Apart from around 3.5 lbs and 20mm travel whats the difference between the spicy and zesty, all reviews say both pedal perfectly up and down so is there much point in going for the shorter travel? I am toying with the idea of either one of the lapierre's a remedy or a nomad…. what would be best for an all day trail bike which can get up the hills but fly back down?

dare I say an Orange 5

no 🙂

Scott Genius?

As an 'all-day trail bike' surely get the Zesty. Get the Spicy if you want to take it to the Alps or do some 'DH-lite' 🙂

I too am grappling with this same dilemma and my shortlist is pretty much the same. Upgrading from my first full susser I seem to want to moon on a stick. Pedal all day and not overkill for UK trails/trail centres but strong enough for summer hols in the Alps/Spain. (I really don't want to be lusting after another bike/frame next summer plus only got room for one bike)

The dividing line between the Zesty and Spicy, Blur LT and Nomad etc seems quite fine and obviously depends how you build them. I'm currently erring on the shorter travel side but change my mind daily. And then there are people running 160mm forks on 5-spots, Orange Fives and Intense Tracers etc, which just confuses me more!

Has anyone bought a Nomad/Spicy/Remedy/Orange Alpine and found it too much bike?

I've got the Zesty. You won't be disappointed. My mate has ridden my Zesty and he has got a Scott Genius 20 and he says the Zesty climbs better than his Genius. My Zesty is the 314 and 3lb heavier than his Genius as well.

I really like the idea of the Orange Blood… short enough rear travel to ride all day, big enough for anything you find.

Not an only bike though.

One of the lads I go riding with has built one of these up, its mega light 6 inch travel and it climbs like a goat on crack.
http://www.cube-bikes.de/xist4c/web/fritzz-cocoa_id_36128_.htm

Can't beat an '06 Enduro S-Works I'm afraid…….

I had an '07 Nomad, which I found to be way too much bike for the trails I normally ride, including quite a few of the Welsh trail centres.

Got rid and replaced it with a Yeti 575 that can be built up fairly light for all day rides, but will still take a Talas 36 fork if I ever get my arse in to gear and organise an alps trip.

Wheelz…When you say 'too much bike' do you mean too heavy to pedal all day, inefficient to pedal all day or did it just take the fun out of the trails, steamrollering them?

The Yeti does seem like a good middle ground and cheep… As does an enduro just don't trust their suspension components yet.

Well I have found a very well priced zesty, I like the idea of 28lbs in weight for hauling around, but I also like the idea of a bit of extra travel, I used to do DH lite but after a couple of accidents I am not sure how much I am going to get back into any form of DH… trypical riding is / should be, Cwm Carn xc, Mendips, FOD, any welsh trails etc

Sounds like definitely the Zesty imo.

I used to do DH lite

What's DH lite?

Having ridden my 5 for a week in the Alps i would say those 6 inch travel bike seem overkill for much of the UK IMO.

The appeal of those bikes is strong but i honestly think i would chose a Zesty over a Spicy for the UK. Saw a chap out on a Spicy on the Mendips the other week and TBH it looked kind of silly.

Be honest with yourself and the riding you do 🙂

Nomad 2 owner here and i'm very impressad with it.What surprised me with it is it's climbing ability compared to my old sub five,far better.And then theres the downhill,wow!

zesty.

The riding I did needed it, I used to have a demo 8, a commencal furious etc… I used to love cwm carn DH but cannot watch my family panic every time I go out, after broken wrist 3 ops, broken ribs and not a nackered spine I am thinking I need to take things a bit easier, stop worying about hammering down hill and just ride for the fun of it again!… but I dont want to end up on too short travel and clatter through everything.

Bjj my mate has a nomad…. very very nice, tbh I do have a ransom carbon but just have a hankering for a Lapierre!

What's DH lite?

I used the term – partly as a joke but I guess I meant easier DH courses with reasonable jumps and drops but nothing silly and not at race speed.

Saw a chap out on a Spicy on the Mendips the other week and TBH it looked kind of silly.

Not everyone can afford to have 5 different bikes to suit every occasion though – at least with a Spicy you could ride some DH in the alps as well as do local rides, even if you were a bit overbiked.

If it's your only bike then I agree with nickegg. 6" bike 30lb bike is too much for most riding in the UK. 5" travel with Fox 32 forks is ideal.

Yeti 575 are very nice although I didn't find them that cheep!

