DISSECTED: FEZZARI LA SAL PEAK 2.0 REVIEW

BIG CHANGES FOR A BIG MOUNTAIN BIKE

Words by Drew Rohde | Photos by Dusten Ryen & Eric Winkler
Video by Eric Winkler

SPONSORED CONTENT

The original Fezzari La Sal Peak was released back in 2018 and has been a Fezzari fan favorite as well as winning multiple awards from media outlets. For Fezzari Bicycles, updating the La Sal Peak wasn’t just about refreshing an “old” bike, but taking one of their best performing mountain bikes to the next level. For Version 2.0, Fezzari gives the La Sal Peak 170mm of travel front and rear; new suspension kinematics; revised geometry; a new carbon design and layup process for DH-bike level strength; a lifetime warranty; and complete bikes starting at $3,999. There’s quite a bit to Dissect in the new La Sal Peak review, so let’s dig in.

* As with all of our Dissected Features, this is not intended to be a long-term La Sal Peak review or endorsement of a product but is instead a chance for our viewers and readers to get a deep dive look into some of the newest tech and products in the mountain bike space. We thank Fezzari Bicycles for the opportunity to create this feature and getting you some valuable beta on this new enduro rig. *

Fezzari La Sal Peak Dissected

THE PROCESS
Nearly two years in the making, Fezzari knew the shoes they were filling were big. The replacement needed to be worth the effort, so all the stops were pulled with a ground-up redesign. Hoping to create a bike that would truly be capable of handling EWS tracks, bike parks or the gnarliest local trails you’ve got, Fezzari started by making a bike strong enough to offer a lifetime warranty and pass downhill bike stiffness and durability tests. They’ve got enough faith to give a green light for 170 or 180mm single crown forks or a dual crown fork with up to 203mm of travel.

The fully carbon fiber frame is significantly stiffer thanks to different tube shaping, a burlier rocker link and a lower slung top tube. To ensure the bike wasn’t only stiff in the laboratory, Fezzari had the bike under both factory racers and employee test riders across the US, an Enduro World Series race in Italy, BME enduro races and more.

Along with stiffness and strength goals, Fezzari added the features riders want, like a UDH derailleur hanger; ISCG-05 chainguide mounts; fully guided internal cable routing and custom frame protectors. Other fine touches include custom alloy hardware and laser etched graphics to leave a high-quality finish.

SUSPENSION IMPROVEMENTS
Carrying on with Fezzari’s Horst-style Tetralink suspension design, the Fezzari La Sal Peak 2.0 boasts more travel out back, now sporting 170mm of squish. Fezzari lowered the leverage ratio of the bike, meaning riders can ride a roughly 20% lighter spring rate – good news all around, especially for coil shock fans. Fezzari claims the bike has a better tuning range and provides a more consistent feel from sag into the mid-stroke, while still offering enough ramp-up at bottom out. We look forward to our long-term testing to verify this, but initial rides have us impressed.

Fezzari La Sal Peak Dissected
Fezzari La Sal Peak Dissected

GEOMETRY UPDATES
By slightly modifying the suspension layout on the new La Sal Peak 2.0, Fezzari was able to drop the standover height by almost 2 inches across the Small-XL size range. This lowers the center of gravity slightly, while also increasing comfort and confidence, especially for shorter-legged riders. Reach numbers grew slightly across the board with a range of 435mm to 510mm, with our size large measuring out at 485mm. Chainstays also grew by 2mm to 437mm, which may have some drawbacks in certain areas, but will help with climbing and high-speed stability and maintain the balance with the longer front end.

Also updated is Fezzari’s seat tube angle concept. Rather than give every frame a 77.5-degree seat tube angle, which may or may not effectively end up at 77.5 degrees based on the frame size and saddle height. Fezzari looked at data from different frame sizes and average seat heights and slightly modified the frame’s actual angle to give the rider the 77.5-degree experience at the height they’re likely to be sitting at, keeping the seated feel consistent for every rider.

Fezzari La Sal Peak Dissected

BUILDS AND BUYING
Starting at $3,999, Fezzari offers the La Sal Peak in a number of complete options, as well as frameset options. For our test bike we opted to run Crankbrothers Synthesis wheels, EXT suspension and SRAM AXS drivetrain with TRP brakes to give it a suitably high-performance build. We’ll share some of their factory builds at the end of this write-up.

As with all Fezzari bikes, their 23-point custom set up and bike building option lets you pick and choose the right parts for your budget and riding style. Every customer can spend on the components that matter, and save in areas that make sense to cut back. The choice is yours and we think Fezzari does a great job of letting you pick and choose the bike you want to own and build.

