While some bike models last just a couple of years, others change with the times to stay at the top of riders' wishlists. In this new series we're looking at the evolution of three bikes that enjoy enduring popularity with UK riders, each from a different genre of mountain biking. Kicking things off is the Lapierre Zesty, a full-suspension rig that's come a long way since it was launched in 2007 (on sale in 2008).
The Zesty was named after the way the bike was designed to ride — fruity French flair was Lapierre's goal in 2007 when they built the first production bike after several years of prototyping.
Back then mountain bikes were generally split between lightweight XC whippets built for smashing the uphills and heavy, long-travel freeride bikes. Gilles Lapierre, the Dijon-based company's head honcho, was looking to hit somewhere in between the two diverging disciplines and produce a playful-feeling machine that could be ridden uphill fast and downhill with confidence. Nowadays we'd call it an enduro or long-travel trail bike, but back then it came under the 'all-mountain' banner.
With 140mm (5.5m) of travel, a 68-degree head angle, high bottom bracket and fairly short 600mm effective top tube (on the medium frame), the first Zesty was a bit of a daddy longlegs by modern standards, but the geometry was progressive for the time. It was a bike designed to do it all and do it all well — while having fun too. It set the bar high, earning plaudits from our testers. It was also praised for its looks — particularly its curvy, oversized seatstays.
Ups and downs
By the turn of the decade the Zesty was in need of a refresh. The competition had caught up and the bike had lost some of its, er, zest, due to durability issues — especially following the introduction of a carbon fibre frame.
The decision to spec production bikes with narrow bars, flexy quick-release forks and XC-orientated tyres didn't help either. Lapierre cottoned on to this and in 2012 brought out a tweaked version with a slacker 67-degree head angle, shorter rear end, lower BB and a refined OST + suspension system.
There were further changes for 2013, including a switch to a 142 x 12mm rea end, another half degree off the head angle and an extra 10mm of fork travel. This helped cement the Zesty's future as a hardcore do-it-all bike that maintained a light weight for climbing on one hand but also wasn't shy to descend — something indicated by its integrated chainguide tabs.
The big news for 2013 though was the introduction of e:i (Electronic Intelligence) Shock Auto suspension technology. This collaboration with RockShox used accelerometers to measure the bike's movements. An electronic brain then opened and closed the rear shock's compression damping on the fly, to give the rider optimum pedalling or bump-eating performance depending on the terrain.
Still available (in a refined form) on next year's bikes, this innovative tech showed Lapierre's desire to keep progressing and push the boundaries of the sport wasn't losing momentum.
Going full enduro
Were people riding trail bikes harder, leading changes in the market, or were manufacturers pushing a new bike category for their own gain? Either way, 2014 was the year of enduro, and it meant major changes for the Zesty.
In came a swoopy new mainframe and 650b wheels. Travel was upped to 150mm (5.9m) and the geometry was updated too, with longer top tubes, wider bars and shorter stems across the range. The Zesty was renamed the Zesty AM, while a shorter travel, 29in-wheeled Zesty TR variant was introduced for trail riders.
Fitting a flexy Fox 32 fork to a bike that wanted to charge was a strange miscalculation though. Perhaps Lapierre assumed aggressive riders and racers would opt for the longer travel Spicy instead, but the Zesty has always ruled the roost on the non-alpine trails of the UK.
For 2015, they listened to riders and reviewers and adjusted the spec accordingly, replacing the skinny 32mm stanchion fork with a 35mm RockShox Pike on the top two models, giving even more confidence on the descents.
Back on top
The evolutionary process has continued and the 2016 Zesty AM looks like the best yet, taking the 'one bike to do it all' concept even further. It's longer, lower and slacker, with a beefy Pike or Fox 34 fork on all models, making it even more of a threat on the downhills. But it's lighter too — the frame has lost 540g, according to Lapierre — and the new top tube shock-mount means there's space within the front triangle for a bottle cage (or piggyback shock).
This is a bike you can ride all day and tackle the gnarliest descents on, capable of handling everything from the annual trip to the Alps, to days at trail centres and local XC laps — and all that with the same playful feel that gave the bike its name in the first place.
Herve Layes Lapierre engineer
Herve Layes is in charge of the technical changes made to every new Zesty model, from geometry and suspension design right the way through to cable routing. Feedback from the company's sponsored racers and customers plays an important role in the process.
"First of all you have to feel secure on the bike, so geometry is the most important point.
