Lapping It Up

Lapierre Spicy 316 Test – Winter brought me a few good things this year, lots of snow, a new house and a Lapierre Spicy 316, which was hot enough to see me through to spring. Downhill gave way to Big Mountain, single ring to triple and something called a front shifter which magically moves the chain from a big cog to a smaller one and back again all combined in a fully suspended package to tempt you into going fast on the downs and trying to go fast on the ups.

You all know that here at DW we are fans of that funky French peddler of bicycle p*rn – Lapierre. We’ve has a peek at the DH920 and loved it, well for this test I decided to ignore the DH and Froggy feeride range and focus on something a little shorter and a lot lighter, capable of actually being pedalled up rather than needing a push. Something which could still dispatching the downs, including those big hits – you know the ones where you’re surprised the frame hasn’t snapped or the BB smacked the deck with none of the drama. Oh yeah and it was an excuse to try and fit in some much needed winter training.

First impressions Spicy 316, which sits second in the “Big Mountain” range were good.  Classy white on black paint scheme with big bold decals under the lacquer to ensure that it looks as good at the end of the day as it did at the start. As a funny quirk Lapierre even provide washing instructions beside the BB on the down tube, like me you may be surprised to find that you can’t tumble dry the Spicy after a quick wash down.

For me the Lapierre frame was well thought out, the cockpit length was spot on for me in medium guise, not to stretched and with a nice seated position over the rear wheel for good traction all round. Detailing on the frame is worthy of a mention, X – shaped cable guides, big bolted pivots, a sag guide and replaceable drop out which whilst being functional were also beautiful, anodised a sort of mango / gold which offset the Black and White without looking gaudy.

To the rear, the chunky asymmetric stays have a couple of neat features, big links between the seat and chain stay, a thick rubber chainstay protector and a cool little shark fin of carbon for a mech guard. The big hydroformed stays keep flex to a minimum and contributed to the back end feeling tight and free from play. I have to admit to testing the integrity of the mech guard, catching a rock which was flicked up from the rider in front and bounced at the perfect moment to rebound off the guard. I’m convinced that if it hadn’t been there then the SLX shadow mech would have been a write off and I would have faced a long walk back to the car – did I get lucky? I don’t know but it was a sickeningly direct hit at speed which made me pull up sharp to check what was left, thankfully all of it.

Being a “Big Mountain bike” means that Lapierre expect the Spicy 316 to be ridden all day, so the fitment of lock on grips as standard is a good call, they were white though as was the saddle! How long are they going to stay that colour for?! Only gripe here was that I found the saddle uncomfy on longer rides, fine for Short XC/DH but be prepared for a lot of standing if you plan to ride for long time.

The spec of the Spicy 316 looks reasonable for the money, Formula RX brakes in white with adjustable bite point, Fox Float Forx and Shox, drivetrain from the big S in 9X3 SLX flavour, Syncros O/S Stem with riser bars and a semi-integrated headset complete. I spent a few mins looking for the pedals only to realise that they are not included as standard, I’m always surprised that you don’t even get a set of flats in the box although the first thing most folk do is take them off and fit their preference so maybe it’s just common sense, Lapierre doing their bit for the environment or saving a few Euro here and there….

Overall the Spicy 316 was only let down slightly by the wheels – Big Mountain maybe, sturdy but capable would be an honest opinion. For the money I would have expected branded hubs or maybe something a little higher up the Shimano chain with Mavic rims, nothing wrong with the Alex ones fitted, maybe I’m just a wheel snob. Tyres were my first venture into the world of Continental, Speed Queens – big volume with a decent if shallow tread which kept me upright in the worst snow I’ve ridden on / through, I was impressed to the point where I would happily run these on my rig.

During my time with the Spicy 316 I tried to do my usual test routine – bit of town playing, some local XC loops and some DH, in this case of DH snow stopped play, so I took the chance to educate the chaps from a well known retro website on the pleasures of a modern rig, how did the 316 get on? Well to say they were surprised, they expected it to be heavy and flexy, unable to keep pace on the climbs and generally to misbehave, as it was the 316 kept up with their rigids on the climbs, had a slightly unfair advantage on the downs and after 4 hrs around the hills of Dunkeld I was feeling a lot fresher than them. One or two even had a go when they thought I wasn’t looking then told me “there was hope for modern bikes after all”.

Unfortunately my time with the 316 ran out before I moved to Innerleithen, I was hoping to have had the time to give it the Plora / Caddon Bank work out however it was not to be. Sometimes life is cruel and unfair!

To sum up

For a bike which weighs over 30lbs it’s a strong performer on both the ups and downs, the link driven suspension action is stiff under pedalling but active enough to take the sting out of the trail and find traction when needed, helped by the Conti tyres. On the downs there is enough travel available front and rear to take the big hits and smooth out the smaller ones. I had a few moments where the rear shock blew through and used all its travel but I never felt wanting for more. The fact that Fox and Lapierre have worked together to get a set up which feels right for the frame is evident, I suppose it doesn’t hurt to have a multi world champ on the R&D roster either, pity I still will never ride like “the alien”.

Overall if I needed a do it all bike that I could ride all day everyday, was capable of XC, Megavalance, Enduro and shorter DH tracks then I would happily lay £2300 and walk away with a Spicy 316 using the words “Medium please”. For those on a budget there is the Spicy 216 at £1700 with the same main frame which is worth a look.

Thanks to Andy at Hotlines for the loan of the Spicy 316, Hotlines can be contacted on 0131 319 1444 and will happily point you in the direction of your nearest Lapierre dealer, alternatively you can view their whole (and surprisingly extensive) product range on the web at www.hotlines-uk.com