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it felt like I was being pushed onto my hands too much at times
This is the next step in getting good at racing - build up your core strength to maintain that lower position!
Don't be afraid of running a shorter stem by the way - I run a 60mm on my race bike nowadays.
Oh, and, if you're not getting the results you're after on a 12.1kg bike with racey geometry, upgrading the wheels and cranks won't make a difference. Nice kit is nice to have, but the bike won't be holding you back now.
Yeah that is in the plan with my PT as it is definitely a weak spot currently. I got a fair bit of lower back aching during the first race.
I think there is a 60mm and a 50mm in the spares box to play with.
Spec diagram from Lapierre support for future reference
Nice one! Do you have that as a pdf or just image?
Second proper ride today. Winchester to the sustainability centre via the SDW. Ride was great, bike was great and I set PRs on 3/4 of the segments. Now having thoughts that the hardtail can go as not sure when I'd ride it!
Only negative currently is what I think is BB creak (only manifests under heavy pedal load, not under deliberate suspension compression and can cause it by pedaling hard either side).
Nice one! Do you have that as a pdf or just image?
They just sent that small image. I wonder if it's worth acquiring a set of replacement bearings in advance, or whether they're common types that could be easily sourced.
Second proper ride today. Winchester to the sustainability centre via the SDW. Ride was great, bike was great and I set PRs on 3/4 of the segments.
Cool, how's the ground conditions down there? I'm itching to do SDW again this year and just waiting until a nice weekend when it's dried out.
Now having thoughts that the hardtail can go as not sure when I’d ride it!
I'm keeping mine for winter, but I agree with you, this XR is a better ride than my hardtail in every way.
Only negative currently is what I think is BB creak (only manifests under heavy pedal load, not under deliberate suspension compression and can cause it by pedaling hard either side).
That's annoying, possibly not enough grease in the threads?
SDW that I covered was basically dry apart from the odd puddle. The Chalky climb to the sustainability centre was really slippy however that was probably due to the short shower half an hour before I got there. Hopefully a bit later in the year I'll be making an attempt at sub 12hrs from the Winchester end (starting on Southampton for bonus miles).
It's a press fit BB so suspect not threads. I've already regressed the pedal threads and it's not those. Pedals are not very old. Will pull the crank and check the ring mounting and if the spline needs greasing. I already have a hope of BB on the shelf so if those checks don't fix it I'll be knocking the current one out and fitting the hope.
I wonder if it’s worth acquiring a set of replacement bearings in advance, or whether they’re common types that could be easily sourced.
looks like common ones, though they are matrix bearing, solid lube
No 12 https://www.bike24.com/p2283455.html
No 29 https://www.bike24.com/p2283418.html
Been very tempted by one of these but just can’t shake the feeling the front’s too low for me.
Having sold my gravel bike because I couldn’t get on with a low front and drops.
with the stem at max and a low rise riser, it's not that low.
the BB is low, so relatively speaking it feels higher than you'd think.
That said, it's not high by any stretch, but there is a bit of flexibility.
and for the record, I'm not bendy, and don't get on with drops either.
does anyone use a bottle on the seat tube? The bosses are very low down, so much so that my SKS cage physically doesn't fit in, the holes on the cage are about 1cm to high, and even if it did, the bottle woud bottom out on the frame and not sit in the cage properly.
something like this:
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/accessories/bottles-cages/cube-bottle-cage-hpp-matt-blackred__630
looks like it's got holes quite low down and may work, but anyone successfully got a cage to fit?
I've used a Lezyne Side Load bottle cage which fits in there well. Holds a 600ml GripGrab bottle securely enough, a 750ml bottle would not leave enough clearance for the compressed shock.
Great, I'll try something like that. 🙂
Really loving the XR and have been riding it loads recently. However I had my first maintenance issue already - loud clicking headset. I disassembled the headset and it was pretty filthy especially around the top bearing.
It seems obvious why it's happening too. There's several millimetres gap between the custom cover and the frame, letting the dirt in. On my other MTB there's no gap there. Fortunately the bearing is sealed so just a clean and regrease seems to have fixed the issue for now, but I can't help but feel this is a design flaw?
I can’t help but feel this is a design flaw?
that’s the kind of defect me and the manufacturing guys argue about all day. Me: “You made it wrong”
Factory: ”no, you designed it wrong”
ad nauseum. They’re almost always right - it’s easy to design something that can’t be made in volume.
id fill that with something… blu tak personally 😂
so, 6/7 months on, how are folk getting on with their XR's?
I've not done huge miles, about 550 ish in this time over 30 or so rides, but it's been an absolute gem of a bike to use. there have only been a few times where I've not felt comfortable riding stuff and TBH it probably saved me from imminent injury..but 99% of the time it's pretty perfect for what I do.
Took it out of the shed this morning though and it seems like I've play somewhere, think some of the bearings are shot, which is quite a surprise considering the mileage or lack of, and that they're supposed to be fangled SKF solid lube bearings..
