Pivot’s newest bike – the Switchblade – has 135mm/150mm of travel (rear/front) and can be run with either 29″ or 27.5″+ wheels and tires. It’s a significant bump up in travel from the Mach 429 Trail that I’ve been riding over the past couple months – review coming soon. Basically, the Switchblade looks to be a bigger-wheeled version of their popular Mach 6 trail bike.
The Switchblade has impressively short chainstays at just 16.85″ (428mm). Even with those stubby stays, Pivot says there’s clearance for 29×2.5 or 27.5×3.25 tires. Oh yeah, you can also run a front derailleur if you’d like. So how did they manage to meet all those design goals? Well, they got all Marty McFly and went Back to the Future on us.
By now we all know about Boost 148 spacing – even if we don’t accept it. However, for what Pivot wanted the Switchblade to do, Boost 148 just wasn’t wide enough. So, Pivot repurposed DH bike spacing which is 12×157. While any old DH hub will work on the bike, Pivot did partner with DT Swiss, Industry Nine, and Reynolds to create new versions of 12×157 hubs that have the flanges farther apart, creating a stiffer wheel.
Regarding geometry, the Switchblade looks to be current with today’s trend toward long, low, and slack bikes. Pivot has always tried to look out for riders on the shorter end of the spectrum and the new bike is no exception. It’s offered in an XS that is said to fit riders under 5′ tall. The XL frame should fit riders 6′ 2″ and up.
As for build kits, there are a bunch of them. You get your choice of 29 or 27.5+ wheels in six separate builds, making 12 possible combinations. Prices for the Pro XTR/XT build start at $6,300 and the Team XTR Di2 build will set you back $10,100. It’s too many combinations to go over here, so if you want the details be sure to visit Pivot’s site.
Look for the Switchblade to be available immediately in size medium while sizes small and large will be here in just a week. Sizes extra small and extra large should be arriving in three weeks.
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