QUICK HITS
• 165mm VCS Suspension
• Mixed Wheels (29” F / 27.5” R)
• HTA 64
• STA 77.5 (effective)
• REACH 480 (Large)
WE DIG
WE DON’T
ABOUT THE COMMENCAL META SX V5
The Meta SX received a significant update for 2023, switching to Commencal’s new VCS suspension design in a bid to boost its performance higher than ever. This mixed-wheel enduro mountain bike is designed to provide confidence and capability on everything from natural singletrack to sculpted bike park, with a 165mm rear end and 170mm fork.
FRAME AND FEATURES | Commencal continues to manufacture their frames exclusively from metal, with a 6066-aluminum frame utilizing triple-butted tubing to obtain the desired strength and stiffness with as little weight as necessary. As a result, the frame weight is claimed to be 3.3 kg (7.3-lbs), which we assume to be for a size Small. The frames are tested to the stringent EFBE Level 5, which is the benchmark for gravity mountain bikes.
The move to the Virtual Contact System sees oversized bearings fitted, which are given extra seals to aid in keeping dirt and water out, and grease in. Reinforced through-axles tie the frame together, utilizing a locking collet design to reduce the likelihood of the pivots coming loose.
Commencal listened to their customers and made the standard cable routing internal via ports in the head tube. However, provisions were made to route through the headset, if it is desired. The top side of the downtube features a recessed zone, designed to accommodate the Fidlock TWIST bottle mount system neatly. It’ll also allow for a standard water bottle cage to be fitted, if preferred.
Protection is added to the bottom of the Meta SX V5’s downtube, and an optional stick-on shuttle guard comes included for truck users. The drive side chainstay and seat stay receive a custom-molded protector to keep noise to a minimum. A bolt-on upper chain guide is featured, with provisions to fit a lower bash guard to the ISCG-05 lower tabs.
SUSPENSION | Commencal uses their Virtual Contact System (VCS) suspension design in a 165mm configuration for the Meta SX V5. This system first debuted on their T.E.M.P.O trail mountain bike. Commencal moved to this system in a bid to reduce the compromises to the suspension characteristics that their outgoing Contact System presented.
We learned more about the rationale for the switch to VCS from their team in our recent Dissected feature.
The leverage ratio has around 16% progression over the stroke up to 140mm travel, with a pronounced regressive portion at the end making it ideally suited to an air shock.
The Anti Squat hovers at around 125% at sag, and drops off through the travel to minimize chain effects.
GEOMETRY | The Meta SX V5 features purposeful enduro mountain bike geometry, with a couple of notable outliers in an otherwise fairly typical collection of numbers. The first of these is the chainstay length, which is 442mm for Small and Medium and 447mm for Large and XL frame sizes. This is longer than you typically find on a mixed-wheel enduro bike, and was selected by Commencal to add stability and balance back into the mix, while still affording the clearance and strength of the compact rear wheel.
The second notable geometry figure is the bottom bracket height, which is fairly high at 4mm above the rear axle, un-sagged. It measured in at 355mm from the floor with the stock Schwalbe tires fitted.
Otherwise, the geometry of the Meta SX V5 is comparable with many modern enduro bikes.
BUILD SPECS | Commencal offers the Meta SX V5 in a range of builds from the $3,800 / £3,750 / €3,966.66 “Ride” to the top-end $6,900 / £5,900 / €6,842.50 “T-Type”. We tested the high-spec Signature build, featuring a component list that left little to be desired for its $6,200 / £5,900 / €6,148.33 price tag.
The Signature build tested was built with Fox’s 38 Factory Grip 2 170mm fork and Float X2 Factory rear shock. These offered high levels of adjustability, with the rear shock supplied with a custom tune to Robert’s weight and riding style…we’ll touch on this more, later. There was also a Fox Transfer Factory dropper post in 170mm length as standard, though we quickly swapped this for a 200mm KS Lev Circuit wireless dropper post to obtain better descending clearance.
The cockpit also featured the compact Fizik Terra Alpaca X5 saddle, which we swapped for a SQlab 611 out of personal preference. Renthal provided a 35mm diameter alloy stem with 40mm extension, mated to a stealth-black alloy bar with size-specific rise (30mm on size L, tested).
