A few years ago Lapierre’s Zesty and Spicy double act won our trail and all-mountain bike tests with such regularity it was almost embarrassing. Can the latest Spicy put the French brand back in pole position for today's gravity slanted big-mountain riders?
Lapierre's frame layout is well proven, stiff and strong – with BikeRadar's US tech editor James Huang among the latest to be sold on its merits via his personal custom Zesty/Spicy build – though the all-alloy construction is heavy for a ride at this price. The geometry is off the pace for full-gas gravity work and the dropper post hose can rub on the chainrings if you’re not careful. The damage-shielded inside-stay brake mount on the rear, however, no longer rubs your ankles when you pedal, and the frame is available in four sizes.
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Lapierre’s OST+ suspension is impressively sorted even in analogue Fox rather than RockShox e:i electronic format
Our Spicy came with conventional rider-adjustable dampers but the auto-adjusting e:i rear shock and sensor setup is also available for a premium. Otherwise the kit is traditional, with a Race Face Turbine double crankset letting you twiddle up climbs at the expense of chain security and a cluttered left-hand side of the bar, complete with awkward RockShox Reverb dropper post button placement. Shimano XT/SLX gears and XT brakes are a dependable choice but considering the alloy chassis, the low-spec SRAM chain and heavy cassette are disappointing. The heavy-duty wheels and tyres are mismatched with the trail style cockpit too.
‘A game of two halves’ may be a cliche but it describes the way our test team felt about the Spicy perfectly. Everyone who rode it came back more than happy with the way the bits that contacted the ground were working, but less than happy about the bits that reacted with them.
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