Viewing 28 posts - 1 through 28 (of 28 total)
  • Which bike would you get? (Zesty or Remedy 9)
  • doof205
    Free Member

    Ok after having my bikes stolen this week I’m back in the market for an AM bike. I’ve been riding a boardman FS for the last year at trail centres and even over in the Alps and I loved every minute of it. Now it’s time for a new bike I’m thinking longer term and want to get something that will last me years.

    At the minute I’m torn between a couple of 2011 / 2012 Trek Remedy 9’s on ebay and a Lapierre Zesty 914 (2009). Both appear to be cracking bikes and offer a nice saving over the RRP.

    I ride trail centres most of the time all around the UK. I’d like to be able to take it to the Alps once a year. While I like to think I ride fairly quickly I’m not going to be doing any 6ft drops any time soon!!

    What would you get and why?

    Thanks for any opinions.

    droppinneutron
    Free Member

    Your right – Lapierres are cracking bikes

    unklehomered
    Free Member

    This is half of my short list too. Also on are Transition Covert, and Meta AM.

    I’m going for the longterm too, but thinking of going retail for the after care/warranty ease…

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    dan45a
    Free Member

    Zesty and remedy are both good bikes IMO. I’ve had 2 zestry’s and loved them.

    But anyone looking for a new rig should consider the YT industries bikes for value. They had a demo day in Morzine a few weeks back and feedback was great.
    The wicked 160 LTD has an amazing spec, and is fantastic value with the current exchange rate. 29lb weight, front and back BOS suspension, X0, reverb, mavic Crossmax….

    dang100
    Free Member

    I don’t know anything about the Remedy but I’ve just bought a 2010 Zesty 714 (I think it’s the same frame as the 914). I took it out for its first proper test yesterday and wrote my impressions below. To give you an idea of what the impressions are based on: I ride in the mountains just to the north of Madrid. The riding is very dry and dusty, rocky, rooty singletrack through pine forests; the longest descent I did yesterday starts at 1600m and finishes around 1200m.

    So, here are my impressions (I’m comparing it against a Yeti 575 from 2006):

    The Good.
    – It is a very fast bike. I took it out for its first proper test yesterday and it really killed my old bike. It’s really good on rough, rooty, rocky technical Singletrack – it really carries speed. The suspension action is really smooth so obstacles that would have slowed me down on the Yeti just flew by. I found it a bit harder to control when the trail gets steep but that maybe me just getting used to the Formula brakes which are more of an on-off button than a brake.
    – Cornering: it grips really well in the corners, which I put down to the suspension action. I’ve got exactly the same tyres (ie the exact same pair) as I had on the Yeti so the test is pretty accurate.
    – Climbing. It’s a light and rigid frame and the XT wheels feel nice and light so it climbs well, especially on long, steady “dig-in” type climbs.

    The not so good.
    They have a reputation for needing quite a bit of looking after. The rear end gets loose and needs its bushings replacing once a year. Check for play where the seat stay joins the chain stay. V. easy job to fix but makes a hell of a noise when you crank the pedals hard in a big gear. They also eat through bearings quite quickly, I’m told. Also the bottom bracket they come with is well known for being crap. When I bought mine I asked on here and was told to check round the bottom bracket for cracks. Apparently a couple of frames have snapped there.

    Hope this helps you make the decision. Right now I’m still in the honeymoon period but nevertheless, If I could go back to the moment I handed over the money for my new bike, would I do it again? Yes, definitely. Knowing what I know now about how fast it is, I’d have been happy to pay more for it.

    ps – careful with the sizing. They come up large. My Zesty is a small and I’m a shade under 5 foot 8. It fits me very well but if I was an inch taller I think I’d fall between the small and the medium.

    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    Had absolutely zero bearing/bushing hassle with my Spicy.

    doof205
    Free Member

    Thanks for the info guys. All very helpful and I’m not leaning towards the Lappy. Don’t think I want something that is too much like hard work up hills.

    Just struggling to decide between a 514 and a 914 that is selling for about 1k more. I wonder if it’s worth it.

    droppinneutron
    Free Member

    If a Covert is on your list that makes your decision much, much easier.

    Commencal – also cracking bikes

    Pawsy_Bear
    Free Member

    Zesty 714 2010 owner from new. Best bike so far I have owned. 5′ 8″ short legs medium with 50mm stem 710mm bars, perfect position.

    Bottom bracket gets water in it and needs changing every year. Back end didnt need changing until after 2.5 years. Given my mileage I think its amazing. It’s been everywhere from Trans alps to Andorra and maxi avalanche course val norrd.

    I think 714 is best bang for buck IMHO between 514 – 914. Frames are all the same just cling ons different.

    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    doof205 – Member
    Thanks for the info guys. All very helpful and I’m not leaning towards the Lappy. Don’t think I want something that is too much like hard work up hills.

    Zesty goes up hills very well – better than the Remedy. I’d have thought – good few friends have the Remedy, it’s quite compact too.

    unklehomered
    Free Member

    In Fairness Commencal haven’t been that cracking for a couple of years now…

    TheFopster
    Free Member

    Being a non IT-qualified pauper without an Audi I only have a Zesty 214 😳

    Having said that it’s been great. Bottom bracket is bobbins as you have discovered but not hard to put a new one in and they’re cheap. No other issues with mine after 2 years – rear end and bearings all still good. I love it but I believe other good bikes are available.

