For years all we’ve been listening to is ‘long and slack’ when it comes to geometry for trail and enduro bikes. Now Lapierre set out to prove that long and slack shouldn’t end there – even XC bikes can gain from these geometry adaptations. For the 2017 season, they’ve launched a completely revised Lapierre XR with these attributes and we show you what makes this bike so special.
But wait, what are XC bikes doing in ENDURO magazine? Well it’s pretty obvious: these lightweight rigs can be super fun to ride, and they’re pretty well suited as a trail bike for kicking around; in short, they don’t need to be confined to XC race tracks. As our big XC bike Group Test showed, these short-travel bikes are getting ever more versatile with a draw for an even wider public. This evolution has largely been due to the new geometry concepts with a slacker head angle, longer frame and shorter chainstays.
The geometry of the Lapierre XR 2017
We were stoked to hear Lapierre explain from their HQ in Dijon, France, how they’ve embraced modern geometry for the design of the new XR, which now has a 69° slacker head angle, 1° slacker than its predecessor – and for an XC missile this can definitely be categorized as slack. The frame is now extended by 20 mm to give the medium-sized frame a 437 mm reach. As a result, the wheelbase is long, meaning more stability on descents and more weight on the front wheel as you climb.
| Size | S | M | L | XL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat tube | 390 mm | 430 mm | 470 mm | 510 mm |
| Top tube | 575 mm | 600 mm | 620 mm | 645 mm |
| Head tube | 100 mm | 100 mm | 120 mm | 120 mm |
| Head angle | 69° | 69° | 69° | 69° |
| Seat angle | 74,5° | 74,5° | 74,5° | 74,5° |
| Chainstay | 441 mm | 441 mm | 441 mm | 441 mm |
| BB Height | – 40 mm | – 40 mm | – 40 mm | – 40 mm |
| Reach | 412 mm | 437 mm | 452 mm | 477 mm |
At 441 mm the chainstays aren’t overly short, but they’ve still shaved off 5 mm. The geometry package is rounded off by a steeper seat angle, with its 74.5° contributing to better pedal efficiency.
The details of the Lapierre XR 2017
As the current XR hasn’t changed since its conception in 2013, it’s no surprise to see such monumental changes for the design of the new XR. While the rear shock used to sit in a sort of cage on the seattube, it’s now higher, which is a bit more conventional than the former concept. Slim stays between the top and seattube encircle the rear shock, and still channel the old design’s cage-style look, which was the XR’s trademark.
The new construction gave space for a continuous seattube, which is also compatible with a dropper post an internal cable routing. Hand in hand with this new design, Lapierre also further developed the OST+ rear end, claiming that the VPP suspension has been optimized for use in XC and is even more efficient. The travel remains the same with 100 mm for both front and rear.
The top-of-the-range Lapierre XR 929 welcomes their well-known e:i system that sees automatic adjustment of the rear shock thanks to sensors on the forks that relay information on the immediate terrain – before the rear wheels hits it. Another sensor on the bottom bracket checks whether the rider is pedaling or coasting, duly adapting the suspension to open or close. The other models all take RockShox’s new Deluxe Damper, which is one of the new metric-sized generation shocks.
The new XR has also kept up with the curve and adopted the Boost standard at the front and rear to increase the stiffness of the wheels as well as internally routing its cables. The SideSwing front mech mount isn’t just the market’s current best 2x option, but it’s also a tidy solution if you’re only going to ride 1x.
Build specs: the Lapierre XR
Coming in four build specs, the Lapierre XR will exclusively come in carbon. The top-end XR 929 has a spec that’s a who’s who of the big dogs, seeing the RockShox RS1 forks and electronic Monarch e:i RT3 rear shock pair with SRAM’s new 12x XX1 Eagle groupset, SRAM Level Utimate brakes and DT Swiss XR 1501 wheels. The next down in the lineup comes as stock with the new RockShox Deluxe RT3, but offers the Monarch e:i RT3 for an additional cost. With its RockShox SID RL forks, Shimano XT spec and Mavic Crossmax Elite wheels, the XR 729 is set for widespread popularity. While the XR 629 features the RockShox Reba RL forks and a colourful mix of Shimano parts to render the spec solid and well-considered despite its lower cost, we’re a bit hesitant when it comes to the entry-level XR 529. Lapierre have given it such a budget spec that customers with the same budget would be better off purchasing an aluminium bike with a far better spec.
| XR 929 | XR 729/729 e:i | XR 629 | XR 529 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fork | RockShox RS1 | RockShox SID RL | RockShox Reba RL | RockShox Recon Silver |
| Rear shock | RockShox Monarch e:i RT3 | RockShox Deluxe RT3 (oder e:i) | RockShox Deluxe RT3 | RockShox Deluxe RT3 |
| Drivetrain | SRAM XX1 Eagle 1×12 | Shimano XT 2×11 | Shimano XT/SLX 2×11 | Shimano Deore/SLX 2×10 |
| Brakes | SRAM Level Ultimate | Shimano XT | Shimano BRM 506 | Shimano BRM 365 |
| Wheels | DT Swiss XR 1501 | Mavic Crossmax Elite | DT Swiss/Formula | N/A |
Prices and availability
As yet Lapierre have kept tight lipped about pricing and sales, but we will keep you in the loop and disclose the facts as soon as possible.
First impression of the Lapierre XR 2017
The Lapierre XR 2017 belongs to a new generation of XC bikes. Optimized geometry makes these bikes more versatile than ever before and much more appealing to the average rider. Gone are the days of long stems, steep head angles and short frames: long and slack is the way forward and we hope that more brands will adopt this! Chapeau Lapierre!
For more information head to bikes-lapierre.de
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