KENT, Wash. (BRAIN) — Lapierre North America plans to offer its new downhill bikes in North America next year, including its DH Team and DH 727 models.
Lapierre's World Cup team is already racing on the 27.5-inch wheeled bikes.
"The platform of the new DH is far more progressive than previous models," said Stephane Lapierre, a company marketing assistant. "This new DH platform uses a brand-new technology; a link-driven single pivot configuration that we call "Supra Link Technology," or SLT. The Lapierre DH bikes use a scissor-like linkage to activate the rear shock, which has 210mm of travel and gives the bike really great responsiveness to small bumps and on the other hand, gives enough ramp-up at the end of a hit to avoid harsh bottom-outs."
The Lapierre DH was created with feedback from members of Team Lapierre Gravity Republic, including Sam 'Blenky' Blenkinsop, Emmeline Ragot, Loris Vergier, and Loic Bruni.
The DH has an adjustable head angle between 62.5- and 64.5 degrees. The length of the chainstays has been altered to provide the suspension's progressiveness, and the bottom bracket height has been modified to accommodate the larger wheels. The frame's reach has been increased from older designs to provide a longer cockpit and more stable design for the higher speeds of current World Cup courses.
The DH will come with two build options. The DH Team will be equipped with SRAM's DH-specific drivetrain, XO1 DH 7 speed. The Team has Easton Havoc bars, stem, seatpost and wheels, Schwalbe Magic Mary 2.35-inch tires and RockShox's World Cup fork and Vivid Coil shock. The DH Team will also be available as a frame kit.
The DH 727 is a more affordable option with the same chassis as the Team. The drivetrain is a mix of E-thirteen cranks, a SRAM X01 DH 10 speed rear derailleur and SRAM PG-1030 11-26 DH cassette.
Lapierre did not having pricing information; both models will be available in January 2015.
More information: lapierrebicycles.com.
