[wetsponge007]

I'm looking for an AM bike and I have narrowed my search down to these, commencal meta 5.2, Yeti enduro 575, Transition preston with a build similar to the 575, and a Morewood Shova st. All of these bikes are around the same price, 1900 to 2,500 complete. Which one would you choose for an AM bike ?


Also what size would you recommend, I am 6'2" and 190 lbs?

 

[FlipFantasia]

the meta's ride incredibly well, both climbing and descending....

 

[bpatterson6]

Definately the Yeti 575.

 

[4xBoy]

575 but then again I am a Yeti whore as of late.

 

[3Pin Rider]

I've owned a 575 and currently ride an 05 Preston. I love both bikes.

The 575 was a much better climber and a lot more plush on the descents. In fact, it corners better than the Preston due to the low bb. However, I mix in light freeriding with my all mountain riding on a regular basis and the Yeti just wasn't burly enough. I ended up snapping the swing link in half. Yeti warrantied and replaced it no problem. However, I just didn't feel confident with it after that. It's not designed to be taking drops or hitting jumps even though the geometry is perfect for it. I saw this as a recipe for disaster.

My Preston can handle anything I throw at it. It climbs, corners, and descends remarkably well. The head angle is much more confidence inspiring for steep descents than the Yeti. It soaks up big drops like butter. By that I mean 6-8 ft with a reasonable transition. I've also gone 4 ft to flat with no problem, but I don't recommend drops to flat on any bike. I'm able to do all of my XC riding on it and not pass up those fun features you always come across on epic trails.

The only thing I miss with the Preston is the plush rear end and the low bb. And, that's why I plan to upgrade to an 07 preston. Improved leverage ratio, lower bb, and shorter chainstays should make it the perfect bike for me.

 

[ridea]

Maby have a look at the prophet, i just ordered a prophet two today and it should be with me within a week, i final decided just because it is so versitile that im sure i could find a setting that will suit me. once ive given it a good few hours riding i will try and do a review on it, comng from a dhers approch.

i rode a meta 5(not 5.5) a while ago and i have to say I didnt love it, it was abt 38lbs and set up with a thin bar, long stem, shorter fox forks(steeper h/a) and a pair of formulas which the levers wouldnt move in on so i was constantly stretching for the brakes. all that didnt help concidering i was riding sort of dhish trails but although it realy did nothing for me, it was good at xc, even with no platform on i couldnt feel any bob, but it didnt seem to feel stable or planted or track or grip well, just felt sketchy like i would on any other xc bike that and a combination of hard tyres and loose wet rocks left me with a load of scars on my knees right now. Dont know if it was set up but i realy couldnt feel anyting special about the suspension system, some people love it though but just saying maby dont belive all the hype till youve tried one.

 

[FlipFantasia]

Maby have a look at the prophet, i just ordered a prophet two today and it should be with me within a week, i final decided just because it is so versitile that im sure i could find a setting that will suit me. once ive given it a good few hours riding i will try and do a review on it, comng from a dhers approch.

i rode a meta 5(not 5.5) a while ago and i have to say I didnt love it, it was abt 38lbs and set up with a thin bar, long stem, shorter fox forks(steeper h/a) and a pair of formulas which the levers wouldnt move in on so i was constantly stretching for the brakes. all that didnt help concidering i was riding sort of dhish trails but although it realy did nothing for me, it was good at xc, even with no platform on i couldnt feel any bob, but it didnt seem to feel stable or planted or track or grip well, just felt sketchy like i would on any other xc bike that and a combination of hard tyres and loose wet rocks left me with a load of scars on my knees right now. Dont know if it was set up but i realy couldnt feel anyting special about the suspension system, some people love it though but just saying maby dont belive all the hype till youve tried one.

really? I found it to be an absolutely stellar ride, incredibly plush going down, loved the gnarly rocks and roots, tracked very well and cornered exceptionally well.....that and it climbed awesome....the rear wheel stayed planted on the gorund, even over rocks and roots and never skipped around.....I could see it being a bit squirrly with a long stem, the one I had was probably a 40-50mm and it was spot on......this bike is at the top of my list right now for next year and I live for long climbs followed by techy steep downhills, I know of 3 other guys in town riding the same bike and they all rave about it in conditions as I've described.....imo it's the real deal....oh, and the formula brakes aboslutely rule...so much power and modulation, and one finger braking means the hands stay happy....

