We rode the new Zesty AM and XM last summer and came away pretty happy with the pair, especially with an excellent matching of frame and fork movement. With 120mm of plush OST+travel from the frame and a 130mm fork, the new 27.5″ XM trail bike works as a capable shorter travel version of slightly bigger XM with a little better pedaling efficiency. That makes it a fairly solid choice for trail riding that includes a decent amount of both ups and downs.
The AM is another of the long reach, short stem, and wide bar bikes that have become a trend in the last year, and combined with the longer travel fork and clearance for 2.4″ tires makes for a capable descender. While the carbon versions sell for 4400€ or 5400€, the lowest prices alloy-framed bike was still 2900€. Now with a careful spec and the same frameset, Lapierre has gotten this Zesty XM 227 down to just 2300€.
The bike saves money on parts, but sticks with solid performers in a RockShox Sektor Gold RL fork and Monarch R shock. Drivetrain and brakes still get a good 2×10 Shimano Deore mix with a SLX rear mech, and wheels go with some 21mm inside Mach1 Traxx rims laced to Formula thru-axle hubs. The new bike will be available in shops in the first week of March, in time to hit the spring trails.
