Spotted: New Enduro Bike from Lapierre

Sep 15, 2023
by Dario DiGiulio  
photo

As we head into another EDR round in Morzine-Avoriaz, it looks like some bike testing is taking place in tandem with all the racing. We last saw an update to the Spicy in 2019, developed in tandem with Nico Vouilloz, so it's high time we saw an update to that platform. Though the layout looks quite different, both the current model and the bike pictured here appear to use a 4-bar layout. (The current bike definitely uses one, no conjecture needed there.)

photo

Seen with Lapierre-Zipp Collective rider Adrien Dailly, the zebra bike is appropriately kitted out with all the SRAM-RockShox parts you'd expect to see on that team's rides. This at least confirms the move to a UDH rear end, as that would allow them to run the T-type drivetrain you see here.

It also looks like there's a flip chip on the lower shock mount, which could be for geometry, wheel size, or travel adjustment.

photo

No review coming anytime soon, but please feel free to wildly speculate in the comments.

Author Info:
dariodigiulio avatar

Member since Dec 25, 2016
100 articles

117 Comments
  • 194 2
 Perfect timing! Enduro racing being at its peak, and all…
  • 11 2
 right, so the commy supreme V3 lol
  • 18 11
 I appreciate the topical joke, but if that's the way it worked wouldn't more people have DH bikes and less enduro bikes?
  • 32 2
 @everythingsucks: just because people watch NASCAR doesn’t mean they’re buying nascar for commuters.

So, no. Viewership doesn’t mean purchase.
  • 12 2
 @everythingsucks: now, if we all lived by Whistler or some other amazing DH spots, then you might see more purchases influenced by the racing.
Unfortunately, most of us live in areas where it’s flatter and requires more pedaling.
  • 13 0
 @nickfranko: Yeah, that's what I said. Sorry the inflection was lost via text.
  • 2 0
 I had to zoom in to check it wasn’t the new marker pen specialized dh helmet.

It’s a stealth bell helmet instead. Close call.
  • 3 0
 Lapierre Jekyll low pivot..... Siiiiiiiick.
  • 4 0
 @nickfranko: they used to, back when nascar was actually raced using (relatively) stock cars… win on Sunday, sell on Monday.
  • 5 0
 @boopiejones: honest question: why is still called stock car racing when they’re racing something as far from stock as possible?
  • 5 0
 @nickfranko: a little overstated. The difference between professional race cars and consumer commuters is much different than the difference between pro race bikes and enthusiast bikes. Sure there’s a difference, but in general we can feasibly own their bikes and ride many of the same trails. Also, I’d love to see the statistics but are you sure most mountain bikers live in flat areas? There are a whole lotta mountain bikers over in the west. DH bikes are mostly canceled out because they don’t go uphill but I see plenty of justification for enduro bikes my neck of the woods.
  • 1 0
 @nickfranko: Back in like 2002 I was working construction and one of the truck drivers showed up in a new Monte Carlo that he was soooooo proud of. Apparently I appeared insufficiently impressed when he showed it to me and so said “You know, like Dale Junior and them drive.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him his car had 0% of its parts in common with “Junior’s” car.
  • 1 2
 @everythingsucks: lots of advertising works just in name recognition alone. So while Nascar's etc...have nothing in relation to your dodge caravan. When it comes time to by a car your search likely won't include a lada or skoda.

So in example of dh racing. Seeing the name alone sells bikes on Monday. And the better the bike does in the race the more likely the name will be noticed.

Race on Sunday sell on Monday still applies to dh bikes.
  • 1 1
 @nickfranko:
Even in Whistler most people are riding enduro bikes
  • 1 0
 @nickfranko: with shane van gisbergen coming over to own NASCAR in 2024 look for Chevy sales to go through the roof in NZ
  • 4 0
 Tomorrow : lapierre steps away from enduro WC racing
  • 100 0
 negative seatpost insertion depth? looks like i could get about 75mm of drop in that bad boy
  • 5 0
 Nicely spotted!
  • 34 0
 Park bike? Looks like a DH frame with that seatpost. I don't think it even has a dropper unless the collar is high up.
  • 37 0
 Droppers have had their time in the sun and for filthy casuals, rigid seatposts are the only option for serious riders. How else would you KOM?
  • 3 0
 @pisgahgnar: thats what I was thinking before reading comments, tubing looks more like a DH or park bike.
  • 2 0
 it's 3.5 km elevation down, and "only" 800 m up - maybe he's planning on hike a bike for the climbs?
  • 16 0
 Knowing Sram/Rockshox they probably have a new kinked/curved dropper post in the works to support this frame
  • 1 1
 looks like a DH bike.
  • 3 3
 Good point. But I have seen the bike and it has a dropper. I can DM a pic if you want
  • 1 0
 Yup, they need to lower that shock into the downtube and move the cross brace on the linkage
  • 2 0
 I think the dropper pierces through the seat tube bottom and will clear the linkage. Nobody is going to design an enduro bike and forget about dropper compatibility.
  • 1 0
 @jlok: 800 vertical meters up is a very long walk...
  • 2 0
 @BigMulaCeazy: I just let the seat beat up my inners thighs and fight through the pain. I have a dropper lever that electrocutes me every time I press it!
  • 1 0
 @pisgahgnar: that means LP and Adrian are planning to race more seriously DH WC
  • 29 0
 It might be a DH bike instead, I would assume an enduro bike has a straight seat tube for dropper's sake.
  • 8 0
 Aren’t the Lapierre DH team currently running de-badged v10 frames?

