Lapierre’s double-pivot Spicy CF, Parcours new aero wheels, Trek’s Top Fuel, Kona’s Process and more

Despite Eurobike week being the one where loads of brands unveil new bikes and components, bike companies seem to be riding the high with Lapierre, Trek, Orbea, YT Industries and Kona all releasing bikes over the past five days. So here, we’ll take a glance over all of those releases to get you caught up, as well as show off some first-ride impressions of Shimano’s latest GRX 825 Di2 gravel drivetrain and Parcours’ latest aero-gravel wheelset.

Parcours jumped onto the aero-gravel bandwagon

This week kicked off with Parcours’ latest gravel release and matching the theme we’re currently seeing in gravel, the FKT is a wheelset that’s built for aero gains. With this pair of hoops, the brand acknowledges that aero for road and aero for gravel are two different things, owing to the requirements expected of riders from each camp.

Using inspiration from motorsports and Trek, the wheels feature a truncated rim depth for airflow management and to provide a more stable interface between rim and tyre, Parcours has ensured that the wheelset complies with ERTRO and ISO standards. With that, the edge of the rim points inwards where it meets the tyre with a 40mm external rim width and a 27mm internal width. What’s also cool is that these rims are designed with the Panaracer Gravel King X1 tyre in its 40mm width.

For the rest, we’ll leave that to Aaron to explain in Parcours launches aero-optimised FKT gravel wheelset.

YT Industries Decoy SN has a lightweight enduro flavour

2024 yt industries decoy sn riding.jpeg, by Liam Mercer

The YT Industries bike range is pretty comprehensive, covering everything from downhill to gravel with the Szepter but there was still a gap left for a lightweight e-mountain bike, until now. Introduced earlier this week, YT’s new Decoy SN (Super Natural) fills that hole in the range, combining Fazua Ride 60 powered assistance in a typically YT, heavy-hitting package.

Build kits break the normal too as exhibited in a cockpit from Title, Continental tyres as standard as well as TRP brakes. The bike gets short 160mm cranks, too.

For more details, here’s the story – YT Industries Decoy SN gets lightweight enduro e-MTB flavour thanks to Fazua Ride 60 motor.

Lapierre’s long-awaited update to the Spicy CF got high and low pivot options

The Spicy as we know it, and the model I rode during our last Team ORCC season, has certainly got long in the tooth, despite being a force to be reckoned with under Isabeau Courdurier. Throughout the first half of the EDR season, another bike was spotted, taking the Lapierre Zipp Collective rider to a win. That bike was the newest iteration of the Lapierre Spicy CF, and it’s a rather interesting machine.

That’s because it gets a flip-chip that adjusts the rear wheel size, so it can run mullet and 29-inch wheel setups but, most interestingly, the bike can run either a traditional low-pivot or a high-pivot suspension arrangement. With that and all of its suspension travel, this looks to be an uber-adjustable bike primed for the ever-changing conditions and variety of modern enduro racing, with a high-pivot option ideal for rolling through the most technical terrain, and a low-pivot option for better pedalling performance. 

For more on Lapierre’s new bike, here’s the news – High pivot vs low pivot MTB? The new Lapierre Spicy CF is both.

Orbea’s entry-level hardtail received an overhaul

More serious e-mountain bikers might question the use of e-hardtails but if it’s easygoing-yet-lengthy off-road journeys you’re after, they provide what might be the ideal ride. This week, Orbea unveiled its updated Urrun with Shimano’s new EP600 RS Gen2 MC motor that runs off a 630Wh battery that can be bumped up by 210Wh with a range extender.

Here’s more – Orbea updates the Urrun e-hardtail with new frame details and a mid-drive motor.

Kona re-cements itself with two new Processes

The start of this year has been rather rocky for Kona, having pulled out of Sea Otter at the last minute and being re-purchased by its original owners. Although its future looked uncertain, the brand is well and truly back with not one, but two new bikes.

Both Process machines, the 153 and 134, get a similar geometry and for all intents and purposes, almost the same frame but cater to different points. The former boasts more travel for rowdier riding whereas the 134 is directed to those who want a mega-capable bike but appreciate responsive pedalling.

Head over to the full story for all of the details – Kona is back with new Process 153 and Process 134 mountain bikes.

Trek not only tweaks the Top Fuel’s geometry but gives it an adjustable leverage rate

Trek brought updates to its Top Fuel platform, a bike that’s directed for the kind of riding that sits between cross-country and more serious trail riding. Whatever you’re comfortable calling it, the Gen 4 Top Fuel boasts a frame that’s 220g lighter in both its carbon and aluminium frames. As expected, it comes sorted with the brand’s Mino-Link tech that adjusts geometry and also offers two leverage rate options (one being slightly more linear, and the other progressive).

On top of that, the bike welcomes refined frame storage, a tweaked geometry and plenty of build specifications to choose from.

Want to know a little more? Click here – Trek’s new Top Fuel gets adjustable leverage rage and new geometry.

We headed out to France to ride Shimano’s GRX 825 Di2 on the Tour de France’s Stage 9

GRX Inside Le Tour 2024 286.jpg, by Yorit Kluitman / Shimano

GRX 825 Di2 might have already been around for a couple of months we travelled to France to sample Shimano’s latest wireless drivetrain over the Tour de France’s Stage 9. In her first ride review, Suvi calms the excitement of a potential wireless GRX 1x but delivers her early impressions of the new 2x shifting, highlighting the new shape levers and slick shifting.

Here’s the story – Shimano GRX 825 Di2 first ride review – tested on the gravel roads of the Tour de France.

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