First weekend with the Lapierre Zesty 314

bristolpete

Hey all, picked up my Lapierre Zesty 314 from Strada Cycles in Bristol and had my first two rides yesterday and today. My fourth generation MB - nothing too hardcore, but off road nevertheless. I have been riding a decent Merida road bike for a year solid and averaging about 70 miles a week but this is totally different.

The advice is that road bikes give you stamina and MB get you fit.

Well I concur, a totally different ride and feel which sounds obvious. The desire was to ride it as a road machine but you swiftly move away from that. I locked the travel for road and opened it up for off road but either way very very comfortable. The gearing is superb and getting cadence right is a doddle but what amazed me the most was the Formula hydraulic braking system - talking about zero breaking distance which happened when some lights changed suddenly. I feel like an 18 year old again riding cow horns on my BMX but am know that the changes will take time, though I will be riding both machines week in week out.

Overall a brilliant decision and all I can say is that after weeks of deliberating what bike to buy I am glad I finally pulled the trigger and went for the Lapierre. Just superb. I think when we read reviews whether hard copy or online we start to bamboozle ourselves with worry will it be fast enough, do I need hardtail, do I need this and that - well, I can say that hammering down a hill, this thing shifted and I got a fair lick of speed going so if you are worrying about what bike get out and ride and all the fears go away and at no point did I think 'wish I bought the *insert other brand here*...

The funniest thing, I am 38 on my next birthday and whilst I don't want to be young again, this made me feel great and I forgot how 'badass' owning a decent MB was....

Hope you are all well.

Pete.

prufrock

hi Pete, good to hear you are enjoying your Lapierre, I got mine for a couple of weeks now and I'm thrilled with the machine. Also went through the usual dilemmas before buying and I can say it was the best decision, had I known it was going to be so much fun I'd have bought the bike 5 years earlier!

take care

Nik_B

I'm also thinking about getting one of these but I'm torn between that and the Spicy. Would anyone know at what point it is worth opting for the longer travel version? I like riding the train certres and getting air when I can but I don't go totally mad.

Glad to hear the Zesty owners are all happy campers

GHill

Glad you're enjoying it so far Pete.

Nik_B wrote:

I'm also thinking about getting one of these but I'm torn between that and the Spicy. Would anyone know at what point it is worth opting for the longer travel version

My own rule of thumb is that if you're not sure if you'll need the longer travel, get the shorter travel. 140 mm of travel is more than enough for UK trail centres.

therealboyjones

Nik_B wrote:

I'm also thinking about getting one of these but I'm torn between that and the Spicy. Would anyone know at what point it is worth opting for the longer travel version? I like riding the train certres and getting air when I can but I don't go totally mad.

I don't ride a Lapierre (please don't judge me!) but in terms of longer travel, I have 6" travel on mine and it really comes into it's own at trail centres etc. The inevitably slacker head angle gives you a lot more confidence on downhill stretches and the whole bike soaks up rocks and roots really easily as it's not really working that hard. It wasn't a chore going up either, no real need to drop the front forks down to a lower travel setting and didn't touch the mission control or propedal on either spring. If you can stomach the cost, I'd go for more travel unless you're one of them racing whippet on wheels types?

grumsta

Unless you are planning on taking it to the alps - I can't see the need for the Spicy over the Zesty. Trail centres are mostly pretty smooth anyway so it's only really for jumps you would want the long travel for, and unless you are going really big the Zesty will handle them fine.

bristolpete

Update.

I had a three hour session around the Timberland Trail in Bristol today. Regarding the bike, I have set it up how I like it now. Much more psi on the rear shock - the front remains the same. Tyers are averaging around 30-40 psi for off road and 60 psi for on road which is how I like it.

Timberland trail was soaked through and naturally very slippery with lots of roots exposed. The bike handled well, great going uphill and incredibly quick at gathering momentum going down hill and into some small berms. A couple of hairy moments where the back wheel slipped but to be expected given the clay like finish up there. I rode the yellow route first and the harder pink route which was great. As before, I have been averaging about 70 miles a week on a road machine, but today I felt like I had gone ten rounds with Tyson but loved the burn and will be having a lovely long soak shortly!

