My New Bike | Lapierre Xelius SL 9.0

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My Details
Chris Opie
178cm
76-80kgs
For coaching enquiries please follow this link www.aero-coach...
Supported By Lapierre Bikes UK
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Currently riding:
Lapierre Pulsium Sat 6.0 AXS
www.lapierrebi...
Lapierre Crosshill 5.0
www.lapierrebi...
Lapierre Ezesty AM 9.2
www.lapierrebi...
Lapierre Overvolt TR 5.6
www.lapierrebi...
Lapierre eSensium 3.2
www.lapierrebi...
Lapierre XRM 8.9
www.lapierrebi...
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[@annoingmarshmello1116]

6'2" and over 100kg I have had the SL5.0 for just over a month and love it coming from a Giant TCR. Upgraded the wheels and now has ultegra di2. On the Isle of Wight and never seen another one so stands out and just love the feel of it.

[@dancoombes7465]

I’m thinking to do the same thing and move from a tcr to this. What do you notice different about it?

[@xXUkMarksmanXx]

Funnily enough, 6"4 with the SL5.0, 100kg. Love it, really rolls well nomatter what I've thrown at it over the last year

[@byrondixon4648]

Love the honest and different review Chris. 'A good road bike should make you want to ride faster' totally agree. I really like your excitement for the new bike. I also know it's not really the bike for me after your review, as 'aggressive' means too low on the front end for me 😎

[@chrisopie87]

Thank you, Byron! The geometry of something like the yellow bike (Pulsium) I've been riding sounds more like what you might enjoy position wise. It's nice to feel excited about riding on the road!

[@reynard2ki]

I just ordered the Xelius 10.0 frame and can't wait for it to arrive. Your review has me even more excited. The roads here in Michigan are terrible and the added compliance will be nice over my current 2018 Aircode 2 Ultimate.

[@sc705]

How do you order a xelius in the states?

[@reynard2ki]

@@sc705 Hey there, I used to live in Paris and that's when I got my Aircode 2 Ultimate. I loved the bike so much that when I saw that Xelius, I contacted Cycles Laurent in Paris, where I got the Aircode, and bought the frame through them. I paid a 500€ deposit. They ordered it and when they got it, I paid the rest and they sent it to me. It's not a bad deal when you consider that you get a5% or more off because Americans don't pay VAT. It's a size large, with Dura-Ace and weighs 15.3 lbs. It's a crazy nice bike and the cool factor of having something that nobody else around has is kinda cool. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[@andrewwoods1896]

Great looking bike ,enjoy Chris 👌

[@chrisopie87]

Thank you!

[@morewithkarthik]

Ooooo that color!!!! Wowza. Looking forward to seeing some racing videos soon :)

[@chrisopie87]

Thank you Karthik! Hopefully as soon as winter has been and gone!

[@dh7314]

LaPierre are nice looking bikes, you don’t see enough of them on UK roads.

[@chrisopie87]

They really have some beautiful designs and it would be great to see more!

[@bobfrode]

argh...i miss riding my roadbike in the sun :( Due to weather and temperature condition outside where i live my roadbike and Wilier CX are nice and warm by my bed. I have to ride "old faithful" with studs and everything 😨 Must say the LaPierre is a beauty Chris so enjoy :)

[@chrisopie87]

Thank you Bob! Hope you also enjoy riding the studded bike out and about. The seasons will soon change again 😅

[@yaoxue47]

Totally in love with this beauty, especially at this price. Too shame it’s unavailable in US tho

[@diq5386]

Must be new bike week 😁 I've just got a new beastie myself. Enjoy Chris, your bike looks wicked!!

[@chrisopie87]

Hope you're enjoying your new bike as well!

[@zeuszuki6698]

Very nice, that colour really does pop 😍 As a moto rider, right lever, front brake for me 😀

[@chrisopie87]

Haha, I was asking for the brake comments from anyone that rides motorbikes 😅. Pleased you think the colour pops nicely!

[@johansiren510]

😮 Ooooh! Dear Santa 🎅🏻 I’ve been really nice this year. Please. ❤

[@chrisopie87]

I'll cross my fingers for you!

[@BikeLife154]

Front brakes should always be on the right! And back on the left. All road bikes should come with rim brakes too!

[@galenkehler]

Beautiful bike, and a beautiful paint. I should really try a new Xelius, I didn't get one back in 2014 cause it was too flexible. Should really try one of the new disc brake one, they look so nice

[@chrisopie87]

Thank you, Galen! It really is worth trying one if you have the chance. It's a very encouraging bike to ride!

