This bike makes me a better mountain bike guide.

Ever since I moved to Ainsa I decided to ride Commencal bikes for enduro & trail bikes. I did some research into other (local) bike brands back early 2018, but to me Commencal seemed the best option. They make great looking bikes from a design point of view. So far my experiences with Commencal has been really good. At the beginning of 2020 it was time to look for a new guiding bike. Of course it is great to build your own workhorse/ dream bike, but with running two businesses and having a busy family life, it was just more practical to buy a complete bike and upgrade when needed. 

Picking the Commencal META AM 29 TEAM 2020.

During the 2018 & 2019 season I was riding the Commencal Meta HT, sometimes I jumped on my trusty old Kona Process 153. By the end of last year it was time to step it up and make sure I started riding a bike that could level with those of my clients. The hardtail Meta was great for improving my riding skills, and it was a perfect guiding bike for the more flowy trails, but for the hardcore technical enduro descents in Zona Zero it was not enough..

After reading and watching several reviews I choose the Meta AM 29 TEAM. It fitted my budget and it has a good solid build with Spank wheels. I have ridden Spank wheels here in Zona Zero on both of my hardballs, they just keep on going and they stay straight under these rocky trails. Plus Spank is trying be one of the more sustainable brands in the industry, which is important to me.

Check the full spec list of the TEAM 2020 on the Commencal website

My riding experience on the Commencal META AM29 TEAM.

Coming from a hardtail and an older model Kona Process 153, it took a few rides to really get to know the META, I am still in that process which came to a standstill when the corona lockdown started in Spain mid March. My initial experience was that this bike is FAST, really FAST! This is not a bike to ride mellow, if you are not concentrated the bike will throw you of.

This bike is so much fun to ride. It climbs really well. The 29-er wheels and the 1x12 gearing makes it climb good on steeper and more technical climbs. Around Ainsa you have some long climbs that ask for 1,5 - 2 hours of pedalling up, which is very comfortable on this bike. 

People don’t have to afraid that 29-ers are not as nibble as bikes with 27.5 sized wheels. This bike is by far the easiest bike to throw around corners I have had. You just have to really hang into the bike, it asks for an attack position when you are riding it down technical descents with a lot of tight corners. The AM 29 picks up speed very easy and when I keep on being concentrated that speed it never makes me feel I am out of control. 

My initial thoughts.

This is the best bike I could possibly ask for as my next guiding bike. It makes me a more confident mountain biker, which is important because that gives me more energy to focus on guiding clients. 

It is solidly build aluminium bike. I love the Schwalbe Magic Mary and Hans Dampf tyres on the Spank Oozy rims. I really like the plush feel of the Rockshox suspension setup. I do want to experiment with some tokens in the Lyrik. That will be one of my first things when the Spanish covid-19 measures are relaxed a bit and we can ride again. Last but not least I really like the smoothness of the KS Integra dropper post.

Things I will be changing in the (near) future.

• As soon as the bike arrived I changed the grips and the saddle. I put my trusty old Ergon saddle from my previous bike on the Meta and I matched the red on the bike with some nice red Ergon GE1 EVO grips. I have been riding Ergon saddles and grips for some years now and they really fit my riding style and I love the design of the Ergon products.

• I will probably swap the SRAM brakes for a pair of Formula Cura 4 brakes soon, I started using Formula last year and I really like the feel of the levers , The way they brake give me confidence. The SRAM brakes are just not as constant in there braking power as I wish they would be.

• Then there is the SRAM Eagle GX group. I have been a fan of the SRAM shifting for a long time, but although they “innovate” constantly I don’t feel they improved on the feeling of the shifting. I rode some new Shimano parts last year on one of our rental bikes and they feel way more solid. It won’t be something I change soon, because the GX is not bad, but it is definitely something I am considering to change.

This is one bad ass bike! I had to wait for quiet some time to be able to purchase my new ride. I needed to earn & save money for a long time to be able to afford this bike. It makes me feel extra grateful to be able to ride the Commencal META AM 29 Team around Ainsa.

My next bike review might be of one of my older bikes. What doe you think?

Author: Jeroen Spoelstra
Pictures: Jeroen Spoelstra & Harm Spoelstra

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