Lapierre X-Control 510

Lapierre’s X-Control range covers the XC end of the market in their range and is further subdivided into ‘Marathon’ and ‘Race’ variants. The principle difference is that the Marathons get 120mm forks instead of 100mm; a 3x10 gearset instead of 2x10; and 2.2 tyres instead of 2.1s. Otherwise it’s the same bike! Here we take a look at the X-Control 510 Marathon; 3rd from the top in a seven bike range and sporting a Carbon mainframe and Alu swingarm.

As you approach the X-Control 510, the first thing you notice is the looks; the second thing you notice is that it looks nothing like your typical euro-derived marathon/race bike. The X-Control looks purposeful and cool, with the lines of the mainframe curving cleanly into those of the swingarm. With its small linkages and vertical shock configuration, it has a surprisingly clean silhouette for a VPP-derived design. The seat tube and top tube are braced to allow for bags of standover while maintaining strength. The top and down tubes meet at the head tube in a huge junction with a tapered head tube. It’s purposeful and reassuringly chunky, but not brash or bulky. The swingarm is, believe it or not, aluminium. It’s shaped and sculpted beyond recognition and is almost identical to its full carbon siblings; only the welds give it away and had they fillet-brazed it, you’d struggle to tell it wasn’t made of the black stuff. The chunky build continues to the all important bottom-bracket area with a press-fit BB.

It’s refreshing to see a carbon bike of a race-inkling that doesn’t feel the need to be obviously carbon with some overdone top layer weave on show. And on the flipside, also not have some garish colour-scheme to give it a race flavour, and god forbid, some UCI rainbows on it as well. The X-Control 510 is painted black and silver in shapes that accentuate its elegant lines. The logos are painted on and it’s a classy overall finish that should wear well. The only bit of welcomed bling in an otherwise stealthy package is the gold anodised hardware such as the pivot bearing caps, seat clamp and mech hanger.

Getting on the Lapierre X-Control and it feels long and low slung for a given size, but not overly stretched as a sensible 90mm stem keeps the reach in check. It has an eagerness to get on with riding, getting your race face on, trying to bury the cranks into the trail. But it’s not all that head-down, arse-up either as the 69.5 head angle is enough to keep things relaxed and attack-friendly, and the low slung BB gives it a stable feeling that makes you want to really get stuck into the trail.

Powering up into the first climb and the 26lb weight and tubeless Race King tyres make for a sprightly ride that’s apparent before your legs have even begun to warm up. The FPS2 suspension system, which is basically a VPP-variant, gives a fantastic pedaling-friendly platform that seems to exhibit it’s own natural ‘pro-pedal’ effect, providing you get the shock setup correctly (more on this shortly). The X-Control pedals cleanly through lumpy, technical climbs with repeated hits and you can genuinely sit and spin your way through some remarkably technical sections.

As you whip down into your first singletrack section the X-Control’s lively, bubbly character comes out in spades. You can just pedal away, attack, tweak and chuck it about. On smooth but fast, skinny, and twisty singletrack, it’s the closest thing we’ve ridden to an Orange ST4 for all out singletrack razzing! It’s really great fun on undulating trails where you’re bouncing off the heart-rate limiter, effortlessly dropping your mates in your wake.

the X-Control’s lively, bubbly character comes out in spades...

As the trail gets a bit lumpier or if you start to over-ride the X-Control, its spirit starts to come undone a little though. The X-Control frame itself is stiff and light, and there’s no complaint here. The problem is the way the chassis dominates some of its key, lighter-weight components. On other bikes we’ve ridden, we’ve never had an issue with Shimano’s XT wheels, nor Fox’s F-120 in terms of strength and stiffness for they’re intended use. So in one respect, this is a kind of a roundabout credit to the frame Lapierre have put together. But these usually sorted components actually start to let the X-Control down when the riding starts to get more lairy. As you really push on and throttle the bike, the twang and deflection from the wheels and fork can get quite pronounced. Factor in the surprisingly good but ultimately limiting Race King tyres, and it’s easy to come unstuck.

What Lapierre have created is a wonderful light and tough frame that’s just begging for a slightly tougher spec. Yes it is designated as a Marathon bike and arguably the spec is well within scope of use. But it’s hard not to be sucked in by the X-Controls “go faster” attitude, and a bolt-thru axle and a stiffer wheelset would make the X-Control a fun and accomplished trail bike without harming its Marathon credentials too much.

Setting the X-Control up is a little more fiddly than with some other suspension setups. The sag indicator on the frame helps, but it’s hard to see it properly when you’re actually sat on the bike. And the Lapierre is very sensitive! We found you could be sat bang in the middle of the sag metre range, adjust the air pressure 5-10 psi either way and still be bang in the middle, yet have a totally different feeling bike. And hitting that sweet spot is crucial, perhaps more so than on any other bike. So the sag metre really just prevents you getting it woefully wrong and is no guarantee of a good setup. Luckily the Lapierre does feedback well and you will find that sweet spot. For us it was finding the point where you get that natural pro-pedal feel, but with a very fluid mid-stroke when stood up and working the bike. Our conclusion was to get the sag metre as good as in the middle and err on the side of slightly oversprung while still staying in the middle of the range.

