Roaming around the pits of the South Korean season opener of the mountain bike World Cup, we spotted this prototype Lapierre that goes against current cross-country convention.
If you lined up all the XC bikes on the World Cup stage, you’d quickly see there’s a certain suspension layout favoured for racing.
Lapierre’s current XRM fits this bill, featuring flex-stay suspension and a top tube-mounted shock, but its new prototype goes against the grain by mounting the shock to the lower part of the frame.
It’s not alone – Scott’s Spark and Mondraker’s Podium both have a lower-mounted shock, but it's an architecture we’ve seen many brands move away from, most recently, Giant with its new Anthem.
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One of the main reasons for this is to create more usable space in the front triangle for a second water bottle, while also saving weight.
Lapierre’s prototype appears to have room for only one bottle, although there is a large mount on the underside of the top tube to carry accessories.
We’re not sure why the French brand has made this move, but perhaps the design enables a more desirable setup that suits the more rowdy nature of modern-day cross-country racing.
A lower shock mount also lowers the bike’s centre of gravity, making it feel more planted and quicker to turn.
The bike continues to use a flex-stay design, with no bearings besides those connecting to the main pivot and linkage.
Another noticeable difference from the current XRM is the internal cable routing, which now runs through the headset rather than via ports on the head tube.
We didn’t see who was riding this bike, and with lights and a bell attached, we’re not sure if we’ll see it between the tapes this weekend – but it’s one to look out for this season.