Gives a little bit of weight that it may be a DH frame rather than enduro.
  • 22 0
 She Thicc..
  • 5 1
 Looks like it will fit a Fazua Ride60
  • 1 0
 @schlayer: And a bottle
snack storage
a lot of mud
  • 8 4
 yep better be an ebike cause im done with pedalin around like a frickin roadie
  • 1 0
 @slickrides: comment gold
  • 2 0
 Productdeveloper 1: how can we make an ebike look thin?
Productdeveloper 2: Lets launch an oversized acoustic!
  • 1 0
 @endurafrica: ^^gen z devs
  • 20 0
 That's more like zebra striped not spotted.
  • 16 0
 It's not spotted, it's striped
  • 7 0
 Is it white with black stripes or black with white stripes?
  • 7 0
 @SimbaandHiggins: Gold with blue stripes isn't it?
  • 15 2
 Looks like a demo. In other things, thats one of the sickest paint jobs ive seen in awhile.
  • 2 0
 Pretty sure its a wrap.
  • 2 0
 @BigMulaCeazy: Right, it's like all the new unveiled cars and trucks they test drive around Colorado.
  • 6 0
 still think they should cover it with profanities it might limit the posts a picture or they need the artists that do 3d chalk art that makes it look like your peering into the abyss.
  • 7 0
 At this point the only thing that the zebra stripes paint job does is bring attention to a new prototype. Not sure it conceals a darn thing.
  • 1 0
 Same thought
  • 8 0
 I like the implication that “at some point in the past” zebra stripes WERE fooling & befuddling people.
  • 6 0
 It's now hella status and endurobro cred. My DYEDBRO zebra wrap is on the way so I can claim I'm riding a Ripmo v3.

I'm gonna sharpie "PROTOTYPE" on the top tube.
  • 7 0
 The stripes are effective at hiding a car's body lines from a distance. They don't hide anything on a bike though.
  • 8 0
 @Glory831Guy: There are different theories. One is that if many of those gravity racers are criscrossing on the hillside, it will make it harder for predators to catch them. Another one would be that the striping helps with cooling. I'm not buying the dazzle camouflage thing. It will only kill the poor team mechanic, trying to get things aligned. I do believe that, when done properly, it could mess with peoples perception of what the bike looks like though. Not the way it is done here, but with longer along the tubes you can definitely mess up the curvature of the tubes, play with the placement of linkage pivots etc.
  • 6 0
 Tell me you’ve never ridden through the plains of the Serengeti without telling me you’ve never ridden through the plains of the Serengeti.
  • 3 0
 @TheR: I'm definitely not telling you I've never ridden through the plains of the Serengeti.
  • 1 0
 @TheR: I've never ridden through the plains of Serengeti.
  • 8 1
 Haven't they heard, the UCI has cancelled enduro....well according to the PB boffins.
  • 8 0
 No idler/high pivot.

Unrideable.
  • 6 0
 SPY PHOTOS ARE UNETHICAL AND LITERALLY WORSE THAN HITLER - nsmb dot com
  • 4 0
 So the shock gets compressed by both the chainstays and, via a link, the seatstays?
  • 5 0
 Yep - not dissimilar to the historic "full floater" version of Trek's suspension, but without the concentric rear-axle pivot (this Lapierre employs a more traditional horst link style).
  • 2 0
 @KJP1230: except the full floater setup actually moved the lower eyelet in the direction to decrease compression of the shock.

