Pivot Trail 429 Pro XT/XTR | $5,900

We loved the previous edition of this bike, which Pivot called the Mach 429 Trail. It was a 116-millimeter-travel 29er trail bike, derived from an XC platform, that punched way above its weight. We loved exactly where it sat in the spectrum of trail bikes—not too aggressive, not too cross-country. It was quick as hell, but maintained remarkable composure when things would get nasty.

So when we got the news that there’d be a new, updated version of the bike, now simply called the Trail 429, we had our concerns. Pivot dropped the 'Mach' and moved the 'Trail' up front. Was the name change a sign that the new version of the bike we loved so much would favor shred over speed?

The short answer is no. Pivot may have dropped the 'Mach' but, this bike is still wickedly fast.

And, while the bike has gotten the requisite geometry updates, some of which are considerably different than the prior bike, Pivot simply left some things just where they were. What we’ve wound up with is a bike that is indeed more capable, but the Trail 429 still stays true to its 429, XC roots. This is not a trail bike trying to be something more, like, say, the Yeti SB130.

Pivot upped the bike’s travel by just 4 millimeters, to 120 millimeters out back, while leaving the fork spec at 130 millimeters of travel. The head angle is essentially the same as well, going from 67.5 to 67.3 according to Pivot’s geometry chart. The most significant changes occur in chainstay length, reach and seat angle. The stays were shortened significantly, from a considerably long 443 millimeters to a stubby 429 millimeters (partly thanks to Super Boost Plus axle spacing). The reach on the new Trail 429 is hugely different as well, growing by 37 millimeters (423 millimeters to 460 millimeters) on the size large, and a whopping 45 millimeters (435 to 480 millimeters) on the XL. Finally, the seat tube angle on the new bike is nearly 2 degrees steeper as well, coming in at 74.6 degrees.

Basically, what Pivot have done here, is they’ve put the rider more forward on the bike, trading chainstay length for longer reach, while leaving the head angle alone. The wheelbase is longer on the new bike, but size for size, it’s shorter than many bikes in its class. The result is an extremely balanced-feeling bike, that’s easy and predictable to ride, and decidedly un-sledlike, in a good way. Just like the bike it’s replacing, the Trail 429 is a trail bike in the purest sense. There’s nothing it doesn’t like, nothing it prefers doing over anything else.

Oh, and before we move on, can we just talk about how much better this bike looks? Pivot has gotten rid of the swoopy toptube and seat tube, and cleaned up tube junctions from front to back, giving the Trail 429 cleaner, more bold lines in the place the previous bike’s soft, rounded figure. Plus, since the toptube is nice and straight, the shock sits cleanly beneath it, tucked almost right up against it. On the whole, it’s a more confident, modern-looking stance.

Getting back to how the thing rides, well, we can put it this way: Two of our three testers chose the Trail 429 as their favorite of the test. I personally put down my best lap on this bike. Which is a curious thing, because the course we rode was Bug Springs to Prison Camp, on Mount Lemmon, which we’d classify as being on the ragged edge of the trail category. Its sustained high-speed chunk demands focus and skill, and a bike that’s capable of handling hard hits.

Considering the Trail 429’s relatively conservative geometry, steepish head angle and XC roots, we didn’t really expect it to shine as well as it did. When I began the descent, I did not expect to be able to comfortably hit the speeds I did. It was almost as if the bike was slowing down time, giving me more opportunity to anticipate the trail instead of reacting to it, all while going mach speed. Oh wait, are we not allowed to say “mach” anymore?

It wasn’t just me. Each tester mentioned feeling calm and comfortable on the bike, and being able to control it with ease.

That may be partly due to the frame’s astounding torsional rigidity. The Trail 429 is a light bike, but the frame is not spindly whatsoever. It’s stout and gives the rider a real sense of security. But a super-stiff frame is no good if the suspension can’t keep up. Luckily, the DW-link suspension on this bike can. It’s a bit of a mystery how such a short shock (it’s just 190 x 45 millimeters) can deliver such a dialed feel. Just like the previous bike, we were amazed at how deep the 120 millimeters of suspension actually felt, and how well it resisted harsh bottoming. The top few millimeters are supple enough to quiet trail noise, while there’s enough support to really plow into stuff without the bike getting confused and knocked off its line.

On top of that, the new geometry of the bike feels like it centers the rider more evenly over the wheels, allowing the opportunity to choose to shift forward to dig into a corner or backward for steeper drop-ins. The bike does not make you ride over the from wheel as other, longer and slacker bikes do. It’s a bike that really lets you be in control, that gives a sense of connectedness to the rider.

