Bike Check: Adrien Dailly's Lapierre Spicy

Mar 4, 2019 at 23:27
by Matt Wragg  




Coming back from injury is never easy, especially when it's as long a road back to racing as the one Adrien Dailly has faced after breaking his elbow after round 3 of the Enduro World Series last year. After eight tough months and many surgeries, he finally got back on his bike in the last month - although he still had to have the pins out, which meant another few weeks of agonising patience. That left things tight, in fact he only had four or five days on his bike metal-free before he had to pack his bags and jet off for the Windrock GRT, then on to New Zealand for the serious business of EWS rounds one and two.

To make things a little sweeter, he gets an all-new version of his Lapierre Spicy race bike to welcome him back - new bike day must be all that much sweeter with that kind of wait for it. For a racer, new bike day can be a little stressful however - to fight it out at the sharp end, comfort and confidence on the bike are as important as having the best possible bike. Fortunately for Adrien, he has an ace up his sleeve in that respect - his race bike has been developed by none other than his mentor and 10-times DH World Champion, Nico Vouilloz. Nico is unlike anyone else ever to throw a leg over a DH bike and his feel is still unparalleled. 17 years after his retirement from the World Cup circuit, and he has obsessed over every little detail, so that makes it a little easier to get on the bike and get back up to speed.


Adrien's Spicy Details

• Intended use: enduro racing
• Wheel size: 27.5"
• Rear wheel travel: 170mm
• 64.5° stock head angle
• 425mm chainstays
• Boost 148 rear spacing
• 445mm reach
• Prototype carbon wheels
www.cycles-lapierre.fr

Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg

Measuring in at 170cm (5'7") tall, Adrien has opted for the 445mm reach medium version of the bike, with 27.5" wheels, for now. The bike has been designed to switch between 27.5" and 29". He is keen to try bigger wheels later, but for now the priority is getting him back on the bike and up to speed, so he has stuck with the same wheelsize he was racing last year.


Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg
Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg

Out front the bike sports a 180mm Lyrik, paired with an angleset. For his 69kg (152 lb) weight he is currently running 1 token, 82psi, 12 clicks of rebound and searching for his sweet spot with the compression. Although for many the bike's stock 64.5 degree head angle would be enough, Adrien has been playing with 2, 1.5 and 1 degree head angle adjustments, going down as low as 62.5 degrees, but so far settling on 63 degrees as his preference. He has also been switching between 37 and 42mm offsets, and so far prefers the 42mm offset paired with this head angle and his 35mm stem.

On the rear, he has been switching between air and coil, and his current plan is to go for air for the tight Rotorua course, where he thinks have some extra pop will be an advantage. He is thinking to switch back to coil for some of the bigger mountain races and has been alternating between 300 and 325lb springs.


Adrien Dailly Lapierre Spicy. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg
Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg

Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg
Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg

Adrien's cockpit is supplied by a name that may not be familiar to us mountain bikers, but is likely to ring more bells on the moto side, with a certain Ryan Villopoto being very involved with the brand - Tag Metals. Adrien has opted for a 780mm wide, 35mm diameter, 20mm rise T1 carbon bar clamped onto a 35mm T1 stem with their slim T1 grips to finish it all off. This setup has a very comprehensive alignment system, which looks like it should help with the precise setups that riders of Adrien's level require. Underneath is a 15mm spacer to raise the bar a bit more. The saddle is made by Fabric with titanium rails to shed a few grams.

Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg
Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg

One area where Adrien is very picky is in the braking department - bucking the trend among the pro ranks for bigger, burlier brakes, he prefers a lighter brake and as such opts to run SRAM's Guide Ultimates, with a smaller 180mm rotor on the rear.

Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg
Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg

Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg
Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg

There was little comment on these unmarked, prototype carbon rims - they look to be around the 30mm inner width mark. While we couldn't get specifics, we were told that they pair well with the more compliant frame to prevent the bike being overly harsh and stiff - Adrien has been helping in their development and raced on them in Olargues last year where he bagged second. It is hard to tell from the photos, but they have a lovely, translucent clearcoat over carbon finish that is very unique. Adrien also has this neat solution to pair Quarq digital tire pressure gauges with the rims. Along with Sam Hill, Adrien is one of Michelin's top enduro athletes and he is running their DH casing Wild Enduro tires. The compound on these tires feels incredible, they are ultra-soft and word is that they have been working on a progressive sidewall casing to help prevent pinch flats and provide a more stable feel from the tire - Adrien is currently switching between compounds to find his sweetspot for racing. He runs 1.3 bar (19psi) at the front and 1.7 (25psi) at the rear.

Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg
Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg

So far Adrien is running a stock Eagle groupset and has not yet received Eagle AXS, but as one of their top athletes, we wouldn't be surprised to see it adorning his bike before long. He runs at a 34t chainring driven by 170mm cranks (although he is also testing 165mm), mated to the standard 10-50t Eagle cassette. For pedals he runs HT T1 pedals with titanium axles.


Adrien Dailly bike check. Sospel France. Photo by Matt Wragg

One other big change to Adrien's programme this year is this man - Craig Miller. For the last three years he has wrenched for Joe Barnes, but for 2019 he has joined up with the French title hopeful to make sure his bikes are singing sweetly as he aims to reestablish himself as one of the men to beat in the EWS.

Author Info:
mattwragg avatar

Member since Oct 29, 2006
753 articles

100 Comments
  • 91 16
 that headset seems to fit about as well as his t-shirt...
  • 5 13
flag chainspotting (Mar 6, 2019 at 1:24) (Below Threshold)
 Haha yeah! That gap not nice - who the hell is his mechanic!?
  • 56 2
 It's an angleset. That's how it works. Notice the front is offset from the back? I'm sure his mechanic knows what he's doing.
  • 2 0
 Who’s t-shirt? The guy in the bottom pic? Kuz I dont think it’s Adrien...
  • 7 0
 @Jaybirdy: That's Craig their mechanic and all around bad ass
  • 55 2
 Absolutely badass! Love the lines on that bike and the rc2 propping up the front.
  • 3 2
 Bike looks good. The tire graphics not so much, I think Michelin would sell a lot more tires to if the graphics were way more minimal.
  • 19 1
 Missing in this article is the SWAT like box near the Bottom Bracket for storage.. It looks sweet.. Finally a Lapierre i would ride...
  • 20 1
 Until I read the caption, I thought Adrien must have let himself go during his rehab when I saw the last picture.
  • 1 0
 Me too, i was like is that him? my memory is really off lol. Glad to see he is back, best of luck this season !!!!
  • 15 1
 Am i the only one adjusting my screen brightness to actually see the bike?
  • 3 0
 Tad bit underexposed (which I'm sure is what they're going for here) but I really wanted to see that linkage.
  • 6 0
 "Although for many the bike's stock 64.5 degree head angle would be enough, Adrien has been playing with 2, 1.5 and 1 degree head angle adjustments, going down as low as 62.5 degrees, but so far settling on 63 degrees as his preference."
Pretty badass setup, bike looks great all-around. Lapierre have really stepped up their game with this one, hope to see some reviews soon.
  • 3 0
 Angles are similar to the Spec Evo S2 with shorter chain stays. Also like the fact that they are using a standard headset for Angleset use. More manufacturers need to go back to this.
  • 1 3
 @salespunk: yes, then you found you just get your new nikt, you buy a tapered angleset... and ohh surprise... It only works with 1/8 tube forks... Which is not even produced now I guess with top forks...
  • 9 0
 Last years spicy looked like it would ring the bell at Notre Dame, this is sharp af!
  • 6 0
 I usually barely post anything but had to say WOW ! this is a good looking bike !
  • 3 0
 After 2 lapierre bikes i will never ever buy one again. Zesty had chainstay issues with bearings not staying in place so buy one if you want headaches. Carbon frame was light though,overall a nice bike but all these issues are not worth it. Lapierre customer service is poor. Took them several months to provide a faulty replacement for may faulty frame. Ride Lapierre if you're sponsored otherwise i would not touch these bikes.
  • 4 0
 Damn that's a nice looking bike, never thought I'd say that about a Lapierre! But only in 27.5 up to size medium, so that's a deal breaker. Give me this in 27.5 with a 470mm reach and I'm sold!
  • 7 1
 19 PSI up front is crazy to me.
  • 2 2
 Right? That seems super low for a guy of his speed, do those new tires have a crazy supportive sidewall or something? How is he not ripping them off at the speed he hits corners?
  • 4 0
 probably has Cushcore....
  • 1 8
flag kleinblake (Mar 6, 2019 at 8:37) (Below Threshold)
 I don’t even know how he has traction at pressure that low
  • 7 0
 DH casings... sounds like you've never used them before. I recently switched from EXO to Schwalbe Super Gravity (which aren't even their DH casing) and there is so much support in the side wall... I went from running 23 to 24 up front to 18 or 19 and I weight 180 lbs. It makes a huge difference.
  • 5 7
 @islandforlife: I raced downhill for years, anything lower than 25 psi up front results in a skiddish tire that brakes traction when pushing in turns
  • 2 0
 You can run pretty low pressure with a DH casing up front. Slowly worked my way down to 22psi and I'm 200 lbs. I hate squirmy tires and haven't gotten there yet
  • 3 0
 @DPoole603: "Along with Sam Hill, Adrien is one of Michelin's top enduro athletes and he is running their DH casing Wild Enduro tires. The compound on these tires feels incredible, they are ultra-soft and word is that they have been working on a progressive sidewall casing to help prevent pinch flats and provide a more stable feel from the tire"

