Pivot

LES Fat X01 Complete Mountain Bike - 2015

When the snow piles up and dreams of frolicking on fat wheels start dancing in your head, it's time to pack away the road bike and break out the fatties. The 2015 Pivot LES Fat X01 Complete Mountain Bike lets you dive into the snow for epic adventures and scamper deftly through the winter wonderland alongside moose, pallas cats, and any number of other cold-weather-conditioned wildlife.

The LES Fat is a big departure from the heavy, tank-like fat bikes of yore. Constructed from carbon fiber using Pivot's hollow-core, internal molding process, the LES Fat is a lighter, stiffer, and stronger version of its ancestors. It boasts a giant downtube and artfully shaped tubing for efficient power transfer to plow through snow drifts and vertical compliance to cushion the bumps of the frozen tundra.

At the tip of the iceberg — err, rear triangle, the LES Fat features Pivot's Swinger II dropout system, which is a genius piece of technology that lets the frame accommodate a variety of wheel and tire size combinations. What really sets the Swinger II apart is its indexed adjustment arc, which effectively changes the bottom bracket height based on how much clearance you choose. Tighter clearance raises the bottom bracket, while larger clearances lower the bottom bracket to maintain ideal geometry across wheel sizes. On the front, Pivot includes two lower headset options with every LES Fat bike — a Zero Stack option for use with 29+ or the Rock Shox Bluto fork, and an 18mm cup for use with 26-inch wheels.

The LES Fat X01 build starts off with a Pivot LES Fat Carbon Disc fork with 150mm dropout spacing. The drivetrain consists of a mix of SRAM X01 and GX components with an E-Thirteen TRS crankset turning the pedals. A 30t chainring up front and a 10-42t cassette in the rear to provide ample gearing for a wide variety of terrain, while a set of SRAM Guide R brakes keep you firmly in control on wintery descents. For the cockpit, Pivot supplies the saddle, while a Race Face handlebar and Phoenix seatpost, stem, and grips keep the controls in check. The LES Fat X01 rolls on set of 26-inch Sun Ringle Mulefut 80mm rims laced to Salsa hubs and wrapped in Maxxis Mammoth tires for a smooth ride through the snow.