Calling Lapierre owners...

rapid_donkey

This is more of a research based thread and to get some opinions.

I love the look of Lapierres, and am thinking about getting one as soon as winter has been and gone.

I do mainly trail centres, with a bit of cross country riding and occasional trip to the Peak District thrown in. I think I would probably look at a Zesty.
I currently ride a 125mm travel Giant Trance X3.

Now, have any Lapierre owners had their frames snap? And if so, how much do you weigh?!
Ive done alot of research, and it seems they have a tendency to snap. I weight 85 kg's, would need a medium frame, am I asking for trouble?
Also, I read somewhere that frames are only under warranty when bought from new. If this is true, buying second hand might not be an option. Its no biggie, I bought my Trance new.

rockmonkeysc

I would rather have the Trance than a Zesty. The Trance is just as capable even though it has less travel and you won't ever break one. I know someone who has been using a small Trance frame as a slopestyle bike for a couple years with no problems.
Warranty only applies to the original owner, it is non transferable.
I know one person who has broke a Zesty 316 and have met a few Lappierre DH owners who had broke at least one frame.

Stu Coops

I own a Zesty 514 and a Trance X0 as for the Zesty awesome bike in my opinion I weigh 80kgs one of my mates has a 314 and weighs 105kgs and throws his over everything so I can only recommend them but also my Trance is a 125mm travel and will go anywhere the Zesty will and is a slightly better riding bike but the Zesty looks a lot nicer bike in my opinion.

nferrar

I have a 2009 314 Zesty and it's been pretty faultless (I'm around 95Kg and don't have any grace or style when riding...). It's just had it's third BB installed (they last ages once you know to drain water out of the tubes after washing) and just had it's pivots changed. It's a bit of a trigger's broom though in that I've changed the forks, shock, brakes, bars, stem, chainset, front mech, seat, seatpost and wheels since I've owned it (although down to wanting to upgrade rather than failures).
I do know a couple of people who have snapped their frames though (one twice) and although I'd really like to swap the frame for a carbon version there's no chance I'm touching a second-hand Zesty frame.

benpinnick

I bought a warranty replacement s/hand zesty 314. The guy is local to me and bust his last one. Thats didn't put me off though. Stuff breaks, they seem to be good on warranties, and its pretty burly really. Maybe a genuinely s/hand one might be out of the question, but I think mine will last ok.

Fastflo

I bought a 2009 LP Zesty 514, its been round Glentress red/black or red and blue about 200 times so far.

However the seat, forks, shock, stem, freehub + wheels have all been replaced, renewed or repaired!!!

I bought a Lapierre after my Commencal was stolen as the Meta was suffering from cracked frames.

Both bikes suffered from continual bearing wear which I put down to the Scottish climate

slimboyjim

There was a couple of years where a manufacturing issue caused lots of weak bottom brackets to crack (2009-10 I believe). Mine was one and I got a new frame FOC (2009 314). This issue has now been addressed.

I would treat internet rumours with caution though - if you look hard enough then you'll find someone somewhere complaining that their (insert brand here) frame has broken... How hard you ride your bike is the biggest factor IMO. If you discount the cracked frame issue I mentioned is there still a significantly higher amount of LP complaints/failures? Don't forget that they are very popular so there is a large ownership base and a 1% failure rate (a figure I picked out the air) may seem like a problem number when it is really the same percentage failure as other brands... There are a large number of very happy LP owners out there after all!

If you are that worried I would recommend buying from a local shop (easier to deal with if you have an issue) and perhaps consider the new Devinci Dixon carbon - lifetime frame warrantee. Read the terms of frame warranties too as some are better than others...

Anyway, I bet whatever you get you will love - you can't get too stressed about these things!

Oh, and I love my Lappy! I've done light Dh duties on it (with upgraded wheels) and it has been faultless bar the one issue mentioned. Saying that, I had a go on a Dixon recently and really liked it - it is a significantly different ride so test rides are your only way forwards - only you can say which style suits you better! For example that Transition looks awesome (and I like the brand ethos) but if your rides don't include many steep downs is it worth lugging all that extra weight around? For some it is, but it might not be right for YOU.

tenfoot

nferrar wrote:

It's just had it's third BB installed (they last ages once you know to drain water out of the tubes after washing)

How do you do that? Evans told me to turn the bike upside down =-O. My 2nd is just starting to go now.

Stu Coops

I'm on my third BB on my Zesty 514 in 18 months but the way i look at it if your spending £2500-£3000 on a bike whats £30-£40 every 5 or 6 months.