Just get and Orange 5 Pro and be done with it!

i hate the such & such bike is overkill for the uk cliche. yawn…

That was constructive Peachos…thanks for your input 🙄

do you think I would see much difference between a Zesty and a Ransom carbon? My ransom is around 30 lbs with some very nice DT E2200 wheels and Hope Ltd Edition M4's, x-9, 55 ata's, thomson stem and fsa carbon pro bars.

nickegg – Member
That was constructive Peachos…thanks for your input

far more constructive than spouting the same old crap.

why exactly do you think that a 6" bike is OTT for most uk riding? because we don't have any mountains or rocks or trail centres that can justify that whole extra inch… ❓

Zesty seems very popular, I've had one for six months now and love it.
Also know of a second hand Spicy thats for sale and has been used with out problem all day in the lakes and alps.

I do admit I find it funny, I have met people who think 100mm is enough for the UK, but tbh a 10, 20, 30 etc ft drop is the same height wherever you are…

Im kind of thinking would the zesty be better for general trail used vs the ransom or would I see little benefit? I can get a zesty 514 and have around £400 left over to upgrade a few bits, either that or a Spicy 516 with nout left over but a tad more travel in hand… my head hurts!

IamSam – Is is posted up anywhere?

Nope not to my knowledge, think its a 916 any how and its being sold though bike treks ambleside, not a cheap bike.

exactly CtD!

from you saying you have ridden a fair amount of DH in the past i would imagine you still like flying on the downs, hitting the occasional jump & drops therefore if i were you i'd opt for the spicy. i ride a 6" FS as my main bike and wouldn't swap it for something with less travel purely because it's more versatile. (that said i would love an additional shorter travel FS for enduro racing…!)

true.. im in a sticky decision..

I have a zesty and wouldn't change it. Admittedly I didn't test ride a Spicy, but just thought it would be over kill for the significant majority of UK riding.

Did test ride an orange 5 and the yeti 575 and preferred the zesty by a mile.

i'd get the spicy for the insignificant minority of UK riding 🙂

Well I should have around £1800 to spend, and would buy 2nd hand to get a decent spec, I have seen they have the spicy and zesty in new cheaper forms also which could be a possibility new!

I have an 07 Nomad with 36 talas – it's a great bike but yes I do think it is overkill for the uk, especially trail centres. I've used it for 2 trips to the alps now (swap wheels/tyres/shorter stem) and managed to keep up on most tracks with my mates on 223's etc…if you can only have one bike, like doing DH/lift days but need to pedal up I would say it is about perfect.

Friend who had an orange5 in the alps suffered quite badly on some of the steeper and techier courses. He said it was down to the head angle (he's a better rider than me and I was ok on the nomad…)

When I test rode a lapiera (zesty I think) it felt quite flexy compared to the nomad.

Cwm Carn xc, Mendips, FOD, any welsh trails

I have met people who think 100mm is enough for the UK, but tbh a 10, 20, 30 etc ft drop is the same height wherever you are…

To be fair to Nick Egg, None of the places you ride are hardly 10, 20, 30 ft drop territory and you've not stated the need to do this as a requirement. In my experience a 6" bike would not be any faster or enjoyable than a 5" bike at those locations. In fact, at Afan and the Quantocks, the ST4 was a more suitable and enjoyable bike than the Five (and I'm saying that and own a Five)

And a Zesty is just fine down Cwmcarn DH course.

yes cwm carn would be the most DH I would hit, I basically ride anywhere within a 2 hour drive from bristol so quantocks etc I was just usinf 20ft drop as an example, my only concern is 15 QR on the zesty vs a 20mm on the spicy

15QR is great! Massive improvement (others argue not mind) over a normal QR fork… I've owned 9mm Floats and 15QR Vanillas and have tried 15QR Floats. I'm all for 15QR 🙂

My remedy is perhaps a little much to get the best out of flatter, singletrack riding. But having the pro-pedal shock & floodgate on the fork means you can lock it out for harder surfaces, making it much tighter, but still giving it some leeway if you hit harder stuff. Very adaptable.

A – Its better to be over-biked than under-biked. Plus whatever travel you have you'll find somewhere, somehow to use it all – by riding faster or just hitting bigger stuff.
B – A heavier bike will mean you'll just get fitter.
C – Don't underestimate the benefit of the slacker geometry of longer travel bikes.

I'd go for the Spicy: I test rode one for 6 hours in the North Downs and had a great time. I would say the Spicy is the more versatile of the two.

I've said it before and I'll say it again…. Roscoe. Rides like a short travel bike when there's no need for long travel, has all the suspension you'll need if you ask for it. What's not to like?