2008 Meta 4 or Meta 5?

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May 24, 2012, 09:55:09 AM

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Total Voters: 287

[Max Power]

Hi you all.
I just ordered a 2008 Meta 5 from RC (thanks Steve for the quick email response)
Here's my dilemma
Do i need the 138mm travel from the meta 5 or should i instead go for the Meta 4?
The weight difference is less than 100 grams i was told.
I live in Denmark where the highest is 1 about 150 meters above sea level (not very much )
Because of having 3 kids,i dont have the time (money) to go abroad,for the long downhills anymore.
The trails here in Denmark is a lot of ups and downs with little altitude,but quite tecnical.

So can i justify the Meta 5? will it be to much for the Danish trails? or will i be better off with the Meta 4?
Has anybody tried both?
i Dont need a XC-race mtb,but i,on the other hand dont need a "mushy" longtravel mtb
But is the Meta 5 "mushy"

Anybody got some advice,or should i just stick to the Meta 5.
Thanks in advance.

[druidh]

You have my sympathies. I've often thought that the Meta 4 would be more than sufficient for my needs. However, as has been pointed out in the press, there's no significant weight penalty with the longer travel bike.

Of course, there's always the new Combi S for 2008 (this years Meta 4). With that cost saving. . . .

[Max Power]

Hi druidh
Thanks for your answer
I think that my consern about the meta 5 is that it might be  kind of "mushy" with all that
travel.
But again! I have read several rewievs that stated that it is quite good at pedal respons.
Im not interested in the Combi,the new 2008 swingarm looks much better+i like that the
front deraileur is mounted to the frame instead of the swingarm.

I think i might be best to stick with the 2008 Meta 5 (which i have allreadey ordered at RC )

But i would still like to hear from people,which have tried both the meta 4 and meta 5.

[suspectmonkey]

The Meta 5 will cover XC duties no bother and this is what I mainly use it for.  Im not a "big" rider (well, physically I am haha) but the Meta 5 suits my needs perfectly as it is a pretty light bike that is still strong enough to take the knocks you might throw at it from time to time.  When riding it feels very safe and someone else posted on here that they put a longer front fork on the Meta 4 as they felt the front was too low - which effectively made it a Meta 5 anyway.  I think the 5 is the better all round bike and it doesnt really have any disadvantages over the 4.  The suspension isnt something to worry about, if its setup correctly then you wont have any problems and pedal feedback from the rear is almost un-noticeable.  If you want to go down hills more often then take some air out of the forks, if you want to keep it on the flat and technical stuff add a bit of air in.  All sorted, go with the 5 

[Max Power]

Thanks for all the answers 
I will stick to the 2008 Meta 5 (frame only) which i ordered at RC

Next question 
Which fork?
It has to be for QR.

Currently im considdering :
Fox 2008 Vanilla RLC.
Marzocchi 2007 Xc 700SL (can get it for 399 euro with remote)+it's white
Roch Shox Revalation.

What do you guys think?

[druidh]

XC700s on a white frame???

[steveb]

XC700s on a white frame???

Hi, first off thanks for the order. Next forks: if interested I have a set of brand new set of Fox Floats that came off a 07 Meta5.5.2, the customer swopped them to a bigger fork when you bought the bike last week. I can install them into the new fork for an extra £300, I'll throw in a good quality sealed bearing Cane Creek headset too. Let me know if interested.

[Max Power]

XC700s on a white frame???

Hi druidh
Looks good
How do you like the fork? I have been looking at the same fork,but with 3 airchambers
i think there is a lot that can fail     I have haerd a lot of complaints from people saying that air
goes from one chamber to another (not good)
Have you had any problems?   

[beechill_banty]

XC700s on a white frame???

You get to ride the Pentland Hills then?
You lucky, lucky boy! Used to Live in Edinburgh, rode there a couple of times a week. Lovely spot 

[druidh]

Hi druidh
Looks good
How do you like the fork? I have been looking at the same fork,but with 3 airchambers
i think there is a lot that can fail     I have haerd a lot of complaints from people saying that air
goes from one chamber to another (not good)
Have you had any problems?   

I had that very problem. I sent the forks to Windwave, they replaced the internals with revised parts, and all is now fine. Shouldn't be a problemn now as it (apparently) only affected the early shipments (of which mine was VERY early!)

You only have two air chambers?? Upper and lower in the left leg. The travel-reduce mode is handy on steeper climbs, though I have less of a problem climbing than I did on my old FSR120. The TST feature is probably overkill with 5 positions. 3 would be more than enough (Firm, Bouncy, half-way).

Finish on the forks is very good - I expected the decals to peel off due to their 3D-ness. But they're fine.

Oh - make sure you get the revised (much lower) pressure tables. The originals were stupidly high, resulting in almost no travel!!

[druidh]

You get to ride the Pentland Hills then?
You lucky, lucky boy! Used to Live in Edinburgh, rode there a couple of times a week. Lovely spot 

From my door!!  I've even started mapping out some of the tracks (you need Google Earth).


http://scotroutes.co.uk/images/Bikes/Pentlands.kmz

[suspectmonkey]

You should consider the Fox Floats that Steve mentions up above.  They came on my 5.2 and I love them, they are so simple but yet work and feel so good.  The simplicity should also be the key to good reliability and to top it off I think they got a top score from a mag review recently who were testing a whole range of forks of similar travel.  Failing that, I used Revelations on my old bike and really liked them also.  Good fork and you can get some good deals on them if you look about the net.  You can either go for the lighter ones with fixed travel or if you get them with adjustable travel it might cure your mind on the Meta 4/5 issue as you will be able to adjust the fork anyway.  Think couple of guys run them locally, BK is one of them and he has registered but havent saw him posting too much here... must be too busy on STW   

[Max Power]

Thanks for your advice
I would really like a white fork,would look GOOOD on the white Meta 5 Vip
But performance and reliability must come first.
It's a good offer Steve is making me,but i just got a very good offer on a 2008 Fox float RL 120mm (in black).
I know that commencal is using a axle to crown measurement of 510mm to get a 68,5" headangle
(at least on 2007models)
The 2008 Fox Float RL 120mm have a A-C of 490mm,which should give the meta 5 a headangle
of roughly 69.5"

What do you think? will it work, or should a go for at least 130-140mm travel fork?

[suspectmonkey]

I guess forks, like most things mountain bike related, cost a fair whack of money and you dont really get much chance to try them before you buy them if it all.  So that means you will just have to do your research (which it sounds like you are doing!) and go with what you feel is best.  float r float r float r float r float r float r float r....