[@andresalcalamartinez5943]

Que talla usas???? Cuales son tus medidas corporales??? Me ayudarias mucho con la decision de una Lapierre, me gusta mucho. Gracias

[@IbnTariq007]

Beautiful bike, painting, grouoseg and wheels Chris! Good to see you that you are still active on videos :) Btw, how do you find SRAM wireless Vs Shimano's Di2?

[@billkallas1762]

Being Retro man, it's sad that Shimano doesn't offer a top spec rim brake group anymore. If I was inclined to build up a new frame and group, it would have to use Campy Chorus rim brake. Of course, finding a good rim brake frame isn't as easy as it used to be. PS. I agree with "right lever, rear brake". (Maybe it's because I've always done it that way)

[@chrisopie87]

I like your attention to detail. I'm sure builds such as the one you describe will see a resurgence!

[@billkallas1762]

@@chrisopie87 Thanks. I retired from mass start racing 5 years ago (after 32 years), and I live in an area where I don't need any gears lower than a 39x25 (The days of doing everything with a 39x23 low gear ended that same 5 years ago) I'm content that my 10 speed 7800 bike still works fine. As back ups, I have two older 9 speed 7700 bikes, from the mid 90's.

[@chrisopie87]

I can imagine you enjoy riding them all for different reasons, too? I'm still partly tempted to refurbish my first ever bike from a video earlier this year.

[@stevemiell4555]

Enjoy man!

[@chrisopie87]

Thank you Steve!

[@IamBlueDragon_]

Lovely bike, Chris. Hope you win a few races this year with it. 👍

[@chrisopie87]

Thank you! Fingers crossed!

[@rechtschreib-exorzist8936]

Sorry if i maybe missed it, but what size do you ride there? I ask because i wondered, that for your body size is officially recommended size 49 (have the exactly same body height as you and normally ride 53 oder 54 size bikes)

[@steinfossgard5210]

Awesome bike!

[@chrisopie87]

Thank you Stein!

[@laurradu868]

I have seen Lapierre bikes on Tour of Sibiu, in July, this year, in a nice burgundy color with metalic flakes. What a beauty 🤩 But, regarding floating seat stay, is this like on GT bikes? Both MTB and gravel bikes from GT has this for about 3 years now.

[@chrisopie87]

I honestly don't know about their design, I'll have to look at it! I'm sure it follows a similar philosophy based on what you say, though?

[@laurradu868]

@@chrisopie87 the last GT Grade in carbon was a blast when it came out in late 2019. And after this, the MTB range also adopted this solution. A few days ago, the new Lapierre hardtail has the same floating seat stay. Anyway, is a great piece of design.

[@chrisopie87]

Thank you for bringing this to my attention, it's nice to read about bike design and find out why they were made in such a way!

[@BenFos1983]

Love the colour

[@chrisopie87]

It really is stunning in the light!

[@BenFos1983]

@@chrisopie87 I can believe that. My cervelo is like that

[@scottwatson7844]

Very nice Chris 😁

[@chrisopie87]

Thank you, Scott!

[@MrAurel40]

Hello Chris this is really a beautiful bike. I'm not a long road bike user and my first bike was an old Audacio Lapierre with aluminium frame (i still have it and use it almost everyday to go to work in Bordeaux). I often asking myself of the French Road Bike brand outside France. Are they known? Well appreciate?

[@chrisopie87]

Thank you Aurelien! I hope you still enjoy riding your Lapierre! They are well known, especially for their MTBs in this country!

[@syazwanabdull4835]

Congratulation

[@chrisopie87]

Thank you. !!

[@TobiMcTobeface]

How do you l find it compares to the Aircode?

[@iansellers1251]

Hi Chris ,Who does your name tag stickers?

[@chrisopie87]

Hi Ian, I was given these last year in France. Unfortunately I have no idea who made them and there is no indication on the backing sheet they came on. Sorry I'm not able to help!

[@Mr229357]

Nice bike 😊👍🏻👍🏻

[@chrisopie87]

Thank you!

[@siep4768]

Did you buy a separate set of spacers (1 1/4, 1/8??) and topcap to lower the stem? Or can you use the spacers that are below the stem on this bike?

[@chrisopie87]

I re-used an 1 1/8th I had already on top of the stem and just removed the ones I didn't need under it. Hope that helps.

