Up next in 10
During the launch for the brand new Pivot Trail 429, we got a chance to chat with Pivot Cycles' CEO, lead designer, and all-round nice guy, Chris Cocalis, about the development of the bike and why he chose Moab for the launch.
https://singletrackworld.com/2018/05/first-ride-review-the-pivot-cycles-trail-429/
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okie-dokie so we've got Crisco callus
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here CEO of pivot cycles with the new
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pivot trail four to nine that we've got
0:07
we've been riding the last couple of
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days so Chris I've got a couple of
0:11
questions for you about the bike so you
0:13
give me three key features that define
0:15
this bike relative to the rest of the
0:18
pivot lineup
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well sometimes it's difficult to keep it
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down to three but the bike is 120
0:25
millimeters of travel up from the
0:27
previous version spike at 116 it's got a
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longer reach and um do geometry is one
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longer reach and shorter chain stays and
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yeah it's designed really to be a snappy
0:42
fast bike and retain the kind of the XC
0:45
capabilities of the previous version but
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be way more trail capable brought good
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response excellent and I'm glad you kept
0:52
it two three when when did development
0:56
stop for this bike really shortly after
0:59
the the launch of the last one so we we
1:05
based the last one the mock 429 trail
1:09
off the Mach 429 SL and the goal was to
1:12
basically make a more capable XC bike so
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it's it was kind of interesting how we
1:18
arrived at 116 millimeters of travel at
1:20
the time and that we we did some
1:22
prototypes at 120 and it like seemed to
1:25
lose some of that XC snap at the time
1:27
trail bikes weren't quite so progressive
1:29
it was still for the time and in that
1:32
shorter travel 29er it was a very
1:35
capable bike but it just you know 116
1:40
millimetres travel isn't isn't a huge
1:44
amount of travel and we wanted to make
1:46
it this fairly bottomless feel but not
1:50
really give up anything in the pedaling
1:52
performance that we had with the SL with
1:55
this bike when we started the
1:58
development we've really kind of took a
1:59
look from the trail bike end and said
2:02
okay so we learned a lot of things from
2:03
this bike and now everybody's we've got
2:06
guys racing enduro on the the original
2:08
Mach 429 trail people were using it well
2:12
beyond its capabilities
2:13
asking if they could put you know
2:15
reservoir shocks on the bike and do all
2:17
this stuff that was really a little bit
2:20
outside of the spectrum so we're like
2:21
okay well we hit the mark but people
2:24
want more out of the bike so with the
2:27
trail 429 when we started that it was
2:29
okay we're gonna start at 120 and we
2:33
were well into the development of bikes
2:34
like the switchblade and then what you
2:36
know the Mach 5.5 that we launched last
2:38
year and so a lot of those ideas of the
2:40
geometry came in to this bike of where
2:44
we could still get that snappiness and
2:46
not lose the XC capability but really
2:48
drive it forward is a good trail bike so
2:51
would you say perhaps as an approach the
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original trail 49 it came from an XC
2:56
background absolutely whereas this has
2:58
come more from a pure trail bike yeah
3:01
right I really evolved from the 429 SL
3:03
people were like putting 130 forks on
3:05
that bike so they wanted a little bit
3:07
more so we gave him a little bit more
3:08
yeah then they wanted a little bit more
3:09
so he gave you a little bit give the
3:12
people what they want and give us what
3:15
we want to because we started riding the
3:17
bike that way and one baguettes the next
3:20
and you always want more so I guess
3:28
you've kind of answered the next
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question but perhaps would be more a
3:32
