Lapierre zesty or spicy.

Cian_mtb

I am currently looking at buying either the zesty 214 or spicy 216. I have been looking at lower priced full suspension bikes for XC/all mountain and came across lapierre after dismissing the pitch as either not good enough (comp) or too expensive (pro). So with the zesty it seemed great for my riding with 140mm and strong but light. I ride for fun in any XC races and so wouldn't really mind any minor performance set backs and I keep myself fit to deal with it. I then saw the spicy And have been changing my mind between them ever since. I ride around the lake district mainly with whinlatter as my main trail centre as well as the local trails. I've ridden Glentress and morzine, alps. I look towards more alps trips and maybe even fort William. I am only a student but have been attracted by the end of stock sales. I'm moving from the Scott aspect 45 08 modlel.. Which was interesting in France, but now feel I need a full Susser. Please could you help me with this decision between the zesty and spicy which seems to just have bigger travel and 1.5kg extra for the sme price which could benefit m in morzine. Also any other bikes around £1400 Reducedd would be very welcome if you think there's better for the price. Thankyou very much if you decide to help me with my dilemma.

Tom Barton

Correct me if i'm wrong but arn't the 216 and 214 both more expensive than a pitch pro or at least similar prices..

Anyway. If you want to focus on those xc races mores get the zesty, however if you want it to survive the alps then get the spicy.

ash.addy

Thing is the frames are terrific and totally upgradable I've got a spicy which I have no intentions of getting rid of. +1 To what Tom said about the zesty/spicy

rhialto

I have a Zesty 514 2008. I have ridden it thousands of km over the last 3 years, mostly cross country, but with the odd downhill where I can get it. It's great for singletrack, climbing and mild descents. I took it to Les Arcs in the French Alps for a week of steep, technical singletrack and it was ok but I would have preferred the Spicy for that (or maybe a 2011 Trek Scratch Air, drool). The Zesty felt a bit fragile for that type of riding, especially when compared to the tractors that some of the guys were riding! Unfortunately, I can't tell you how the Spicy would perform for trail riding, I haven't ridden one, although I would love to get my hands on a 2011 Spicy 516.

I have been very pleased with my Zesty. It's a great bike and very upgradeable - the OEM components are pretty much what you or I could purchase at retail so your upgrade choices are many. If I had to choose today, I would probably go with the Spicy, despite the fact that I do more X-C than enduro/downhill. Go figure. If possible, try and ride them, preferably back to back and see for yourself. And then let us know!

Cian_mtb

Thanks alot for the replies, this site is great! Tom, the prices are now reduced on the bikes I'm looking at but the pitch by only £100 and the lapierres by up to £500. But also thanks Paul because that's the situation I'm in, I dotthink the extra travel will kill my rises and I'm willing to carry the extra weight (1kg of which us from the forks alone) to get that extra bit of bike for France. So spicy it is, unless you know of any other bikes going at £1300-400ish which beats the spicy? Thanks guys.

Devastazione

I have a Zesty 714 and for my riding style 140mm is more than enough. I usually pick my X Control for easy stuff or long road excursion and take the Zesty when I want to have a more aggressive approach.
Given your riding style and needs I would say a Zesty may be your best bet. I'm a XC guy and I can really tell the diffence in weight between my X Control and my little heavier Zesty,so if you're like me you won't regret going for the Zesty.

Cian_mtb

Thanks. But as I say I'm not hardcore, normally 15-20 miles and I never really spend more than 4-5 hours on my bike really. But would you definitely recommend it? I'm going for the 2-model remember.

Cian_mtb

Also for the lapierre in general. I'm 6"2 and may grow another 2 inches. I have an inside leg of 32-34" so would the L/50 do? I don't think I can test in the local area.

dovershark

I ride the Spicy 316 and am just over 6ft in height, the large is fine for me with an inside leg of 33, you should be ok with a large.
I bought the Spicy and do not regret leaving the Zesty behind. today i was out for 24 miles off road, fairly flat andit was fine and next week im off to Scotland where the travel will help alot.

Devastazione

6.0 here,L will do fine.

Cian_mtb

dovershark wrote:

I ride the Spicy 316 and am just over 6ft in height, the large is fine for me with an inside leg of 33, you should be ok with a large.
I bought the Spicy and do not regret leaving the Zesty behind. today i was out for 24 miles off road, fairly flat andit was fine and next week im off to Scotland where the travel will help alot.

that's great thanks, so I think the spicy it is then if I'm ok with the large. I'll test out and say how it goes.

Cian_mtb

Gone for the more practical zesty, also the spicy has spring forks not air so that put me off, but thanks alot!

Silversladey

+ 1 for the zesty you will love it

Tom Barton

Me again - forgot to mention before. I have a spicy 516 - easiest way to change either bikes' focus is tyres - light xc tyres will take best part of a kg out of the weight and it'll roll fast (& stiffen the suspension - wind the talas down etc) but throw the 2.5 minion/highrollers on, soften it up and it will happily chase after full dh bikes!

surreyhillsryder

First of all i would like to say hi,as im new to this forum.Last week i took out the spicy 516 for a test day.All i can say is i loved it,smashed it down everything and had some real fun,The bike just wanted to take off everytime it hit a jump or tree root.Im seriously thinking of buying the 316 but im taking out the orange 5 pro next week,so ill hold my judgement till then.I thought about the zesty and to be honest it would be ample enough bike for nearly all my riding,but i want to buy a bike that does pretty much everything and the spicy fits the bill.

Thewaylander

Spicy...

More = Better simples.

Northwind

I think I'd go with the Zesty myself, it'll be better most of the time and good enough the rest of the time. Depends on exactly what you want from your alps trips etc but have no doubt at all, you could ride a Zesty at decent pace down fort william dh, it's well capable.

Cian_mtb

Thanks alot everyone. I'm going to pick up the zesty this weekend from Evans as they e just reduced their price. I'm so excited-first full susser and will tell you how it rides!

Cian_mtb

Love the zesty, tides great and on just getting used to it with my new eggbeater pedals. Thanks alot. Only bad point is the bad tire, I managed to slide out and scratch my bike as it has the grip of a slick, otherwise awesome bike. Definitely pocked correctly.

rhialto

Congrats on your new acquisition! It is a fun bike to ride. I definitly ride more aggressively than I ever have before and part of that is the confidence that I have in my Zesty. I recently discovered another forum that may interest you, particularly if you are thinking of upgrading bits of the bike in the future:

http://www.lapierreownersclub.com/forum

Have fun!