Pivot

Switchblade Carbon 29 XT Race 1x Mountain Bike- 2017

Charging the burliest trail features and steepest lines with reckless abandon, the Pivot Switchblade Carbon 29 XT Race 1x Complete Mountain Bike carves out its own category within the mid-travel 29er world, blurring the boundary between aggressive trail and enduro disciplines with 5.3in of DW-Link suspension. In 29er form, the Switchblade carries maximum speed with the larger wheels obliterating rocky lines standing in your path. 29-inch wheels skew the Switchblade towards the aggressive end of the trail spectrum, crossing over into enduro territory for the rider seeking a brawny, race-ready machine.

The DW-Link suspension is a tried-and-true platform employed on all of Pivot's full-suspension machines. This comes as no surprise, seeing DW-Link's ability to claw up the steepest, chunkiest climbs and smooth square-edge hits on the descent. The Switchblade's 5.3in of DW-Link travel remains quick to surge forward with every pedal stroke, yet it's surprisingly confident on the descent, mainly due to the DW-Link's unflappable composure on successive hits and burly rock sections. Another thing to note, the Switchblade's DW-Link suspension uses a Phoenix-inspired, double-wishbone rear triangle that stiffens both the pedaling interface and linkage design.

Pivot takes Boost axle standards to entirely new realms with the advent of their Super Boost Plus rear axle spacing. Poking fun at the upward escalation of hub spacing, "Super Boost Plus" refers to Pivot's choice to employ a 157-millimeter rear axle, which in turn allows for increased tire clearance and incredibly short chainstays. Super Boost Plus adds an additional 9 millimeters of room to the rear axle, which results in 12mm of additional tire clearance. Essentially, it combines a DH chainline with a typical 5-inch bike's Q-factor and heel clearance.

One of the main benefits of Super Boost Plus lies in Pivot's ability to chop down the chainstays to a mere 16.85-inches, which is a ridiculously short dimension that embarrasses bikes with standard BOOST rear axles. These trimmed-down chainstays equate to incredibly nimble handling through switchbacks and tight sections of trail. Another benefit to Super Boost Plus is the ability to swap out the provided 29-inch wheels for the voluminous traction of 27.5+.  In fact, this wider axle standard readily accepts 27.5 x 3.25 inch tires, meaning you can drastically improve traction and bump compliance, especially across loose, drifty corners and jarring rock gardens.

Delving into the geometry figures, the Switchblade is relatively slack in 29er form with its 67.25-degree head tube angle (zero-stack headset option) providing just the right balance of steering precision and downhill composure at higher speeds. The snappy-short rear end makes for quick turning when you're slaloming around tight corners and negotiating sketchy sections of trail where instantaneous response is necessary. It's both long and low-slung for descending confidence, with a generous reach keeping things comfortable, so you're not crammed in the cockpit.

And to ensure consistent geometry if you chose to swap between wheel sizes, Pivot supplies a 17mm headset cup that keeps the bottom bracket height and head tube angle consistent between both 27.5+ and 29er configurations. It adds additional height to the bike's front end in 27.5+ form, slacking it out and raising the bottom bracket to keep it consistent with the 29er's geometry. You can ride with this 17-millimeter cup in 29er form, you'll just notice the bike sits a bit higher and gets extra slack.