Scott Spark or Lapierre Zesty

gypsy3006

Hi

I want a nice fast XC/trail bike , something that I can nip along the trails with keeping up with my mates hard tail without having to kill myself

I also want to run the odd bit of nasty :-) , i also love the 7stanes trails , black and red routes especially

I really like the look of the scott spark but im afraid it might be to fragile , the lapierre looks trememdous but i dont want it to be too slow

advice would be greatly appreciated

cheers

ride_whenever

have you considered a genius, they're very light (the cf ones anyway) you can drop the travel right down but it can handle some serious abuse

gypsy3006

thanks for the quick reply , Genius is out for various reasons :oops:

I kind of narrowed it down to a Spark20 or Lapierre 714 but for different reason and I was hoping someone would sway me one way or another

cheers

maximus69

i love my zesty. i think it flys. doing my local loop in the same time as my hardtail, its only a gentle route. guttted because i have been ill since i bought it at crimbo so not been out on it much to rag it properly!!

it turns faster than i thought it would and doesnt bob one bit when pedalling. the only thing that lets mine down (514) is the tyres and it looks stunning so i dont want to chip the paint!!

fox suss gives such a nice ride and it just floats along very nicely.
build quality is amazing and everywhere you look the finish is excellent.

sorry i cant really tell you much more than that apart from white is the better colour!!

have you had ago on both of them?

gypsy3006

cheers for the reply , I have tried the spark and realy like it but i ride quite hard and like to just launch off sometimes and im frightened the spark might not last too long , i like its speed though and Im thinking the zesty might not be much slower , yet far more rugged

and i like the looks of it

maximus69

its an all mountain style so it can def take the hits, but what i found amazing was how light it is for a beefy frame. 714 is lighter still with carbon rear bling, 11.7kg.

gypsy3006

thank you , I think your swaying me :-)

maximus69

its been a pleasure helping you spend £3200

gypsy3006

:shock: how much !!!

I hope shes worth it

TonyWard

Am curious/ nosy why you ruled out the Genius vs the Spark?

TonyWard

Am curious/ nosy why you ruled out the Genius vs the Spark?

Hawkeye the bouncer

I have a Spark which I bought for the same reason as you, super fast. As its a carbon race bike I don`t do much launching and would be a bit apprehensive too. There is the alloy version which might suit you better but its only a 2 stage remote rear shock which suits many riders, but I love the traction control and use it often, not the large volume 3 stage DT Swiss version as found on the carbon models.

Hawkeye the bouncer

I have a Spark which I bought for the same reason as you, super fast. As its a carbon race bike I don`t do much launching and would be a bit apprehensive too. There is the alloy version which might suit you better but its only a 2 stage remote rear shock which suits many riders, but I love the traction control and use it often, not the large volume 3 stage DT Swiss version as found on the carbon models.

Hawkeye the bouncer

I have a Spark which I bought for the same reason as you, super fast. As its a carbon race bike I don`t do much launching and would be a bit apprehensive too. There is the alloy version which might suit you better but its only a 2 stage remote rear shock which suits many riders, but I love the traction control and use it often, not the large volume 3 stage DT Swiss version as found on the carbon models.

gypsy3006

Hi Hawkeye , cheers for you reply

I loved the spark and thought it was a fantastic ride but it has come down to the fact that i fall off a lot , Im always trying something i shouldnt so quite often the bike goes on its own path , the spark i think deserves more respect than this , where as the Zesty should keep on going battered and bruised , its a credit to the Spark though that I was prepared to risk it just to ride it.

cheers
Gyp

gypsy3006

Hi Hawkeye , cheers for you reply

I loved the spark and thought it was a fantastic ride but it has come down to the fact that i fall off a lot , Im always trying something i shouldnt so quite often the bike goes on its own path , the spark i think deserves more respect than this , where as the Zesty should keep on going battered and bruised , its a credit to the Spark though that I was prepared to risk it just to ride it.

cheers
Gyp

Agoogy

I paid up the deposit for a 2009 514, based on look, build quality, attention to detail and value.... then a 2008 714 came along for £20 less..... a week later and its quite something. Super smooth....absolutley beautiful...I'm hoping this year will see me take on ALOT more technical stuff...