little bit more specific what did you
3:34
want to improve over the existing bike
3:36
with this one can you name any specific
3:38
features that you definitely wanted to
3:40
hit the nail on the head with well there
3:42
are several trails that I consider our
3:44
tech trails that I when we're developing
3:48
a bike like the Mach 6 or the 5.5 that
3:52
it's like okay especially like the Mach
3:55
5.5 that bike needs to be able to pedal
4:00
on smooth and nice easy all general
4:03
all-around trails but if it can do this
4:06
group of trails that we like to test on
4:09
then we've really nailed it and the 429
4:13
trade the Mach 429 trail the original
4:16
one I could I could go ride those trails
4:18
but you've found the limit pretty
4:21
quickly on the bike and I wanted to see
4:24
if we could without again upset
4:27
snappiness not trying to turn everything
4:29
into a pure enduro bike keep that
4:32
ability to to really have an endurance
4:36
light race bike but be able to tackle
4:39
those that level of tech trail and not
4:44
be held back by it not go I made it
4:47
through this but I just made it through
4:50
always going you know we just want to
4:54
limit the oh moment you want to
4:56
feel feel life a little bit and this
5:01
bike is capable of doing that
5:02
good good response I like that all right
5:06
next question super boost Plus so this
5:08
is the second bike to feature super
5:11
boost Plus spacing in the pivot lineup
5:13
why does this bike need it and could it
5:16
have been designed without it what super
5:19
boost plus just careful what's what
5:27
super boost plus it's so we we that was
5:31
really convincing just to give a little
5:34
background we with the Switchblade we
5:37
went to a 157 rear triangle worked with
5:42
some hob manufacturers to redesign the
5:45
hub spread the flanges out it offered
5:47
and pretty substantially increased wheel
5:49
stiffness but the main thing was just
5:52
like boost which moved the drivetrain
5:54
everything out three millimeters super
5:57
boost moves it out full six millimeters
6:00
it gives us a lot more space around the
6:02
tire and allows us to keep those chain
6:04
stays short build a stiffer bike
6:06
basically does away with a lot of the
6:09
limitations that we we have in designing
6:11
and so the question of whether or not we
6:14
could build this bike as a boost bike no
6:18
we can't built this bike as a boost bike
6:20
we could build a bike kind of like it
6:22
that wasn't as stiff that maybe the
6:24
change days were a little bit longer
6:25
certainly doesn't have wouldn't have the
6:27
tire clearance that this has but there
6:30
would be compromises all across the line
6:33
so with this we can everything about the
6:38
bike not just the geometry and its
6:39
capability but that's
6:41
happiness and the the frame wave the
6:44
ability to pedal and the ability to take
6:45
plus and and pretty large 29 inch 29 by
6:49
2.6 tires on this bike and still have I
6:54
think we're at 430 millimeters on the
6:56
chainstay of this bike it can have all
6:59
of those things without compromise right
7:02
because of that I guess a good follow-on
7:05
question from that is the wheel size
7:06
compatibility DC being more popular as a
7:09
29 or is the 27 Plus that is it depends
7:14
where in the world yeah this switchblade
7:16
in the US sells at times slightly over
7:23
50% as a plus bike right in Europe its
7:28
it's like 18% in other parts of the
7:31
world 30 percent the previous 429 Trail
7:35
was a boost bike and it could clear 2.8
7:40
inch tires but not with the clearance
7:41
that this has and the chain stays on
7:43
that bike were quite a bit longer and
7:46
but it's amazing once we have the
7:49
Switchblade how many people asked can I
7:51
put plus wheels on on the Mokka 429
7:54
trail and and so yeah we again we gave
7:58
give people what they want and and it
8:01
was a good percentage of our sales of a
8:04
bike that really wasn't even with the 17
8:07
millimeter cup and would kick the seat
8:09
angle a little bit farther back it rode
8:12
well but in my mind it wasn't the
8:15
optimal situation
8:17
where's with this one I can I can really
8:20
say you know if you want Plus wheels I
8:24
like the way the Plus wheels give riders
8:27
confidence and in a short travel 29er
8:29
the range of customers that's not at the
8:32
extreme end of the enduro spectrum
8:34
that's an average ride or a weekend
8:37
