LAPIERRE SPICY TEAM

A large Spicy still comes up short on the numbers and as a result has an effect on the dynamic ride. Too short at the front centre results in too much weight being applied to the Pike fork, and excellent as it is it will not counter the effect of a 14 stone six foot rider pushing down on it. In simple terms an extra large is the bike for riders six foot and over and the bike we’d most liked to have ridden. Good bottom bracket height, average head angle but most importantly of all it is a bike that is built for racing and riding every angle of every track in every corner of the world. It’s an evolution of excellent genes.

The Spicy has been developed over many years and it shows because this bike is streets ahead of its former versions. It has support, suppleness and the reliability has been outstanding. Our test bike came with electronic suspension (Ei) and like it or not it works and offers a hands–free option for lock–out when the going gets flat. Many test riders love its simplicity and effect on limiting fatigue on bigger rides. The Luddites just think it’s all a bit unnecessary. But then that misses the point that this bike is one of considered evolution, a bike that has genuinely been put to the sword and agonized over by the most exacting racer (Nico Vouilloz) and passionate owner (Gilles Lapierre).

No matter how good the Lapierre suspension is there’s no getting away from sizing and this was hammered home in the tougher alpine environments when we were able to get a ride on an older XL. Overall the Spicy feels light, precise and always manoeuvrable. It’s one of the lightest bikes on test, weighing in around the 29lb mark with pedals, and of all the bikes it is certainly one that fits the all–rounder bracket well. It’s a bike that questions the need for a 140mm bike, why then did they make the Zesty I wonder when this bike rules so monumentally.

A 30 front ring means there’s still a fair amount of flapping from the rear in the smaller rings, this becomes noticeable on descents but it’s pretty good overall. The Ei clock becomes a pain when swapping out tubes and the bike became a scruff bag not long into its extended visit to Wales. It’s also slightly overpriced for a bike with metal wheels. And iffy metal wheels at that, as we’re not convinced of their durability.

It’s pretty much all gold here, however the wheels could be better, but suspension, gearing have all stood a severe beating. Most of all you have something special in the Ei shock, which makes it a cut above in some respects.

We needed an extra large to fit correctly but couldn’t get one. It’s a very expensive bike, yes you get Ei and a great spec but pound for pound the Kona is better and more stable in large. However, the Process and Spicy ever so slightly almost push in opposite directions. One is biff, bash and this is very much the smooth operator. The carbon Spicy is a truly awesome enduro race bike, it’s a bike that needs to be taken seriously. As a 27.5” bike for getting everywhere fast you’ll find it is better than the hard hitting but slightly heavy Process. It needs to be less expensive and Mavic wheels might toughen it up slightly. Still, it’s the bike that puts 140mm trail out of the game because it does so much more for roughly the same weight. And doesn’t it look stunning.

Lapierre Spicy Team £5899

www.lapierre-bikes.co.uk

Specs

Frame: Lapierre Spicy

Fork: RockShox Pike Solo Air RC 160mm

Shock: RockShox Monarch Ei

Cassette: SRAM XG 1199 11 speed

Derailleur: SRAM XX1

Chain: SRAM PC XX1

Chainguide: n/a

Crank: SRAM XX1

Brakes/Disc: Avid X0 Trail 200/180mm

Bottom Bracket: SRAM GXP

Bar: Easton Havoc Carbon 750mm

Headset: Cane Creek 40

Hubs: SRAM Rail

Rims: SRAM Rail

Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth

Stem: Easton Haven

Tyres: Schwalbe Hans Damf

Sizes: S, M, L, XL

YT INDUSTRIES CAPRA

This bike challenges all previous theories on what long travel is all about. At the same time it also dismantles ideas of what long travel can actually do. Finally it smashes to pieces the reality that carbon, high spec, beautifully presented bikes have to be closer to five figures than three. The shape of the Capra is designed to charge, this might seem a compromise on a bike that sells it self as a do–it–all weapon. It is not. Thirteen kilograms in weight, with quick wheels and neutral suspension means that it’s a bike that can be ridden hard all day any way. It is the first 170mm of its kind that can do this. It is the only bike that can do this.

