Lapierre has released an updated version of its enduro-focused ‘full-fat’ ebike, dubbed the Overvolt GLP2.
It sits alongside the E-Zesty, with its Gen 4 Bosch Performance CX motor and 500Wh battery, which runs on a the lighter-weight and less-powered Fazua system.
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The enduro-ready bike has 160mm of travel at either end and a mullet setup with a 29in wheel up front and 27.5in wheel at the back.
Lapierre’s first Overvolt has been around for about four years now, with multi-world champion team rider Nico Vouilloz given free-reign by Giles Lapierre to build what he felt would be the ultimate e-MTB.
With more time and experience, and the latest ‘Gen 4’ motor from Bosch having a more compact architecture, Lapierre has been able to update the Overvolt significantly.
Gravity Logic Project
Lapierre has given the new bike the GLP acronym (Gravity Logic Project), and the idea behind this is that the centre of gravity of a bike impacts greatly on the bike’s handling, and, with a battery and motor to contend with, centre of mass is even more important.
Lowering and centralising this mass is important, says Lapierre, so the battery is located over the top of the motor, where it says this balance is best met.
Many bike brands place their batteries along the down tube, but Lapierre claims that this moves the centre of mass forward. It says it doesn’t help lower it much either because a lot of the battery is located towards the top of the down tube, which makes the bike more unwieldy and harder to lift the front wheel.
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Lapierre could have dropped the whole system even lower for better cornering and handling, but says that at that point on technical climbs crank strikes would be more of a problem.
It's speccing 160mm cranks on the S and M sizes and 165mm on the L and (new) XL sizes.
Latest and greatest
Lapierre decided to keep the Bosch motor after its latest update, known as the Gen 4
Major updates were made to the unit's size and shape, and the smaller package allows for much shorter chainstays, as well as a significant drop in weight – 1kg. This means it's now easier for brands to design bikes with ‘better’ geometry and lower overall weights.
Software was also updated and the motor now has more torque, too.
The availability of an external 500Wh battery was also key for Lapierre, and the plastic-shod unit is claimed to come in 400g lighter than the 500Wh alloy-shod PowerTube battery that’s commonly found on enclosed battery designs.
Apparently, there’s also a kilo saving over a 625Wh PowerTube battery, and with low weight and weight distribution important to Lapierre, the smaller battery was a compromise worth making.
Obviously, this does have an impact on range, but as we saw with Merida's eONE-SIXTY, launched last year, the top-end Team model comes with a spare 300Wh slim-line battery and a riding pack with an internal structure to carry it.
The Lapierre Overvolt GLP2 frame
Lapierre has built a full-carbon frame in order to help keep the weight down. This generation of frame is around 500g lighter than the previous model and comes in at a claimed 3.2kg without motor and battery.
The frame’s stiffness has been worked on, too, with Lapierre using new fibres and layups to get the balance of stiffness just right. Too stiff a frame will compromise grip and cornering, but stiffer frames give better handling when tracks straighten out and get super choppy. So a balance has to be struck.
Lapierre tested four different versions of the frame during its advanced testing stage, and settled on different frame sizes having slightly altered layups and stiffness profiles to account for different weight riders.
The ‘mullet’ bike has a larger 29in wheel at the front, which Lapierre says increases steering precision with its slightly narrower 2.5in front tyre.
At the back, the 27.5in wheel with a 2.8in tyre allows for those shorter chainstays, aiding a more natural feel in corners, plenty of climbing traction and more bum-clearance on steeper terrain.
The previous Overvolt had relatively compromised geometry, but this generation bike with that new motor has an entirely contemporary shape.
The Large frame has a reach of 484mm, 440mm chainstays and a 65-degree head angle. This is combined with a 76-degree seat angle (a claimed 79 degrees on the Small), which is steeper than before to give better balance and traction on climbs.
Lapierre Overvolt GLP2 geometry (Large)
- Seat tube: 460mm
- Top tube: 642mm
- Head angle: 65 degrees
- Seat angle: 76 degrees
- Chainstay length: 440mm
- Head tube: 120mm
- Bottom bracket drop: 15mm
- Reach: 484mm
- Stack: 634mm
The Lapierre Overvolt GLP2 suspension
A four-bar linkage controls the 160mm of rear wheel travel. Lapierre has worked on the kinematics to get the suspension sorted for an e-enduro bike.
The shock has a 60mm stroke, up from the the older generation's 50mm stroke. This drives the shock with a lower leverage ratio, which means lower pressure and less wear.
Lapierre has designed around 20 per cent progressivity into the rear suspension. This is less than many similar bikes, but it’s not particularly linear.
It's designed to work exclusively with an air shock, which has its own ramp-up towards the end of the stroke. Lapierre reckons this leverage curve should work well in a wide range of trail situations.
Anti-squat levels are said to be relatively neutral, designed to work well on rough climbs where you want the rear wheel tracking the ground easily, without bucking you too much when you crest a step on a climb.
Likewise, the anti-rise from the brake has been kept low-ish, at around 10 per cent. This has a small, but not significant, effect on the rear suspension under braking, keeping the system relatively active.
Lapierre was fairly open saying that the sag window in which the bike will perform best is relatively narrow, at 28 to 32 per cent sag – out of this window the bike won’t work as well as intended, feeling either soggy or harsh.
While the bike is built with 160mm of travel at either end, Nico Vouilloz is testing a slightly modified RockShox Lyrik with 175mm of travel and a longer stroke shock (65mm), giving 170mm of travel.
We were told on the launch that 180mm forks would be okay, and a 62.5mm stroke shock should be acceptable, giving 165mm of travel.
However, should you purchase an Overvolt GLP2, BikeRadar would advise contacting Lapierre to confirm any warranty issues that might arise if you ‘long-shock’ the bike.
Lapierre Overvolt GLP2 models
Lapierre Overvolt GLP2 Team – £7,649 / €8,499
The top-level bike comes with a 160mm Lyrik Ultimate RCT3 fork and Super Deluxe Select+ RT shock.
There's a SRAM AXS Eagle X01 drivetrain with an NX Eagle chain and 11-50t cassette. The cranks are E13 E-spec+ Alloy with a 34t ring.
SRAM provides G2 RSC brakes with 220mm/200mm rotors. The bulk of the finishing kit is Lapierre branded, including the 150mm dropper post on a Large and XL (100mm on S, 125mm on M) and 760mm bars.
Wheels are built around Lapierre eAM+ Carbon rims and are shod in Maxxis tyres: a 29 x 2.5in Assegai EXO+ 3C MaxxTerra front and 27.5 x 2.8in Minion DHRII EXO+ 3C MaxxTerra rear.
We weighed a size Large at 21.49kg without pedals.
Lapierre Overvolt GLP2 Elite – £5,399 / €5,999
The Elite level bike comes with a 160mm Lyrik Select fork and Super Deluxe Select+ RT shock.
There's a SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain with an NX Eagle chain and 11-50t cassette. The cranks are E13 E-spec+ Alloy with a 34t ring.
SRAM provides Guide RE brakes with 220mm/200mm rotors.
The bulk of the finishing kit is Lapierre branded, including the 150mm dropper post on the Large and XL (100mm on S, 125mm on M) and 760mm bars.
Wheels are built around Lapierre eAM+ Alloy rims and are shod in Maxxis tyres: a 29 x 2.5in Assegai EXO+ 3C MaxxTerra front and 27.5 x 2.8in Minion DHRII EXO+ 3C MaxxTerra rear.
