Pivot Firebird Shakedown Ride

This is my second Pivot in a row. I never do that.

In late 2015, I picked up a Pivot Mach 6 Carbon frame and a Pike fork. It was my first new bike in over 7 years, so to say the tech had advanced by light-years would be the grossest of understatements. I went from an alloy 26" Knolly Delirium with SRAM 2x9, no dropper, and aging Hope discs; to the latest, greatest carbon DW-Link 27.5" bike with 1x11 drivetrain, modern shock and fork tech, and a dropper. I was already blown away. I quickly fell in love with the long-and-low geometry and the utterly dialed (Chris Cocalis-tuned) Pivot DW-Link suspension.

Flash forward a year. Time to flip the Mach 6, despite the fact that I'm completely acclimated to the bike and a little bit hesitant to step away from such a satisfying "known quantity." But technology advances, and now there's Boost spacing and new suspension offerings from DVO, and then Pivot introduced their 170mm Carbon Firebird. Holy cow - sign me up! I like to ride the ridiculous tech-gnar that Pisgah National Forest offers in spades, and since Bailey Mountain opened up, I've been itching for just a little more cush for the park days. The 170mm Firebird takes long-and-low to a new level. Geared for Enduro World Championship riders, the carbon-framed sled sports a very long (24.25") top tube and a 65 degree head tube. Built up with the stock Fox 36, DT Swiss M1700 wheels, and Maxxis 27.5x2.5f/2.4r tires, it hit the scales at 29.3 lbs. I ordered the SRAM Eagle X01 kit to get the 50T(!!) granny cog (/dinner plate?). Impressive. With the DVO Diamond Boost and Industry Nine Enduro wheels, it should be a shade under 29 with pedals. For a 7" travel enduro bike? Yes, please.

My bike showed up on a Tuesday, so there was some pressure to get it built, and get the DVO fork installed, before the Wednesday night enduro ride. Putting a bike together is not a new trick for this old dog, so I was able to get it 90 percent together working on it during lunch. I finally got to the DVO installation on Wednesday afternoon, after disassembling and adjusting its travel to the 170mm maximum at lunch. So - the bike went on the truck at 5:30 with only the most rudimentary suspension setup.

The planned ride included some of my most favorite trails in Pisgah, starting way up high with a number of steep, rocky switchbacks between high-speed rooty benchcuts and the occasional highly exposed technical surprise. After dropping a couple thousand feet, a flat-to medium grade ascent with innumerable technical root and rock sections, stream crossings, and log bunnyhops. Next, a big paved climb of about five miles, back up to the start point. Follow that with a very challenging, steep descent of mixed alpine singletrack and exposed rock slabs. Finish on a steep flow trail, rife with loamy switchbacks, rock- and log-drops, and established jumps.

Excitedly, I threw my leg over the Firebird and dropped in like it wasn't even a brand-new-to-me bike. Immediately faced with the familiar rock-stair switchbacks, the bike turned on a dime and held the line I put it on with incredible stability, even with the fork diving from not enough air spring pressure. I was able to drop it down the steep inside lines and let the extra 15mm of travel (over the 155mm Mach 6) catch me as I flicked it through the apex. On the fast sidehill traverses, it really wanted to stretch its legs; the Fox Float X2 did a really good job on high-frequency stutter bumps and had good support mid-stroke when I weighted the rear to manual the various drops and hollows.

I noticed how incredibly stiff the rear triangle is. My old Knolly with Noel's 4x4 linkage has always been the bar by which I measure rear-end stiffness, but I have to say this version of the DW-Link knocks it out of the park. The upper links are elegantly bridged into one beefy piece, actuating the Fox shock with the newly-popular yoke mount. The result is a rear triangle that just doesn't flex or deflect, allowing the bike to hold the lines I choose. The suspension and Maxxis DHF/DHR tires did the rest. I definitely tried some improbable lines across off-camber roots and carving up canted rock slabs, with overwhelming success.

It took a little bit longer with the DVO Diamond 110 fork up front, but by the time we got to the big paved climb, I had a good baseline. I kept raising air spring pressure because I could feel the fork diving into the bottom third of its stroke, causing a harshness on small-to-medium hits. Also, DVO recommends 15-20% sag vice the 20-25% I'm used to, because their adjustable negative spring counteracts higher air spring rate.

I don't mind to climb. I have a decent spin honed by countless miles on the road bike in a past life, so I found seated climbing to be quite good. The climb lever definitely helped, but it was a subtle difference. A little more low-frequency bob was present with the lever in the open position, but still not horrible. My seat was too far forward at that point, so my comfort level was off compared to the Mach 6, but I think I have it where it needs to be for the next big climb. The fork climbed well when I shut the low speed damping to full firm. I felt like it did an amazing job of getting me back up the hill without drama. Infrequent out-of-saddle efforts were unhindered by the longer travel. Again, the inherent anti-squat of the DW-Link geometry serves this bike well.

On the final descent we opened it the f*** up. By this point the suspension was close, and I was a little more acclimated to the new machine. I have to say I've never come down that particular trail so fast. The Firebird ate everything in its path, begging me to just let it go. I hit some of the loamy, banked corners at full speed - no brakes - just because the bike felt so confident. Find the line, snap it in there, let it drift just that much, then straighten it up in time to flick it back the other way. In the air, it felt balanced and controllable. I was able to put it wherever it needed to be while airborne, ensuring my landings were composed.

Composed. That's the best way to describe this bike. Once properly set up, this new Pivot enduro bike is unflappable. It inspires speed and confidence. I've owned and ridden so many different full suspension bikes since my first Cannondale Super V, oh, about 20 years ago, but this one tops them all. As an avid moto guy, I can appreciate the trickle-down technology that has made this bike SO DAMN GOOD. I'm sure there will be moments when I wish the bike were a pound lighter, or a tad snappier on climbs, but I bet it won't be for a while...

Take a gander at the Firebird. Drool...