Lapierre's Xelius SL platform is a favourite here at BikeRadar. The combination of light frame, stiffness through the drivetrain and excellent comfort thanks to the long seatstays that bypass the seat tube all add up to a bike that’s a real stunner to ride. With that as our positive bias going into this test, our first ride on the 600 Disc FDJ model generally did not disappoint.
The mechanical Ultegra bike with flat-mount Shimano BR-RS805 brakes comes with an alloy cockpit courtesy of Zipp, carbon post, Fizik Antares saddle and Shimano RX30 disc wheels.
Lovely road manners
We expected a little drop-off in climbing performance over the standard model, which comes with higher grade Mavic Kysrium wheels compared with the disc version's fairly lowly set of Shimano RX30s. It does feel a little less peppy, but is still pretty punchy when you want to go for it.
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Thankfully its super smooth road manners remain, with the extra beefing up for disc mounts on the chainstays having no discernible effect on the smoothness of the rear end, and the new disc fork is a fine complement to the rear.
On rolling terrain with a mixed quality of tarmac, the SL really comes into its own. The ride position is aggressive, yet not overly so and the sharpness in the steering makes navigating twisty descents an absolute joy. Combine this with the added brake control and you’ve got a bike that’s seriously fun to push hard on descents, confident in its accuracy to hit the perfect cornering line and regulate speed without overbraking or locking up.
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