I guess it really is just down to casing secret sauce with the new Michelins. Nice to see those guys finally coming back to the fore.
  • 7 0
 @kleinblake: Been racing Enduro for a couple years now. I guess should re-reference the inability to directly compare PSI's... as you probably know, for each person PSI is affected by, weight, tire size, tire width, tire carcass, tire manufacturer, rim width, suspension set-up, and personal preference, so it's very difficult to directly compare pressures.

The constant is the ability to lower pressures substantially when switching to a burly casing... which, since you race downhill, you already know. I don't race downhill, but from what I remember and/or read, I think DH racers tend to need higher pressures as their speeds tend to be higher more of the time.

Other factors include type and quality of tire and compounds as well as a riders ability to overcome losing traction with technique vs increasing PSI. As always it's up to each person to test PSI's and race what they're comfortable racing.

I just know from seeing these EWS bike checks over and over... most are running high teens to low 20's in the front and low to mid 20's in the rear... again depending on a number of factors.
  • 3 1
 Technique is prob the biggest difference in people who think sub 20 psi is low. Some riders are light on the bike some smash for traction. I am 200lbs and run 20/22 with SG schwalbes.
  • 3 0
 Yea people normally think I'm lying or I'm slow when I tell them I run 16 psi up front. I am neither. I weigh 150lbs and ride light on my bike. I prefer gnarly Pisgah terrain so there is plenty of opportunity for issues, but I never have them. 2.35 magic mary EVO and even run pretty stiff fork where people 30lbs heavier than me get on my bike and wonder why my fork is so stiff.
  • 1 0
 @jaydawg69: Last year he rode some www.spin-shield.com protos, but they didn't collect enough pre-orders to start the production for the public.
  • 1 0
 @islandforlife: I should have been clearer, what I said is true for me. I can get by on lower pressures in a straight line, but if I want to hit a hard pack turn hard I’m gonna have problems
  • 3 0
 Actually this discussion just reminded me of something... a couple years ago, I couldn't understand how people were running such low pressures. Then I bought a proper digital pressure gauge to put in my backpack for enduro racing. Turns out my floorpump with built in gauge that I had been using to measure pressure was reading about 8 psi to high!!

Then it all made sense... what are you using to check pressures?
  • 2 0
 @islandforlife: "what are you using to check pressures?"

