£9,100 A blunter but more versatile Switchblade
The Switchblade is Pivot’s go-to bike for everything from lines in the bike park to laps in the backcountry. This third iteration is a great bike, but it takes experience to get the most from it.
THE FRAME
Made with a specific carbon fibre lay-up for each size, the frame delivers 142mm of rear-wheel travel via a DW-link (twin co-rotating links) suspension set-up. This is matched with a 160mm fork and geometry to suit the rowdy riding this bike is designed for.
Pivot have kept the previous Switchblade’s vertical shock layout – a design they say allows them to produce a compact frame that’s stiff and light. Plus, it gives plenty of standover height, while maintaining capacity for a full-size water bottle. However, the new bike does have revised kinematics. Taking cues from their Firebird enduro bike, Pivot have lengthened the links and moved the pivot locations to give a more rearward axle path and more compliant-feeling suspension.
The US brand have forgone sleeved internal cable routing and frame storage in favour of weight savings and simplicity. Instead, they’ve partnered with Topeak to offer a tool dock under the top tube. While the bike rolls on 29in wheels as standard, the frame has a flip-chip, which can be used to adjust the geometry for a 650b rear wheel, or just to suit rider preference.
When it comes to measurements and angles, the Switchblade has undergone the ‘longer, lower, slacker’ treatment. Our medium test bike has a reasonably lengthy 465mm reach, paired with a short 395mm seat tube and middling 344mm bottom bracket height and 65.2-degree head angle. The effective seat tube angle is a somewhat slack 76 degrees, and chainstays are a compact 431mm.
THE KIT
Unsurprisingly, this ‘X0’ build comes with SRAM’s wireless X0 Eagle AXS Transmission. Also from SRAM are the Code RSC brakes, with 200mm front and 180mm rear rotors. A Factory-spec Fox 36 fork and Float X shock take care of suspension duties, joined by a Fox Transfer Factory dropper post. The bike is fitted with DT Swiss’s reliable XM 1700 wheels, wrapped in Maxxis Minion DHF and DHR II tyres, in the 3C MaxxTerra compound and EXO+ casing. Pivot provide their own low-rise carbon bar, stubby stem and lock-on grips, and the build is completed with a WTB Volt Pro saddle.
THE RIDE
As a bike that’s intended to do everything well, the Switchblade has a mountain to climb (literally). The first thing that jumps out at you
