I've still not decided on a new bike - been busy with other stuff - and now need to make a decision. The Zesty is a sweet bike with very good kit and some excellent reviews but I've demo'd the Pronghorn and it's a beauty. Do I trot along with the herd and buy the Lapierre or be a bit different and get the slightly wrong looking but awesome to ride Pronghorn?
If you like the Pronghorn get that. Personally I'd be scared of catching my shorts (or worse) in the suspension linkage.
Not really worried about that - you'd be surprised how far away the shock is from your nads. It's got a very low/dipped top tube and most times you come off you'd be going forward anyway not straight down. I like them both could do with a bit of objective advice as I can't decide 🙁
i've got a KingPrawn on demo and it is an extremely capable bike for the money. Not tried a lapierre but thats basically what its up against for me anyway 🙂
I love the PH for a very direct feel from the pedals, better IMO than the orange 5 that a i had a very brief shot on at the w/e. You can really stomp on the pedals and it doesn't wallow, it sits up and takes off! Got the DT forks on the front and the 100mm lockdown makes a big difference too, although I didn't find the front too wandering with it up at 150. Its so light for such a big travel bike thats what really makes the difference for me (compared to an 06 spec enduro with a heavyish build)
Climbs really well and propedal makes a noticeable difference. The only thing is the PH has a shortish toptube so you feel quite compact when riding, although I think a slightly longer stem would help or possibly a 20" (i'm 6'1" and was on the 18")
good bikes though, and I think they look good once you get used to it. The main advantages of the shock being where it is is that the PP lever is right at your hand when you reach down and the british grime is largely kept away from it too. The one downside is that if you come off you might find the shock buried in your nuts dont see how that would be any worse than the top tube with cable guides 🙁
I'm all about the Pronghorn. It's different, it's silly rapid, ULTRA fast on the climbs and yet the fastest I've been on the downhills (admittedly not on singletrack due to the metre rule present instead of a handlebar) while also being the most fun - even I was jumping around.
However, for me I would always buy the 100mm Race with an adjustable fork on the front. It's even faster but the steeper angles will punish you if you're not good enough (which I'm not but it makes it all the more enjoyable) or you want a more relaxing, "all mountain" ride.
That said, the Zesty is a capable machine to say the least and they sell like hot cakes for a reason. Anyone who says they'll get their wang caught is either bigging themselves up or simply hasn't ridden one. Review of the carbon one [url= http://www.flyingfoxbikes.com/singletrack-review ]here[/url]
+1 for the king prawn loved it when I demo'ed it now need to start saving! Also the LT version but I'm going to try the shorter travel one aswell