First ride on 666 and Commencal dogs...

I met up with some buddies yesterday down on the edge of Cannock chase ( one of them lives there ). Not ridden there before, but was keen to get some miles under the new Meta 666 playing with the suspension and other bits on it.

For those of you you haven't been to Cannock, there is the very popular 'Chase the Dog' trail, which was very busy in the late summer sun. However, having a local with us, meant that we ignored the masses and headed for all the secret stuff that is hidden away. I pretty much thought that the Chase was flat, but trust me there are some evil hills in there ( with some interesting local names which can't be printed on here ), and on each side of those hills is some nuts singletrack downhilling to be had! The highlight of the cracking ride was the new 'Monkies Nuts' or 'The Monkey Trail' or something like that ( I don't think the name is finalised yet ). Think very tight, very steep, very technical and you are on the right lines. The plan is to link it in to the 2nd phase of trails at the Chase which should open sometime next year....make the trip, it is worth while, but note that this is not the place for your big and bouncy bikes...there is a lot of xc between the meaty bits!

Now to the 666...

It is early days yet, so no complete review as I have to play around with the suspension set-up ( especially the front ), but whilst criss-crossing the 'Follow your Dad' route at Cannock I had an epiphany of sorts. I've been riding an 07 Supreme Team Mini-DH since August and have got very used to how it handled. So stepping on the 666 was a bit of change....this is when I came to the 'Dog Theory'!

Basically the Supremes are like St Bernards. They are built like a brick sh*t houses...you can pretty much just hold on and they will get you down anything. The Meta 5 is like a Labrador...mans best friend, it will look after you everywhere, uphill and down. The Flames are the greyhounds of the family ( pretty much self explanatory ) and the Absoluts are the little Terriers, jumping at every opportunity.

So what about the 666??

Well it is the Rottweiler of pack.. It will serve and protect you, but it has to be tamed....

I'll leave it at that till the next ride.

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