The drivetrain and brakes were Shimano XT, offering familiar and dependable performance throughout testing. Also dependable were the DT Swiss EX1700 wheelset, with the 54t ratchet in the 350 rear hub offering good pickup.
Sadly, the Schwalbe Magic Mary and Big Betty tire combo was fitted in the Super Trail casing as standard, which we consider insufficiently durable for a hard-charging enduro bike. Swapping these out for Schwalbe Albert Radial Gravity tires yielded notable improvements to comfort and traction.
As stock, the size Large Commencal Meta SX V5 Signature weighed in at 16.5kg (36.4lbs).
THE DIRT
I was extremely excited to swing a leg over a Commencal bike again, with the last proper time being my own personal 2017 Meta and Furious machines. The Meta SX V5’s longer rear end was appealing to me, and it’s safe to say that its looks (and release edit featuring the ripper Theo Erlangsen) had me inspired. In the end, it took a little more work than I’m used to to get the Meta SX V5 setup in a happy spot, but it offered solid performance once I got it there.
SETUP | Commencal wanted to give me the team treatment when it came to testing their Meta SX V5, asking me for weight, riding style and preferred proportions so that their team mechanic could dial it in for me. They hoped that in doing so, I’d be able to hop on and feel right at home, however this didn’t transpire to be the case for a couple of reasons. These weren’t unsolvable issues, but prevented the initial few rides from yielding the performance I was expecting.
Firstly, Commencal went to the trouble of custom-tuning the rear shock damper to optimize it to my 220lbs (100kg) weight and fairly aggressive tendencies. In doing so, a firm compression tune was applied. Counterintuitively, this led me down the wrong path in getting the suspension setup to a comfortable zone.
You see, I test a lot of bikes, and almost all of them are supplied with dampers with a stock tune. As a rider above the average weight of riders on size Large bikes, I’m then typically testing bikes with relatively light compression tunes. As such, on some bikes I cannot physically get enough compression damping out of the suspension, regardless of how hard I try. Riding bikes that are arguably underdamped for years, I’ve then developed my technique and familiar feel based on what is likely less compression damping than I should be using.
Give me a bike with a lot of compression damping for the same damper “clicks”, and it’s a shock to the system [pun not intended], as was proved with the Meta SX V5. I ended up winding back the low-speed compression setting adjustment 8 clicks further towards the open end than is typical for a “stock” tune, which yielded a more typical feel. But still, I was unable to obtain the performance I desired due to the next couple of factors.
The second issue was with overall firmness, feedback and vibration transmission. The Super Trail carcass tires necessitated a higher pressure than I’d typically like to run when attacking rough enduro mountain bike trails. This transmitted more vibration through the bike than I’d like, and the dry trails at the beginning of testing were particularly rough, which amplified the issue. Upon switching the tires out for a pair of Schwalbe Albert Radial Gravity, there was an instant improvement.
There was also some pronounced cable rattle. It took me a little while to trace the source of this rattle, eventually finding it to be the exposed cables at the bottom of the downtube. I was able to add tension between these with a zip tie, which removed one vibration source.
With these initial issues resolved, it was then the stance of the Meta SX V5 which took some fettling. Initial suspension settings with 28% sag in the rear left me with an “on stilts” sensation, standing above the bike. Moving towards 32% sag yielded improvements, and upon dropping the handlebar down a spacer on the steerer – which went against my intuition – I was left in a fairly comfortable spot. This all took some attention and energy, but ultimately I was able to get the Meta SX V5 in a comfortable spot.
CLIMBING | The Commencal Meta SX V5 was a solid climber for an aggressive enduro mountain bike. The climbing position was dialed, placing me nicely centered between the wheels and in a comfortable spot to lay down some watts. The rear end was quite sensitive and keen to move in the initial stroke, but the kinematic did a good job at managing the suspension movement for all but the most aggressive of pedaling efforts. Flicking the easily accessible lockout lever made for an easy boost to the pedaling platform, which I regularly found myself taking advantage of on smoother fire road climbs.
Overall, the Meta SX was not an enduro bike that presented particular issues when climbing. Make no mistake though, it’s not a machine that sits in that “long travel trail bike” category. Its weight and aggressive geometry set make sure of that.
