Nico trimmed the Spicy for racing use. To this end, he gave the 2016 bike a striking, strongly upwardly curved top tube. The "camel hump" is somewhat reminiscent of the fast-forward geometry of the Mondraker Dune. Hardly any other bike pushed forwards on the descent and steered so directly. Together with Radon, the Lapierre is one of the longest bikes with a long reach. This means that as long as gravity is pulling on the Spicy, it leaves nothing to be desired. Then the Lapierre is sufficiently manoeuvrable and steers with surgical precision. The 165-millimetre rear triangle with Monarch Plus shock and the very fluffy Pike develop pleasant comfort and bring calm to the chassis. Even on the nasty bumpy section of our test trail, where with other bikes you only think about holding on to the handlebars and the view ahead blurs into a grey-green mush, you remain calm on the Lapierre. Great: the cockpit with wide 78 mm handlebars and short stem. Only with less momentum, for example on undulating trails, did we wish the Lapierre was more playful. Here the long Spicy, like the Radon, feels a little bulky and requires more pressure and a very active riding style. User-friendly: A quick grip on the fork and shock and the compression damping is activated. This works best with RockShox and supports the forward thrust of the Lapierre on the flats and climbs. Exemplary!
ConclusionThe Lapierre is a racer through and through. It was one of the favourites downhill and impressed with its smoothness and speed. Of course, the playfulness falls somewhat by the wayside.
STRENGTHS Smooth running, direct
WEAKNESSES not very playful
Manufacturer information
Distribution Lapierre, www.bikes-lapierre.de
Material/sizes Carbon/S, M, L, XL
Price/weight without pedals 4499 Euro/13.7 kg
Measurement data
Front/rear suspension travel 160 mm/165 mm
Rear suspension system Four-bar linkage
Equipment
Fork/damper RockShox Pike RC / RockShox Monarch Plus RC3
Cranks/gears Race Face Affect SL/SRAM GX
Brake system SRAM Guide R
Impellers Formula hub/Mavic EN 423 rim, Maxxis High Roller II Exo TR 2.3 tyre
Performance
Uphill 5 out of 6 points
Downhill 5 out of 6 points
FREERIDE judgement 9 out of 10 points
FREERIDE RANKING: The number (maximum 10 points) reflects the overall impression of the testers and is not an addition of downhill and uphill points. 10 = Test winner, it couldn't be better. 9 = Very good. Recommended purchase. 8 = Solid performance. 7 = Below average. The product has weaknesses. 1 to 6 = We can only warn against this!
Dimitri Lehner
Editor