jam1e

If you want to split the difference you could go for the Lapierre X-Control instead of the Zesty. MBR and MBUK both did reviews/first looks a couple of months ago and really liked it, I've ridden one and it was a lot of fun - like a hardtail you couldn't feel the bumps through when on singletrack etc (you know what I mean!) but also quite controlled when things got a bit lairy.

maximus69

gypsy i can report back now ive given it a good beating on the rough stuff (and snow!!), absolutely love it.

climbs really well, didnt really understand this term until now. it just goes up rocky stuff so much better than my hardtail and down even better!!

no chipped paintwork yet either!!

gypsy3006

Well I ordered a Zesty today and cant wait to get it out on the trail

many thanks to all of you who helped me out with your replies

Im still not sure about this Rp2 XV and Rp23 business but i suppose i have to trust lapierre that its the shocker for the job :?

cheers
Gyp

BlackSpur

gypsy3006 wrote:

Im still not sure about this Rp2 XV and Rp23 business but i suppose i have to trust lapierre that its the shocker for the job :?

What aren't you sure about?

The RP2 doesn't have as many propedal settings as the 23. The "XV" part stands for eXtra Volume - the air can is bigger and in theory it reduces stiction and makes for a smoother shock (or so I am led to believe). Both will be very good shocks.

gypsy3006

Hi Blackspur ,

i was a little confused because my mate reckoned the RP23 was the best model and thought the RP2 was an old model , one with no adjustment

But it appeared to me that the new 09 model lapierres had the RP2 XV replacing the RP23 of 2008 , this confused me and I could not find any info on the RP2 XV

am i write in thinking the RP2XV has lockout ?

cheers
Gyp

Yeti Jon

Don't worry about the shock on the zesty the bike rides superbly.

It is not a lock out as such on the RP2 but might as well be on the zesty seen as it rides so well with the propedal off.

On the 514 that I test rode there was no propedal on the shock it is just a straight forward float R and the ride was still smooth with no bob.

Which model did you order? I have the 714, awesome, best bike I have ever owned.

gypsy3006

Hi Yeti

I just bought a 714 , cant wait for it to arrive !! , looks beautiful and every body seems to rave about it

what tyres are you running , im not sure about the race kings that come on it for Scotland

Why would lapierre take the RP23 off it and replace it with an rp2 ? , do you think its because it simply didnt need it ?

cheers
GYpo

Yeti Jon

Would guess that the RP23 was just a waste of money on a frame that doesn't need propedal. I never rode an 08 model so can't comment on how that rode with the different shock.

I am running a bonty ACX on the front and a mud-x on the rear, was running them tubeless but put a hole in the mud-x that wouldn't seal, so that now has a tube in it until i get round to repairing the tyre.

The XT tubeless wheels seem to work really well and the 15mm thru axle on the front forks is a good improvement too.

gypsy3006

Magic , thanks Yeti

Its going to be here in the next couple of days , cant wait to get it out !!

The 15mm sounds great but I dont think my roof rack is gonna fit it :-(

cheers
Gypo

maximus69

yeah i agree. no lock out but you dont need it.

i`m not getting on with the mountain king on the front, gonna change it soon. dont know whether to stick to tubeless though. seem to be less choice and bit more pricey.

said i wasnt gonna spend any money on this one as well!!

gypsy3006

Hi Maximus


can you explain the 2 settings on the RP2 for me ?

if its on and off , what does that mean , what does pro-pedal do ?

thanks for all your help by the way


cheers
Gypo

BlackSpur

Propedal is a platform damping system. As I understand it, it is designed to filter out any suspension bob caused by pedalling (hence making your pedaling more efficient). This comes at the expense of some small bumb sensitivity.
However, the suspension system in the Zesty pretty much prevents this pedal-bob, so the Propedal is less useful (although it could still be good for fireroad sprints, road riding etc).

gypsy3006

Cheers Blackspur , much appreciated

gypsy3006

I am still wondering what the 2 settings are for though ?


cheers again
Gypo