Benji's Lapierre Zesty AM 527 Ultimate

MONTH 1: The classic Zesty sharpens up its act with a geometry upgrade and Boost axles.

In the UK at least, it seems that bike brands — and bike models — definitely have their purple patches. A period where they are THE bike to have. A time where every other mountain bike you see is that model of bike. Bikes like the Commençal Meta 5, the Orange Five, the Santa Cruz Bronson, the YT Capra and so on.

Once upon a time, in the mid-to-late Noughties to be exact, THE bike to have was the Lapierre Zesty. Where I lived anyway. Most people either wanted one or had one. Certainly everyone knew someone who had one. Some burly folk opted for the longer-travel Spicy, but most riders were still rather timid when it came to the amount of suspension they packed beneath them, so the Zesty was the go-to Lapierre.