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The Zesty hasnt let me down yet when it comes to flying downhill (Danbury, FOD, Chicksands etc) and I'm trying really hard to avoid the temptation of buying a DH bike.
However, if I had my time over again I think I would have got a Spicy instead
To make it a bit more DH friendly im thinking of upgrading the wheelset.
Any suggestions welcome.

Whats the cost compared to chopping in and going for a spicy ?

Only had the zesty 7 months and done a few upgrades so dont really want to sell it as will take bit of a loss, besides i love it, just want to make it a bit more dh friendly.

Fair enough just be careful you don't go ploughing money into it and end up with a jack of no trades lol

would you be looking to upgrade or have an alternative set of wheels?

it could suit better so if you are hucking you have a heavy set on and then you still have the light set for spinning up a hill

Wait till you break the ones you got.......you may never....... and save the money. what size rims do you have if their 28mm keep em.

Keith, if you going to upgrade anything, run a set of 160mm forks. Will give a slightly more relaxed head angle, so make the bike more stable plus giving you more room to breath up front.

The zesty is rated for 160mm forks. If your serious about about more gravity riding you could stick some 160mm forks and some offset bushings on it - it's what the lap team rode in the mega this year in preference to the spicy.

http://www.endurotribe.com/2010/07/le-lapierre-zesty-914-special-megavalanche-de-nicolas-vouilloz/
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/zesty-lyriks-offset-bushings-potential-death

EDIT ^^Nick got there first^^

Great minds and all that...

are they spacers under the headset ?

No, they are bushing for your rear shock. They slightly shorten the eye-to-eye (without reducing the travel), sitting the bike lower in in its travel they slacken the head angle and lower the bottom bracket.

Pricey: http://www.burgtec.co.uk/products/offset-shock-hardware/burgtec-titanium-offset-shock-hardware/
Cheap: http://www.jeronholy.co.uk/Bushings/Site/bushings.htm

The other approach is a slackset headset. They both have slightly different impacts on the bike geometry. Angle headsets lower the bottom bracket and slacken the head angle but steepen the seat angle. Offset bushing lower the bottom bracket and slacken the head angle and slacken the seat angle (which might be preferable on a DH bike). However, with the bushings you have to be careful that you still have clearances for swing arms etc at full compression of the shock.

Either option may well void the warranty on your frame , so approach with care, or disregard as appropriate!

I meant this shot


i know what offset shock bushes are lol

Decent set of wheels is going to set you back £150 (probably £200 at least with tyres/tubes, general ball ache of fitting new stuff).

Festa got his for pretty cheap, it may be worth having two bikes, one xc and one downhill/freeride?

Doh! wrong end of the stick.

I think they are yes. My guess is that those BOS forks have an unusual crown or massive adjusters on, so they have spaced the bottom out to stop them smacking the down tube at a full turn of the bars. (it's a fully integrated headset).

Either that or it’s another way to play with geometry as it will increase the axle - crown length.

My nomad has a Hope zero stack headset on it and it kind of looks like what you show in the photo. Whilst there is no additional height above the head tube there is roughly an additional cm below between the head tube and the crown race. I like this as it increases the length between axel and head tube and slackens it slighty.

I built my nomad up to be a winch and plummet / mega bike. Not too fussed about the weight. These are the things i have done the same thing for my nomad the things I think have made the most difference.

160 fork - for me the guys are right- this is a no brainer - I love the feel of them, a good float 36 isn't much of a weight penalty and a lot of the downhill confidence comes from the strength, stiffness and feel at the front. You can buy one and run it at full 160 and see how you get on. If you aren't happy then buy a 10 or 20 mm spacer from mojo (£4) and take the travel down but I suspect you will be hooked in the difference in feel whatever travel you end up with. The other alternatives are adjustable but I didn't go there due to the mixed reviews in detrimental performance - I don't miss it.
Big wide bars 780
Downhill standard brakes ( I run saints) these are a real help in letting you stay off the brakes for longer.
Coil rear shock ( big difference in grip on the rear end)
Front end as low as possible ( hence zero stack)
A set if hooligan wheels with 2.5s on, I bought some Halo Freedom cheap of eBay. I switch between these and a lighter set.

I also changed from a dual and bash front to single ring with chain device but I don't think that is essential.

The only thing I would add is it is Jove to have something that you change on the bike when you are going more gravity. I find changing the wheels gets me in a more aggro mindset!!