A French bike dialled for British riding perfection…
WHY IS THIS A SUPER BIKE?
- With a spec chosen by Lapierre’s UK distributors Hotlines, this bike is ready for a thrashing in our unique British riding conditions
- Aggressive geometry and 150mm of rear wheel travel means the carbon Zesty AM frame is the perfect base for a UK trail slayer
- Shimano’s top-ofthe- range XTR gearing is resistant to the elements as well as having the bling factor.Add RockShox suspension and a Reverb dropper post, and performance should be flawless
We have a very special way of riding our bikes on this little island that we call home, which mostly involves grinding up hills just to get to the downhill on the other side. This has helped make the UK the strongest nation in the world when it comes to gravity racing, but, combined with our wonderful weather, it does mean that bikes equipped with kit chosen by product managers living in sunnier or more XC focused climes don’t always live up to our expectations.
Enter Lapierre with the Zesty AM 927 Ultimate UK, which has been specced by the guys at Hotlines specifically for British riders and features a mix of top-quality parts that should last well through the muddy abuse British riders are sure to dish out.
Pursuit of perfection
The equipment list hasn’t been picked by office workers either. The two spec artists, Martin Astley and Ed Ibbetson, both ride and race to a high level in downhill and enduro, so they’re more than qualified to cherry-pick components that are perfect for the Zesty.
The bikes are built up by Lapierre in France and then sent over to the UK for Hotlines to keep in stock. “We were free to spec this bike however we wished, with no tie-in or allegiance to any supplier,” says Ed, Lapierre’s UK brand manager. “We feel that right now Shimano offer the best in shifting and brakes, and RockShox offer the best suspension performance.”
A Pike fork up front is paired with a Monarch RT3 shock out back – both solid performers that are close to maintenance free and offer some of the best damping around. RockShox also supply the well proven Reverb Stealth dropper seatpost.
Security is key
The transmission is Shimano’s new 11-speed XTR M9000, with a single 32-tooth chainring up front. The 11-40t cassette gives plenty of range for climbing anything we’ll encounter in the UK, and the XTR ring and e*thirteen TRS top guide mean you shouldn’t ever drop the chain. “We’ve actually been running an XTR 1x11 set-up without a guide for three months now without dropping a chain, but this bike is likely to be raced and for a few extra grams the surety of a top guide is worth it in our eyes,” Ed explains.
The Hotlines guys are big fans of the XTR brakes, so the new M9000 Trail models are bolted to the Zesty Ultimate, along with 180mm rotors front and rear for consistent stopping power. The levers fit in nicely on the 750mm wide Truvativ carbon bar, which is bolted into a 50mm Nico Vouilloz signature stem, made by Funn for Lapierre.
Rolling thunder
When it came to wheels, Mavic’s Crossmax XLs were an obvious choice for this enduro weapon, with a “good blend of weight, strength and performance at a good price”, according to the Hotlines crew. As well as the stock Mavic tyres, the Zesty Ultimate comes with a set of WTB Vigilantes, reinforcing its UK-ready credentials. As Martin, Hotlines’ marketing manager, puts it: “Mavics for summer and the WTB Vigilantes for the other 365 days of the year!”
It’s obvious that both Martin and Ed have put a lot of thought into everything on the bike and, being racers themselves, they know what works best in UK conditions. This level of spec integrity and attention to detail really does make this Zesty worthy of being called a Superbike.
SHARP LINES
The Zesty’s lines are anything but blurred – the carbon frame has a clean, sleek design and internal cable routing to hide the rear brake hose, gear cable and dropper post hose from the elements. There are even well thought out blanking covers on the unused cable ports to stop water or dirt getting into the frame.
WORLD-CLASSFINISH
Everything has been thought through, right down to the small details like the carbon headset cap and spacers. The saddle is a carbonrailed fi’zi:k Tundra and the hoses are even shortened to the perfect length to make for a real pro-looking set-up.
ALL-WEATHER SOLUTIONS
Not content with offering a single set of tyres with the bike, Hotlines supply a set of WTB Vigilantes as well as the Mavic Quests that come with the wheels, giving one solution for dry weather – and another for most of the year. The Mavic wheels will survive whatever you can throw at them too.
SINGLE RING
Hotlines have gone for a single-ring XTR set-up, with an e*thirteen top guide to ensure dropped chains are a thing of the past. The XTR theme continues throughout the drivetrain, so shifting precision should be perfect.
SPECIAL COCKPIT
The 50mm Nico Vouilloz signature stem is made for Lapierre by Funn, and a special Lapierre branded Truvativ Blackbox bar rounds the cockpit off nicely at 750mm wide.
ROCK OUT
Hotlines’ belief that RockShox offer the best overall suspension package has resulted in a Pike being bolted in up front and a Monarch RT3 out back. The Pike is the Solo Air model, so Bottomless Tokens can be used to fine tune the spring rate, while the Monarch is tuned for the frame.
PRICE: £5,400 or 8100$ (complete bike)
