April 9, 2026

Commencal has been teasing the Meta Power SX Avinox for quite some time, and it’s finally hitting the market and available to purchase. During our conversations with Commencal over the last year, they have been more enthusiastic about this new Avinox-powered eMTB than anything else, so it was a surprise that it took so long to finally become available.

We were intrigued to learn from their team about the what’s and the why’s of this new eBike, so reached out with some questions to dive deeper. Founder Max Commencal, engineer Nicolas Ménard and product manager Lucas Berghman all contributed their sides of the conversation, giving a broad perspective of why they’re so damn excited about this new bike. We took the opportunity to ask about some more sensitive topics, too, to get some insight.

TLW: The Meta Power SX Avinox has been available for preorder for a long time. What factors have contributed to this extended release timeline?

Max Commencal: The new version of the Avinox motor (M2S) will only be available from the 9th of April. We preferred to wait rather than deliver earlier with motors that would already be outdated.

Nicolas Ménard: We had to wait for the M2S to become available. The M1 is great, but when we tried the M2S, we felt it was worth waiting to get the best motor possible.

Lucas Berghman: We chose to delay this launch to offer the latest AVINOX motor (M2S), which has proven to be more refined than the M1. This decision also allows us to incorporate the latest developments in terms of components, particularly the suspension and wheels.

TLW: What is the target with the Meta Power SX Avinox, who and what is it designed for?

Max Commencal: Everyone here loves riding. And especially e-bikes, particularly when the bike park isn’t open. So, we built the ideal bike: a great descender, playful, great-looking, with a powerful motor. In the end, when a bike can handle the toughest terrain, it performs well in all situations.

Nicolas Ménard: The META POWER SX Avinox is made for riders who don’t want to choose between power, autonomy and handling. Therefore, the target is very wide. With this bike you can ride any trail, this bike is so capable up and down.

Lucas Berghman: Our idea with this bike was to combine one of our most successful enduro platforms with one of the best full-power e-bike systems. We take care of the downhills, where our know-how shines, while AVINOX takes care of the climbs. The result is a fast and fun bike, both uphill and downhill. I think many people will enjoy this bike.

TLW: This will be one of the first alloy Avinox-powered bikes to hit the market. Why do you use aluminium over carbon?`

Max Commencal: Aluminium is more than an obvious choice for us. It’s clean in terms of manufacturing, both environmentally and socially responsible, and it’s infinitely recyclable. It’s also worth noting that this is very high-end Aluminium, much more expensive to produce than most carbon frames. We also have extensive experience with aluminium in racing, having won numerous enduro and downhill world championships. We have complete control over the geometry, kinematics, stiffness, reliability… In our opinion, it’s the best material for performance.

Nicolas Ménard: We have proven aluminium is a great choice across many disciplines (enduro, DH, BMX…). Carbon is not the answer to everything, and we can build a great bike out of Aluminium, and I believe other materials too.

We have much better flexibility to work on new projects and fine tune a frame (geometry, kinematic). With carbon you are pretty much locked in once you open your tooling.

Lucas Berghman: We rely heavily on racing. Not only for sports marketing, of course, but also to develop our platforms. This material allows us to win DH and enduro races at the highest level, and the META POWER SX AVINOX frame is the result of all the development work we’ve carried out over the years, whether in terms of geometry, kinematics, stiffness, reliability, and more. If a material delivers the performance needed to win and is also more environmentally friendly, the choice becomes obvious.

TLW: What are the characteristics of the Avinox system that were most attractive for you?

Max Commencal: Its compact size, controlled power, and a high-capacity yet discreet battery.

Nicolas Ménard: The high torque makes the bike much easier to ride, and the fast charging is a real advantage. You don’t need a range extender. You can ride all day with a quick charge during lunch. It charges so fast that you don’t have to wait for the battery to be fully charged.

Lucas Berghman: This motor changes the way of riding an e-bike uphill: you must choose your lines, anticipate, lean into turns, jump, etc. The motor delivers a tremendous amount of torque and power yet remains easy to control and modulate. That’s what really makes the difference. There are also several nice features, such as the fast charger, the app, the display, but the motor remains the heart of the system. And to be honest, the system’s compact design makes the bike truly look great.

TLW: Where do you stand on the power race for eBikes? Avinox is leading the push for more power, but do you think there is a limit for the power we should have?

Max Commencal: While I accept speed limitations, I don’t think power and torque should be restricted. Why always want to limit and regulate everything?

Nicolas Ménard: I don’t think the M2S is just about power. It’s more about high torque, and that makes a big difference. You don’t need to be in the exact gear or cadence to stay in the optimal

motor range. This means you can pedal much more like on a regular bike, which gives you better control on the trail.

I believe this is much more important to ride technical climbs than raw power.

Lucas Berghman: Without control, power isn’t very useful in itself. However, if it’s delivered properly and opens up new possibilities when riding, it would be a shame to hold back progress and innovation. On the other hand, I think it’s important to limit top speed, as is already the case today.

TLW: How would you recommend riders to choose between the Meta Power SX 800 with Bosch drive unit and this Meta Power SX Avinox eMTB?

