any thoughts if the rz would do as well as the zesty on the trails,ie would it cope well enough when the going gets rough,or am i miles off and is the cannondale classed a more xc racer whereas the lappy is an all mountain bike as such?ive been to my local bike shop and tested the zesty and its a cracker,feels bang up to date with good spec,just with spending big pennies(to me) i dont want to jump on the lapierre bandwagon without trying another bike thats on my list.just having difficulty sourcing a rz 120 to give try and compare,anyone got a rz that could give me some idea?cheers

can’t comment on the lappy but I have a rz120 that I give a bit of a hiding with no problems.
iv up graded the wheels from the lighter subzeroes.. but then I am a typical stw sweaty fat bstard
🙂

I’ve been riding a Zesty for 12 months and i’m amazed how good it is for rapid cross country – it climbs very very well

I often ride with a guy with a RZ120 and its much more XC orientated, so the Zesty destroys it downhill

it all depends if you want more ‘freeride’ rather than a XC orientated trail bike

i certainly wouldn’t swap my Zesty for a RZ120 as the Zesty is a wonderful all-rounder

I ride an RZ120-2 2011, and love it. The only weak specced part is the tyres fitted, that weigh almost 1kg each!!!! I now run it with Conti x-king pro’s and, wow, what a difference. I’m not a jumper, but I do like opening the taps downhill, and having fox both ends is great.

One of the lads in my group has a 2011 zesty and loves it. Little niggles like the saddle has already fallen apart, and his shoes rub the flared chain stays, leaving large patches of bare aluminium exposed. Having had a go on his, I honestly preferred the feel of the Dale, but so much is personal preference, and he adores his zesty.

I’m thinking of selling mine, but only because I have 2 similar bikes, and this one is the best, so will be the easiest to sell on, helping me towards my Yeti dream!!!!

Have an original Rize from 2008 and without overdoing the hyperbole (cos everybody thinks their bike is the greatest) the Rize/RZ is the definitive trail bike ideally suited to moderately gnar trail centres whilst at the same time being easily capable of all-day epics. It is way, way too flexy for proppa DH runs and although it can descend it is better at going up, along and round corners all day.

cheers for input fellas,good to hear the rz is near on par with the lappy,cos im a sucker for that front lefty.had one before on a flash f1 alloy and couldnt fault it.looks bit dogy at first but a very well put together front end,im no downhill leg-end but it always stayed in line and never washed out.Just lately got a real urge to go for a full bouncer,an to get around a bit more like ladybower,greno woods etc.so my thinkings that a full suss would cope better than my ht,or be a more compliant ride.anyone know the weight of the rz 120-2 compared to the lapierre?the 314 i tested was around 11.5kg,felt lighter than that tho.

I’ve the 314 and it feels a lot lighter when riding it. Pro-pedal that rp2 and it climbs as quick and as easy as my 24lbs hardtail. Then unleash the 140mm for the descents and it brings a smile to your face.

One thing to remember with the lefty is that there is no QR (unless they’ve radically changed it) – meaning longer to get it in and out of the boot.

The Rize/RZ frame is not heavy. I put some Revs and decent wheels on mine and a few other bits and it’s about 26-27lbs (size L) easy to pick up/carry with one hand. Physically it’s quite a big bike 6ft end-to-end and the high-ish BB makes it sketchy on trialsy-type obstacles.

Do not buy if you ride slow, nadgery stuff it prefers fast open sweeping terrain.