Lapierre is celebrating its 70th year and it seems apparent the firm intends to make it a big one, with new models in time trial, road disc, endurance, gravel and cyclocross.
The first two bikes – the new TT Aerostorm and a new disc version of the lightweight Xelius SL – are part of Lapierre's 15-year partnership with the Française des Jeux racing team. With FDJ's Thibaut Pinot ranking in the top five in the world, Lapierre's aero-road Aircode having taken third in the Tour de France and stages in the Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia, and the rim-braked Xelius SL having a stage win on Alpe d’Huez to its name, it was no surprise to hear Gilles Lapierre describing the relationship as going from strength to strength. Lapierre went on to announce that Lapierre had added a two-year extension to the FDJ deal.
Aerostorm DRS
The new incarnation of Lapierre's WorldTour TT bike has been in development for two years. The process has included input from FDJ riders and the R&D department of the University of Besançon, aerodynamic evaluations courtesy of the University of Reims, and testing at both the Magny-Cours wind tunnel and track, and Roubaix velodrome. FDJ riders test out the bikes in dedicated sessions at pre-season training camps with the engineering and design team from the Dijon HQ, led by Remi Gribaudo, in attendance to get direct feedback from riders.
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Gribaudo told us that the Aerostorm has an all-new frame, with improvements that go beyond better aero performance. That meant improving stiffness (with the rear triangle getting 30% more rigid) and making it lighter – the complete bike weighs in at just 8.1kg for a medium, making it one of the lightest time trial machines to date.
Lapierre also wanted to improve stability and handling, so looked at weight distribution. With a traditional frame layout, a lot of additional weight is carried high up within the chassis (in cable routing and Di2 battery placement, for instance). To address this, the team introduced Trap Door Technology (TDT), first seen on the Xelius SL, meaning all cables are routed through the down tube to the bottom bracket, where the Di2 battery is also held. Access, as the name suggests, is via a trap door. The setup shifts over 100g much lower down, which, Gribaudo claims, makes for a much more balanced feel aiding handling and saving precious energy.
Xelius SL disc
Sensium
Cross Carbon
Crosshill
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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