The French have a reputation for being particularly good lovers. But there is no proof of this. There is, however, clear evidence for another theory: The French are particularly good cyclists! Julien Absalon and Nicolas Vouilloz used to dominate the Cross Country and Downhill World Cups, but now Adrien Dailly at the top of the Enduro World Series (EWS) with. The young Frenchman rides for the traditional French brand Lapierre and finished second overall in his first elite year in 2017.
But the French are not satisfied with that. They are not only particularly sensitive in bed and fast on the race track, but also ambitious. To ensure that the young Adrien Dailly is equipped with the best material for the EWS, Lapierre has appointed racing legend Nico Vouilloz to the engineering team. He is to build a particularly fast enduro MTB for his protégé. At Eurobike 2018 in Friedrichshafen, Vouilloz revealed: "The development of the new Zesty and Spicy is not yet complete, but I am proud to present the first models here."
Zesty and Spicy will share a frame in future
Unlike the old Lapierre models the Zesty as an all-mountain bike and the Spicy as an enduro bike will share a frame in future. The different suspension travels of 140 to 170 millimetres are realised via shocks with different installation dimensions. In addition to the longer forks of the Spicy models, the installation length of the shock also influences the geometry of the bikes. But the customisation options don't stop there. In addition to geometry and suspension travel, the end user also has the option of choosing between 27.5-inch and 29-inch wheels. Adaptation to the different wheel sizes works via an adjustable steering angle (headset) and a flip chip on the rear triangle. The new frame is therefore an adjustment miracle. However, the company did not want to give any concrete details about the geometry. However, Vouilloz revealed that the steering angle will be around 65 degrees in all variants.
The new Lapierre bikes grow with you
Like many other MTB manufacturers, Lapierre relies on wheels that grow with the frame size for its new All Mountain and Enduro. The frame sizes S and M come with 27.5-inch wheels, while the sizes M, L and XL are fitted with large 29-inch wheels ex works. With 27.5-inch wheels, the Zesty has 150 millimetres of travel, the Spicy 170 millimetres. With 29-inch wheels, both the All Mountain and the Enduro have ten millimetres less suspension travel. Vouilloz placed particular emphasis on ensuring that the frame stiffness remains the same across all frame sizes. Handlebar width, brake disc size and grip thickness increase with increasing frame size.
Seven models, three of which are made of aluminium
Four models of the new Lapierre Zesty will be available from January 2019, ranging from 2200 to 5500 euros. At the same time, the Enduro Spicy will be available in three different price categories between 3000 and 6000 euros. The cheapest model variants each have an aluminium frame, while the rest roll on elegant carbon fibre. The carbon frame should weigh around 2300 grams without the shock. Lapierre won't be revealing more information such as geometry, weight or exact specifications of the new Zesty and Spicy models for 2019 until the end of October. We remain excited and keep our fingers crossed Adien Dailly fingers crossed that he will be fit again. The young Frenchman is currently recovering from a broken elbow.