Just my hand squeezing the tire.
  • 5 0
 Woo...At first I thought the guy on the last pic was Adrien haha
  • 7 2
 Headset looks ripe for some filth ingress
  • 3 1
 Jeez 170cm tall with 445mm reach paired with 780mm bar and 35mm stem ??? Crazy, I'm the same height as him and 409mm reach on my Small Reign with 750mm bars and 40mm stem and it's still so looong for me.
  • 1 0
 To each their own. I'm the same height on a medium Warden C reach at 437mm with 45mm stem and 730mm bars.
  • 4 1
 @LaXcarp: it depends on leg length vs upper body length as well.
in the end this is all so individual...
  • 4 4
 Bike certainly looks good. And with Lapierre's FIT Program, very versatile. You can run many combinations of shocks, wheelsizes, and geos). Seat angle's a bit slack for 2019, though (74.5 deg on the 29er configuration).

You could create a crazy slack build with a 27.5 rear wheel, 170mm rear shock, and a 29" 170mm front fork. Pedaling it would probably not be too bad but I'm quite sure it will be badass pointed downwards.
  • 2 0
 LOL. I am a short Pinoy here in Southern California who experiments in wheels too. I built my 2019 Reign from frame up with 29er fork from 160 to 170. Not as pedal friendly as my 2017 Fuel EX 29 and I tried one time putting a 29er front wheel. Not too much to say due to the fact I rode it once or twice. Gotta do it again for sure
  • 3 0
 Havent seen a review for any of the Lapierre bikes in a loooong time, would not harm
  • 3 0
 Swoon. Even the seattube looks MOAR Aero.
  • 4 1
 Marshy wont be happy about that rear rotor selection.
  • 2 1
 Damn that looks svelte.
My Michelin's just arrived today! cant wait to try'em...A few trails might start thawing out next week Smile
  • 2 0
 Is it me, or every single Pro bike check shows overforking by at least 10mm?
  • 1 0
 Shit the shop i work at carried Lapierre before they left the USA and i didn't care very much until right about now. Come back please @Lapierre-Bikes ?
  • 2 0
 @mattwragg not sure how much a compliment it is to you but your bike part photography and lighting is very good!
  • 1 0
 what is up w/ the seatpost sticking out of the seat tube so far? it must be a really short travel post so even when its down, he's still in an efficient pedaling position.
  • 2 0
 Errrr.. a journo had been using the bike that day and we forgit to drop it back down.
  • 1 0
 @mattwragg: Got it. Thanks. I was ready to sell all of my 150 posts and order some 80 mm travel ones.
  • 3 0
 dammmmm thats fine
  • 2 0
 Took me too long to realize the rear rotor didn't have teeth....
  • 4 1
 No more hunch.
  • 1 0
 I see Rockshox declined to make a matching aero steapost... that just looks bizarre.
  • 2 0
 wow looks almost as good as the slayer
  • 3 1
 425cs seem really short for the high speeds of ews
  • 2 0
 Adrien, que la force soit avec toi cette année
  • 1 0
 I love this bike but due to my OCD, that bulging headtube badge sticker is a deal breaker.
  • 2 0
 That stem - my heart is saying let's go My balls are saying no
  • 2 0
 Looks like a Sunn Kern...
  • 1 0
 Does anybody knows the shock length of this Spicy?
  • 1 0
 I would love a demo of the Spicy
  • 1 0
 looks like an old commencal meta got laid with a canyon spectral
  • 1 0
 I really like the look of this bike, but not so much the name
  • 1 0
 That's a really good looking bike
  • 1 0
 Lapierre looking good once again!
  • 1 0
 Just found my new favorite bike... I better be able to get one in Canada.
  • 1 1
 Spice up your life - never let your fear decide your fate #lapierrespicy
  • 1 0
 That Bike is Sexy AF !!!
  • 1 0
 Review the Spicy guys.
  • 1 0
 Bike is Soooo SICK...!!!
  • 1 0
 Now this is sexy bike
  • 1 0
 Perfection!!!
  • 1 0
 Good looking bike!
  • 1 0
 Looks awesome
  • 1 0
 Alex Turner X Lapierre
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