 

[bdamschen]

I'm loving my prophet now that I've got something other than the lefty on it. And like everyone will tell you, yes the rear is flexy, but it doesn't really bother me.

 

[bullcrew]

Yeah what they said. 's up

 

[RMboy]

commencal met, really are amazing bikes...girp on to anything..but the rest are good bikes to..just not as good as the commencal..also it carrys a certian coooool factor..lol

 

[wetsponge007]

Do you guys know how hard it is to get parts for each of those brands if something breaks?

The bikes were Yeti, Morewood, Commencal, and Transition.

 

[joelsman]

you should look at the transition covert instead of the preston for what you are looking at.

I have a 575 and really like it but, it isn't burly, I have had it 2.5yrs with no probleams though. the covert would be stronger but 1lb heavier, still lighter than the preston which is pretty heavy and has more travel(than the preston).

not sure about the other bikes.

 

[DHS]

Do you guys know how hard it is to get parts for each of those brands if something breaks?

The bikes were Yeti, Morewood, Commencal, and Transition.

Transition will be the easiest to get parts, and the cheapest. that company rocks. that and you don't have to go thru a dealer. just call them direct.

i've ridden all of the above. i like the yeti a lot. if those were my choices i would get the commencal if i could. maybe buy some extra parts for it when i buy it.
but i have a stumpjumper pro. and by far the easiest to get parts and such for me.

 

[ZHendo]

transitions are very easy to get parts for, and they also have the lifetime crash replacement. yetis are easy to get parts for too. morewood has great customer service from when i have talked to them (richard), but i think that it would still be more difficult to get parts from them when compared to transition and yeti. the good thing is, the morewoods only have a few parts to the whole bike, and are also very user serviceable. i don't think commencals are easy to get parts for at all, but i'm not really sure to be honest. commencals seem to hold together well though.

 

[rockwool]

I've had the Meta 4x for some month or so now and it's a wonderful bike. Might be a bit heavy for a 4x bike with it's 3.5kg (incl Roco Air) but I DH it and hopefully that will make it will hold up just fine. It tracks great and I haven't bottomed it yet, even though I sag it about 40%.

Matches perfect with a soft springed Pike at 140mm for my 70kg. The BB is still pretty low adn the HA is adjustable on the 4x. The only bad thing I've heard about Commencals is that their berings aren't top knotch, but that's an easy fix when time comes to change them.

Dunno the weight difference between the 5.5 and the 4x but the latter has 5mm shorter CS, which is something that I find more important.

A pal of mine has one too (built for agro trail), and he doesn't know which bike he loves the most between his Sunday and the Meta 4x. Both are the best he has had within their respective fields of use.

 

[wetsponge007]

I've had the Meta 4x for some month or so now and it's a wonderful bike. Might be a bit heavy for a 4x bike with it's 3.5kg (incl Roco Air) but I DH it and hopefully that will make it will hold up just fine. It tracks great and I haven't bottomed it yet, even though I sag it about 40%.

Matches perfect with a soft springed Pike at 140mm for my 70kg. The BB is still pretty low adn the HA is adjustable on the 4x. The only bad thing I've heard about Commencals is that their berings aren't top knotch, but that's an easy fix when time comes to change them.

Dunno the weight difference between the 5.5 and the 4x but the latter has 5mm shorter CS, which is something that I find more important.

A pal of mine has one too (built for agro trail), and he doesn't know which bike he loves the most between his Sunday and the Meta 4x. Both are the best he has had within their respective fields of use.

I'm not sure of the wieght difference, but there's a travel distance. I think the the meta 5 has at least an inch, maybe 1.5 inches. I guess you don't miss it that much and if you're not bottoming out who cares.

If I had a crap load of money I would buy the new Meta 666