BOS front and rear brings high performance, highly supportive suspension and offering superb sensitivity on the dials. The Pike Solo Air/Monarch Plus equipped bikes are superb, the Kirk/Deville spec is simply better. More than this the frame design is super smooth and the bike delivers on its ability to be pedalled about and in the darkest corners of any wood the Capra holds its poise superbly.

Light, lively with an ability to be placed anywhere instantly. It’s interesting that most 150/160 bikes lean either towards downhill or cross country in their nature, both the Kona and Lapierre do this. What’s striking about the Capra is that it can almost hold its own against a full–on downhill bike yet still maintains a lively trail nature. Its all–round ability is simply staggering.

The internal cable chatter that was evident on our ride in Israel was remedied by the time the bike arrived in the UK. This is how YT work.

The best of the best. End of. Consider the always precise engagement of SRAM X01, with the super quick Mavic wheelset, the much loved Renthal bar/stem combination, matchless RockShox Reverb Stealth and the magic BOS damping and you have a killer, some would say matchless, package.

The Capra was a monumental spanner in the works for this enduro test. We knew it was coming, what we didn’t know was quite how brilliant it would be. It is one of the most significant developments in mountainbiking for some time. I believe it to be a bike that could easily win certain World Cup downhill races, that’s how good it is. But that would compartmentalize the Capra, a bike far too feral to be hemmed into the confines of World Cup racing. It’s a bike up for anything whatsoever. It delivers ‘A star’ on pretty much everything, from specification/geometry/performance/pricing and visually it wins the game before you hit the trail. It blows everything out of the water by a mile, no other bike gets anywhere near it.

YT Capra Pro €3999 (£3308)

www.yt-industries.com

Specs

Frame: YT Industries Capra

Fork: BOS Deville TRC

Shock: BOS Kirk

Cassette: SRAM XG 1195 10-42

Derailleur: SRAM X01

Chain: SRAM

Chainguide: E.13 XCX+

Crank: SRAM X01

Brakes/Discs: SRAM X0Trail

Bottom Bracket: Truvativ GXP, PF30

Bar: Renthal

Headset: Acros AZX 203

Wheels: Mavic Crossmax Enduro

Seat/post: SRAM Reverb Stealth

Stem: Renthal Duo 40mm

Tyres : Mavic Crossmax Roam/Charge

Seat: SDG

Sizes: S, M, L

CONCLUSION

Pre–Capra it was pretty nip and tuck between the three other bikes, hence the comparisons you might notice between ‘the other three bikes’. When ‘the goat’ entered the fray late in the day it changed everything and it emphasized very clearly that as good as you are there simply is no room for error when YT are on their game.

Last July when we first tested the beautifully evolved Spicy it went straight to the top of our most wanted enduro bike list. Its graphic, suspension and light weight make it a winner. But it’s too much money for a bike with metal wheels. By August Kona were marching forwards with their new Process, more revolution than evolution and with superb angles, the Kona scores as a gritty general duty bike that can be roughed up. The Norco simply continued with the good work made on the alloy Range making it lighter and sexier and fourteen hundred pounds less than the Spicy. All three bikes are the cream of what’s currently available, but there are imperfections.

To be blown so forcefully out of the water by a little company who have got not just most things right, but everything right, must rankle slightly. When you’ve piled your heart and soul into a bike after so much effort it must be slightly demoralizing. But how can you not take your hat off to YT Industries for not just revolutionizing what’s possible on a long travel bike but to deliver in such a flawless package something that looks so good too.

Each of the other bikes are class yet there are errors which will never compete with the total performance of the Capra. When YT are so on the ball you simply cannot make any mistakes. As stinging a reality as it is the Capra pretty much murdered this enduro test, proving that sometimes your best simply ain’t good enough.

Still choosing your next Enduro machine? Try these:

Dirt 100 – The Best Enduro Mountain Bikes of 2014

ENDURO BIKE TEST (Part 1) | HAULAGE

Future Stock – Enduro Bikes 2014 | Dropping In