There are a number of other designs like this one, though, that compress the shock from both ends.
  • 3 0
 Propain is one popular design currently compressing the shock from both ends
  • 3 0
 The shock just gets compressed, whether it is floating isn't so relevant for its workings. Some brands had some wild theories about it but the main advantage just is that you'll have fewer bolts on the frame which might make it easier to package the design when it gets tight. Some say it limits the movement of the shock center of mass hence keeps the center of mass of the complete bike more steady. But even that, with all those links and obviously the rear wheel moving I doubt that even the minimal shock movement matters much.
  • 2 0
 @vinay: generally agree with this; the shock doesn’t know whether it’s being compressed from both ends or just one end. However, connecting the shocks to both links, rather than just one, definitely changes the leverage ratio curve, compared to fixing one end to the front triangle and keeping the other factors constant. I suspect some brands may have gone this route to achieve some leverage ratio targets. Whether it’s the only way to achieve those targets, or the best way, is hard to say.
  • 1 0
 @bikeracer28: True, although this bike could do the same thing. Hard to see where the lower chainstay pivot is, but assuming it is down near the BB, I can imagine that the lower shock pivot would move "back" as the rear axle arcs through its travel.
  • 4 0
 @dariodigiulio The last round of the EDR is taking place in Avoriaz-Chatel NOT Avoriaz-Morzine.
  • 4 0
 Lapierre should have put 10 x competitor brand stickers on it….you know just for fun.
  • 1 0
 Nah, just one big SPECIALIZED sticker.
  • 4 0
 Spicy pics.. cant look away.. ahh so hot!
  • 3 0
 Fits a downhill seatpost too, sick
  • 4 1
 Looks like a part bike not an enduro.
  • 1 0
 I think you mean park, not part
  • 1 0
 @DJ21111111: Nah, this is a parts bike right out of the box Wink
  • 1 0
 Must be a dh frame that they are testing on a back to back comparison with their team enduro frame to decide on the next design
  • 3 1
 is this a zoo or something? i'll walk myself out.
  • 2 0
 The Ibis in the orther article was more of a zebra. A good few years ago, my fivetens were zebra-striped too. I suppose there must be some zebra-lobby in mountainbiking.
  • 1 0
 Me thinks that's a captive nut, not a flip chip. Then again, I've been very wrong before.
  • 1 0
 Well, it's the lower link mount I was looking at. I assume I'm wrong again then with regards to the shock mount.
  • 3 0
 With the orientation of the chip (in circumferential direction with respect to the pivot of that lower link) it seems to me like it is supposed to allow you to raise or lower the rear wheel without affecting the amount of suspension travel or the progressiveness of the linkage. Obviously I could be wrong too.
  • 2 3
 @vinay: nerd
  • 2 0
 A downtube to fit a sixpack in for the afterride beers!
  • 2 0
 Maybe just the pic…but wow seems a REALLY wide frame!
  • 4 0
 That's the frame storage for the baguette and a bottle of chardonnay.
  • 1 0
 Cool, now all they have to do is find a rider to race it next season. Good luck with that!
  • 4 0
 Real challenge is to find the enduro event or the funds to run a Team...
  • 2 0
 Ibis seems to have a couple spare.
  • 2 0
 Sucks not having no where to race it
  • 1 0
 "not having no where" = somewhere :-)
  • 1 0
 @MysticMCyclist: My English is good lol
  • 1 0
 No one is cramming a 200mm dropper in there. Maybe one of those little XC or gravel ones?
  • 2 0
 Where's the dual crown fork, I thought that where we were headin' folks.
  • 1 0
 any frame developed with zipp wheels is sus..... Please make it stiffer its squirming.... It's the wheels!
  • 1 0
 Bikes only been developed for Châtel? Cause with that Seattubeinsertion you won't pedal other race destinations...
  • 2 0
 You can probably carry a new-born in that shock cradle.
  • 1 0
 Absolutely love the prototype paint job, Throw one of those Proto Manitou forks on there and off you go!
  • 1 0
 It looks more like a freeride/downhill bike. No way you can ride enduro with that seatpost insertion.
  • 10 9
 It's a bicycle, not a top secret weapons system. Get a grip.
  • 1 0
 if FSR and v3 Commencal supreme had a baby
  • 1 0
 Black with white stripes or white with black stripes
  • 1 0
 50 50
  • 1 0
 That just looks like a custom paintjob for isabeau cordurier
  • 1 0
 A shock compressed at both ends? They should name it Rodney Dangerfield.
  • 1 0
 Are you sure it's not Cannondale?
  • 1 0
 How is there room for a dropper post?
  • 1 0
 Why nobody does giraffe cammo?
  • 1 0
 Not much of a seat tube so more like a downhill bike
  • 1 0
 It's a la Pierre it's bound to be rubbish.......
  • 1 0
 That there is a DH bike with a single crown (zeb) fork.
  • 1 0
 It's a Lapiemençal Supreme V3 lol
  • 4 4
 does anyone care anymore?
  • 1 1
 what a beauty
  • 1 1
 yawwwwwnnnnn
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