www.pinkbike.com
Lapierre Factory the Land of the Fait Main
FACTORY TOUR CYCLES LAPIERRE
WORDS & PHOTOS: COLIN MAEGHER
Far
from
World
in business for sixty five years. They
France.
are France’s largest premium bicycle
To the general public, Dijon is the
producer and they sponsor race teams
home of the famous Dijon mustard.
and individuals who participate in all
To the culinary elite, Dijon lies in the
forms of competitive cycling; from the
heart of the Burgundy wine region—
Tour de France, with the FDJ team, to
acclaimed globally for it’s rich red
the UCI Downhill World Cup with its
wine and classic French cuisine. But
Lapierre Factory Team featuring Sam
to bike enthusiasts around the globe,
Blenkinsop, 2012 Junior World Champ
Dijon is also the home of Cycles
Loic Bruni, and two-time World Champ
Lapierre. ‘Lapierre Bikes,’ as they are
Emmeline Ragot), as well as Enduro,
more commonly referred to, has been
with the indomitable Nicolas Vouilloz.
Headquarters,
07
Pinkbike’s lies
Dijon,
Lapierre is located on the outskirts of Dijon, a ten-minute pedal from vineyards that produce some of the most expensive wine in the World. These vineyards and the forests that surround them are laced with trails, the same trails where Gilles Lapierre first tried mountain biking.
08
Lapierre
in
version, but today Lapierre is better
mountain biking is for their innovative
known for their OST+ suspension - a
full suspension mountain bike designs.
patented four-bar system utilized on
They
legendary
their longer-travel trail and freeride
X-Control - a single pivot design - in
bikes, and for their proprietary Pendbox
2001. Jerome Chiotti raced that bike to
linkage design that is found on both
a French National Championship title
their DH bike and the X-Flow trail
at a time when almost everyone else
bike). More recently, Lapierre created
was unwilling to race a full-suspension
waves with the advent of their e.i.shock
bike. X-Control still exists in a modern
concept.
first
is
made
best
the
known
My dad did with me what his dad did with him. He made me work in the factory, so as to experience all the stages of production. And I can only thank him for that... I did everything: built wheels, spoke lacing, and even welding, since at that time we were also manufacturing frames. So every time I was on holiday or around, I was given the opportunity to take part in all the stages of the production. Gilles Lapierre
07
Heritage. Gilles Lapierre and his father, Jacky, looking over DH frames in the Lapierre factory. Jacky may have handed the reins to his son in ‘96, but his influence is still visible on the production floor. As Jacky strode through the facility with Gilles, he was greeted by name and a handshake by nearly every worker on the floor - never mind that it’s been over a decade and a half since Jacky’s been the managing director at Lapierre.
08
It was Gilles who was responsible
Like most bicycle companies,
for Lapierre’s move into mountain bikes.
Lapierre’s manufacturing has been
On a trip to Taiwan in 1987, he had
in Taiwan since the early ‘90s when
his first exposure to mountain bikes.
aluminum became the predominant
Samples were ordered, the local trails
frame-building material, but unlike
in Dijon were explored, and Gilles was
many other bicycle manufacturers,
hooked. “When I tried [mountain biking]
Lapierre bucked economic trends by
for the first time, I was immediately
maintaining their bike assembly in
convinced that it was [going to be]
Dijon (they do maintain some full time
amazing and saw huge opportunities
engineers and QC personnel in Asia as
right away,” recalls Gilles. “I was used
well). This was done for two reasons: a
to riding enduro motorcycles in the
strong sense of tradition, backed up by
woods near Dijon with my friends
business sensibilities.
every Sunday morning. I already knew very nice trails and I asked my friends to test the three samples I brought back from Taiwan… We were all on the same page; that this was going to be the start of something amazing.”
07
At Lapierre they do not use an assembly line. Rather, the components are preassembled and grouped (cockpits, wheels, etc), and the actual bicycle assembly is done by the most senior of the mechanics at Lapierre - many with over 30 years of experience. Here we see Jose Moreira, a 19-year factory veteran, assembling cockpits that the senior mechanics will use on the current build cycle.
