Zesty: spirited; displaying animation, vigour or liveliness. It’s hard to imagine a more appropriate name for Lapierre’s 140mm travel, do everything trail bike. And if this review had to be limited to one word I’d be content with just that; of course you probably want a bit more detail, so I’m happy to round out the picture.The Zesty has been a staple in Lapierre’s range for around five years now, and although it’s had a few geometry and suspension tweaks it’s remained largely unchanged; a testament to just how progressive its design was at the time of inception. For most of that time it was only available in Europe and the UK, so the rest of us just looked on with curiosity as it continually won accolades and garnered praise from all who rode it.
Now there are now four spec levels available in Australia, ranging from the $2,999 Zesty 214 up to the $5,699 Zesty 714 (the top two models run a carbon frame while the others are alloy). Of these, the mid-pack 314 and top-end carbon 714 are offered with the option of Lapierre’s new e:i electronic suspension—this adds an extra $500 to the price. With our alloy framed Zesty 314 test bike, the electronics take the price up to $4,299. Given that (production level) electronic suspension is a relatively new concept in mountain bikes, we felt it best to tell you how the Zesty performs without it to begin with, and then go into what a ‘smart’ shock adds to the equation.
The frame is, of course, the heart of any bike, and the Zesty has the heart of a decathlete. The 7005 alloy frame features mostly straight lines but with a variety of cross sections; the radically sloped top tube with its signature seat tube brace affords masses of standover clearance, and there’s even room for a small water bottle (if you’re not running electro-fanciness). The compact, horst-link rear triangle has double-sided pivots on its asymmetrical chainstays, a 142x12mm rear thru-axle, some tasty machining for the rear dropouts, and Lapierre’s distinctive oversize seat stays. Mud clearance isn’t a problem; even 2.4-inch tyres will have room to spare inside the Zesty’s back end. There’s also nice details like ISCG tabs, dropper post routing under the top tube and a handy sag indicator—all go to show that the French really do have a thoughtful side. The overall result is a very stiff and solid frame which somehow still manages to look relatively svelte; the sub-3,300g frame weight (large) is quite reasonable under the circumstances.
Looking on to the geometry, the Zesty is equipped with short 430mm chainstays. Our large frame featured a comfortably long 615mm top tube, a slack 66.5-degree head angle and an upright 74-degree seat angle. This adds up to a very modern design with aggressive intentions, and with 150mm of travel at the front and 140mm out back, it’s got the legs to back it all up.
The frame numbers show that the Zesty is clearly pushing more into the realms of all-mountain riding than XC, so we do have to mention a couple of odd spec choices. The 90mm stem is too long, but can easily be swapped out with a 60-70mm unit for an instant improvement to steering response and ride dynamics. Although the relatively straight seat tube allows the standard seatpost to be dropped all the way, anyone buying this bike will be wanting a dropper post; having one fitted as stock would be absolutely worth the added expense. We liked the stock tyre combination and the Easton XC wheels are well made, however the 17mm inner rim width doesn’t give enough support to wider tyres, especially at pressures below 30psi. Slap on some wider tubeless ready rims to give the Zesty’s tyres the traction and cornering support they deserve. A 2x10 drivetrain would also perhaps be more in keeping with current trends, especially given the option for an ISCG chain guide; however you can always just swap the big ring for a bash guard and upsize the middle ring at the same time.
Overall the component spec is very good, although it’s probably not the best value on the market; given that Lapierre is a rather boutique brand it’s to be expected. Thankfully they haven’t scrimped on the bits that count; namely the frame, fork and shock. Components may come and go, but a quality frame and suspension need to stand the test of time.
Zest is Best
Does the Zesty deserve the praise that’s been heaped upon it by our ‘old world’ counterparts? In a word, yes! This is one seriously fun bike, and it’ll encourage larrikin behaviour and foolish line choices from any rider. Set with 25-30% sag, the rear suspension is initially very supple, but as you go deeper into the stroke it ramps up smoothly and progressively; it’s one of those bikes that feels like it has more travel than the spec sheet suggests. Out on the trail this translates to a very planted and stable feel; it’s not quite hovercraft smooth, but the Zesty somehow seems to float effortlessly over the trail without feeling disconnected. From stutter bumps to cased landings the Zesty’s suspension takes it all in stride, and we simply couldn’t get it out of shape.
