The Cyclo-cross season is in full tilt here in the Northwest and this weekend gave us our first double weekend, with racing at Saint Edwards Park on Saturday, and Portland's Alpenrose Dairy on Sunday. Lapierre's Ryan Iddings finished second on Saturday, and was in 5^th place on Sunday. "The new frame is great," says LP USA rider Ryan Iddings.

Here is Ryan's review:

Having raced for Lapierre for the last two years I have become accustomed to riding some of the lightest and best handling bikes on the market.  It comes as no surprise that their new carbon fiber Cyclocross bike which just arrived would live up to this reputation which I have come to expect. 

Out of the box the frame is visibly different from the scandium Lapierre X-Lite cross frame of last year and Redline's Conquest Team frame.  The head tube is visibly shorter than most frames in the 59cm range.  This is compensated for by a special headset which adds about 2 cm to the length of the head tube.  Even with the head set it in the head tube seemed a little short and at first I was skeptical of how this would affect the handling.  Another noticeable attribute of the X-Lite HM frame is its light weight; this is of course due in large part to its carbon make up.  Lightness is very important in a Cyclocross bike because unlike other disciplines we have to carry our bikes around quite a bit so a heavy bike is extra noticeable.

The ride quality of this bike can be summed up as incredible.  The frame is noticeably much more laterally stiff than any other frame I have ridden.  Standing and powering out of corners makes the lateral rigidity of this frame one of its best qualities.  This frame is also perceptibly a less harsh ride than many of its aluminum counterparts.  I wouldn't say it is a huge difference but it does take the edge off some of those jarring type of hits experienced frequently on a cross course.  The cornering and steering precision was impeccable with this bike.  The bike tracked precisely where I wanted it to and even carved nicely on loose gravel and grass at higher speeds. 

The sizing on this bike seems to be about right.  I usually ride a 58cm frame and ride a 59cm in the HM X-Lite which feels more like a 58cm.  The major difference between the Redline and scandium X-Lite compared to the HM X-Lite is the drop.  My HM X-Lite drop is about 2.5 cm lower because of the shorter head tube; this can of course be compensated for by adding spacers.   I personally like a little more drop on my cross bike and am now able to get it. 

The bike went together perfectly.  As many know, bikes don't usually go together without the usual snafus such as missing parts etc.  This frame however did.  I built the complete bike myself in about two hours with no problems and then raced it the next day.  The headset which came with the frame went in without any problems and worked flawlessly.  The frame was also designed with all cables mounted on the top tube while using a pulley system for the front derailleur.  Although skeptical at first of this pulley system, I have now concluded that it works equally well as a bottom pull system.  This design also allows the down tube to remain free of cables which is a nice touch when grabbing the down tube to shoulder the bike. 

It doesn't hurt that this bike has a full Shimano Dura-Ace group, FSA bars, stem, seat post and Hutchinson tubeless Cyclocross tires.  

Overall this is one of the best Cyclocross bikes I have ridden.  The handling is impeccable, the fit is near perfection, it's incredibly light and I haven't even mentioned looks yet.  There were more comments than I can remember on the appearance of this bike when I brought it to the races.  There were even a few comments by a former national champion about how they were jealous they couldn't have one of these...