Great review! I just picked up a V5 frame, waiting for avalanche suspension and new wheelset to finish the build. That said, I think the v5 will be in it's best form when WRP makes their mullet link for it. A more approachable SX with the poppiness of the V5 sounds ideal in my head.
jon, thanks for the great review. i already have the sx v4 (it was on sale) and was wondering if the v5 had anything i was missing out on. i love this bike. not the best daily driver. i took it to sedona last week, the meta killed everything!
Great review as always, I'm still deciding between V5, V5 sx, propain tyee and raaw madonna v3. Kinda giving you ideas for the next reviews :P Although Madonna V3s are gonna be available in 3 months - and that's only for Europe. Also, that's a beautiful Lexus, Jon.
RAAW will not send me a bike early unfortunately. I even tried to just buy a frame for review but they said they won’t even have them. Working on snagging a new Jeffsy.
Killer job on this detailed review! I have been riding the Meta v5 SX for the last few months and have struggled a little to get it balanced on more slower tech runs. What rear sag did you run on this bike?
I seems to have a very high BB? Numbers say +7 (sic!) BB drop (so anti-drop really). Can this be true? If yes, maybe that's the problem, high BB means the bike is not easy to balance and when you go slow you might be too high in the travel?
Awesome review! Regarding the weight you quoted, is that correct with the stock components? Commencal claims a heavier weight 15.9kg (35.05lbs) on their website for the S size without pedals. One would think the XL size would be even heavier.
@@byronb8711 this was weighed at my local bike shop so there’s a chance their scale is off but honestly who knows. I’m going to buy a new scale for future reviews
Brilliant review Jon, as usual. Just wondering what you see on the V5 Ohlins edition that you don't have on your Nomad? more all-rounder skills? and which one do you think is better just for gnarly and steep technical trails, the v5, the sx v5 or the Nomad? Thanks!
Thanks for the line! I may have misspoke a little. I was trying to say which of the three new Commencal bikes I would choose if I had to. It is really tough though they all bring a lot to the table right now. The longer that SX has been out of my garage the more I long for it though. Just so fast. As a rider I feel I go back and forth between wanting playful bikes and just super fast bikes and seldom are they one bike.
Thanks! Yeah I’m number 10 on the list for a 250 at my local dealer but I’m not sold yet. This 4.6 is both slow and bad on gas but is sooo smooth and will never die. Not convinced the new ones are built to last.
Nice seeing reviews on the trails I actually ride. Regarding the Ohlins build, I've heard the Ohlins fork is a bit stiffer in terms of damping than the Zeb and 38, much more of a race fork. IMHO I'd keep the Zeb up front and put a RS Super Deluxe coil or Vivid out back. The sizing is odd, I would want the reach of the large but the wheelbase of the medium, not sure how much the mullet setup deals with that insane 1280 wheelbase on a size L. For comparison a size 3 Ibis HD6 has 480 reach but only 1256 wheelbase.
I'm right there with you on the frame size. 6'1 3/4 to be exact always in between L and XL. Doi you think the L could be a bit easier on the climb and slow tech.
Interesting, how everyone talks about geometry, etc. it is all about the rider and how well the rider can ride the bike (skills). Geometry, rider height, inseam, arms, torso is the first and second is riding stile and of course rider skill level. Don’t get hand up on geometry. Like any rider (racer) get the feel for the bike beneath you.
Very nice review, you have mentioned - 6.1 (185cm? ..) and you went for XL. Will you stick to this decesion? I am 6.2, and Commencal told me to go for L, I am not sure. I am not thinking about Meta, I go for Supreme, but sizing is the same ... so I would just take it as an advice. With your sizing, you went higher ... thx for your opinion.
I definitely wouldn’t go L for me personally. I have really long legs and the seat height ends up acting all funny with the relationship to the handlebars when I size down.