warrior and maybe their riding and stuff
8:39
that they want more confidence they want
8:41
a little bit more traction they're not
8:42
going full race speeds and with the plus
8:45
wheels that gives them that extra level
8:48
of confidence to go through routes to go
8:50
through rocks and to climb and descend
8:53
technical things with more traction and
8:54
so that's
8:55
that's a great thing too on the the
8:57
trail 49 what was the hardest design
9:00
aspect about this bike what caused you
9:03
the most headaches we always want to
9:05
give as much tire clearance as possible
9:08
and when we're working on on the designs
9:13
even when we're looking at all the
9:18
different tires that we need to
9:19
accommodate even with the big tire
9:21
clearance that we have the the area down
9:24
by the chain stays and stuff is always
9:26
winds up being the most challenging and
9:28
I don't know if that's going to be a
9:31
later question or not but one of the
9:32
things on this bike is it's our first
9:34
bike that's not front derailleur
9:37
compatible and we went much wider on the
9:40
lower link and have the double uprights
9:43
as some of our longer travel bikes and
9:45
that made it easier to build a nice
9:49
stiff frame without having to go to
9:51
really more expensive exotic materials
9:53
so we were able to have a bike with more
9:56
features that holds a price point
9:58
similar to the previous month for
10:00
Twentynine trail and just had is a is a
10:03
better stiffer bike all the way around
10:07
but yeah that changed the area cable
10:10
routing that whole thing down by the the
10:12
front sprocket and again also
10:15
accommodating a wide range of front
10:16
sprockets it's it's a lot of things come
10:21
together down there here's a question
10:24
for you would either what are you most
10:26
proud of about this buy is there any one
10:29
aspect that you're just like yes I
10:31
nailed that I'm super happy with it
10:34
if the its overall capability I mean
10:39
that's something we're always proud of
10:40
on every pivot that we design that we
10:42
want to take a bike and and kind of
10:45
define what its category is going to be
10:47
or what its best at but then you really
10:52
try to make sure that it goes so far
10:55
outside the boundaries that it is
10:57
regardless of the type of rider that
11:00
buys the specific bike that they're not
11:02
pigeon-holed into using it for one thing
11:05
and so just having
11:08
very versatile bike and with this it's
11:12
it does that I raced a 24 hour
11:17
cross-country race on a team
11:19
I wasn't solo but I actually did one my
11:23
first lap on the 429 SL and my second
11:26
lap on the 429 trail there was some some
11:29
slightly technical things here and there
11:31
and I actually turned a faster lap time
11:32
on the 429 trail even though I suffered
11:34
a little bit more on the climb on my
11:36
lighter SL and then at the other end of
11:39
the spectrum at this event I mean we
11:41
rode some really extreme stuff stuff
11:45
that in the past we've taken much much
11:48
longer travel bikes on and some of some
11:51
of that or a group that came on this and
11:53
we said we're gonna we're going to take
11:55
this on portal in there and some of the
11:58
ones that have been here several times
11:59
for like really and here we are
12:06
everybody had a great time most of them
12:08
are still alive it's not their only no
12:12
broken bones no crashes bike survived
12:15
well and everybody had a good time and
12:17
we were able to show that it's like okay
12:19
yeah it doesn't need its limits on those
12:22
tight that that type of terrain so the
12:25
versatility is what I'm most proud of
12:27
fantastic and is there a specific
12:30
feature on the bike that you'd like in
12:32
particular I'm interested in this
12:35
question from that design engineer
12:37
perspective where a consumer would look
12:39
at a bike and go I love the red color
12:41
and I love love that shape but is there
12:43
something a bit smaller that you just
12:45
you just gonna give you a non-generic
12:48
answer because sometimes in the past in
12:51
our early years and particularly in
12:54
particular it was it was really always
12:58
function over form and the making a bike
13:02
looked beautiful is important and some
13:05
to me when I look at the bike and the
13:07
line from the head tube down to the rear
13:09
axle that's with with some of our newer
13:13