I’ve just described a bike that descends quite well, but I also mentioned earlier, that the Trail 429 is not better at one thing than any other, so rather than describing how it “climbs like a goat” and “corners like its on rails” and “accelerates like a bat out of hell,” we can just use our deductive reasoning, right? If it descends awesomely, and isn’t better at one thing than any other thing, that means, it’s good at everything, right?

Yes, it does.

But also, it’d help to tell you how it relates to other bikes, right? The most obvious one to compare alongside the Trail 429 is undoubtedly the new Ibis Ripley. Both have the same amount of DW-link suspension paired with the same fork travel, and both are full-carbon, high-end, white-collar affairs. But, the Pivot’s burlier, stiffer frame had us attacking the descents with a little less reluctance. Though the Trail 429 does retain a lot of its XC flavor, so does the Ripley, and we think it’s fair to say that Ripley has a slight edge in that department. It pedals a little more efficiently than the Pivot, but at the cost of the suspension being less active and deep-feeling than the Pivot’s.

As for spec, it’s a bit of a weird time for the particular bike we tested, as it’s full of what is now outdated Shimano spec. Shimano announced its 12-speed XTR group forever ago, but hit so many snags in production that as of writing this, people are still waiting on cranksets. In the meantime, everyone anticipated the inevitable trickle-down to XT, and eventually SLX, which has now officially happened. So, buying a brand new $5,900 11-speed bike seems a little dumb at this point, doesn’t it? It’s not like there’s anything wrong with Shimano’s 11-speed stuff. It’s great. Shifts awesome. The brakes performed excellently. But, the new stuff is markedly better.

Luckily, there are plenty of builds to choose from, including one with XTR M9100, and several 12-speed SRAM builds as well. Hopefully Pivot will begin offering XT M8100 and SLX M7100 builds before too long.

Before wrapping up, we should mention the unique tire spec on this bike. Clearly, Pivot knows what works in the desert, because they’ve stuck a Maxxis Minion DHR II—a rear tire—on the front of the Trail 429, and it worked incredibly well for us on Mount Lemmon. It’s just one of many examples that Pivot sweats the details, and it’s appreciated. Obviously, that spec might not be the best for everyone in all situations, but we sure appreciated it.

The Trail 429 was masterfully executed. Pivot completely redesigned and updated the bike, but somehow kept all the things we loved about the last version. It’s fast and fun, and it’s that way on the entire ride, not just sections of it. There aren’t many bikes as well balanced, as easy to ride, and terrain-dextrous as this one right here.

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Q&A with Chris Cocalis, President/CEO, Pivot Cycles

As a longtime supporter of Shimano parts, Pivot must be stoked that all the new brakes and 12-speed drivetrains are finally here. We’re sure readers are keen to know when they’ll be able to purchase a Pivot with the new hotness. Can you answer to that?   

We are excited. We love the performance and gearing on the XTR so it’s awesome to be able to bring that to the rest of the line. Realistically (if Shimano delivers on time), bikes with XT 12-speed should be starting to ship in August. SLX level bikes should be available about two months after that.

In as concise a way as possible, how would you describe Pivot’s thinking when updating the Trail 429’s geometry? One could argue that the numbers are on the conservative side. For instance, several size large bikes out there have reach numbers that are offset from the Trail 429 by a whole size, which is why we opted to test an extra-large. Obviously reach is only one number in the matrix, so we’re curious to know how, in Pivot’s eyes, they work together to create the ride you were after. We’re also curious if you guys and gals in house are also finding yourselves wanting to size up on this model.

It really depends on what you are after in a bike. I ride a large in the Trail 429 (and all our models) but size down to a medium on the Firebird 29. Both Bernard Kerr and Eddie Masters are in the same boat in that they generally ride larges but ride a medium in the Firebird 29. Essentially, it’s a short travel trail bike that can handle everything from a marathon race to some fairly rowdy trails. We certainly could have pushed the reach out there into Firebird 29 territory and that would have leaned the bike towards the more aggressive end of the spectrum but it gives up some in versatility and then you still get to deal with the fact that it’s a 120mm travel rear/130mm travel front bike. Our goal was to balance the travel with the geometry. That’s certainly worked out well for us because it’s our best selling bike.

That Minion DHR II tire on the front of the bike is very interesting. How’d you land on that spec choice?

It’s interesting when you start looking for a tire with reasonably aggressive side knobs that is fast rolling. The DHF 2.5 was just a little slow and bulky for the intent of the bike and running the Rekon 2.4 in the front just doesn’t offer enough bite. We found the DHR II to offer a good balance of fast rolling with great cornering grip.

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