@@MTBJonniecool, thx. I am 187cm, inseam 91cm -> you are little bit shorter and you have no problem with reach - I mean lower back pain :)? I think, and you confirm me that, that Commencal has the size table one size smaller, then for example SC and what I actaully think is OK… And I was not sure, if I go for reach 488 or 508 on Supreme V5 (L vs XL). So thank you for your review and for your answer, helped me a lot :).
I had creaks and with a little linkage check it was fixed. Just saying. Also commencals are big bikes. Size medium is like the transition patrol large.
@@norbertbaltyn3689 he high pivot has 2 bearings and in between an axle or so. Those 2 bearings were overpushed on the axle thus they would not rotate. I pushed them out a little to get free. Then assembled and torqued to specs.
@@mrvwbug4423 I have meta sx v4 ( size large) and my brother has altitude (size large). Meta is longer, but i dont feel it. For brother my meta is smaller :D
I know with our chunk the usual take is the front range is 29er country and mid travel 29ers are probably the most popular bike around here (mostly Ibis Ripmos, SC Hightowers and Yeti LRs). Only mullet bike I've had a chance to demo on front range trails is an ebike, and for ebike mullet is definitely the way to go.
@@toHelluRide I’m definitely trying to get one but no shops have demos and Ibis won’t send me one. It’ll probably have to wait until my LBS can sort me on a demo for a couple of days.
i am thinking to buy either Meta SX V5 , SC Nomad v6 ride hard and love big jumps, love a bike thats active and poppy. which one would you go for? Thanks Jon.
man awesum review. no cracking sound. your pretty well informed. maybe you can help me out I'm looking for a new bike. thoughts are this model. or the capra core 4 2024. can you help me out to the to compere this 2 against eachother. would be great to here from you. I do ride a lot of pedalling up hills to get down again
The Nomad frame with coil is about the weight of the Commencal with no shock...so has nothing to do with the frame...just difference in builds. Nomad is pretty much a different ballpark and better bike.
Definitely the v5. That bike excels in the widest variety of terrain. The SX does have some magic in it that calls to me though. It’s just so damn fast in the tech.
I have the V4, but same suspension. I chose a medium for playfulness although I usually ride a large. Same issue with the dropper, too much of the base sticking out. And interestingly, the base keeps sliding down little by little into the frame, no matter how much I tighten it. Dumb question; I thought about changing the dropper for a longer one so I could slide the base all the way down, but I thought it wouldn’t fit. Is there room in the frame for it?
Just speed up the rebound a hair and it gets poppy. The RS stuff is very easy to tune. I wouldn’t say it favors jumping naturally but it can certainly be tuned to jump well. This bikes nature is to go fast.
I'am on a canyon spectral with 160mm and i want somthing bigger like 170mm I really like the v5 sx but apparently it's a really slow bike uphill do you thniks it will be a good idea?(i am faster than my friend uphill rn) and how is it possible that your size xl bike is lighter than the weight given by commencal for a size s on their weebsite? thanks in advance it s really going to help me🙌
I think the spectral is a much better climber but handles chunky downhill terrain with way less composure than this v5 sx. This bike is on the more sluggish side for climbing even amongst enduro bikes. But it’s insanely capable on the descents if you have the terrain to match. Honestly I didn’t find the limits of this bike. It wanted more than I did.
@@MTBJonnie okay so this bike is to big for my level.. so the normal v5 will be a good idea? It has the same travel(160mm)but the commencal is more capable in downhill i think
@@MTBJonnie but my friend are slower uphill so with the sx it ll close the gap or I'm going to be far back? Thank you for answering my questions, it’s nice to help me
@@MTBJonnie thanks i'm going to take it so But I'm betwin size M and L (I'am 1m80 5'9 for your language I think ) if I want to improve maneuverability I can take the M
Sorry it's been a very snowy winter here in CO. I'm actively working on reviews for the updated Tallboy, Orbea Wild, Commencal Meta Power SX, and Orbea Rallon. Hope to drop the next one within a week.
