Pivot Cycles Launches Ridiculously Priced Carbon Frame Bent on XC MTB Domination

The reason Jeb hasn’t seen any mountain bike do that is because this is the freshest XC MTB from Pivot Cycles. If you haven’t heard of Pivot Cycles yet, a quick one-two tells you they’ve been on the market since 2007 when Chris Cocalis founded the company. Since then, engineers, designers, athletes, and industry veterans have hopped on the wagon to produce bikes along the lines of what you see in the cover photo.

The XC-race demon you see is known as the Trail 429, and this is what you’ll get when you go out and spend at least €7,399 ($8,972 at current exchange rates) on this beast. Of course, that's only the starting price for this bike; depending on the extra stuff you can afford, you can rack up a score of €13,799 ($16,746 at current exchange rates) for the Team XX1 AXS Live kit. Yeah, you read that right. That's really the price. But why? Time to find out.

To make things easier to understand, let's run through the setup found on the least expensive of the kits, the Pro XT/XTR. After all, not everyone has the buck for the Live kit. Even if you do, rarely will you run it at full capacity.

As you’ve probably imagined by now, the frame is composed of carbon fiber. However, the team uses their proprietary Hollow Core carbon to give you a bike that is 300 grams lighter than its predecessors, the lightest chassis the team has developed. Of course, all-mountain strength and stiffness should be taken for granted. Mind you, the important aspect here is geometry.

When you look at the frame, you’ll see a beautifully dropped top tube to offer good clearance on a drop but also allow you to get down into a high-speed turn. Even though the XC style exists, I'd personally drop the seat and ride it like a serious jumper. A nice BB height keeps your pedal and cranks free of any potential snags, while the 29-inch wheels raise you up even more, offering even greater clearance so that you can get that leg extended properly.

Because of its XC heritage, the rear suspension only offers 120 mm (4.72 in) of travel using a Fox Factory DPS shock. That's definitely enough once you consider Pivot’s revamped dw-link suspension. This four-bar system offers a limited amount of swing when absorbing an impact, thus offering the rider a good pedal response and acceleration while keeping you glued to whatever surface you’re on. A flip-chip is also introduced to allow for some tuning of your ride.

At the front, a Fox Factory 34 with 130 mm (5.11 in) of travel will give you a stiff and agile response. Higher up the price ladder, an extra 10 mm (0.39 in) is added to the suspension. For a drivetrain, Shimano provides the XTR M9100 SGS rear derailleur tuned to the sounds of 12 speeds while an XT M8100 shifter does the dirty work. The cassette, too, is an XT M8100 from Shimano. As for the drivetrain, it's one of the systems that changes depending on what kit you’d like - even SRAM is a choice.

Braking is covered by Shimano on this kit with a 180-mm (7-in) center lock XT setup. Again, SRAM is offered on other kits too. As for the wheels, DT Swiss M1700 come standard, with Reynolds Blacklabel or Tune Race 29 Endurance available as options. Regardless of the type of wheel, Maxxis Dissector tires are standard.

Ok, I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of 29’ers, but with the way this bike sits and looks, I just might go out and give it a try. The only problem here is obviously the price. Going to need to save up to get one, that’s for sure.