big difference. Personally I'm happy with the 29 and don't wish for more rear travel. My main wishes are a water bottle cage and more battery capacity. One of those might be solved and well battery capacity is fine for me for 90-95% of rides so I'm pleased. Price to performance is very high with the Commencals, that and because their US distributor is 15 minutes from my house is why I chose the Meta Power.

 

[spacemonkey]

Oh man, you’re making me doubt big time.
So in your opinion, the meta power 29 is gonna be much closer to my YT Capra cf pro 29, feeling wise. And 140mm won’t be a problem to charge hard?
I just was thinking that a the 27 would be more playful and nimble (Ebikes is still heavy), never ridden a 29er ebike.
Your thoughts?

 

[Kernow]

Oh man, you’re making me doubt big time.
So in your opinion, the meta power 29 is gonna be much closer to my YT Capra cf pro 29, feeling wise. And 140mm won’t be a problem to charge hard?
I just was thinking that a the 27 would be more playful and nimble (Ebikes is still heavy), never ridden a 29er ebike.
Your thoughts?

I’ve always had 29er in all my normal bikes , there was no choice when I bought my meta , and the plus size tyre makes it a bigger wheel than a normal 2.3 -2.4 . The meta certainly rolls well often faster than the 29er normal bikes . I want to try the 29er meta , Iam thinking is the heavier ebike on fatter tyres better suited to a 27.5 and more agile for it ? As for travel I’ve never bottomed out the coil shock , and never bottomed the forks hard enough to notice . Yet I was always blowing through the air shocks . It would be a hard decision if were buying my meta again now , in fact I think I would take a trip to Andorra and demmo both if I could. That’s a trip on my list for next year anyway .

 

[njn]

27.5 with 170 is the right choice. Mine's spot on.

 

[HeatproofGenie]

I'd say Remi Thirion proves that the 29 is plenty capable.

 

[spacemonkey]

I'd say Remi Thirion proves that the 29 is plenty capable.

Yeah, Remi could even make a 100€ bike look great.

 

[HeatproofGenie]

Yeah was waiting for that They are both good bikes, probably can't go wrong either way.

I like big 29ers and wanted my emtb to feel the same as my enduro bike so I went 29. I demoed other 27.5+ bikes, notably they Pivot Shuttle and Mondraker E Crusher and they both ripped too. E Crusher was better of the two I thought but that was mostly due to better tires. 2.8 Maxxis Minion DHF and DHRII. Point is I suppose that tires become even more important on emtb and that 20mm of rear suspension travel doesn't predict all that much once at or above 140mm rear.

 

[davosaurusrex]

What size is your 29 @HeatproofGenie ? I love my Vitus E-Sommet but was on 29er analogue bikes since 2012, I'm 6'4" and really like them. So the Meta 29 with a coil just looks like my ideal bike....

 

[HeatproofGenie]

What size is your 29 @HeatproofGenie ? I love my Vitus E-Sommet but was on 29er analogue bikes since 2012, I'm 6'4" and really like them. So the Meta 29 with a coil just looks like my ideal bike....

XL.
Still absolutely loving it and it's been bombproof so far. The rear Super Deluxe coil is so good on this frame too. Rear end tracks so well and ramps up pretty well too. If you are heavy you might need a heavier spring though.

 

[davosaurusrex]

Cheers. How tall and heavy are you? Also what length dropper did it come with?

 

[HeatproofGenie]

I'm 185.42 cm tall, about 79 kg ready to ride but that is with no pack just kit.

Mine came with a 175mm dropper. Commencal listed as 170mm so the extra was a surprise but I'm just able to get proper seat height. 50mm stem. Big dropper length is so nice, especially with the extra mass of the emtb, really lets you get low and rally.

Since at 79 kg I'm mid-weight to maybe evelln the lighter end of the spectrum of rider weight but the shock spring is bang on with no pre-load made me suggest that you might need a heavier spring. With no pre-load on the shock I get proper sag and really good support for my speed. Not trying to brag but my speed on descents is usually top ten to KOM out of 3000-6000 using Strava, to give an idea on speed. This is in Colorado, so pretty steep and rocky.

 

[davosaurusrex]

Thanks again. 192cm and 86kg nekkid here. Did you buy the coil direct from Commencal? The 2019 spec looks spot on but I'm keeping an eye on the 18 to see if they knock some more off, really can't justify changing if I have to pay out a lot of coin as the Vitus is so good. Would run the Super Deluxe air can for a while if I do swap, it is great on the Vitus but there's something about a coil.....

 

[HeatproofGenie]

I bought a '19 so coil came on mine stock. The only changes I've made are to put on a DH casing 2.5 Maxxis Assegai in the front with Vittoria air liner and the air liner insert on the rear new Hans Dampf. Added homemade front and rear fenders and then did lots of mastic tape on the chain stay and seat stay and then helicopter taped for frame protection.

Considering a Spank Vibrocore bar to match the wheels but honestly I'm happy with the stock bar.

 

[spacemonkey]

New bike day ????

 

[BelgianTriple]

Any comments a year later?

 

[spacemonkey]

what do you want to know?

 

[BelgianTriple]

Pros and cons of the bike. Would you buy it again?

 

[BelgianTriple]

XL.
Still absolutely loving it and it's been bombproof so far. The rear Super Deluxe coil is so good on this frame too. Rear end tracks so well and ramps up pretty well too. If you are heavy you might need a heavier spring though.

How tall are you?
When looking at the pictures I am a bit concerned about the how low the seat can drop on the XL. What's your opinion?