Beef up my Meta 5.5

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May 24, 2012, 05:25:05 AM

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Total Voters: 287

[fanatic278]

I'm doing my first MTB holiday to Austria this summer (Schladming and around). I have been told I need to beef up my Meta 5.5.3 (2009 spec with 2010 frame), but what is the bare minimum? I've been told:

- lock on grips
- big tyres and downhill tubes
- bash ring
- 200 mm rotors

Is that all necessary, or do I need more!!

[w00dy1980]

A chain device such as a blackspire stinger is a must or you'll be constantly loosing your chain.

[tank_rider]

It all depends on what riding you are going to be doing.  If you're going to do predominantly DH then you'd need the stuff below.  If not then you could get away with lock ons and maybe thicker tubes.

I'd say a chain device is a must too.  Other than that, some 2.35 dh casing tyres, thick inner tubes aren't necessary, just get normal thickness ones that are the right size for the tyres and they'll be fine.  I had 1 puncture in a week of riding in Les arcs with that setup.  Lock on grips are worthwhile in the long run anyway as they are soo much easier to get on/off when you need to and won't lead to either destroying your grips or scratching your bars.  Larger rotors will depend on what is on there in the first place.  If you have 185 front and rear then you'll be ok, if not then a 200 front and 185 rear would be worthwhile to prevent overheating your brakes on the long descents.  Dragging your brakes is the quickest way to them overheating so remember to do shorter sharper braking and let off the levers so the discs get a chance to cool.

[Affe]

Wider bars!!! 685 that comes stock is quite narrow by present standards. go with at least 710mm and in case your trails are not really narrow with trees go even wider! You will love it.

if you want to run two rings up front (3 rings is really stupid for a mtb anyway and is going to be history soon) get a Stinger or if you get away with a single ring front go with a proper chain device like LG1+ or a Gamut.

[chrissturch]

Wider bars!!! 685 that comes stock is quite narrow by present standards. go with at least 710mm and in case your trails are not really narrow with trees go even wider! You will love it.

It depends on how tall he is. I run 710mm but I'm 6ft and have fairly wide shoulders. I don't see the need to go to anything wider as the extra leverage gained from the wider bars is ofset by the fact that as your arms get spread out wider you naturally have less strength. Think of it like doing push ups. The easiest way is with your hands inline with your shoulders, if you put your arms out another couple of inches it is noticeably harder, its the same with pull ups. The ideal position for maximum strength is roughly shoulder width. The other problem is as your arms are spread further apart your reach will get shorter front to back, so it will make you lean more over the bike. Try doing a push up and measure how far apart the outside of your hands are, mine are 710mm.
Bar width is a personal thing, but bigger isn't necessarily better, just more fashionable.

[rugbyred]

Another thing to consider is your stem length. Not sure what the stock length is, but a shorter length (60-70mm) will make descending in control easier and not have too much of an effect on the uphill.

Eric

[Droppin-Neutron]

Some stickers to identify your Commencal from everyone elses Commencal and stop french people walking off with yours thinking its theirs - just about every non downhill bike i saw was a meta last year - thye must be good!

[Steve P]

If your current brake setup is 185 front & 160 rear, just buy a 200 for the front & move the 185 to the rear.  You'll also need to buy the proper adaptors but I would think 200/185 would be fine.

[Affe]

It depends on how tall he is. I run 710mm but I'm 6ft and have fairly wide shoulders. I don't see the need to go to anything wider as the extra leverage gained from the wider bars is ofset by the fact that as your arms get spread out wider you naturally have less strength. Think of it like doing push ups. The easiest way is with your hands inline with your shoulders, if you put your arms out another couple of inches it is noticeably harder, its the same with pull ups. The ideal position for maximum strength is roughly shoulder width. The other problem is as your arms are spread further apart your reach will get shorter front to back, so it will make you lean more over the bike. Try doing a push up and measure how far apart the outside of your hands are, mine are 710mm.
Bar width is a personal thing, but bigger isn't necessarily better, just more fashionable.

yeah it's personal I agree but it's better too I run 710 and after only a couple of months I got them I tried a longer travel beefier bike which should be faster going down than my meta but since it had 680mm bars on I was so scared all the time I was a lot slower. I'd go for even wider if my trails werent so narrow I hit trees all the time. my shoulders arent that wide. well I think he should at least try and see. BUT it is true that means if your hands a re more spread out you will need a shorter stem. which can also be good.

[fanatic278]

If your current brake setup is 185 front & 160 rear, just buy a 200 for the front & move the 185 to the rear.  You'll also need to buy the proper adaptors but I would think 200/185 would be fine.

That's a good money saving idea, thanks.

With the bars, I think I'll stick with the standard setup (even though I'm 6'3"). Wider bars might make control easier I suppose, but I think the money may be better spent on a Stinger.

So here's my updated shopping list:
- 200 mm rotor (and adaptor)
- lock on grips
- Blackspire Stinger (do I still need a bash ring?)
- Chubbier tyres (no tubes)

Anyone got anything second hand in that list they need to sell?

[Mark W]

Lock-on wise I recommend ODI Rogues- I started fitting the common-or-garden Ruffians to my bikes but found they wear out quite quickly. The Rogues are way more rugged, and the rubber is really grippy.

If you need other upgrades how about maxle conversions front and rear?!