I'll update once I've had chance to investigate properly after work, but wonder if others have had similar? I kinda hope it's bearings (easy to sort) and not something else :-/
bike gets fairly well looked after, hosed down not jetwashed and dried out in the kitchen overnight normally.
I've loved the XR this summer but it's in storage over the colder months now. I've probably done roughly the same mileage on it, including a few 100 mile epics in the South-East.
That's annoying about the play, keep us updated on which bearings you find to be the culprit. I did find a thread on MTBR where quite a few people reported quick failures with those SKF matrix bearings so not sure if they live up to the marketing. https://www.mtbr.com/threads/skf-mtrx-bearings.1099122/
Thanks, that's an interesting read.
I'll be investigating later today and will report back.
Main pivot seemed to have a bit of movement, bolt was done up tight, so I stripped it all down
One thing I can say is that it's definitely not skf matrix bearings, not configured like the drawing. The main pivot bearings are in the frame, not the swingarm, with the pivot bolt having tapered ends to nip down onto the bearings.
The linkage bearings themselves are marked JNK, all VRS seals with one having slightly different colour blue to the rest, which was odd. That one was rough as hell, the rest seemed to have a little play but we're smooth.
Main pivot bearings are black seals rather than blue, no name and VRS sealed. These are smooth but have a fair amount of resistance.
The discoloration on the main pivot bolt and drive side spacer suggests to me that the bearing has been sticking.
Only thing left for me to do is reassemble the main pivot and check that the swingarm isn't worn. :-/
Mines parked up for the winter. I did the xc season and few longer rides then stole the wheels for a single speed. It'll be back out in the spring with new lighter wheels and an xtr mech I picked up. I've also got one of those any direction Wolftooth dropper remotes in the hope that will make the lockout/dropper controls less cumbersome.
On the riding front I'm still very happy with it. I've more confidence and it's feels faster.
All reassembled and torqued up and there's no play in it. However, the linkage bearings are rough and the shock link bearings are slightly wobbly so it's being retired until I can get it all working happy again. Probably with some max bearings instead.
Reviving the thread to see how your getting on with your bikes. Did you fix the bearings @lovewookie?
Mine got some preseason upgrades with 12 speed XTR/XT mix, wolftooth 360 remote and lights DT 240/XR391 wheels. Gained a little weight with the new drive chain (mainly in the cassette) and dropped a decent chunk out of the wheels. I've done a good few long rides this year along with 4 SXC rounds. Still happy and towards the end of the race season I was definitely starting to get more out of it. Have I got faster, yes R&R results tables suggests so with higher beat % and closer to fastest cat time. I'm planning to take it out this weekend for a sub 12hr SDW attempt :D.
I've gone in the other direction from racing and tried bikepacking recently:
The saddle pack is a bit stupid but with the semi-lockout has just enough clearance.
I also attempted SDW in a day on this bike a few months ago, although I bailed about 75% of the way through. Best of luck for the 12 hour attempt!
yeah, bearings sorted with a mix of max and standard enduro bearings. Still seems to be going OK, not that I've put that many miles on it since, but at least there's no play.
Mine has very few of the original components on it.
the Avid level TL brakes, headset, stem and the frame and shock I think are all that remain now. mix of sram/xtr gears, raceface turbine cranks on a hope BB, high rise carbon bars, dropper, and some hunt XC wheels.
recently swapped out the 100mm SC for a set of 34SC 120mm. The 32 step cast were just a bit twangy for my 90kg, and I wanted to see what it would do with 120mm in it.
currently on the lookout for some tyres for it to replace the nobby nic and rocket ron all year combo. Have mezcals on my hardtail and they roll well, but have no grip on anything slightly loose, rocky, rooty or damp. they work fine on hardpack, but only marginally more grip than a terreno dry. :-/ not that this should go to a what tyres....
although I bailed about 75% of the way through
That sucks, I got a similar distance on my first attempt, frustrating to get so close but not quite finish. Looks good in bike pack mode.
The 32 step cast were just a bit twangy
How are the 34s? I also notice a bit of twang in mine (@ 77Kg), a set of 34 SL or 34 SC set at 100mm does appeal but then remind myself what I use the bike for. Doesn't help I have mezzers on another bike and they are very far from twangy :D.
34s are definitely worth it, they're so much stiffer than 32s.
Yeah, they are.
Not sure I'll be keeping the 120, may revert to 100. Though I was looking at the geo for the XR Vs the xrm and had originally assumed that the xrm was the same frame, but with a longer stroke shock (to give 110mm) and longer forks. However, the XR, has a 66.5 Deg ha, with a sid or 32sc fork (I think c. 503-505mm a-c) and the xrm has a 66 Deg with a c530 a-c 34sc fork. Even allowing for relative % sag, there's still about a degree out, working on the 10mm per 0.5deg calc.