The geometry is absolutely spot on for riotous riding, with the slack head angle keeping things stable at speed without needing to get too far off the back of the bike. This creates a central riding position and lets you move around the cockpit with ease, using body language to steer, pump and drift the Zesty down the most testing of trails. The short chainstays make it a snap to get your weight back and loft the front wheel, and there’s enough pop in the suspension to urge you to leave the ground at every opportunity. Once in the air, the central riding position again keeps things balanced and under control, and allows you to adjust your trajectory mid-flight without undue effort. The top tube is long enough to keep your knees away from the handlebar on steep pinches, and it leaves plenty of space to stretch out on long uphill slogs. The shorter stem that we fitted kept the steering crisp at low speeds, although the long front-centre means that slow uphill switchbacks require a little extra attention. There’s very little that’ll upset the Zesty and it certainly has a well-rounded trailside repertoire.
Braking performance is smooth and consistent regardless of how much the suspension is moving. Although the Formula RX brakes have a very long free-stroke and a unique feel at the lever, they nonetheless pull the Zesty up without fuss. There also seems to be more pad clearance than on earlier Formula brakes that we’ve tried, with zero brake rub despite removing and re-fitting the wheels numerous times.
Both the fork and shock on the Zesty feature three damper settings. On the non-electronic bikes it’s Fox CTD at both ends with their manually selectable climb, trail and descent modes. The e:i models utilises a RockShox Monarch rear shock that also has three damper modes; it’s not unlike the CTD suspension in that regard. Setting the rear to the fully open mode was definitely our preference for descending; plush yet responsive and with more than enough pedalling efficiency to have the Zesty enthusiastically punching between corners. As you’d expect, the middle shock setting improved pedalling response significantly (especially when standing) without making the ride overly harsh. It’s not the most efficient climber but it’s a very long way from the worst and it really wouldn’t have troubled us if there wasn’t a firmer damper setting than this middle-mode. As for the firmest setting, we’d recommend you save it for bitumen or smooth fire roads if you really must use it.
Deciding on the most appropriate mode was a little harder to judge with the Fox Float 32 CTD fork. The air spring has been made much more linear than in previous versions. This means you can run 20-25% sag and still utilise all of the travel—even in moderate terrain. However, if you’re riding nearer the ragged edge it tends to use the travel a little too willingly, diving under brakes or on steep and rough descents. You can always up the air pressure, but we’d suggest you’re better off to add 10-15ml of Float Fluid to the air chamber. This quick and easy mod will let you run decent sag for traction whilst offering more mid-stroke support and a bit more ramp-up when things get hairy. Bear all of this in mind when choosing to flip the dial on the fork, as it’ll determine which setting is best for any given situation.
Electric Action
A few bike companies have toyed with the idea of automated and electronically controlled suspension but e:i is the first to make it to production. The fact that it does so with only a modest weight (350g) and price ($500) penalty is to be applauded. So how does it work and does it offer any benefit on the trail?
The e:i system is the result of a five-year collaboration between RockShox and Lapierre. It consists of a series of sensors on the fork and handlebar that detect bike speed and impacts to the front wheel. This ties with a sensor in the bottom bracket that detects whether you’re pedalling or not. All of this data is digested via a handlebar mounted computer that acts as the ‘brains’ for the system, and it links to a servo-motor that replaces the normal three-position damper switch on the RockShox Monarch rear shock.
Depending on what the sensors tell the computer, the servo can switch between the damping modes up to 30 times per minute. It means that by the time your rear wheel reaches a bump, the sensors have already detected and measured it, and selected the appropriate rear shock setting for this particular bit of trail.
In simple terms it goes like this; whenever you’re not pedalling, the damper is set to the fully open mode. If you’re pedalling but there’s no impacts detected at the front wheel, the damper will default to being completely locked out. If you’re pedalling and there are lighter impacts detected it’ll switch to the middle ‘platform’ setting, and if you’re pedalling and there’s a large impact detected it’ll again swap to fully open.
Within the automatic setting, there are five different levels of ‘sensitivity’, so you can choose just how much of an impact is required to ‘unlock’ the rear shock. The current damper setting (as well as battery charge, speed, ride time, trip distance and so on) is displayed on the computer screen, and there’s also a handlebar remote that allows you to override the auto setting and manually select one of the three damper modes. In principle it all makes perfect sense, and on trail it largely operates as intended. Lapierre claims a battery life of 25 hours, and our experience seemed to bear that out; most riders will only need to charge it once a month at the most.
