Lapierre Audacio 200

Audacios make up the Sport range of Lapierre's road line-up, with this 200 model sitting at second tier, its alloy frame, carbon fork and 9-speed groupset contributing to the £799.99 price tag. Nicely finished in its FDJ team replica colours, it's a real looker – but the overall performance isn't hitting quite as high a note as others at this price.

This isn't the first Audacio road.cc has tested. Back in February last year I took a look at the 400 model – which has now been renamed the 300 – a bike that I was very impressed with. But it highlights how far aluminium alloy frames have advanced, even in the last 18 months, as the Lapierre 200 feels more harsh and unrefined than the latest batch of alloy bikes we've tested. The Verenti Technique, BTwin Ultra 700 AF and the Vitus Razor are all more comfortable bikes to ride at what look to be more attractive prices.

So, the Audacio 200 is up against it a bit, but that is not to say it's a bad bike.

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As you might expect, the geometry of the Audacio is a little more relaxed than those in Lapierre's Race range, going slightly shorter in the top tube and taller in the head tube. This gives a slightly more upright position yet retains the relatively steep seat seat angle, still keeping you in a sporty position.

The head angle is 73 degrees, which is still quite racy, but with everything else added to the equation brings plenty of neutrality to the steering. This makes it very easy to ride, ideal for the new rider or for those who just want a bike for cruising for hours and hours with no surprises or tricky handling traits.

High speed handling is sacrificed a little, but it's not a major concern; the Audacio holds its line well in the bends and gives you plenty of feedback about what the tyres are up to. It's acceptable enough for a bike with its intended use.

While we're chatting about high speed, I'll mention the brakes. Bin them! Well, the pads at least – the compound is just too hard, so they don't grab the wheel at all. On some of the hills around Bath it soon became apparent that, if your speed is north of 30mph, don't expect to stop in the distance you can see. This costs in terms of average speed, because you can't make up time on the downhills as you've always got that 'what if' thought going through your mind.

The brake callipers themselves aren't the stiffest, but an upgrade to decent compound brake pads meant I felt much safer riding the Lapierre.

Another component that makes a massive difference to the bike as a whole are the wheels, which are heavy and tend to blunt climbing and acceleration. The 200 may not be a sprinter's machine, but constantly pulling away from junctions or traffic lights to get the wheels spinning does take its toll on your legs. The flipside is that they feel bulletproof, and they certainly showed plenty of durability over the test period.

Helping out with that added weight on climbs is a triple chainset with 30, 39 and 50-tooth chainrings; when paired with the 11-30t cassette this gives a pretty large spread of gears to play with. As Mat picked up in the Just In piece, a 30x30 front/rear selection gives a gear size of just 24.4 inches – twiddly! 

I haven't used a triple in a long time so it did take a bit of getting used to, but when things got steep it was a nice option to have at the end of a long day.

Frame and fork

Lapierre uses 6061 aluminium alloy for the frame construction, a material common in the cycle industry because of its stiffness, lightness and weldability. It hasn't gone massively oversized with the tube diameters, but as I've said above the Audacio isn't found wanting on the stiffness front. The chainstays and down tube are overbuilt a little for power transfer around the bottom bracket area, but Lapierre hasn't decided to go slender on the seatstays to promote comfort, either.

The curved top tube livens up the aesthetics a bit but I don't feel it affects the ride quality at all.

Unlike many other manufacturers, Lapierre has kept to a non-tapered head tube on the Audacio, designed for a 1 1/8in headset. This does mean the steering isn't quite as sharp as the competition mentioned earlier, all of which have gone the tapered route.

All the cabling is external, as is the bottom bracket bearing, with Lapierre sticking with traditional threaded cups; a good thing in my mind, as they are much easier from a maintenance point of view.

The fork is Lapierre's own and has carbon fibre legs with an alloy steerer, a common combination at this price point. It is a very good fork, and very stiff in all directions, but again, like the frame, maybe a touch too stiff as there doesn't seem to be much damping from the front end.

Kit

The Audacio comes with a Shimano Sora drivetrain, which is only available as a triple option on the 200. Sora has changed a lot of the years (gone has the thumbshift button), with this 3500 version basically mimicking Tiagra before it changed from 9 to 10-speed.

The shifting is okay, although it lacks the speed and precision of the latest Tiagra, but with Sora getting an upgrade for 2017 to a 3600 model it'll be interesting to see how much it improves.

> Read our guide to 2016 Shimano groupsets

With 27 gears you get a massive range of ratios, with the long cage rear mech easily handling the differing chainring and sprocket diameters. There were no dropped chains or missed shifts throughout the test period.

I've already mentioned the wheels and their weight, now I'll take a look at their build. With 32-hole rims, strength and durability are higher on the list than outright performance.

The hubs are also from Shimano but from its road entry-level groupset, Claris. They are simple affairs but are smooth rolling and didn't seemed to be affected by wet rides. The pawl engagement isn't the quickest, though, so if you are track standing at some traffic lights, for instance, you'll find a bit of slop here. For their price, though, I wouldn't see that as a major negative.

Wrapped around those rims are Michelin Dynamic Sport tyres in a 25mm width. Considering they are entry-level tyres (you can pick them up online for under a tenner) they actually perform better than their weight and price would suggest.

The carcass uses 30tpi (threads per inch) so they aren't the most supple, but they still offer a decent enough ride over rough roads, a bit of feedback, and pretty good rolling resistance. They remained unmarked and puncture free throughout the test period so durability looks good too.

Grip is also pleasing, especially in the dry – there were never any moments where I couldn't put my faith in the tyres to get me round the bend. As with the wheels, though, if you upgraded to something a little lighter and more supple it would have a positive effect on the ride quality of the bike.

The alloy finishing kit is Lapierre branded and it's all decent enough stuff, with the grippy bar tape being very nice indeed. The bar is a compact shape with shallow drops, allowing you to get low enough to cheat the wind without stretching your back muscles too much.

A 31.6mm diameter seatpost does little to counter the stiffness of the frame, and possibly a 27.2mm job might have been a better choice. The Selle Italia X1 saddle is comfortable, though, with plenty of padding without being saggy.

Value

The Audacio 200 sits at a very competitive price point, well within the Cycle to Work scheme budget, so to stand out a bike has to be really good. The Audacio frame has been around a few years, and you can tell it's a little behind the times with regards to harshness. The Verenti Technique, for example, is a more comfortable, better handling and better value bike at £150 less but with a Tiagra groupset and a full carbon fibre fork. The BTwin AF Ultra 700 too is cheaper by 50 quid and that gets the majority of a 105 setup. Again, it's lighter and offers a much better ride.

> Read our guide to great road bikes for under £1,000

The Audacio is due to get a new frame and fork for 2017, which may or may not have been released by the time this review is published, so maybe Lapierre has noticed the need for a bit of regeneration. It's good news for this model, though, as we're already seeing it available with healthy discounts of £130, making it a much more attractive proposition.

Overall

In conclusion, I'd say the Audacio 200 is a good bike whose frameset is just in need of a bit of softening, something you could do by increasing the tyre volume or shimming the seatpost to drop it to a 27.2mm diameter option. These aren't going to make massive differences, but if you like a stiff ride then the Lapierre is an option for you, especially if you're after a triple chainset.

If it was me, I'd hope to pick it up for a discount online and use the money saved to get a set of Mavic Aksium wheels or similar to drop the overall weight a touch.

Verdict

Competent entry-level race machine, but doesn't compete on price with the competition