Cyclist
Lapierre merges its Aircode and Xelius bikes in the new Xelius DRS all-rounder
The new Lapierre Xelius DRS has improved aerodynamics, which has allowed Lapierre to replace its Aircode aero road bike and Xelius climber’s bike with the single lightweight/aero Xelius.
The main aero improvements have been in Lapierre’s distinctive seatpost cluster, which has been retained in the new bike, as well as the seatstays, seat tube, head tube, down tube and fork blades.
There’s a weight increase of around 50g over the previous generation Xelius, but a decrease of over 100g over the Aircode.
Lapierre will sell the new Xelius in six spec levels, of which four will be available in the UK, with prices ranging from £3,699 to £7,399.
Two bikes become one
The new Xelius is the sixth generation of Lapierre’s lightweight climber’s bike. The Xelius has been in Lapierre’s quiver for 15 years, but whereas it previously sold the Aircode aero bike in parallel, now it has merged the two platforms.
The lightweight/aero path is well trodden, with the Trek Madone Gen 8 a recent convert, merging the aero Madone and lightweight Emonda platforms. The Specialized Tarmac SL8 is another example. In fact, there are relatively few brands that still market a separate aero and lightweight bike; Giant and Merida are probably the most prominent examples.
Lapierre claims that the new Xelius DRS is 15 percent more aero than both the previous generation Xelius, beloved of Thibaut Pinot, and the Aircode. It says that the aero gains amount to 7.6 watts and make the new Xelius DRS faster than its predecessor on inclines of up to 10 percent gradient for a 70kg rider pushing out 300 watts. When riding at 180 watts average power, that figure is 7.5 percent.
Lapierre says that this power saving equates to a time gain of 34 seconds per hour at 38.4km/h on a flat road, 48 seconds per hour on an 8 percent downgrade and 14.6 seconds per hour on a 4 percent climb.
Other lightweight bikes that have taken the aero route come with similar claims. The Bianchi Specialissima, for example, is claimed to be faster than an aero bike on gradients of 6.2 percent.
Despite its aero credentials, the new Xelius DRS sports a development of the previous generation bike’s 3D Tubular seatstay shape, which rather than joining the seat tube connects to the main frame at the top tube. It’s been a feature of the Xelius platform since 2015 and leaves the seat tube less braced. Lapierre says that the design increases vertical compliance and comfort and, at the same time, helps save weight.
The latest fourth iteration of Lapierre’s 3D Tubular seatstay design is claimed to make the bike more aero than the Aircode and the 2022 Xelius, although that bike was already close to the Aircode in its aerodynamic performance.
Lapierre says that it’s achieved this by making aero improvements in the bike’s seatstay shape and their top tube bracing. It’s also switched from a round to a D-shaped seat tube and seatpost. Further forward, it says that there are aero gains at the head tube, fork and down tube, thanks to new tube profiles.
Tyre clearance is another must-have in a modern bike and the Lapierre Xelius DRS retains the 32mm clearance of the previous generation bike, but exceeds that of the Aircode, which was 28mm. Despite the available space, Lapierre fits 25mm wide tyres across the range.
Four UK specs
As is often the case with carbon frames, Lapierre will offer the new Xelius DRS in two carbon grades. These are designated UD SLI and UD SLI Team, with the Team variant adding around 30 percent high modulus carbon fibre to the frame composition.
Lapierre claims that the UD SLI frame weighs 908g and the fork 425g for a size M, while the higher spec UD SLI Team frame weighs 790g and the fork 390g. Both represent a weight increase of around 50g over the previous generation Xelius, but a decrease of 185g from the low modulus and 104g from the high modulus Aircode DRS. Lapierre points out that 50g is just 0.7 percent of the weight of a complete bike weighing 7kg.
The Xelius 5.0 spec (which won’t be sold in the UK) and the 6.0, 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0 specs, which will be available in the UK, all use the UD SLI frameset It’s only the highest spec Xelius 10.0 and the frameset-only option that use the UD SLI Team frameset, and neither will be available to UK buyers.
Lapierre now has six frame sizes available, with the addition of an XXL option, designed to fit riders over 1.95m in height.
New bars, seatpost and wheels
On higher spec bikes, Lapierre has narrowed the Xelius’s 325g carbon bar/stem by 1cm and added semi-integrated hose routing under the stem. There’s also a new stem and carbon bar design for the 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0 spec bikes which supports semi-integrated hose routing.
There’s a new aero carbon seatpost with a claimed 128g weight, available in two lengths and two setbacks. The new thru-axles are more streamlined as well.
Lapierre has teamed up with DT Swiss to produce a carbon wheelset, the ERC 1600, that’s exclusive to Lapierre and fitted to some higher specs of the Xelius DRS. The wheels have a 45mm deep profile with 22mm internal width and DT 350 Spline hubs and are tubeless-ready.
All UK specs are fitted with DT Swiss wheels and all specs are also equipped with Shimano Di2 electronic groupsets, with higher specs fitted with a 52/36t crankset in place of the 50/34t on the Xelius DRS 6.0.
Lapierre Xelius DRS UK range and prices
Xelius DRS 6.0
- Frame/fork: UD SLI
- Drivetrain: Shimano 105 Di2, 50/34t, 11-34t
- Bars: Lapierre Carbon Aero
- Stem: Lapierre Carbon
- Saddle: Prologo Dimension
- Wheels: DT Swiss E1800 Spline alloy
- Tyres: Schwalbe One Perf 25mm
- Claimed weight: 8.4kg
- Price: £3,699
Xelius DRS 7.0
- Frame/fork: UD SLI
- Drivetrain: Shimano Ultegra Di2, 52/36t, 11-34t
- Bars: Lapierre Carbon Aero
- Stem: Lapierre Carbon
- Saddle: Prologo Dimension
- Wheels: DT Swiss E1600 Spline alloy
- Tyres: Schwalbe One Perf 25mm
- Claimed weight: 8.2kg
- Price: £4,499
Xelius DRS 8.0
- Frame/fork: UD SLI
- Drivetrain: Shimano Ultegra Di2, 52/36t, 11-34t
- Bar/stem: Lapierre Combo Aero
- Saddle: Prologo Dimension
- Wheels: DT Swiss ERC 1600 Spline carbon
- Tyres: Continental GP5000 S TR 25mm
- Claimed weight: 7.5kg
- Price: £5,399
Xelius DRS 9.0
- Frame/fork: UD SLI
- Drivetrain: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, 52/36t, 11-34t
- Bar/stem: Lapierre Combo Aero
- Saddle: Prologo Dimension
- Wheels: DT Swiss ERC 1400 Spline carbon
- Tyres: Continental GP5000 S TR 25mm
- Claimed weight: 7.2kg
- Price: £7,399
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