Commencal Enduro Project Bike Check: New Meta 8

It’s all go for the second season of the COMMENCAL Enduro Project structure. Building on the efforts made in 2022, with a magnificent victory at the EWS in Loudenvielle, the team has been rewarded for their work. On one side, new partners coming onboard to support them and on the other, the development of the META platform which is fast approaching the finish line.

From the efforts made during numerous prototype phases, this new bike benefits from the valuable lessons of our riders and a full season racing at Enduro World Series events. Close in terms of aesthetics to the rest of the series, this META Team model remains adaptable. The team intends to take full advantage of the coming races to test and confirm various setting options developed throughout the winter.

At the heart of the project, Arthur Quet and Alex Rudeau. They give us their impressions.

“For this new platform we wanted to offer a bike that is as efficient as it is pleasant to ride, across as many situations as possible and in the hands of a majority of riders. The racing environment and the diversity of scenarios and terrain that we encounter are the best tools for achieving this versatility and developing our future production bikes. We worked hard to get here. To give you an idea of the work already done, we’ve created three different frame versions, tried out different linkages and suspension settings etc. We ride with the 28th evolution of our frame with a virtual pivot point kinematic and FOX suspension.” - Arthur Quet, COMMENCAL Technical Manager for Race Programs. 

“The past year of development has allowed us to validate many points on the bike. We worked hard on the frame to achieve the best balance between comfort and dynamism. The new kinematics bring a lot in this sense.” – Alex Rudeau, COMMENCAL Enduro Project rider.

At team sponsorship level, this new year sees a new official relationship between the COMMENCAL Enduro Project and TRP. In addition to brakes, TRP will also take care of the drivetrain thanks to the brand new enduro dedicated groupset.

Other great news is the arrival of BOSCH among the team's partners. The team will take advantage of the race support and know-how of the German brand to develop further. Alex Rudeau, Louis Jeandel and Guillaume Labeyrou will be behind the handlebars of the META Team from the end of March for the two inaugural rounds of the Enduro World Cup in Tasmania. Mathieu Ruffray begins his season 20-21 May, in Monaco, for the opening round of the World E-Bike Series.

The COMMENCAL Enduro Project is pleased to continue collaborating with SCHWALBE, FOX and CRANKBROTHERS, who are brands that like us, put product development at the heart of their projects.