bikes this and the Mach 5.5 I think
13:16
we've done been able to do something
13:18
special that maybe pivots weren't known
13:20
for in the past
13:21
all the pieces come together and in our
13:24
engineering package this is sound as it
13:26
always is and we're always pushing the
13:28
limits on that side but now you've got a
13:30
bike wheel when you look at it across
13:32
the room if there's something special
13:34
about how it looks as well cool are you
13:37
getting that feedback from the Mach 5.5
13:40
and yes yeah yeah that must be satisfied
13:43
is satisfying yeah we've got some good
13:47
designers and good industrial designers
13:50
and yeah in the old days I could care
13:53
less we even painted the same thing as
13:55
long as they just rode perfect who cares
13:59
what it looks like and we we've had our
14:01
first Firebird it a face only a mother
14:04
could love
14:04
really fantastic bicycle but really not
14:08
a looker so having something like this
14:12
where when I look at it I'm pretty proud
14:14
I look across the room and go damn like
14:19
it is a starter you don't you don't have
14:21
to talk too much about the suspension
14:23
because people look at it and go wow
14:24
that's a cool looking bike and that's a
14:26
good stuff good place to start and then
14:28
to have all the engineering and the ride
14:30
quality back it out this is obviously
14:33
the most important thing I think for us
14:34
as well for sure for sure alright I've
14:37
got two more questions for you this is a
14:39
bit of a loaded question obviously
14:40
because we have been riding this and
14:42
this is the newest model but if you
14:45
could only have one bike from the pivot
14:47
range what would it be oh that is such a
14:51
load of 429 and you know we've said it's
15:01
a little bit shorter XE based bike and
15:03
so it still finds its it's not an enduro
15:06
racer and I tend to something with a
15:10
little bit more more travel than this
15:13
and sometimes a little bit smaller wheel
15:15
as well I probably spend the most time
15:18
on my mind 5.5 excellent answer and
15:22
alright last question for you and I
15:25
think I know the answer this one already
15:26
but I just like to hear it from you why
15:30
did you bring us to Moab to test these
15:32
bikes like why did you choose Moab
15:35
I love Moab my favorite place to ride in
15:38
the world actually I mean you got to
15:41
experience it for your first time and
15:43
it's there's some of the longer rides we
15:47
do here are super epic and you can start
15:49
up in the trees and and in the desert
15:52
and you work hard the whole way even
15:55
though you're supposedly descending but
15:57
it's there there's nothing like the
16:00
riding here and honestly I've been
16:02
coming here I built my first suspension
16:05
bike in 1989 or 1990 and I and and that
16:10
was also my first trip to Moab so some
16:12
people say remember when we used to have
16:14
to ride this stuff on hard tails and
16:16
said I actually don't remember riding
16:18
this on a hardtail and so this place is
16:21
brutal
16:21
and over the years we've broken a lot of
16:24
stuff here and poison spider bikes in
16:27
Moab has been our dealer
16:29
since my Titus days and we've had rental
16:33
bikes in their fleet and they're really
16:35
I've never seen it's made our bikes
16:38
better over the years having bikes in
16:40
their rental fleet and the stuff we've
16:42
learned from the beat down that Moab can
16:45
provide is it's like a bike that's been
16:50
written three times in Moab is a three
16:53
year old bike for everybody else
16:55
so yeah this place when we bring you
16:59
here we want everybody to have a good
17:00
time but we also want to test the limits
17:02
of the bicycle and not take you to some
17:05
super groomed like oh yeah here's our
17:07
ferry bike and and we've put you in
17:09
perfect conditions and everything's just
17:11
well groomed and we know you're gonna
17:13
you know the suspension doesn't need to
17:15
work too hard and here we want it to
17:17
work too hard and basically everybody to
17:20
tune oh yeah it can it can handle this
17:22
so you want the editors to work
17:24
hard as well you guys you're gonna end
17:29
that food at the end of the day Crisco
17:32
Carlos from pivot thank you so much for
17:35
your time I really appreciate it
17:36
thank you well thank you
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