[Closed] Commencal - the new 'Crack n'Fail' - true?

I know someone who had a frame fail recently.

There have been failures for sure.
However I have got an 06 Meta 5 and it has been abused but no cracks yet

i don't know think its just a STW forum fav, american forums hate kona. i'm sure any problems they have are being addressed they sponsor some of the worlds best riders who I dare say give them feedback.

Have a look on Commencal Owners Club forum. I would say there is more anecdotes around about Metas cracking than any other aluminum all-mountain type bike - some people have had more than one fail. This maybe because people abuse them.

Never heard of a Pitch, Enduro, Lapierre Zesty/Spicy, Trance X etc cracking though I don't think.

Having said that lots of people get them and have no problems obviously.

all frames crack.

given the likely numbers sold, i've heard of a disproportionately high number of cotic hemlocks snapping...

Quality control is a big concern for them. So much so that they have moved production for their 2010 frames.

Several people have broke more than one of their frames, me being one. Cracked two frames inside 6 months, with the second frame being in winter hibernation for 3 of those. Sat waiting for the second to be replaced with Madison suffering quite a backlog from what I understand.

I wouldn't buy another, thats for sure. If I can't ride a 5.5 inch 'trail' bike as hard as I can my 5 year old Cannondale hardtail with 100mm forks (the original Crack n fail) without it breaking then I'd say there's issues.

That said, when it wasn't broke it rode really well, just be prepared to be without it for 2 months of the year.

jam bo - Member

all frames crack.

given the likely numbers sold, i've heard of a disproportionately high number of cotic hemlocks snapping...

Same could be said of the Ti 456.

A guy I work with has just had returned his super 4 with a crack. Less than a year old...

I dont know about cracking but some of them are welded properly on the piss!

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http://www.southerndownhill.com/forum/index.php/topic,205864.0.html

I think any manufacturer has issues with monday morning/friday afternoon jobs. my mate has an 08 meta and has no problems at all and thats riding twice a week for a year and crashing continuously in france 😉 i have a carbon scott ransom that people have had issues with and yet i've also ridden mine for 12-18 months and also had no problems 😆

Have a look on the Commencal owners club forum. There are dozens and dozens of threads with different broken frames on there.

They seem to have terrible build quality and crack, simple as that. I've read LOADS of threads with unhappy owners who're on their 3rd or 4th warranty replacement frame, not good.

There are dozens and dozens of threads with different broken frames on there.

I've read LOADS of threads with unhappy owners who're on their 3rd or 4th warranty replacement frame

I ran an 08 Meta for 11 months with no problems.
I didn't hesitate for one minute before replacing it with an 09.
Why? They're just brilliant fun to ride.
Many others have similarly good experiences.
Clearly though there is (or was) an issue here.
I can only hope that the new manufacturing plant being used for the 2010 stock will have cured the problem - and if my 09 does fail - I know it will be replaced with a 2010 frame 🙂

Just buy one new in the sale and hope it snaps within its warranty, because if you ride it hard it will snap somewhere I'm convinced. Mine is a warranty replacement thats snapped out of warranty

DONT DO IT !

I had one for a couple of years and had no problems. As said above, any "Owners Club" forum will concentrate all of the bad experiences. Human nature is that we don't hear of the 1,000s of happy users out there.

So PROLINE85, not often you grace this forum with your presence. Don't you usually hang about on the Classifieds (quite a bit actually.....) ?

When I was looking for a new frame recently the amount of unused warranty replacement frames for sale said everything I needed to know.

Druidh your right, I've been having a mega clear out recently and have sold loads of stuff on here (have bought a few bits too).

I really like Commencals and was seriously considering a Super4 frame, especially at the price Merlin are doing them for. I was a bit put off though by some owners saying they had broken multiple frames. I'm sure lots of them are fine, and I know they're good bikes, but I wasn't willing to spend my own money on one. Point taken regarding owners forums exagerating the problem though.

Only seen a broken one in Les arcs, but they were the most popular bike brand there by far...

most cracks were caused by seat tube not being inserted far enough, and longer travel forks being fitted afaik

I ran an 08 Meta for 11 months with no problems.
I didn't hesitate for one minute before replacing it with an 09.

If you are serious, why on earth would you have done that?

08 lasted 12 months, 09 replacement 4 weeks. Got my money back on the frame content and bought Yeti 575. Haven't looked back since. If there wasn't a significant problem, why move your manufacturing source?

You're always going to have some problems, back in 2004 two of my mates broke Specialized Enduros during a trip to Wales. The warranty dept was so efficient that I came back from the same trip and bought one myself!

That's an example of good PR. In the five years since, my Enduro never missed a beat, nor did my friends' replacements. I have latterly heard that Specialized beefed up the frames internally between '03 and '04 but whatever, it got sorted.

It always pays to check the warranty conditions. Anything with less than a lifetime warranty for this sort of money should be eyed with a certain degree of doubt, after all a frame costing you the same as two mid spec hardtails is going to be nought but scrap metal if it fails outside of the warranty period.

So what,if you or your neighbours cat has broken one, Im perfectly happy with mine, and having ridden with lots of people of very varied abilities,I still say its the rider not the bike....

If you are serious, why on earth would you have done that?

Why? They're just brilliant fun to ride.

My 08 didn't crack btw, it got nicked...
and

if my 09 does fail - I know it will be replaced with a 2010 frame.

> Anything with less than a lifetime warranty for this sort of money

Are lifetime warranties still common these days? Who still does them?

Mmm, if it's rider not bike then there a lot of inept riders out there. I've never broke a frame before and have now gone through 2 metas in six months. One frame is bad luck, 2 is bad workmanship.

I think the problem is consistency of manufacture.

My Meta has been used at Aston Hill, in the Peak District etc and no signs of cracking just yet.

What I did hear that pissed me off is that apparently Commy replace only the broken part of the frame - i.e. you can end up with totally mismatched front and back ends of your bike.

Been riding my meta 6.1. Its awesome. Fantastic. Done enough vert and hard riding for any small things to come out...

Fingers crossed BUT rides incredibly.

Specialized do the same, I had a mostly White enduro sx with black/gold chainstays...

Are lifetime warranties still common these days? Who still does them?

Specialized do on the main frame, think the rear triangle is 5 years - but apparently they are pretty good and might help you out anyway.

don't forget the original meta 6 that came back from their manufacturing facility in the far east with completely wrong angles.

I suspect a drunken Cedric Gracia may well be the quality control manager

What I did hear that pissed me off is that apparently Commy replace only the broken part of the frame - i.e. you can end up with totally mismatched front and back ends of your bike.

You'll find that most if not all manufacturers will only replace the broken part.