DESCENDING | Once the quirks were ironed out and a comfortable setup was found, Commencal’s Meta SX V5 came alive. The suspension platform remained on the more supportive and racey end of the spectrum but still performed amicably when riding less aggressively. That’s to say, it wasn’t a total bump-eraser but also avoided being overly jarring on the square edges.
As you may expect from a bike with “SX” – short for Super Cross – in its name, the Commencal held up well to harder charging efforts. The suspension on both ends never felt overwhelmed or presented any major quirks, although the bottom of the travel was found on a couple of harder slap-downs.
The dynamic geometry continued to present some challenges, notably on my steeper local trails where the tendency to feel “stood up” from time-to-time remained. This wasn’t necessarily problematic, only a quirk that I’m sure would fade into the background if you were to own and become familiar with the Meta SX V5.
On flat-out, faster descents, the balance offered by the relatively long rear end (for a mixed-wheel bike) aided in confidence and control. It provided plentiful stability, reducing the need to actively weigh the front wheel. I really like what Commencal has done with the geometry here, as mixed-wheel bikes are still often found with shorter rear ends that can give an imbalanced feeling. With the slightly longer rear end on the Meta SX, there’s still the improvements to clearance and rear wheel strength you’d expect from the 27.5” rear wheel, but without feeling unsettled.
FINISH AND VALUE | Commencal has received some criticism for their VCS suspension system construction, and comments have been made regarding the flex of the rear end. Unbolting the rear end piece-by-piece, everything felt to be well aligned, and continued to run smoothly and quietly through testing. The lower linkage came loose after the first couple of rides, and tightening it was a more involved process than many other systems – loose spacers and multiple pivots make it tricky. But in fairness, the system stayed tight and quiet for the remainder of testing. The linkage hardware isn’t the best in terms of sealing the bearings, but they remained free from corrosion and smooth throughout the test. Taking a look at the rear end stiffness, I wouldn’t say it’s an outlier by any means. In fact, I’d say it’s just on the stiffer side of average – a very happy place to be.
The quality of the rest of the frame was solid, and once the initial cable rattle issues were solved, it ran quietly for the remainder of the test. The downtube guard was effective, though it cracked from a piece of slate rock being thrown up by the front wheel. Aside from some minor paint scarring beside it, the frame was protected by the protector amicably. The chainstay protection was effective and kept the chain fairly quiet for all but the harshest of hits.
Looking at the geometry through the size range, the Medium and Large sizes are likely to give riders the best feeling of balance overall, with the FC:RC ratios separating further for the Small and XL sizes. The very short seat tube length on the small is likely to make the shortest-legged riders happy, though seatpost insertion may begin to pose a problem.
As a direct-to-consumer brand, Commencal has offered a solid value proposition over the years. In recent times, this value has been less notable. Looking at the Meta SX V5 Signature build on test, the price tag isn’t going to be enough to convince a customer to purchase it for the parts alone, but it’s not ridiculous. It’s great to see Commencal back it up with a lifetime warranty for the original owner, too.
COMPONENT REPORT
Super Trail tire casings | Come on, Commencal. The only thing SuperCross about spec’ing trail casing tires on an enduro bike is my reaction. Give it gravity.
Shimano XT Errthang | Shimano’s XT drivetrain and brakes offered solid and dependable performance throughout. That said, the brakes wouldn’t be my top pick, with my preference lying with a more linear power ramp up and higher maximum achievable power that can be found with some other systems.
The Wolf’s Last Word
The Commencal Meta SX V5 is a solid performing aggressive enduro mountain bike, with balance that stood out above typical mixed-wheel machines. A dialed build kit at a fair price, and some great looks, make Commencal’s aggressive enduro machine worth considering. 
Price: $6,200 / £5,900 / €6,148.33
Website: Commencal.com
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ABOUT THE WOLF
Robert’s habitat is the Tweed Valley, Scotland, which is renowned for its root-littered enduro mountain bike trails. Robert has been developing his bike handling skills for the last 16 years. Since he was a pup, he’s been riding everything from BMX through to enduro and downhill bikes. Combining a playful style with occasional speed-focused aggression, he favors supportive bikes, and does his best to push them hard.
Rank: European Tech Editor
Size: 6’2” / 189cm | 220lbs / 100kg
Social: @robert_johnston
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