Pivot Cycles long ago earned its title as an award-winning mountain bike manufacturer. But the best never stop evolving. For 2017, Pivot launches several new mountain bike models and updates a few classics.
Video: Pivot Cycles Firebird, Switchblade and Vault
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Pivot Cycles founder Chris Cocalis runs us through his company’s most exciting new bike designs and updates.
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For 2017, Pivot has launched several new mountain bike models and updated a few classics.
First up is the 2017 Firebird, which was originally released at Crankworx 2016. It features 170mm of travel front and rear. Departing from the previous iteration of this model, it boasts an all-carbon design, which slashed weight to 28 pounds. Not bad for a bike with full-on DH and enduro capabilities. The redesign also features new geometry, with some of the longest front centers in the industry paired with a super short rear end (16.8” chainstays). This combination delivers rock solid stability at speed.
For a little more versatility, the 2017 Switchblade is convertible between 29er and 27.5+ wheels. It boasts shorter chainstays than anything on the market in this new category, and still allows use of a front derailleur. Tire clearance goes all the way to 3.25” on the 27.5+ build, and the Switchblade comes with 135mm of rear travel and a 150mm Fox 36 up front, which can be converted to offer up to 160mm of travel.
Rounding things out is the new Pivot Vault drop-bar bike, which can de used as a gravel grinder, CX racer, and even your everyday road bike. The Vault has thru-axles front and rear, flat-mount Shimano disc brakes, and exceptional tire clearance.
Gallery: Pivot Cycles Firebird, Vault, Switchblade, Phoenix, LES Fat, Mach 429 and More
Pivot Cycles Interbike 2016 Gallery
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Pivot Switchblade
Purpose-built to meet the demands of enduro and aggressive trail riding, Pivot’s Switchblade is a versatile ripper with a huge advantage no matter where you shred. As a long travel 29er, the Switchblade is a next-level enduro bike that begs for fast, steep and technical trails. As a 27.5+ machine, the Switchblade combines spider-man traction with the shortest chainstays in the category for the ultimate all-terrain, all-conditions ride.
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Pivot Firebird
The Firebird is the no-compromise, Holy Grail of long travel mountain bikes – both an enduro bike that devours park runs and a technical climber that relishes huge lines and blazing descents. Building on its reputation as the bike for all-day missions on black diamond terrain, the Firebird now features Phoenix DH-inspired long reach measurements combined with a 65-degree head angle to deliver unmatched stability and handling. For enduro racers, the tough and light Firebird’s peerless climbing traction, descending capability and instant acceleration makes this the perfect choice for the steep courses of the Enduro World Series. For park riders, the Firebird’s long front-center and short chainstay combination provides that nimble, snappy feel that encourages bold line choices while staying fully in control at World Cup speeds.
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Pivot Vault
The Pivot Vault is a competition-ready cyclocross machine that eagerly doubles as your all-season stage racer. Whether you plan to throw down in gravel events, the local crit series or if your favorite race is the one against sundown – when your rides include every possibility – the Vault’s go-anywhere, do-anything personality means that you can pare your quiver of drop-bar bikes down to just this one perfect ride. To create this all-seasons ride, they’ve married Tour de France-caliber carbon technology, an all new carbon fork with increased tire clearance and a precise yet supple ride feel with new school frame geometry and design features that brings out the best in your skinny tire skills.
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Pivot Phoenix
Crankworx. The World Cup. Red Bull Rampage. Stoppie Sunday – the ultimate tests of athlete and bike. The Phoenix Carbon DH comes through these tests and for 2016 debuts with new carbon, new weight and new features as the lightest, strongest, fastest, most technically advanced and stylish DH chassis in the world. Working directly with the Pivot Factory downhill racing team and Aaron Chase, the Phoenix Carbon frame has dropped over 2/3 of a pound, features 27.5” wheels and more go-fast features than on any other gravity offering. All together, this is a bike that can take you straight to the top of the podium.
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Pivot LES 27.5
Now you can have that big wheel performance in an even more nimble package. The LES 27.5’s compact frame design takes our affinity for lightweight performance to a whole new level while opening up the big wheel category to a much wider range of riders. Some have described the new LES 27.5 as almost BMX like due to its next generation XC geometry that can dissect the tightest race courses with scalpel like precision while handling technical descents, rollers, berms and jumps like no XC hard-tail ever made. The magic combination of Pivot’s ultra lightweight ride tuned composite chassis, 27.5” wheels, progressive geometry, and ultra-short 16.77”(42.6mm) chainstays makes for a bike that is as equally comfortable taking the XC or Endurance race win as it is shredding jump filled singletrack. For smaller riders, the LES 27.5 is a revelation. With the small and X-small frame size optimized for shorter riders, there is a LES model to properly fi t every size rider with bigger wheels. It’s an added bonus that the more compact frame design of the LES 27.5 enables riders to build sub 20lb race bikes as well. Now you can own, ride and race the most highly optimized hardtail ever created with geometry, stand over clearance, weight, and ride tuning perfected for the smaller rider. The LES 27.5 is a truly ground breaking design that we are excited to bring to a whole new legion of Pivot riders.
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Pivot LES Fat
Ear-to-ear grins come standard with the new Pivot LES Fat – the world’s most versatile big-tire machine. The full carbon frame of the Pivot LES Fat features leading-edge materials and our proprietary hollow-core, internal-molding process. This coveted technology enables us to create an ultra-lightweight frame featuring the largest downtube in the category and a 132mm Press Fit BB for best-in-class power transfer.
