First Ride: Lapierre Overvolt XC 2017

Lapierre has clearly decided that Ebikes are here to stay, and worth investing in, as today it launches the new Overvolt Ebike range. Hannah was out at the press launch a couple of weeks ago and had chance to ride them, so here’s a closer look at the Overvolt XC. It will be distributed by Hotlines, but prices are pending confirmation. We’ll updated you when we know.

The Overvolt XC is a 120mm travel bike that comes in three models: the 500, the 400, and the 300. Here we have the 500, set up with 27.5in tyres, although, like the Overvolt AM Alloy, with an alternative drop out it can be made to take 27.5+.

Vroom. The 500W battery from Bosch will see you up all the hills without breaking (too much) sweat. This is a fairly typical Ebike set up, with the battery on the down tube.

The 500 series comes with the Bosch 500W motor, which the 400 comes with a 500W Yamaha motor, and the 300 has a 400W Yamaha motor. Of course, all will be regulated to comply with UK legislation re maximum speeds (and if you did find a way to bypass that you’d be voiding your warranty).

There are different options for assist: Eco, Tour, Sport and Turbo.

All models come with the RockShox Monarch rear shock.

The two higher end models come with the RockShox Recon Silver fork, while the 300 comes with a Suntour XCR.

Brakes – in this instance Shimano Deore.

It’s also Shimano for the rear mech, this time in XT form with a 11-42T cassette.

Here’s the clearance with the bike set up with 2.35 tyres.

I rode this XC500 as pictured above, with 2.35in tyres. It definitely felt lighter than the Overvolt AM Alloy (which was set up with plus tyres), and still had good climbing ability, but – as is to be expected – had less of the ‘roll over everything’ sensation that came with the Overvolt AM with plus tyres. I had a blast riding this through vineyards and off piste in the woods until I hit a series of thorns, used up all the spare tubes, and had to return to base, where I swapped for the women’s model. Men eyeing up the XC300 model might like to note my experience of the Suntour fork – particularly heavier riders or those planning to head down the burly stuff. So read on.

Overvolt XC Women

Lapierre has introduced two Ebikes specifically for women. There’s one hardtail model, the Overvolt HT 500W, plus the full suspension Overvolt XC 300W, in terms of suspension and motor, it comes similarly specced to the unisex Overvolt XC 300, although the frame geometry is different.

With the 300W Yamaha motor, there’s a noticeably different feel to the 400W Bosch. It’s still effective at getting you up hills, but the action is slightly less smooth, and you need to get your cadence right to get the best out of it. In general, I found this meant having a slightly higher cadence than the Bosch motor demanded. At this level, the bikes come with two chain rings up front, so it’s easy enough to keep your cadence up.

The controller for the motor is also different. I found that it was better placed to avoid accidental changes of setting than the Bosch motor, but it was also a little further in board than I would have ideally liked. The ‘walk assist’ button is better placed however – on the rider side of the controller, rather than the far side as on the Bosch. When pushing the bike up a series of step up or steep section, I found the Yamaha walk assist button easier to access, but in both cases I found the awkwardness of trying to hold the button down while pushing meant that the little bit of assist given was fairly insignificant.

So, to the frame geometry. On all the unisex bikes I rode a medium, however I rode a large women’s Overvolt. This still felt very short, and my knees seemed to get very near the handlebars when I first set off along the flat, and the ride position felt quite upright – perhaps I am a bit on the tall side for the range. I’m sure there will be people who appreciate the smaller proportions. The large women’s frame has the same seat tube length as the medium unisex 400, however the top tube is 10mm shorter and the reach 13mm shorter.

I did a more technical rocky descent than perhaps the target market for this bike will generally be eyeing up, and while the bike did feel fairly nimble and light, I did find myself noticing the lower quality of front suspension. It just wasn’t quite as smooth as the higher end forks, and I found the flex quite noticeable. But then if you were planning on tackling this kind of terrain on a regular basis, you’d probably be going for one of the other models, and for more traditional or rolling XC terrain and the occasional technical section this bike will cope fine.

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