It’s fair to say the words Nicolas Vouilloz and legend go hand in hand. With 10 world champion downhill titles and numerous individual wins – in everything from the Enduro World Series racing to rally car driving – under his belt, his talent is undeniable. But it's his attention to detail, too, that's always set him apart.
It’s not surprising then that Vouilloz's new 2016 Lapierre Spicy Team enduro bike is a treasure trove of technical trickery, with every single detail meticulously thought out and a whole host of tweaks present and correct to perfect it to his needs. Indeed, when I try to corner him at the Roc d’Azur so we can chat about his bike, I think I’ve been stood up – only to discover him the workshop, making sure every part of the bike is utterly clean before any photos are taken.
Devil’s in the development
Vouilloz has a very different status to Lapierre's other pro riders, because he's actually a paid member of the R&D team. Along with the product managers and engineers he's intimately involved in the development of all of Lapierre's mountain bikes, with the reputation of being (wait for it) something of a perfectionist.
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Related: Lapierre puts the fire back into the Spicy
The story started over a year ago when Vouilloz began riding a specially modified version of the 2015 Spicy in order to experiment with both geometry and travel. However, these modifications to the old bike had a few side effects…
“It was pedalling well, but not as well as it could," Vouilloz tells BikeRadar. "[The new bike] has more travel and it’s pedalling like the old Spicy in 150mm, and I can ride a bigger ring. The bike is made for 34t to be the best efficiency. In the past the Spicy was made more for 30-32t but now it’s a bit more for racing.”
Getting the fit right
Special-recipe suspension
Waxing Lyrikal
Custom rubber
Survivalist wheels
Going for gold
- Frame: Spicy Carbon OST + 165mm travel
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik RCT3 Solo Air, 170mm
- Shock: RockShox Monarch Plus, 200x57mm, E:I Relay
- Headset: Sealed cartridge, 1º offset
- Stem: Nico Vouilloz Signature, 45mm
- Handlebar: Truvativ BlackBox Carbon with nylon extenders, 770mm
- Grips: Lizard Skins DSP
- Front brake: SRAM Guide Ultimate, 180mm rotor
- Rear brake: SRAM Guide Ultimate, 200mm rotor
- Brake levers: SRAM Guide Ultimate
- Front chain guide: Truvativ X.0, upper only
- Rear derailleur: SRAM XX1
- Shift lever: SRAM XX1, modified with grip tape
- Cassette: SRAM XX1, titanium Nitride coating
- Chain: SRAM XX1, titanium nitride coating
- Crankset: SRAM XX1
- Pedals: Shimano XTR Trail
- Wheelset: SRAM BlackBox carbon front, SRAM Rail 50 rear
- Front tyre: Michelin Wild Grip’R2 Advanced Reinforced Prototype
- Rear tyre: Michelin Wild Race’R Enduro Rear Advanced Reinforced Prototype
- Saddle: Fabric Scoop Flat Pro
- Seatpost: RockShox Reverb, 125mm travel
- Bottle: Fabric Cageless bottle and mounts
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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