[@wh7n0t]

hey @Siep , did that work for you? It doesn't look like existing spacers nor topcap suit above the stem in my case (xelius sl 5.0)

[@allanfoster6965]

Is it safe? 🤔

[@chrisopie87]

Why wouldn't it be?

[@torinstorkey]

@@chrisopie87 didn't saint piran cycling team sue lapierre bikes due to mechanical failures?

[@chrisopie87]

I have no knowledge of exactly what has happened there, as I am sure do very few of the rest of us. We've read a press release. I've not seen or heard of anyone else having issues with their Lapierre bikes. World tour riders or consumers alike...

[@allanfoster6965]

@@chrisopie87 Apologies Chris. But i was curious. It was quite widely reported at the time.

[@jamiehogan1607]

How do these compare to the aircode? Have my eye on one or the other as my next bike!

[@chrisopie87]

It's lighter and a little more compliant. The geometry is now as good as identical and the handling is very similar. It would be a tough choice to have to make. I think it would depend on where you ride most often. If it's smoother and flatter, Aircode. If it's on less forgiving roads and hillier, Xelius.

[@jamiehogan1607]

Thanks Chris! Food for thought, I’m based in the middle of Ireland. Road surface is not fantastic similar to England. Very little in the way of long climbs but lumpy all day and plenty of short sharp stuff!

[@theantichrome9842]

Isn't your old team suing Lapierre? I'd like to hear your thoughts on that controversy.

[@chrisopie87]

My thoughts are that I haven't broken a Lapierre and I don't know anyone else that has. Not noticed FDJ do many or any bike swaps? Which can only lead me to conclude it was user error.

[@Jeppelelle]

​@@chrisopie87 Edit: Ooops, wall of text ahead :D : I don't know if it is a trend world wide but around where i live there is alof of ex pros that have become mechanics after their cycling career & all of those i know are incredible arrogant when it comes to their ability, i have watched while mechanics cut my steerer tube, do lower leg service, mounting stem & bars, saddles, seatposts etc etc and all of them have refused to use a torque wrench, i always ask them about it and i always get a snarky reply back: "I KNOW what 6nm feels like", it's like their ego would be hurt if they relied on "outside help", when i needed to adjust my seat height i had to use a ton of force to undo the clamp screw, it was 1 week after the install so i don't think it could have binded in that time, same with other parts, the clamp was "rated" at 4nm, it was probably 3x of that, i think alot of people, even pro mechanics don't realize how little force 4nm actually is, if given a free hand i think most people would be over-torquing bolts, which isn't good if it is for compression carbon parts, 90% of the times the part will survive the over-torque but other times 🤷‍♂

[@chrisopie87]

I completely agree with you on the above! There are very, very few good mechanics and most bike riders (pro or otherwise) have a misplaced faith in their own abilities to guess the correct torque. Find a good mechanic and keep them happy 😅

[@suzannefallaize4589]

Lush bike 😎

[@chrisopie87]

Thank you, Suzie!

[@wasupwitdat1mofiki94]

All carbon bikes ride like that.

[@chrisopie87]

Nooo, they really don't. That's like saying all cars drive the same.

[@wasupwitdat1mofiki94]

@@chrisopie87 It's a bicycle. It rides like a bicycle. What else could it possibly ride like.

[@chrisopie87]

Many bikes have very different ride characteristics. From a broad view, yes, they all ride like bikes. But there is a lot more to it. Some bikes are stiffer than others, some more forgiving. Some feel nervous to ride, some feel more neutral. Some inspire confidence in the descents. Then there's the geometry and how that can affect your position on the bike, your power output because of how you personally are shaped and prefer to be seated on the bike. Then there's the weight of the bike which whilst not the most important factor does play a role in how it feels to move around when standing or riding up any gradient.

[@wasupwitdat1mofiki94]

@@chrisopie87 I've only been riding for 50+ years. There's a difference between MTB and road and something like that but road bike to road bike, it's perception, and only even a very small difference in what the frame materials offer. When I hear reviews like say from David Arthur I want to puke when he ties to hype up the ride characteristics. The differences are so small lots of people can't tell them apart.

[@iansellers1251]

@@wasupwitdat1mofiki94 I agree that the "run of the mill" review quotes do get old from some outlets .However there is a definitely a difference in the feel some bikes give compared to to others even taking wheel and tyres into account . To be fair to Chris he has shown to have integrety and stuck to his beliefs on more than one occasion