One of the best mid-travel 29ers is getting even better. Pivot just announced that their Switchblade 29/27.5+ ripper is getting a few suspension upgrades that should allow it to smash through rocks and roots with even more confidence.
Pivot often builds their bikes just how their employees would ride them, and that seems to be the motivation behind the new fork set up on the Switchblade. The bike happens to be the supposed favorite of President and CEO Chris Cocalis, and this was exactly how he set up his switch blade.
The move to a 160mm travel Fox 36 fork gives it even more trail taming abilities up front, while using a shorter 44mm offset fork is said to maintain the sharp handling of the bike in spite of the longer travel. Note that the bike above is shown without the lower headset spacer that was technically for 27.5+ builds, but many riders end up leaving it in place for 29″ builds because it slacked out the bike a bit with the bigger wheels. We’d assume that the longer travel fork essentially does the same thing, just with more usable travel instead of a spacer. The 27.5+ builds will still include the spacer to compensate for the smaller wheels.
The frame also gets an upgrade to the Fox DPX2 rear shock on all Pro and Team level carbon builds. While the travel remains at 135mm in the rear, the shock is said to allow Pivot to increase the Switchblade’s small bump sensitivity and traction for an even better ride.
The upgrades are available now and you can figure out the exact pricing with their new online bike builder through the link below.