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Pivot LES
For 2016, the LES has dropped over 50 grams. Using leading edge carbon fiber and our proprietary hollow core, internal–mandrel process, the engineers at Pivot have created a frame that offers racers a best-in-class hardtail ride tuned for the drive to the finish line over any terrain. Specific frame features include the oversized box section downtube and bottom bracket area, tapered head tube and meticulously engineered seat and chainstays. Combined, these features offer the best ride feel and significantly reduced athlete fatigue on even the longest courses. The LES becomes a one bike quiver with the race-light version of our patented Swinger II dropout system. This clever bit of Pivot Cycles engineering enables you to run both 29” and 27.5”+ wheelsizes and easily switch between singlespeed and geared drivetrains all while maintaining ideal chainstay length and geometry. When hardtail riders want to let their hair down, 27.5+ is a fun, capable and entertaining alternative to a traditional racing configuration.
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Pivot Mach 4
From the racetrack to the trail, there has never been anything that has performed like the new Mach 4 Carbon. Now in its 4th generation, the Mach 4 Carbon rolls on 27.5” wheels, features 115mm of travel*, and introduces the next generation of race/trail geometry—all paired with the lightest full-suspension frame we have ever made. Whether you are a pure XC racer looking for something nimble, with the acceleration of 26” wheels and the rolling speed of a 29er, or a trail rider that wants something fast and responsive yet stable, the Mach 4 Carbon has you covered.
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Pivot Mach 6 Aluminum
Pivot makes the best enduro/trail bike in the world, and now we are bringing the incredibly high standards of our Mach 6 flagship design to an aluminum frame. With the all-new Mach 6 Aluminum, they’ve met their carbon frame standards for stiffness, power transfer and perfectly dialed suspension performance, culminating in a bike that raises every rider’s ability to conquer aggressive, technical trails. With input from Pivot’s roster of world class DH and Enduro athletes, they’ve dialed in every feature of their renowned design and set a new standard for the ultimate enduro/trail machine. The Mach 6 Aluminum devours singletrack – the 27.5” wheels, slack head angle, short chainstays and low bottom bracket height all add up to incredibly versatile and capable bike that redefines aluminum in the enduro/trail category.
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Pivot Mach 6 Carbon
Developed with input from Pivot’s roster of world-class gravity and enduro athletes, they’ve upgraded almost every feature of their renowned flagship bike – the result is an uncompromising, singletrack-devouring descender with stunning climbing capabilities – a bike that enables everyone, including the best riders in the world, to push their abilities to new levels. Featuring 27.5” wheels, a slack head-angle, short chainstays and low bottom bracket height, the new Mach 6 Carbon is incredibly capable – upping the ante across the enduro/trail category and enabling any rider to conquer new terrain, no matter how technical.
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Pivot Mach 429 SL
The race proven, World Cup‐caliber, Mach 429 SL Carbon is the leader of the new breed of racing full suspension. Selected as Best Mountain Bike at Interbike and as Mountain Bike of the Year by Bicycling Magazine, Pivot’s 100mm 29er is the bike you want for the ultimate in power transfer efficiency and technical trail mastery.
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Pivot Mach 429 Trail
Pivot's goal when designing the Mach 429 Trail was to create a new category of trail bike – one that takes advantage of the best features of 29 and yet maintains the performance characteristics that make you forget about wheelsize and, instead, translate to the “best-ride-ever,” every time you ride. They produced many iterations of this new design, tweaking angles and measurements with each generation of prototype and ride testing every version until they created the perfect formula. The result? A bike with the incredible pedaling efficiency and small bump compliance of the dw-link design, a slack front end and a short back end that is fast, flickable, and energy efficient. To complement this new 29er formula, you’ll find Boost 148 spacing, our own hollow core, internal, high compression carbon molding and the obsessive detailing you expect from Pivot. Effortless trail bike handling, incredible power transfer and precise cornering are all yours, without compromise, in the perfectly balanced chassis of the Mach 429 Trail. It is the perfect choice for your next ride.
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Pivot Point
From the jump line to the pump track or even tearing it up at your local skate park, it’s always great to have a bike like the Point in your stable. The Point was developed with some of the best riders in the world and like all Pivot bikes, brings a higher level of performance to the party. Pivot feels it’s the best dirt jump/park bike ever made. They know that’s a strong statement, but after developing the Point with Kyle Strait in 2010 and then winning this year’s Men’s Pro FMB Tour Jump and Jam at the at the Santa Cruz Mountain bike festival under Jeff Herbertson, their claims are well founded. The Point is built from the highest grade DMR chromoly steel with perfectly tuned geometry and feel. Its roomy cockpit, combined with super short chainstays, ISCG 05 mounts, interchangeable dropout and a 1.5” tapered head tube make for a bike that provides go-big confidence in all situations. The Point feels amazingly solid with a snappy liveliness that inspires confidence and an incredibly high fun factor. Whether you’re hitting the local pump track or going for the best trick win at Crankworx, the Pivot Point is the bike you need to own.
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Pivot Interbike 2016 Booth
Pivot Cycles bikes are born from decades of industry experience and bred from a heritage of racing. Founder Chris Cocalis worked the floor in bike shops, raced BMX professionally, built bikes by hand, and saw Titus Cycles to success before turning his full efforts to Pivot Cycles in 2007.
For more info visit www.sq-lab.com