Max Commencal: Both motors offer more than enough power for most riders. The main difference lies in the bike’s chassis. The META SX 800 is more of an adventurer’s bike – comfortable for long rides on any terrain. The META SX Avinox is more playful, more agile, slimmer, and ultimately closer to a classic enduro META without a motor.

Nicolas Ménard: The META POWER SX 800 takes things a step further in terms of comfort and capability in rough terrain. The META POWER SX Avinox is more dynamic (while still being excellent on the way down). So, choose the SX 800 if you want pure comfort and confidence. Choose the SX Avinox if you’re looking for more versatility without sacrificing performance.

Lucas Berghman: Even without talking about the motor, these are two very different bikes. The META POWER SX 800 was designed for long rides, to inspire confidence, and to conserve the rider’s energy. The META POWER SX AVINOX is more dynamic, more agile, and overall faster. In terms of the motor, the M2S delivers more power and torque, but the CX remains an excellent motor that offers outstanding efficiency. It also allows the use of a range extender for those who enjoy (very) long rides.

TLW: You are continuing to use your VCS, virtual-pivot suspension system. What are your favorite performance elements made possible by the Virtual Contact System?

Max Commencal: I’m not the most technical person in the company, just a passionate rider. But this technology, developed from our competition bikes, is absolutely impressive. Paired with well-tuned shocks (with specific settings for each model), it gives the bike spectacular performance. It’s a system we fully control.

Nicolas Ménard: Thanks to VCS, we can get the best of both worlds: grip and comfort, as well as dynamism and pedalling efficiency. Not having to sacrifice one for the other is pretty cool, and it’s our ultimate goal as designers.

Lucas Berghman: I would say that the VCS means we no longer have to choose between comfort, grip, support, and pedalling efficiency. Another advantage is that the VCS lets us give different characteristics to our platforms to suit the riding style: the T.E.M.P.O. META POWER SX 800 and META SX V5 all share the VCS but their behaviour on the trails is very different.

TLW: It feels as if Commencal is even more excited by the release of the Meta Power SX Avinox than usual. What’s the most exciting element for you?

Max Commencal: We don’t aim to be generalists across every bike category. Instead, we focus our energy on being strong, if not the reference when it comes to building top-tier bikes for downhill riding. When you combine one of the most high-performing motors available today with a chassis widely recognised as a benchmark, you get the best of both worlds.

I’d also add that we assemble our bikes in Taiwan to supply our subsidiaries worldwide under the best conditions. The Avinox factory is just a few days away by sea, which is a major advantage in terms of flexibility and responsiveness.

Nicolas Ménard: The fact that I have so much fun on this bike in any condition.

Lucas Berghman: At the office in Andorra, it’s the bike the staff use the most to ride during lunch and/or when the lifts are closed. I think that says a lot about the kind of experience this bike delivers, both uphill and downhill.

TLW: There were reports of riders suffering with durability issues on previous generation Commencal frames. You now offer a lifetime warranty, which is great to see, but have you changed anything else to give prospective customers peace of mind?

Max Commencal: The number of frame failures compared to the volume we’ve produced is extremely small. But yes, there have been some cases, and we don’t deny it. Since reliability has always been our number one priority, we’ve pushed EFBE testing even further, with constraints we are probably the only ones to demand. That’s why we can now offer a lifetime warranty on our frames. And that’s not just a marketing claim. Our frames are very strong.

Nicolas Ménard: Reliability has always been our number one priority.

Fatigue, impact, overload… We’ve always taken these aspects very seriously, and we’ve had very reliable platforms in the past. We’ve also learned from the issues we faced on some models and implemented a very ambitious testing protocol. We’ve been working extensively on FEA, material quality, processes, lab testing and real-world riding tests. We meet the EFBE Tri-Test (Gravity standard), but we go far beyond that. We require seven frames to validate a platform before it gets the green light for production. These tests involve significantly higher loads and cycles than ISO and EFBE standards.

Lucas Berghman: Even though the return rate remains low, we’ve had cases on specific platforms that pushed us to completely rethink our testing process. We spend a huge amount of time and money running complex stress simulations, conducting the Tri-Test with the EFBE laboratory, and even developing custom tests to push the limits of our frames. Not to mention field testing, of course. All this work allows us to offer a lifetime warranty on our new platforms like the META POWER SX AVINOX.

We designed the Meta Power SX Avinox by pouring all our expertise into it.

Integrating the AVINOX M2S motor with our META platform was an obvious choice and it has completely transformed the way we ride.

We rediscovered our mountains and trails like never before, exploring terrain we thought we knew by heart. Add to that the best components available today and you get a lineup that leaves its mark.

160mm at the rear, 170mm up front, a mullet setup, 150Nm of torque and up to 8o0Wh of battery capacity. Everything comes together in what we believe is the perfect balance to fully experience Commencal.

Our five builds are now available, ranging from €6,950 to €10,950.

We can’t wait for you to get your hands on our META POWER SX AVINOX and, like us, rediscover your favourite trails. Maybe not at Amaury’s speed… but with the same desire!

Head To The Commencal website to learn more and order yours.