08
Wrenching at Lapierre is definitely
case with other pre-assembled brands,
not a standard blue collar gig. Many of
everything - literally every assembly
the lead mechanics have been here
step - is double-checked and torqued
for over three decades. Only the most
to spec. “Having bikes assembled here
deft of these mechanics are allowed to
is tradition,” Gilles states in a matter-
do the final assemblies. It’s a task that
of-fact tone. After some thought, he
requires speed, attention to detail, and
then clarifies with, “Very frequently, my
precision. These ‘ace’ Lapierre men are
father and I discussed that we must
capable of taking the exactingly pre-
always have a part of our production
assembled components, and building
close to our R&D department…it
a bike that is quite literally “good to go”
helps us to keep a constant control
in roughly twelve minutes. Nor is this
of the different processes, including
assembly something that needs to be
assembly.”
double checked, as is all to often the
07
(Clockwise) The badge of honor - a Lapierre Work shirt. Victor Fernandes working over a bike in the assembly area. The factory, all things considered, is spotless. Roger Pascal sweeping up at the end of shift, Work orders stamped as ‘done’ at day’s end. Senior mechanic Philippe Prandi working over a bike build - Prandi has been working in the factory for over 35 years, Roger Pascal checking shifting on a bike build.
08
This theme of tradition, mixed
And the core is the skilled labor force
with business savvy, continues to be
who build the bikes in their 3400
the backbone of Lapierre. The Lapierre
square meter Dijon facility. While
factory employs roughly 60 people on
Lapierre is always quick to explore
a full-time basis to drive the front end of
new technology (like their cutting edge
the business, push the R&D, manage
e-shock system), Lapierre’s investment
customer service, and to assemble
in its workforce is a huge part of what
bikes and some components (wheels)
makes the brand what it is. Some of
in their Dijon factory. It is perhaps best
the Lapierre employees have been
to think of Lapierre as a body: Gilles
working there for over three decades.
is the head, and takes an active part
It may be ‘blue collar,’ but working at
in day-to-day affairs. The engineering
Lapierre is a widely respected career
department, composed of seven full-
job in Dijon. Factory workers are
time employees, drives the innovation
valued as a component, and not one
as well as the look of Lapierre’s bikes.
that is easily replaced.
We are a part of a big group, but still driven like a family company. That is the secret I think. When you come here, you feel this company spirit, and we are talking about ONE team. I am used to saying that I pay much more attention to the quality rather than to the quantity. Gilles Lapierre
07
It all boils down to precision. Nearly every worker has a torque wrench close at hand. Nothing is done without being measured to an exacting standard of precision. And that attention to detail shows in every single frame that bears the name ‘Lapierre.’ (Clockwise) The torque wrenches that litter the factory work stations all bear a patina of age and regular use. Main image frames racked up, awaiting final assembly. Gilles
Lapierre beside a rack of frames. Pre-assembled cockpits. Matthieu Juaneda and another worker doing pre-assembly on a media bike. Matthieu Juaneda tightening a bolt on a crankset. Philippe Prandi using a drill to tighten a seatpost collar. Center image - Roger Pascal chasing the threads of a derailleur hanger before the final assembly.
08
Building Wheels
Lapierre
uses
pre-made
wheelsets from the likes of Mavic for some models, but most of their wheels are made here in the factory, The build is divided into both hand and mechanical stages to speed the process along, but final tensioning and truing is done by hand. The process gives Lapierre more build options to customize its wheels for various models and a greater level of control over the quality of the finished product.
07
Building wheels at Lapierre is accomplished by a mixture of hand and machine labor - spokes-tohub by hand, filled hubs and rims go to one of two wheel-building machines for lacing and pretensioning, and the final truing and spoke tension is completed by hand. As always, a torque wrench is at the ready.
08
07
Sebastien Candat doing final wheel assembly in the factory: cassette, disc brake rotor, and tire mounting.
08
contacts at PINKBIKE.COM
KARL BURKAT CEO/DIRECTOR OF SALES
778.858.6930 // skype: karlo_ubc // karl@pinkbike.com
RADEK BURKAT CTO
604.351.2581 // skype: radek.burkat // radek@pinkbike.com
Julian Coffey PUBLISHER
604.908.1413 // skype: julian.coffey // julian@pinkbike.com
Ian Hylands Photo Editor
360.296.4745 // skype: ian.hylands // ianhylands@pinkbike.com
MIKE Levy Technical Editor
604.799.5389 // skype: mikelevy. // mikelevy@pinkbike.com
Richard Cunningham TECHNICAL EDITOR
661.298.4453 // skype: rbarichard // rc@pinkbike.com
Tyler Maine CONTENT MANAGER
604.799.7465 // skype: tyler.maine // tyler@pinkbike.com
29
MEDIA KIT // 2013 // Contacts
30