Lapierre completely reshapes their carbon Zesty CF, giving it an all-new dedicated all-mountain platform with more travel, completely revamped geometry, and plenty more modern updates. No longer just a scaled-back version of their Spicy enduro bike, Lapierre describes this new Zesty CF as “more assertive, more playful and definitely more versatile“. A more capable bigger, stiffer bike built to take on your toughest trails.
2024 Lapierre Zesty CF 150mm carbon all-mountain bike
While the old light trail & all-mountain Zesty bikes used to share their alloy and carbon frames with the much bigger Spicy enduro bikes, now the Zesty CF is all all-mountain. We spied the next-gen Spicy racing on the Enduro World Cup. And while this new Zesty CF is bigger and burlier than before, it’s not quite an enduro bike.
There’s still plenty of big bike inspiration here. And the new Zesties look to be at least half a kilo heavier than before in their new longer travel bigger wheels setups. But these are all-mountain bikes designed to be ridden all day, pedaled to the top of mountains, and ridden hard down the other side.
What’s new?
Everything. Ok, the general 4-bar suspension layout is the same. But the new Lapierre Zesty CF now offers more travel. There’s 150mm out back, now with 29″ wheels on all 4 frame sizes (S-XL). Even that suspension design is significantly tweaked, moving the rocker link lower and angling the shock further forward for a lower weight balance.
Reshaping the bike was driven by Lapierre’s desire to give the new Zesty an updated suspension kinematic. They wanted a bike more in tune with the aggressive way many mountain bikers ride today. Now more sensitive early in its travel for a connected feel to the trail, the Zesty CF progressively ramps up for more support at the end of its travel. Lapierre also specifically reshaped the new frame to make more room for high-volume, piggy-back & automated Flight Attendant air shocks to maximize grip & suspension control.
All-new All-mountain Geometry
Of course, the new 20224 Lapierre Zesty CF gets completely revamped geometry, as well. The bike was already slack, but still goes a bit further to a 64.5° head angle. A big +3.4° steeper seattube angle increase combines even with shorter toptube lengths to still give +20mm longer frame Reach across all sizes. That moves rider weight forward for better control. And it should make climbing more controlled, even with more travel and bigger wheels.
Chainstay length manages to decrease for the 29er setup to 432mm for good maneuverability. But with the longer, slacker front end & increased front travel, overall wheelbases increase by 30mm.
Now every size bike starts as a 29er. But a main pivot flip-chip makes a 27.5″ rear wheel possible, shortening the chainstays by 2mm. Already meant to be a more playful bike, Lapierre built-in mullet capability to take it to the next level.
Tech details
The full UD ‘SLI’ carbon Lapierre Zesty CF is built to be stiffer than ever. The French bikemaker ensured precision while bombing down hills and pedaling efficiency climbing back to the top. Lapierre describes the all-new carbon construction as a mix of T800, M40J & T700 fibers formed over custom polyurethane & polypropylene mandrels to create the new asymmetric frame. Claimed weight of the raw unpainted frame is said to be 2470g including the alloy rocker linkage.
The new Zesty CF keeps the external toolbox concept debuted on the previous generation. Instead of opening an extra hole in the frame, the storage box tucks under the downtube integrated inside of the downtube guard protector. That keeps the weight of your repair kit low, and further protects your frame from rock strikes.
The carbon Zesty gets a standard set of bottle cage mounts on the downtube. Plus, there’s an extra set for something small like a tool carrier under the toptube above the rocker. The new frame also features an Acros internal routing headset with Block Lock, a direct mount mini chainguide, an integrated fender to protect the shock from rear wheel spray, PF92 bottom bracket, Boost thru-axle, 31.6mm dropper seatpost with internal routing, and a UDH.
New Lapierre Zesty CF – Pricing, options & availability
The new carbon 2024 Lapierre Zesty CF is built for big mountain versatility. Lapierre designed the new bike around a 150mm travel 36mm stanchion fork matched to 150mm of rear wheel travel. The all-mountain capability continues throughout the spec with 32T chainrings to climb steep hills. And then, 4-piston brakes with 203/180mm rotor combos to keep speed in check on the descents. Plus, 29 x 2.5″ Maxxis Asegai MaxxGrip EXO+ front & 2.4″ Dissector MaxxTerra EXO+ rear tires for max grip in all trail conditions.
Four 150mm builds are available. Lapierre starts with the 4500€ Zesty CF 6.9 with Fox 36 Rhythm fork, Float Performance shock, and a Shimano Deore/SLX mix. A 5000€ Zesty CF 7.9 steps up to Fox 36 & Float X Performance Elite suspension and a Deore/XT mix at a claimed 15.2kg. Then, a 6000€ Zesty CG 8.9 gets Fox 35 & Float X Factory suspension with a more complete XT groupset.
The top big travel all-mountain build is the 9300€ Zesty CF SE with special edition Sienna brown paint, a RockShox Lyrik & Super Deluxe Ultimate Flight Attendant suspension setup with a SRAM XO Eagle AXS T-type drivetrain, DUB power meter cranks, and Lapierre AM carbon wheels.
A trail Zesty, too!
Without entirely giving up the long trail version of the previous Zesty, Lapierre does create one “super light” Zesty CF 9.9 trail build that dials back to 140mm of travel front & rear. The 7300€ CF9.9 gets a raw carbon finish, a lighter Fox 34 fork & Float Factory shock, plus carbon DT Swiss XMC1501 wheels wrapped with 2.4″ Nobby Nick front & Wicked Will rear Super Trail tires. It’s the lightest build out there at a claimed 14.6kg complete.
Check with your local Lapierre dealer to grab one soon.
