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Interbike 2012: Lapierre shows off Xelius EFI

published 29 September 2012

Lighter, stiffer, and more efficient

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Lapierre's latest Xelius chassis has been thoroughly tested by the FDJ-BigMat team this season.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Slender, swoopy seat stays on Lapierre's new Xelius frame.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

The Lapierre Aerostorm tucks its rear brake behind the bottom bracket where the air is already turbulent.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

You can just barely make out the bond line at the top tube in between the two main sections of the Lapierre Xelius frame.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Battery mounts are built into the bottom of the down tube on Lapierre's latest Xelius chassis. Also note the cable access port underneath the bottom bracket shell and the press-fit bearing cups.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Lapierre's Sensium range offers road bike-like weight and efficiency but a smoother ride and more upright positioning.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

A tapered head tube and convertible internal routing are featured on the slightly more upright Lapierre Sensium.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Lapierre builds the Sensium chassis with an elastomeric damper in the seat stay wishbone to smooth out the ride.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

The Lapierre Aerostorm's unusual bolt-on seatmast can be both adjusted and replaced to tweak the fit.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Lapierre's striking Aerostorm time trial/triathlon frameset was a joint collaboration with sister company Koga.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

This article originally published on BikeRadar

Lapierre unveiled at Interbike its latest Xelius EFI (Efficient Frame Interactive) road racing flagship that it claims is 80g lighter, 20 percent stiffer at the head tube, 10 percent stiffer at the bottom bracket, and seven percent stiffer in the rear end – all of which supposedly cuts rider energy expenditure by four percent for a faster and more efficient ride.

Lapierre says the key to the new Xelius's improved performance is the way designers dissected the frame's construction with the lower half focused on stiffness and strength while the upper section emphasized rider comfort.

As a result, the dropouts, chain stays, extra-wide press-fit bottom bracket, down tube, 1 1/8-to-1 1/4" tapered head tube, and forward top tube section are all formed as one oversized structure while the rest of the frame utilizes more slender shapes for a smoother feel over rough pavement. The more efficient use of material has also decreased the combined frame and fork weight to around 1,160g.

Moreover, updated fittings make the new Xelius EFI compatible with nearly any drivetrain standard with internal routing for both conventional cables and electronic wires plus built-in battery mounts.

Lapierre will offer the new Xelius EFI as both a bare frameset with 'HM F40' carbon fiber or in one of three complete bikes, although those will be built with a slighter heavier blend of carbon.

Lapierre has also revamped its Sensium endurance road bike for 2013, giving the comfy carbon chassis a bigger elastomer damper in the seat stay wishbone that is said to deliver 25 percent better vibration attenuation than the Xelius EFI but with the same rear-end stiffness.