"Then the suspension must work very well, giving you the feeling that you can climb, jump and ride everywhere. The tyres have to match the intended use too, and the mix of geometry, tyres and suspension has to be perfect. Finally, you have to look at the complete bike.
"From the beginning the Zesty was famous for its incredible efficiency and comfort. But every year the level of mountain bike technology becomes higher and higher. That means we're still working hard to make the bike more and more dynamic. The challenge is to create a much more dynamic and fast bike, without losing anything of that nice comfort and efficiency."
"If you've ridden a Zesty in the past you'll still recognise its DNA if you sit on the new model - but the bike has come forward in leaps and bounds in terms of its geometry.
"We spent a long time with Nicolas Vouilloz during development. The geometry had to suit our fastest downhillers, but also long-distance riders and strong pedallers. It's our mix of cross-country, enduro and pleasure.
"I think that the first Zesty - the specification and frame - was too safe. Today, we've developed a bike that can be used for enduro racing, but also for a Sunday ride with Dad. It's light. It's stiff. It's fast."
Gilles Lapierre The Big Boss
The name behind the brand, Gilles Lapierre, says mountain bikes and riders' expectations of them have changed a lot over the past eight years - and the Zesty reflects that.
"The Zesty has evolved with the times but kept its raison d'etre. It was launched as a fun ride, a bike that could do it all and do it all well. Efficient pedalling and a fun and playful feel on descents. I think we achieved that, but times change.
"Not very long ago 150mm of travel wasn't thought of as possible on a DH bike. Now if the Zesty had much less it wouldn't even be categorised as an all-mountain bike.
"Over the years the Zesty platform has been improved and kept in line with changing trends. I'd like to think it's also been pushing forward new trends and helping to change the way we ride.
"This new version came about because we saw geometries changing and wanted to evolve the bike in line with that. Nico was heavily involved in setting those geometries.
"The Zesty has a lot of life in it yet. Only a select few behind the locked doors of my R&D department can tell you what the future holds for it!
"But the future is electric. The Zesty's OST+ suspension has been added to our Overvolt e-bikes and these ranges will be increasingly linked."
Nico Vouilloz The test rider
Enduro star and 10-time DH world champ Nico Vouilloz has played a massive role in the development of Lapierre's full-suspension bikes over the past decade.
"All Lapierre mountain bikes are a combination of different people's efforts. We take into account feedback from clients and consumers at test days, as well as from our testers, including myself.
"I'm in charge of defining the geometry, the suspension curve, the pedalling efficiency with our OST+ system as well as the amount of travel for each bike.
"I work with our R&D team to develop products that'll correspond to what our clients are asking for.
"I feel that this bike corresponds to the style of riding I'm doing, but I also took into account the average rider and I want it to be fun for them. The Zesty isn't a race bike but an all-round capable bike that pedals well and is a fun descender.
"For 2016 it stays the perfect all-rounder but we've improved the pedaling, thanks to weight loss and the descending thanks to the slack, long, low geometry and new suspension curve.
"The last version was a much-loved bike that's still very popular in many countries. We've simply improved on a solid base."
"We now have a little brother for the Zesty, theZestyXM,with 120/130mm of travel.
"We see a bright future for the Zesty. It'll always stay an all-rounder, do-it-all bike -we'll simply try to keep improving its pedalling efficiency and descending. As for future changes, wait and see!"
e:i what?
Lapierre are strong believers in the use of electronic wizardry to aid performance. In fact, Gilles describes their e:i Shock Auto system as, "The future for suspension technology". Three sensors - accelerometers on the fork and stem and a cadence sensor at the bottom bracket - determine what you're doing on the bike and how hard the hits are. A computer on top of the stem then activates an electric motor on the rear shock to adjust the compression damping accordingly. The system reacts to changes in terrain in 0.1 of a second - more than enough time for the bike to be ready for that monster landing! You can also set the shock to manual mode if you want full control over what your shock is doing.
Lapierre lowdown
The company was founded in 1946 by Gaston Lapierre in Dijon, France. His grandson Gilles (see left) has been managing director since 1996.
Lapierre were quick to see the potential of the mountain bike, and they had their own MTB team by 1988.
In 2003 they signed Nico Vouilloz (see below), who helped them develop a new range of freeride and DH bikes. Nico joined the R&D department in 2010 and has been an integral part of the company ever since.
In 2007 Lapierre launched the Zesty, Spicy and Froggy,which all shared the same OST four-bar linkage suspension platform.
For 2013, Lapierre introduced their pioneering e:i Shock Auto'intelligent suspension', proving they're still at the cutting edge.