    Sounds like whatever you get will be great – not a bad position to be in!

    doof205
    Free Member

    Don’t get me wrong Fopster…this is going straight on a credit card 🙂

    My way of getting over the loss of my Boardman FS that was nicked!

    ooOOoo
    Free Member

    A 2011 remedy is prob a better shout than a 2009 lapierre.
    I had a 08 Remedy, then a 2011. Now on a Slash. The DRCV shock made a good improvement. Solid bikes.

    geordiemick00
    Free Member

    Zesty

    dan45a
    Free Member

    As mentioned I loved my 2 zestys, agree with above comments on bb and bearings but didn’t detract from it being a great bike.

    I had a 2008 514 and a 2010 714, the 714 was a much better bike, it was abit shorter and had better feeling suspension out back, more plush. I think 2010 had the boost valve shock as well.

    Also with the zesty you can fit the off set bushes which will slacken it off and drop bb and make it even more capable on the rough stuff. Read the dirt article for full details….

    dang100
    Free Member

    yes, the 2010 714 has the boost valve.

    The 514 has a carbon rear triangle / aluminium front trangle. The 714 is all carbon.

    br
    Free Member

    Rode the blingy Remedy last year at a demo, found it very underwelming, and a little steep on the front.

    samroper
    Free Member

    Having demo’ed both of them, I would definitely go for the Zesty. It feels much quicker in every situation and seemed to handle the descents very well, despite rumours that it was a tad slow. It also has upped travel on the front for 2013 so would be even better on the descents. But i’d go and demo them if i were you.

    maxtorque
    Full Member

    Zesty!

    (not that i am biased, much………… 😉

    Nonsense
    Free Member

    I have a Remedy with a slackset. Best bike I’ve owned. I rode a Zesty for a weekend and found it a little bit sluggish and inert feeling. I like the DRCV shock on the Remedy as it’s quite ‘pert’ until you dig deeper in to the travel, where it just sucks everything up. Horses for courses I suppose.

    doof205
    Free Member

    I’ve only just managed to get round to looking at the YT Industries Wicked 150 Ltd recommended by dan45a. The spec is astonishing for £1900. Full SRAM x0 alone is probably over £1000 RRP. And you get a reverb!

    I’m very tempted by it but can’t find a huge number of reviews.

    For 1900 I could get that or a 10 month old remedy 9, or alternatively something brand new with arguably a better spec!

    This also starts stretching into the realm of other direct-from-manufacturer bikes such as the Fezzari Nebo Peak…but could i really buy something called Fezzari?!

    In terms of Zesty’s, they get lots of good reviews but there don’t seem to be a huge number available in my price range unless i go for a newer 2011 314?

    This really is impossible!

    skiprat
    Free Member

    I’ve got a 2011 314 and if you change the bars, its a cracking bike!!

    Goes up hill well (depends how big your legs and lungs are), but on technical rocky climbs its superb. It just finds grip and you can just find a way up.

    On the downs i find its made me quite a bit faster than i was before on my Fuel EX. I feel safer throwing it into rough stuff knowing that i stand a good chance of still being attached to the bike onthe other side!! 😆

    I was looking at a Remedy the other year and the only thing that put me off was the top tube and how close it was to “little skiprat”. Toptube on the Zesty drops alot more so plenty of room.

    Ride both and see which fits/you like best but don’t be put off by it just being a 314 and not a 914, its still a great bike with room to upgrade.

    Oh, and in just over 12 months i’ve not replaced any bearings or bottom brackets and theres been some very wet/gritty riding in that too.

    covbuggy
    Free Member

    Hi, I have a 2012 Remedy 9 and I can say its the best bike I have ever had, for your info previous to this I has a 2009 Zesty 514.

    The 2012 model come with the slacker headset which really made all the difference for me. I generally like you ride trail centres.

    Here is a good review of the bike shows how the DRCV thing works http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lSfN6qSHUw

    Only downside is the forks the DRCV thing does taking some use to, but I have swaped mine for some revs.

    Couple of reasons why you should consider the Remedy:
    – Weight wise the remedy is way lighter than the zesty I had,
    – The remedy has a slacker head angle (which can be changed),
    – The remedy will be cheaper,
    – The remedy has 150mm travel compared to 140 on the zesty, dont notice on the trail centre riding but will be noticed in the alps.

    Hope this is of help, in fairness any bike you chose will be very good.

    chiefinspector
    Free Member

    I own a 2011 Remedy 7 and overall it has been an excellent bike. Only downside was the SRAM gears which proved to be unreliable and has now been swapped to XT with no problems.

    My mate has just bought a 2012 Zesty 214 and it is also an excellent bike. I have had a few shots on the Zesty and IMO it climbs slightly better than the Remedy but is not quite as fast on the downhills. That would probably change if i owned a Zesty and used it all the time but i think you would be happy with either of those choices. When i come to buy a new bike next year the Zesty will be one i will be considering to buy.

    dantsw13
    Full Member

    Titus El Guapo – trail bike of the year last year, see recent threads on here. If you are willing to build it yourself there are some REALLY cheap Nukeproof Mega frames to be had.

    I was in a similar position last year, and the general advice for an occasional Alps bike was the Heckler, which is my current bike. Right up to the point I did 3 forward somersaults down the Chavannes Red in Les Gets and broke 2 bones, I loved it, and it ate up anything I threw at it. Careful on the sizing though, they are notoriously short in the TT.

    jairaj
    Full Member

    While I like to think I ride fairly quickly I’m not going to be doing any 6ft drops any time soon!!

    What would you get and why?

    I’ve ridden both the 2012 Fuel Ex and the Remedy, both are great bikes. But if you’re not going to do 6ft drops or have no ambition to do that. Then I would recommend the 2012 Fuel EX instead. Nice slack angles and long frame that copes with far more aggro than any 120mm bike should do. Its also lighter than Remedy.

    skywalker
    Free Member

    Five

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