If there’s a weakness in the FPS2 system it’s in the small bump department. It’s possible to dial in some good small bump response but you’ll find it very wallowy as soon as you start to climb or pedal with any kind of effort. This perhaps puts the X-Control more at the more performance end of ‘Marathon’ rather than the ‘average Joe grinding it out all day’ end. Just accept this compromise and the X-Control is great everywhere else.

the FPS2 platform does a better job than say a single-pivot with pro-pedal on...

The rear suspension is driven by Fox’s most basic Float - the humble ‘R’. There’s no fancy pro-pedal, lockout or anything else. Just stick some air in it and dial in the rebound. It’s a clever bit of speccing because the Lapierre really doesn’t need anything more. We’d even say that the FPS2 platform does a better job than say a single-pivot with pro-pedal on, feeling less like a trapdoor and easing into its midstroke more cleanly. Ultimately it’s a bit of budget saved for elsewhere on the spec sheet.

We’ve mentioned Fox’s F-120 fork. It’s a tapered variant with the new FIT damper and comes in OEM RL (rebound and lockout) flavour. The X-Control really is crying out for the 15QR version though as it does bully this otherwise class leading fork.

Shimano’s XT wheels are the M775 XC flavour and are UST compatible with centre-lock disc mounts. Shimano’s cup and cone bearing system seems almost quaint but it’s a doddle to maintain and service. Conversely, you’re are tied in to having to source Shimano specific spokes should you break one though. As mentioned, we’ve never concerned ourselves with lateral flex in these wheels before but it is noticeable under the bullish Lapierre. Coming tubeless ready right out of the box with the UST Continental Race Kings is a real bonus though, just remember to put some sealant in there for extra security. You’ll need to budget for some new tyres though as the Race Kings will need to go at the first sight of rain. If you don’t feel the need for extra tough UST tyres, a Tubeless Ready tyre from the likes of Schwalbe or Bontrager will give some impressive weight savings too!

The Shimano theme continues to the groupset with a XT/SLX mix of 3x10. 2x10 might be the more en vogue choice right now but with the ‘marathon’ designation, it’s a sensible bit of speccing giving a wider range and less steps in the ratios. Shimano’s Dyna-sys 3x10 groups really are the sweetest, slickest shifting MTB drivetrains ever and 3x10 is really underrated! Both mechs are XT, while the shifters and cranks come form the SLX stable. Our press-fit BB was admittedly fine, despite the bike being pretty high-mileage prior to landing with us, although we still have our reservations about the longevity of press-fit type systems in general. Scott having had a tough time on his longtermer Niner Air 9 Carbon, and is about to switch to an external type after going through three press-fit BBs in 9 months.

Braking comes courtesy of the light-weight and very powerful Formula R1 brakes which are a great pair of stoppers. Control is generally very good too although they can feel a little rough and agricultural at times, and while modulation is good, it’s not Hope good. They’re a little noisy under braking too but it doesn’t detract form the fantastic performance.

The bike is finished off with own-branded Lapierre bar, stem and seatpost. It’s adequate and light enough kit but perhaps a little cheap feeling for the money. Although with the solid speccing elsewhere, compromises are best made in these areas. The 90mm stem is a good length, although a touch shorter would still work. We quickly swapped the 640mm riser bar out for some 710mm bars as the 640 did feel too narrow for the X-Control’s high-speed ambitions but this is merely a preference point. A Fizik Gobi saddle is a welcomed piece of speccing though and generally fits most bottoms well.

We had our size medium on the scales at 26lb 1oz with a set of Shimano 520 pedals on, so the claimed weight of 25lb 8oz by Lapierre, assuming their weight is without pedals, is a pretty honest figure. Value-wise the X-Control looks pretty sorted against the bigger mainstream players, only really bettered by the direct-sales manufacturers such as Canyon.

Despite a somewhat grumbly review at times, we genuinely loved the X-Control and as a ‘marathon’ bike it performs superbly - and Hotlines were quick to point out that this is exactly what it is. So any criticisms leveled at it are largely a frustration at what the bike is 'sold as' compared to what it actually wants to be. It’s such a fun bike to ride, like a mini-Zesty in fact, desperate to be thrown down the trail with total abandon. It might be specced and sold as a marathon bike but it’s got a trail bike in its heart and it’s hard to ignore. If the wheels and fork were specced a little differently, we’d be talking about a bike that genuinely rivals the ST4 as the king of singletrack riding, but much lighter and better value too!

If you’re after a TransWales or CRC Marathon bike, or something for those lap-based endurance races, which will still be fun to ride as your normal everyday bike, it’s really hard not to recommend the Lapierre X-Control. But we dare you not to get taken in by its personality and resist the itch to upgrade! How about some American Classic All Mountains and a Maxle Reba - now you’re talking!

The X-Control is a fast, light-weight and fun marathon bike. But it's got the heart of a trail bike which is begging for the fork and wheels to keep up.

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