Lapierre has completely revised the trail-focused Zesty range, with lighter, longer and slacker carbon and alloy frames, plus the move to 27.5in wheels across the board from the previous 27.5in AM and 29er TR split. The shorter travel bike now carries the XM ‘Cross Mountain’ moniker and 120mm of travel, while the AM keeps it’s 150mm of four bar linkage OST suspension, both sporting a more progressive ending stroke for improved big hit support, optimized around a 30/32t chainring.
Lighter and longer
Lapierre has managed to drop an impressive 540g from the top carbon fiber frames through the use of a full carbon rear end and shock swing link compared to the alloy back ends of the outgoing models. The carbon bikes also get titanium bolts to shave even more weight. The alloy frame has dropped 50g, too, mostly due to the fact that the shock is now mounted to the mainframe on the top tube, allowing a lighter down tube.
The shock shuttle has been deleted, while all the bikes now use a shorter stroke shock, claimed to improve heat management.
The automatically-adjusting E:I shock technology is still present on selected models
Rear tire clearance has also been boosted by 10mm and the somewhat wide-hipped stance of the old bikes has been significantly slimmed down for better heel clearance. While many companies are going to ‘boosted’ 148x12mm rear ends, the French manufacturer is still using the same 142x12mm rear axle across the board.
Zesty AM up close
Pitched as the more rough-and-tumble Zesty, the 150mm-travel AM includes the above changes and the geometry has also been tweaked, with a medium bike’s effective top tube now measuring a more generous 610mm, up 5mm from last year. That’s matched to a shorter 55mm stem up front, while handlebar width has also been boosted 20mm to 760mm across the board. Wider rims have also been chosen to boost the tire profile.
Frames will also be available in four sizes from S to XL, while the head angle has gone down to 66.5 degrees from 67 degrees.
Classic Lapierre touches such as the carbon fiber rear derailleur protector and armored down tube carry over to the 2016 line
All prices are yet to be confirmed, but the range tops out with the carbon-framed Zesty AM 827, which uses a RockShox Pike RC fork and SRAM XX1 drivetrain.
Next down is the AM 527, which retains the carbon frame and Pike fork but uses the new SRAM GX 1x11spd drivetrain instead. The alloy-framed AM427 comes equipped with a Fox 34 Performance fork paired to a 2x11spd Shimano XT drivetrain while the entry level AM 327 gets a 2x10spd Shimano XT drivetrain, the same fork as the model up but a more basic Mavic-rimmed wheelset rather than the RaceFace Æffect setup.
Zesty XM detail
The outgoing 29in-wheeled Zesty Trail has been replaced by the new Zesty XM, which sports 130/120mm of front and rear travel with 27.5in wheels. While Lapierre was big fans of the 29er TR model, the company found that most of their sales were of the 27.5in models.
The split between the two bikes is that the AM is pitched at the kneepads and baggies crowd, while the XM is a more traditional short-travel trail bike for those who prefer to ride far as well as fast. The XM shares the same longer reach frame as the AM, but with the 130mm fork the angles are slightly tighter, with a 67 degree head tue angle paired to a marginally-narrower 740mm handlebar.
The range consists of the full carbon XM 827 and XM 527, which use 130mm RockShox Revelation RL forks paired with SRAM X01 and Shimano XT 2x11 drivetrains respectively. It’s then on to the alloy-framed XM 427 and XM 327 with Fox 32 Performance fork and Shimano XT 2x10 drivetrains, separated by lower spec componentry on the base model. All bikes will come with dropper posts.
Prices are yet to be confirmed.
For more information, visit www.lapierrebicycles.com.