So the a-c difference between the 32sc and the 34sc is not the 20mm travel, but around 27mm
Maybe they are different, or maybe there's a loosey goosey approach to measuring the ha.
Maybe overthinking, but the XR in 120 does feel a little too flopsy and much slower in the flowy singletrack.
I have an old set of 100mm rebas that I'll try before committing back to shorter travel I think.
I'd probably fit a 100mm air shaft, maybe 110mm. Fairly sure I'd not run it at 120mm.
The xrm is a 210x55 shock isn't it, I thought they were the same frame and was sure I'd seen it referenced somewhere in one of the reviews. Would be odd to make two frames similar.
Yeap here you go https://www.pinkbike.com/news/first-look-lapierre-returns-to-xc-with-the-new-xr-and-xrm.html same frame longer shock. The geo in that page shows the XR at 67deg and xrm at 66 Deg with the reach and head angle shortening on the xrm, that certainly supports one frame, different bits.
Ah right, I've seen a few charts, one says the XR is 66.5, but that is clearly 67, which I think was on the original listing by laiperre.
so that makes more sense and yes, I thought it odd that they'd make two frames so similar.
The xrm is a 210x55 shock isn't it,
yeah. I've not taken my shock apart yet, but I'd be fairly certain there's a 5mm spacer in it....I've seen it a few times before with fox shocks where a frame has been rated for the same shock i2i, but a 5 or 10mm different stroke.
I'll air can service mine at some point and keep fingers crossed. Be interesting to try it at 110 rear if it's as simple as a spacer. I'd like to try one or two national events next year and I suspect a touch more travel would not hurt in places (rock gardens). Looking around still some reduced 34 SC on sale, especially if going for the lower grip model (seems the fit4 is not popular). I wonder if the new grip sl will fit an older fork (assuming yes since the 25 models have old chassis, new damper).
Mines a 2019 34sc, not one of the newer ones, but still with the grip 3 pos, damper.
I think I'm definitely going to reduce the travel. I put a set of 2008 (!) 100mm Reba dual air's on it and went for a ride this morning and it was lovely. it's just do I go 110, or 100mm? probably go 100mm if I can find a shaft, they're about £45, though part of me is thinking to move the 34's on and put that towards something else shorter travel, but less flexy than the 32sc.
Tough call. What's the offset of your older fork. Wonder if that could contribute to the floppy feel (if they are 51mm rather than 44mm)
I'm hovering on buy for a set of 2024 34 SC performance elite for £300 (new! + whatever import get's applied). Would love a set of the new SL but cannot in anyway justify > £1 for a set of forks.
they are 51, but surely that should reduce the trail = make it quicker steering, rather than extend it and make it slower? unless I am not understanding the origins of wheel flop, which is a high probability. No idea what the old rebas are..probably 42 or whatever it was back then. they're not G2 (51) versions.
the cost of forks (and parts in general) is an issue to be sure. I rarely buy new, as you say its really difficult to justify.
I'm hovering on buy for a set of 2024 34 SC performance elite for £300 (new! + whatever import get's applied). Would love a set of the new SL but cannot in anyway justify > £1 for a set of forks.
that's a deal, though if remote, watch out for the push to unlock vs push to lock versions (the one on the XR) and of course the 3 pos vs 2 pos...
Think they line up. This is the description from the seller;
2024, 34, A, FLOAT SC, 29in, P-SE SC, 120, FIT4, Remote-Adj, Psh-Lk, 3Pos, (10pm CP), Matte Blk, Std/Matte Blk Logo, 15QRx110, 1.5 T, 44mm Rake, OE
And my 32s are;
2022, 32, A, FLOAT SC, 29in, P-S, 100, Grip, Remote, Psh-Lk, (10pm CP), Matte Blk, YS-728 Gloss_Stealth/YS-728 Gloss_Stealth Logo, Kabolt 110, BLK, 1.5 T, 44mm Rake, OE
yep, that'll plug straight in.
Well my Lapierre XR journey appears to have come to end, it was stolen while I popped into the shops earlier in SW London. I wouldn't normally leave such a nice bike unattended but was back from an all day ride and thought it was a safe area to leave it locked up just for 5 minutes with CCTV and staff members watching. Can't have nice things...
Going to be monitoring the usual places as there can't be many of these bikes in the country.
😥that sucks, sorry.to hear it
That's really shit, sorry to hear that
Browsing Paul's Cycles today and thought this looks like a nice replacement for the lost Lapierre: https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/bikes/mountain-bikes/bmc-fourstroke-two-full-suspension-mountain-bike-silver-black__14433
I have been getting on fine with my 120mm hardtail, although it can't beat the feeling of effortless comfortable miles like the Lapierre was able to cover. Would like to do more epic (75 mile+) rides next summer. But not sure I really need the FS MTB for that.
That looks pretty decent. Very similar spec to the lapierre but beefier fork.