While Lapierre has all but disappeared from these shores, the French brand continues to turn out premium bikes for the rest of the world, with its latest road-going offering being the Xelius DRS.
Following in the recent trend of blending aerodynamics and lightweight into one bike, the Xelius DRS takes from its predecessor, the Xelius SL3, along with Lapierre’s outgoing Aircode aero-bike, and creates a one-bike solution for pros and enthusiasts alike.
“The wind, the element we love or hate depending on whether it is on our back or in our face. An invisible force, inherent to cycling, that everyone has to tame at every outing, training session and competition. Domesticating it becomes a reality with the brand new Lapierre Xelius DRS road bike. Because this born competitor does not neglect the air: it tames it, understands it and dances with it to the point of offering only the sensation of a carrying and… powerful breeze. Uphill, downhill or on plateaus where a stubborn wind blows, this bike ignores the gusts and offers a new unique force: high performance. Sleeker, more rigid and more aerodynamic than its predecessors, the Xelius DRS reduces disturbances to silence thanks to a carbon lay-up technology combining craftsmanship, innovation and lightness. This new bombshell actually merges the two historic Lapierre competition models – the Xelius SL and the Aircode DRS – into a single racer, more playful and more accomplished version. This alliance takes the best of each model and is a condensation of many professional victories. Now, it’s just waiting for you to face the headwinds!” boasts Lapierre.
Relying on extensive computational fluid design (CFD) modeling, wind tunnel testing and several prototypes, the iterative process yielded a completely new design as evidenced by striking new angles throughout the frame including a revamped fork.
All things considered, Lapierre claims the Xelius DRS can cheat the wind to the tune of 7.6 watts savings or 34 seconds per hour on a flat road at 38.4km/h, while depending on the weight and power output of the rider, ascents can claw back as much as 14.6 seconds along climbs with 4% gradients.
However, the new bike does come with a slight weight penalty of 65 grams compared to the SL3, bringing the frame weight up to 790 grams in a size 56. Still, that’s a pretty feathery metric.
The Xelius DRS is available in several builds, with groupsets spanning Shimano 105 Di2 for €2,999.00, to the range-topping Dura-Ace Di2 equipped model that fetches €10,000.00.
Additionally, the higher-spec models are treated to Lapierre’s one-piece, semi-integrated cockpit that routes brake hosing under the stem.
Lapierre
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