After a bit of experimentation we chose to use the most sensitive setting for the auto mode, and felt that the less sensitive settings stifled the suspension action. Despite our initial scepticism and best efforts to confuse the e:i brain, in the vast majority of trail situations it performed flawlessly. It was open and plush on the descents and in the rough but locked and rigid for smooth trails. For stuff that was in the middle, well, it was somewhere in the middle.
There were, however, two situations that would trick the suspension. The first was very slow climbs up especially steep pitches; the shock doesn’t seem to lock at speeds below 4km/h (or thereabouts). So winching up the local DH track left saw the shock remain the fully open setting. As a result it would sink back into its travel, making it harder to weight the front end.
The second potential glitch related more to riding style. If you tend to unweight the front wheel on technical climbs, allowing it to gently loft up steps and ledges, the fork mightn’t actually register an impact. With no impact it’ll keep the shock in the fully-locked mode and the result is a very harsh and hard tail-like feel when the rear wheel meets the obstacle. Sure, the manual override can take care of these anomalies, but that defeats the purpose of the smart suspension. Beyond these two very specific circumstances it worked flawlessly and exactly as intended.
We feel it’s worth mentioning that whilst the cable routing on the standard Zesty is very clean, the e:i cabling around the front of the bike looks a bit agricultural—especially with the protective sheath that wraps around the cables. If Lapierre could neaten this up, or even remove it altogether (Bluetooth, perhaps?) it’d make the whole system a lot more attractive.
There’s one other somewhat subjective comment that we’d like to make on the e:i Zesty; we felt that overall ride feel of the bike isn’t consistent. Sometimes it feels like a delinquent long travel trail bike yet at others it feels like a heavy hardtail. Locking the rear suspension may be efficient, but the overall character of the Zesty is more about ‘fun’ than ‘fast’, and it’s not like it’s a terribly inefficient bike to start with. We’d enjoy the action of the current e:i system on a short-travel XC bike (like their XR model), but on the playful Zesty we’d be happy if it switched between the open and mid-damping modes.
That said, we can see how the e:i system would appeal to a broad range of riders. It’s ideal for the XC rider who wants a longer travel bike but hates the feel of inefficiency that you get on a dually after spending years riding hardtails. At the other end of the spectrum, it may suit a competitive gravity enduro racer who wants a bike that snaps into a super-solid sprinting platform for that punchy mid-course climb, and does so without the need for any rider interaction.
Zest of Both Worlds
Although it’s not the cheapest bike, the Zesty has the sort of attitude we think all 140mm mountain bikes should have. Push it hard, push it some more, and then push it even further and it’ll take you safely through places you hadn’t thought possible—we wholeheartedly recommend it. As for whether or not it’s worth the extra $500 to get the ‘smart’ version, that’ll depend on your local terrain and riding preferences more than anything else. The e:i system works exactly as claimed and its efficiency comes with only a small weight and price penalty. Lapierre have done a great job of ushering in the era of electronic MTB suspension. Regardless of whether you’re in the mechanical or electronic camp, the Zesty will undoubtedly add some spice to any rider’s trail time.
Thumbs Up
Fun yet confidence inspiring handling
Supple and well-balanced suspension
Innovative electronic technology
Thumbs Down
The feel of the electronic suspension isn’t to everyone’s taste
Rims too narrow
Specifications
Frame: Formed 7005 Aluminium
Shock: RockShox Monarch e:i 140mm travel
Fork: Fox Float CTD 15QR 150mm travel
Headset: FSA Orbit Integrated, 1 1/8 - 1 1/2
Handlebars: Lapierre Nico Vouilloz Signature 711mm
Stem: Easton EA50 Alloy
Shifters: Shimano SLX
Front Derailleur: Shimano SLX
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT Shadow Plus
Cassette: Shimano HG62, 11/36 10-speed
Chain: Shimano HG54
Cranks: Shimano XT 24/32/42
Bottom Bracket: Shimano XT
Pedals: N/A
Brakes: Formula RX
Wheels: Easton XC Alloy
Tyres: Schwalble Nobby Nic F/Rocket Ron R 2.25
Saddle: SDG Duster
Seatpost: Easton EA50
Weight: 13.7kg without pedals (frame 3,340g including wiring and relay)
Available Sizes: S, M, L (tested) and XL
Price: $4,299
Distributor: Advance Traders 1300 361 686 / www.lapierrebikes.com.au
