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Pivot Vault cross/gravel/do it all bike new build…
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Posted 8 years agoI’ve been waiting for this one to arrive for a while… But it was worth the wait! As you may have noticed I’m selling my previous allroad bike, a Salsa Warbird, in the classifieds and this is the replacement. I absolutely love this genre of bike; longer wheelbase and top tube than a cyclocross bike, wider tyres than a road bike and hydraulic discs so you can go off-road like it’s 2016 (rather than 1990 with canti brakes).
The build is a bit top end as I use this bike more than anything else and so thought I may as well sit on something nice. I’ve never used Di2 before and that’s been a bit of a revelation – yes it takes a bit of getting used to, but once you have it is totally reliable and very quick to shift. Being able to hold down the lever and have it whizz across the cassette is pretty useful. I’ve programmed it to shift like a paddle shift car; both left hand buttons shift down and both right hand buttons shift up. The only niggle with the RS785 shifters is that both the shift buttons are really small and really close together. With winter gloves on I could see me hitting both or the wrong one, hence setting it up like this. Hopefully the dura ace redesign will address this.
The frame is fantastically thought out and put together – the inside finish is noticeably smooth and neat, making the internal routing is a doddle when combined with the large access holes. It took considerably less time than faffing with cutting gear outer the right length. The thru-axles also get rid of any brake rub and make dropping a wheel in and out a lot easier.
I went with an XTR rear mech as I wanted a clutch for off-roading. After the CX1 I couldn’t face a bangy rear mech without one. This is designed for a wide range cassette though, so to get the b tension close enough to the cassette I had to file a bit off the mech hanger link. This gave much snappier shifting and quiet running.
The tyres are also a bit of a revelation – I’ve been waiting for Schwalbe to make a more durable, yet non-tank-like, cross tyre for a couple of years and here they are – X-Ones. The sidewalls are a bit like a snakeskin-lite compared to an Mtb tyre, but they seem a lot more durable (and easier to make tubeless) than the previous versions. Talking of wheels, I’m running adapted Reynolds Black Label Mtb wheels. These were chosen as they have DT240 hubs which I know to be totally reliable in heavy use and through the winter. Also they were adaptable to an 11 speed road freehub.
In the last of the firsts, I’ve gone with a Rotor oval ring. This feels like your feet end up back at the top of the power stroke a lot more quickly, so on power climbs or little sprints they give you that little bit extra.
Seems great so far!
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