Fezzari La Sal Peak Dissected

THE WOLF’S FIRST IMPRESSION

We had the opportunity to meet with Fezzari’s Director of Product, Tyler Cloward in our hometown to ride some of our all-time favorite trails and film this Dissected video together. When we showed up, we were pleasantly surprised to also see Fezzari sponsored rider and mountain bike legend Richie Schley standing around some beautifully purple bikes. After some catching up and initial bike setup it was time to climb.

We did a loop that I grew up riding and have tested countless bikes on. I bring this up because it is a rather challenging ride both up and down, and it’s not a place you want to be off your game or struggling with new bike hesitations. Long story short, this bike did not hold me back and instantly felt at home underneath me in most situations.

The climb takes us on everything from paved bike paths and steep fire roads to very technical, off-camber and stair-stepped sandstone rocks. For a 170mm enduro bike, the Fezzari La Sal Peak 2.0 climbs well. We’d like to spend more time grinding out miles for our Fezzari La Sal Peak long-term review but from an efficiency point, it’s on par and the sensitive EXT coil shock had us reaching for that pedal platform switch to add some support. Navigating techy bits of climb was very impressive thus far. Bottom bracket height and crank arm length are great for those who live in chunky or steppy terrain and like rock challenges – I was able to climb all day without any pedal strikes.

Fezzari La Sal Peak Dissected

Once it came time to hit the downhill, initial concerns about how long it would take to acclimate were erased. Instead, my biggest concern was if the brakes were sufficiently bed-in as I picked up speed effortlessly. With each section getting sessioned over and over for film and photo, I began to get more comfortable on the upper section of the trail and by the time we encountered some of the fastest and rockiest sections of the trail I was completely confident in what the bike was going to do and how hard I could push it.

The EXT suspension was a treat to ride, and I was happy with how little time it took to get this bike set up and feeling good on our first ride. Our time with the bike has been very short, and as with all our Dissected features, these are not intended to be Fezzari La Sal Peak reviews, but with the amount of time and number of bikes I’ve ridden on these trails, I’m pretty confident saying that if you don’t want to wait for a La Sal Peak long-term review and are looking for a long-legged enduro rig, this bike is probably worth a good, hard look.

For more info visit Fezzari.com

Fezzari La Sal Peak Dissected

FEZZARI LA SAL PEAK
COMP

Price: $3,999

Frame: La Sal Peak Carbon Frame
Suspension: DVO Onyx D1 Fork /Topaz 2 Shock
Drivetrain: SRAM NX Eagle
Wheels/Tires: WTB/Bear Pawls | MaxxisAssegai/DHR Exo+
Brakes: SRAM Code R
Dropper Post: Xfusion Manic

FEZZARI LA SAL PEAK
ELITE

Price: $4,999

Frame: La Sal Peak Carbon Frame
Suspension: RockShox Zeb Ultimate Fork/Super Deluxe Select+ Shock
Drivetrain: SRAM GX Eagle
Wheels/Tires: Stans Flow MK4 – Maxxis Assegai/DHR Exo+
Brakes: SRAM Code RSC
Dropper Post: PNW Bachelor with Loam Lever Remote

FEZZARI LA SAL PEAK
ELITE RACE

Price: $5,999

Frame: La Sal Peak Carbon Frame
Suspension: RockShox Zeb Ultimate Fork/Super Deluxe Select+ Shock
Drivetrain: SRAM GX Eagle
Wheels/Tires: Enve AM30 Carbon – Maxxis Assegai/DHR Exo+
Brakes: SRAM Code RSC
Dropper Post: PNW Bachelor with Loam Lever Remote

FEZZARI LA SAL PEAK
PRO

Price: $6,499

Frame: La Sal Peak Carbon Frame
Suspension: RockShox Zeb Ultimate Fork/Super Deluxe Ultimate Shock
Drivetrain: SRAM GX AXS Eagle
Wheels/Tires: DT Swiss EX1700 – Maxxis Assegai/DHR Exo+
Brakes: SRAM Code RSC
Dropper Post: PNW Bachelor with Loam Lever Remote

FEZZARI LA SAL PEAK
TEAM

Price: $8,499

Frame: La Sal Peak Carbon Frame
Suspension: Fox 38 Factory Grip 2 Fork / X2 Factory Shock with lockout lever
Drivetrain: SRAM X01 Eagle AXS Electronic
Wheels/Tires: Enve AM30 Carbon- Maxxis Assegai/DHR Exo+
Brakes: TRP DHR Evo
Dropper Post: Fox Transfer Factory

Fezzari La Sal Peak Dissected