Lapierre Zesty 514 Review

In December Nirvana got itself a Demo Lapierre Zesty 514 and since then I've been waiting for a dry weekend to go and shred some trails. Finally last weekend, the sun was out, the sky was blue, the wind was blowing in the right direction and my riding buddy Sam didn't have a hang over. I took a little time setting the fork and rear shock up which is made very easy on the Lapierre as they have a little pointer which is attached to the seat tube. This shows the correct set up as when you sit on it, the pointer comes into align with a sag diagram that is on the seat stay. 

We set off from Peaslake heading towards Winterfold. Just sitting on the bike I felt at home, there was nothing unusual, not too stretched, not to upright, everything was right there where I'd want it. Straight away I noticed how stable the shock felt which is a straight forward Fox Float R it has propedal built into the shock and it seems to be valved spot on as looking down on the shock it was static, no bobbing at all. It would only move with bumps in the trail. I would easily say that this is one of the zippiest climbing bikes I have ridden, more so than some race designed frames. Went and hit orange claw hammer and then headed onto Pitch and Holmbury Hill. Flowing through these trails you can really fill the shocks working, just floating over all those roots and bumps almost feels effortless as your on a cushion of air. It is a very confident inspiring bike to ride, feels like you just want to go bigger and faster. I'm not the the type of rider who has the a tattoo saying "go big or go home" but I feel like I can take a lot more on riding this bike.

We tried to get some action shots jumping through the trees, but it was proving a little difficult to hold myself static in mid air, so they came out a little blurry. I'll learn that trick next time.

Flying down steep decent with small stepped drops in I found myself off the brakes more than normal. The suspension seems super plush yet progressive. It soaks up the the bumps with what almost seems like endless travel and yet is very small bump sensitive. Some of this is down to the Horst link being further away from the drop-out which has more effect on the line that the rear wheel takes as it goes through its stroke. A lot of Horst link bikes have it close to stop the rear mech banging into all the time, not a problem here as it has a Shimano XT shadow which can't come forward. I was getting full travel out of both shocks, and not once did I feel them bottom out.

Technically the frame is very well thought out.  Looking at all the chunky pivots makes for a very stiff durable rear end. The cable routing is continuous which means you won't be changing clogged gear cables every 5 minutes when its all muddy, so that was most of 2007 then! The rear mech dropout is replaceable but on the disc side there is a steel plate which bolts onto the inside of the frame. This is here, because on a lot of aluminium frame it is possible for this area to flex and become worn. This is when you get a little concave on the surface that will effect the alignment of the disc into the calliper.Bottom line is that its stiffer and more durable. This year a lot of high end bikes are doing away with standard thread bottom brackets in favour of push fitted bearings. This gives a better chain line and is a fraction lighter. There is a replaceable carbon fiber plate that protects the rear mech from being hit of if you drop the bike it won't bend the mech hanger. All the tubes on this bike are hydro-formed (apart from the seat tube which is contentious) This cuts down on the weight and makes it very stiff.

The spec on the entire range of Lapierre's is mind blowing. Before we got a price list we where guessing prices almost £500 over what they retailed for. Its nice to see loads of Shimano parts right from there cheap bikes through to there top end models. The Zesty 514 comes with almost a full Shimano XT groupset, yes it even has a XT chainset which is pretty rare to find on a new production bike. The Lapierre branded post,bar and stem on this model are really nicely made. Formula brakes where predictably good, having modulation with loads of power when needed.There is nothing on this bike which makes me think why have they done that or what is that part doing on there. It is the kind of groupset you might build this bike with if you got it frame only. The more you look at these bikes the more cool features you will find.

Zesty 514 quick specs:
140mm Travel
4 bar (Horst)suspension link
Aluminium hydro-formed frame
Fox Float R shock and Fox 32 Float RL 140mm fork
Formula ORO K18
and finished off with loads of Shimano XT
RRP: £2100

Zesty's start from £1599.99 

So if your after a eye catching, light and fast trail bike that climbs and descends amazingly, and can handle pretty much anything you come across then this should be on your wish list. 

Happy trails,
Rowan

27.1.08

Giant Trance X 2 review

When Giant brought out an addition to the maestro range in the shape of the Trance X, the hole in their range was filled. Previously there was a Trance with 4.2" of travel & the Reign with 6" of travel, but nothing in between. So as the extremely happy owner of a Trance, when the Trance x came along I couldn't wait to get my hands on one. Not quite sure why really as the only time I felt maybe I could do with a bit more travel was when mtbking in Italy & heading straight down for approx 40mins. But I've come to the conclusion, it's in mountain bikers nature to keep looking for the 'next best thing'

Upon checking out the range I decided to go for the Trance X2 which retails for £1495. The other possible option was the Trance X1 at £1750 with the difference being in the chainset, shifters & a few other components. The other question was should I go for the woman's version which is exactly the same price & spec but with slight differences on the frame. The top tube length is a cm shorter & the head tube is a cm longer. Luckily, coming from my Trance I knew exactly how I like the set up & as I prefer a longer top tube & shorter stem (rather than the other way around)  the men's one would suit me for length. I also prefer to have the head tube shorter & lift the stem with spacers if necessary, as if you can't get enough weight over the front it makes the steering a bit wandery & difficult to keep on the ground up steep climbs.

Component wise it has Fox Float RL forks & Hayes Trail stroker brakes, DT hubs, XT rear mech, Raceface ride xc chainset, stem & seatpost. I have to make a small confession that I transferred my DT240 hubs/wheels over from my previous bike as they are fantastic wheels & one of the best kept secrets out there. From a girlie point of  view I also swapped the saddle to a WTB ladies gel saddle.  

 Helen enjoying the sunshine at the tower.

Well how does it ride? Great. The maestro suspension system works superbly & I love the stability of these bikes. To be honest the difference between this, the 5" travel & the 4.2" travel is marginal. It definitely feels plusher over bumps, but there is no detriment on weight or climbing ability. The only main difference I've really felt, is on twisty singletrack & berms where I feel I can rail it round better without feeling the front is going to tuck under. This is probably due to the slacker head angle. The Fox forks work great as always & the new Hayes brakes work very well.

With the introduction of this 5" travel bike, Giant now offers something for everyone.

8.1.08 Update.... I'm really getting to grips with this bike now & I have to say it soaks up everything going downhill & as I said before it handles very well in singletrack & berms. The trail stroker brakes are also a revelation. Initially, as I use gripshift, I thought the levers may be a bit short but I've got used to that now & the performance is superb with a nice biting point & plenty powerful.