Lapierre Zesty Review

The completely redesigned Lapierre Zesty  frame has a floating shock with a 4 bar linkage that gives a very plush feel in the initial stroke. There are both Aluminium and Carbon options available both with the same geometries. A thoroughly modern trail bike set up with 65.5° head angle on the 27.5 bikes and 66° on the 29ers. Reach is on par with current trends with 433mm on the medium 29er. Cable routing has internal guides to help with any changes and there is even a stash box inside the down tube near the bottom bracket that is big enough for a spare tube and small multi-tool.

Different wheel sizes are handled by a flip-chip, this changes the chainstay length to allow for each wheel size. Interestingly the longer travel Spicy enduro bikes use the same frame but run a shock with a longer stroke in the same eye-to-eye length to give the extra travel. If you were willing to change wheels, forks and shocks this frame can create 4 bikes in one.

The shock and forks are well thought-out for the intentions and price of each model in the Zesty range, again 27.5 models have 150mm travel front and rear, while the 29er bikes have 140mm at both ends. The entry-level AM 3.0 gets RockShox Sektor RL forks and Lapierre's own rear shock, the second Alloy model the AM 4.0 and the first Carbon framed model the AM 5.0 Ultimate get the superb RockShox Revelation RC fork and RockShox Deluxe RT shock. The top line AM 8.0 Ultimate gets the Fox treatment with Factory 34 forks and the Fox DPX2 factory shock giving the ultimate in trail and all-mountain performance.

Lapierre have spec'd the suspension perfectly toward the intentions of the bike, keeping things lightweight but with great performance.

All Zesty bikes have drivetrain from SRAM. Only the entry-level AM 3.0 does not get Eagle, but still has a wide range 11-speed NX cassette. Brakes are from either Shimano or SRAM depending on the model with great feeling bars and stem. All models come with a dropper seatpost.

Lapierre has adopted a new program for sizing the components around rider size in an innovative move. Labelled as the "Fit Program" depending on frame and wheel size there are 2 different crank lengths, 2 different chainring sizes, 2 handlebar widths, 3 different lengths of dropper post, 2 disk sizes and even 2 different diameter grips. The frames are engineered in a way to maintain the same kinematics and flex with each size. This is a refreshing and committed move from Lapierre that shows the involvement of the master wizard Vouilloz and his engineering expertise.

All bikes apart from the top line AM 8.0 get the same Lapierre All-Mountain rims, with a wider 30mm internal front matched to a 27mm rear, they set up easily tubeless and provide plenty of grip with just the right amount of feedback from the trail. The Entry level AM 3.0 has Shimano hubs while the 4.0 and 5.0 have fast rolling formula hubs. All bikes feature boost spacing front and rear. The top line AM 8.0 Ultimate has a new Carbon rim from Lapierre.

While the frames will be able to fun either 27.5 or 29-inch wheels using the flip-chip, from stock they are offered with frame size dependent wheel size. The small (40cm) is only available as 27.5, The Medium (43cm) is available with either 27.5 or 29-inch wheels, and the Large (46cm) and XL (50cm) are only available with 29-inch wheels from stock.

Tyres are from Maxxis on all bikes, with the well respected and all-weather Minion DHR and High Roller.