Quick test: 2019 Pivot 429

One of US company Pivot's most beloved bikes, the 120mm travel 429 dually has been made over for the new age of trail-munching, all-day 29ers. The all-carbon rig offers 120mm of travel - up 4mm - from its Fox Evol-suspended DW Link rear end, matched to a 130mm travel front fork (in our case, a Fox Performance 34).

Pivot is one of the first few companies to push the boat out all the way when it comes to rear hub spacing on a trail bike, using a standard that's known in the trade as Super Boost... or to the rest of us, a 157mm wide rear axle spacing that's been in use in the downhill scene for quite a few years now.

"It's not like it's a completely crazy, out-there new standard," says Pivot's international sales manager John Pentacost, who was in Australia for the launch, "The industry has taken a lot of pain already for things like Boost, and the advantages that Super Boost brings are ideally suited to 29ers."

Those advantages include a much wider triangulation for a rear wheel build, which has imparted an increase in lateral stiffness over traditional 135mm spacing wheels that verges on double, according to John.

Deleting the front derailleur entirely has allowed Pivot to make the rear stays nice and short at 430mm for the large, while pivot hardware is burly and simple. There's even a neat rubberised flap at the base of the seat tube bearings to prevent rocks getting jammed in there and marring the paint.

Big ups for the ability to fit a bottle in the frame, too.

Pivot has increased the front-centre numbers across the line, though it still runs on the small side of the ledger. I tested a large frame - my usual steed - but really could have gone for an XL. The head angle runs 67.25 degrees, while the seat tube angle follows current trends and sits at a very vertical 74 degrees.

We tested a Race spec rig with SRAM XO1/GX mix with Shimano SLX brakes, Sun Ringle wheels with 30mm wide rims, Maxxis DHR 2.4-inch wide tyres (there's room for bigger again) and Fox Performance suspension front and rear that will cost you $8199 - apparently Australia buys more Pivots with Shimano XT/XTR that anywhere else in the world, according to John.

Bikes will be sold as completes at three levels; the entry level Race, middling Pro and top-shelf Team, with an entry level price of $7499. It tops out at an eye-watering $13,499, but every build shares exactly the same frame.

You can also run 27.5 Plus-inch wheels and tyres on the 429, and John reckons that while the company supplies a 17mm lower headset spacer to change the front end geometry, it doesn't really need it.

"We can supply 25.5 Plus wheels, and we'll supply them with rotors and a cassette to make swapover easy," he reckons.

TRAIL 429	RRP $AUD
Race XT	$         7,299
Race XO1	$         8,199
Pro XT/XTR	$         9,199
Pro XT/XTR w/ Carbon Wheels	$       10,899
Pro XO1	$       10,499
Pro XO1 w/ Carbon Wheels	$       12,699
Team XTR	$       11,999
Team XX1	$       13,499

 

Over a quick loop of Hornsby's Old Man Valley trails, the Pivot proved itself to be a great little trail companion out of the box. 'Stable' is the word that kept popping into my head; the short rear end didn't make it a mean wheelie machine by any means, but it was happy to be popped over bumps and pushed into berms with little or no fuss. 

The front end also felt planted, though it felt like my weight was more centre-rear, making the back end do all the hard work. It would flop over on itself on tighter turns on occasion, though, and if it were my bike, I'd be slamming the stem a bit more to get my weight up on point a bit more easily.

DW bikes are, as a rule, pretty handy climbers, and so it was with the Pivot. A compliant rear end, even with the shock in Trail mode, gave the Pivot wings up and over the rocky, uneven terrain at Hornsby. Opening the shock up meant that the Pivot pogoed a bit more, but smooth your pedalling style out and the bike would settle quickly.

We had no chance to open 'er right up, so we can't comment yet about stability or mid-flight balance - we've got one booked in for review, so we'll soon see!

Check out our quick vid;