Overall a brilliant afternoon of riding and came face to face with a wild deer who just stared at me for an age.

I apologise if the ongoing review is not technical enough, I just like to ride it really!!! I can already see massive improvement in my style after a week as the perceptive brain kicks in and you start to ride a few feet ahead planning your lines.

Pete.

Nik_B

Brilliant to hear Pete

Northwind

I had a go on a zesty 514 at glentress the other week, quite a machine... Very impressive. It didn't really tick my boxes at all, not my sort of bike but I have to hand it to them, they've built a superb bike.

Anderzz

These bikes are soooo pretty!

warning633

My Zesty 714 arrived in the post yesterday, so today was my first time out on it



I went on a 12 mile road and cliffpath ride with it and i'm over the moon with this bike. Frist thing I noticed are the brakes :shock: compared to my otther bike with XT these things are liike anchors Super on the decents and climbs, even with the decents down the many cliff path stairs it stayed very stable. All in all a great great bike!

My only little niggle is that the LP velcro supplied chainstay protector seems like a very very tight fit, what i mean by that is, there is hardly any velcro left to attach to each other once it has gone round the chainstay (which includes the rear mech cable and cable mounts which it has to go round) has any one else noticed this??

Many thanks

Kevin

therealboyjones

The chainstay protector in my Remedy is extremely tight, they're supposed to be so they don't slide around. Once it's on, it will stay on and it will give a bit in time. TBH, I never take mine off, it just gets heavier and heavier with the dirt!!

Nik_B

Did anyone also test the Orange 5? I wouldn't mind hearing how the Zesty compares to the 5 as I'm narrowing my choices down. The zesty caught my eye as something a bit different which appeals to me but the 5 is made in the UK and seems to have a great reputation.

therealboyjones

I've never ridden one but it won trail bike of the year again in MBR this month.

maluco_beleza

I'm on a similar dilema: Zest 314 and a Stumpjumper. Just came back from Evans, where I got the chance to go for a spin in both. I just went for a ride round the block, so, quite difficult to tell the difference, but my heart says: "Lapierre, Lapierre!"
It just looks the dogs.

It's being kind of difficult to take the plunge and sign the cheque! I think just need to go for it without thiking too much...


The guy from Evans said that the Stumpy is a better all rounder because you can adjust the fork, lock the shock, etc... but I'm still inclined to get the Lapierre...

maluco_beleza

By the way, what sizes did you guys get?

I think I'm a Medium (evans don't have large in stock anymore), but I'm not 100% sure. I'm 180cm tall (6'0 ish?) and 82cm leg inseam. Any 'resuarance' that a Zest 314 medium would be the right size for me is much appreciated ?

cheers,
Erick

lesz42

The funniest thing, I am 38 on my next birthday and whilst I don't want to be young again, this made me feel great and I forgot how 'badass' owning a decent MB was....



i am 40 this DEC, and cycling, (just started 12 months ago) done the same for me!, its brill

mix of trails and just going for long rides!

nferrar

@Meluco - medium would probably be fine (I'm assuming it didn't feel cramped on your quick ride?). I'm 5'11" and the medium fits me perfectly - I did have to change the seatpost though as the one it comes with is pretty short and I needed it slightly past the minimum insertion point. I'm biased but I'd have one over the Stumpy anyday, it's a more capable bike IMO yet you don't really pay a weight or efficiency penalty for it.

I was actually a bit worried about having a 140mm fork I couldn't wind down for climbs as well as no lockout/pro pedal on the rear shock but in practice I've not missed either. It bobs very litte when seated so unless I was going on a long road ride I wouldn't use pro pedal even if it had it. On steep technical climbs the front end does go light but never too light it starts to wander and you lose control. I'd say the only thing missing from the 314 is teh QR15 front axle to stiffen things up, that said I don't actually notice much front-end flex (although it would be interesting trying a 514 back-to-back). I've always been planning to change the forks to 2010 Revelations though (already have maxle wheels) so it's not a concern to me.