This week, we move from the road to the gnar as Fezzari’s La Sal Peak has arrived at BikeRadar HQ for testing.
The bike’s brimming with cool details, blending its distinctive carbon construction with trail-friendly features such as a threaded bottom bracket and rattle-free cable guides.
Fezzari claims that the bike blends trail-like climbing capabilities with downhill bike characteristics.
Can it deliver on these claims? Digital writer Nick Clark will be finding out as he slays the trails aboard the La Sal Peak over the next year, so look out for his long-term review soon.
For now, let’s take a closer look at this intriguing build.
A future-proofed frameset design
Named after the mountain range in Moab, Utah, the direct-to-consumer brand’s enduro mountain bike sports 170mm suspension travel front and rear.
Thanks to its TetraLink suspension design, Fezarri claims the bike climbs like it has less travel and descends as if it had more.
The La Sal Peak is constructed from what Fezzari calls ‘Clean Cast’ carbon fibre, including the rocker link.
Unlike other manufacturers who wrap carbon sheets around a bladder, Fezarri says its carbon construction process uses proprietary tooling designs and a different type of internal mould to hold the carbon in place during manufacturing. This is said to eliminate any overlapping fibres that add unnecessary weight and create possible voids.
Fezarri claims a frameset weight of 2,900g in an unspecified size.
Like the brand’s other bikes, the La Sal Peak uses Fezzari’s TetraLink Horst Link suspension system to deliver a balance between “playful manoeuvrability and composed stability”.
Although the bike is designed around a 170mm travel fork and shock, Fezzari says you could run a 180mm or even a 190/203mm dual-crown fork if you wish. The brand says you can also run a coil shock, providing you run M8x30 shock mounting hardware to achieve the correct clearance.
There’s a flip chip called the GA link which allows you to alter the geometry and run the bike with a mullet setup. The brand recommends running it in the High setting if you do run it as a mullet.
The internal cable routing for the rear brake, rear shifter and dropper post is fully sleeved and the cable guides are claimed to be rattle-proof.
The La Sal Peak accepts a 31.6mm seatpost and has a 1 ⅛ to 1.5in headset standard.
It also incorporates ISCG-05 mounts for chain guides or bash guards.
The La Sal Peak can accept a mountain bike tyre up to 29x2.6in wide at the rear.
The bike uses a SRAM UDH hanger, so you could upgrade it to a SRAM T-Type Transmission drivetrain.
It also uses a BSA threaded bottom bracket standard, with Fezzari saying: “Our philosophy is simple – if the bike is intended to be ridden in the dirt, it gets a threaded bottom bracket”.
Elsewhere, there’s custom moulded down tube, shuttle pad and chainstay protectors.
Fezzari says all sizes can fit one water bottle inside the front triangle and another beneath.
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This is our chance to introduce the bike and everything that makes it unique before hitting the road or trails.
Head to our Bike of the Week hub for previous editions.
Size-specific, progressive geometry
Fezzari says it incorporates rider fit and comfort in the design process of its bikes by taking a look at decades of real-world rider-fit data.
The brand says the La Sal Peak’s geometry is size-specific so every size bike delivers the same ride experience.
With the updated suspension kinematic, the La Sal Peak Elite sports a slack 63.5 degree head tube angle.
The chainstays have been lengthened by 2mm to 437mm chainstays over its predecessor, which Fezzari says keeps the bike light on its wheels in tight turns.
The seat tube angle varies among frame sizes, with a size medium receiving a 77.5 degree effective seat tube angle and a 455mm reach.
If you’re running the bike as a mullet on an equivalent sized frame, you can expect the head tube angle to steepen to 64.2 degrees, the effective seat tube angle to 78.7 degrees and the reach to 465.7mm.
A dependable spec list
We have the La Sal Peak Elite Shimano in for test, in this rather fetching Butterscotch colour, which retails for $4,799. It weighs in at 15.6kg on our digital scales, with inner tubes.
For the money, you get a RockShox ZEB Ultimate RC2 fork, paired with a RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate RC2T shock.
Fezzari specs a Shimano XT M8100 12-speed drivetrain with matching XT M8120 brakes. The wide-ranging 10-51t cassette is paired with a 32t chainring. Large 203mm disc brake rotors are specced front and rear.
The bike has Stans Flow MK4 29 mountain bike wheels. The 32-hole Flow MK4 rims are laced to Stan’s E-Sync hubs with Sapim Race spokes.
The wheels are shod in Maxxis mountain bike tyres, with an Assegai up front and a Minion DHR II at the rear.
Fezarri specs its own alloy Team 35mm handlebar in an 780mm width on our size medium and a 35mm Charger stem. There are Ergon GA2 mountain bike grips and an Ergon SM10 saddle.
The bike has a PNW Loam dropper seatpost, with 140mm of travel.
The La Sal Peak range starts at $3,899 for the Comp Shimano model. While this uses the same frameset, you step down to a DVO Onyx D1 SC29 fork and Topaz 2 shock. You also get a Shimano SLX M7100 drivetrain, SRAM Code R brakes and Stans Flow S2 wheels.
The range tops out at $8,499 for the Team edition which is bedecked with a Fox 38 Factory GRIP2 fork with Float X2 Factory shock, a SRAM X01 Eagle AXS wireless drivetrain and ENVE AM30 carbon wheels.
