Pivot Trail 429 Review | A Premium Trail Ripper With Big Bike Ambition
Howdy folks it’s Wil here from Flow Mountain Bike
and welcome to this video review
of the all-new Pivot Trail 429
yes indeedy this is an all-new third
generation Trail 429 this is Pivot’s go
fast trail bike so it sits between the
Mach 4 SL the 100mm travel xc race bike
and the Awitchblade the 142mm All Mountain bike
the Trail 429 splits the difference with 120mm
travel out back and a 130 or 140mm travel fork
up front now that puts it into similar territory
as the Santa Cruz Tallboy the Ibis Ripley the
Norco Optic and the Specialized Stumpjumper
as per usual the full review of the Trail
429 is now live over at flowmountainbike.com
click the link in the video description below
and that will take you through to the full review
of this bike right here in this video i’ll be
giving more of a broader overview of the Trail 429
i’ll be going to some detail about what’s changed
on the new bike then i’ll be talking about how
it rides on the trail what this bike does well
what it struggles with and ultimately what kind
of rider it’s best suited to the latest Trail
429 gets a brand new carbon fibre frame with
the
Mach 4 SL the Switchblade and the latest Mach 6.
Pivot’s built it around a trunnion mounted shock
which actually squeezes the same stroke into a
smaller package and that’s allowed the engineers
to build a more space efficient frame design
there’s more standover clearance greater
compatibility with long stroke dropper posts
and there’s room for a large size water bottle
on all frame sizes including the extra small the
frame itself is still a carbon only affair however
pivot has employed more expensive higher modulus
carbon fibers to help reduce weight pivot claims
the new Trail 429 frame comes in at just 2.7kg
including the rear shock joining the swing arm to
the mainframe is a dw link suspension design the
two links are manufactured from cold forge 7000
series alloy and they feature big pivot bolts and
large diameter enduro max bearings with the new
frame Pivot has updated the geometry on the Trail
429 with the changes you’d probably expect the
head angle is over a degree slacker at 66 degrees
the seat tube angle is a lick steeper at 75 degrees
but the biggest change on this bike is in the
reach measurement on the medium frame here it’s
grown from 439 millimeters to 455 millimeters
essentially going up a whole size the bottom
bracket sits a little bit lower there’s a 33
millimeter BB drop and the rear centre has
been kept nice and short at 432 millimeters
the new Trail 429 does carry through the
wheel size adaptability of the original model
so while complete bikes do come with 29 inch
wheels this bike will take 27.5+ wheels
you can even set it up as a mullet bike with a 29
inch wheel on the front and a regular 27.5 inch
wheel on the back adding further adjustability
pivot has built in a two position geometry chip
the bikes will come shipped from the factory in
the low position but flipping that chip into the
high position will lift the bottom bracket height
by six millimeters and steepen the angles by half
a degree on top of that pivot will be offering the
Trail 429 in a race build with a 130mm travel Fox
34 fork and a Float DPS shock and enduro builds
with a 140mm travel fox 36 fork and a Float DPX2
shock with the race and enduro builds Live Valve
and carbon wheel upgrade options there’s a total
of 20 different spec options available in the
Trail 429 range now pricing will start at $8,499 AUD
for the Race XT build and it will go up
to $18,999 AUD for the Team
XX1 AXS Live build which comes with all of the
batteries the bike that i’ve been testing here is
the Team XTR build retail price on this is $13,499 AUD
for your money you’re getting a
Fox Factory series fork and shock a Shimano XTR 1×12 drivetrain with carbon Race Face cranks XTR
four piston brakes with 180 mil rotors front and
rear a Reynolds Black Label carbon wheel set and
2.4 inch Maxxis Dissector EXO tires confirmed weight
for our medium-sized test bikes set up tubeless
and weighed without pedals is just 12.4kg now
at 175 centimeters tall i’ve been riding a medium
size in the Trail 429 it’s worth noting though
that the new bike is considerably longer than
the old bike that millimeter reach is long for a
medium and the seat tube angle while it is steeper
it isn’t as near vertical as what we’ve seen from
some other trail bikes on the market and that does
mean that your weight is distributed quite evenly
and comfortably across the cockpit though i will
say for anyone who’s normally used to up sizing to
get a longer reach take a very close look at the
geometry chart because this bike is quite a bit
longer than before thanks to the low slung top
tube and the compact suspension design pivot has
actually made the seat tube quite a bit shorter on
the new Trail 429 so while our medium size comes
with a 150mm travel Fox Transfer dropper post
there’s actually room for me to run a 175mm
dropper if i wanted Pivot takes care of the
rest of the finishing kit on the Trail 429 with
a 45 millimeter long stem and 780 millimeter
wide riser bars overall it gives a purposeful
and efficient riding position like an XC bike
but with the broader footprint and stability of
a longer travel trail bike as with every other
pivot we’ve tested suspension setup on the trail
429 is an absolute doddle thanks to that clip on
sag guide for my 68 kilo riding weight i put 160
psi in the rear shock and that got me to the blue
line on the guide now if you do want a slightly
plusher setup you can run more sag just aim for
the red line on the sag guide Pivot has fitted
the largest volume spacer inside the DPS shock
and that means the suspension is quite progressive
out of the box i got along with it just fine but
less aggressive riders and anyone who’s struggling
to reach full travel may want to downsize to a
smaller volume spacer now without doubt one of
the most impressive attributes of the Trail 429
is just how efficient it is to pedal there is a
little bit of shock movement initially and when
you’re cruising along on the road you’ll be able
to see that rocker link oscillating in rhythm with
your weight shifts the trunnion bearing mount
large volume air can and progressive leverage
rate means the initial sensitivity on this bike
is absolutely fantastic now you can tune out some
of that movement by using the blue compression
switch on the rear shock flip that into the firm
position which isn’t quite a full lockout but it
is suitably firm for riding on bitumen and smooth
fire roads the reality is though that not a lot
of energy is wasted when pedaling on this bike
there’s quite a firm mid-stroke platform that
engages around the sag point as soon as you
step on the pedals the linkage tightens up under
chain torque propelling the whole bike forward with
the kind of get up and go attitude that you’d
expect from a race bike like the Mach 4 SL even
with the shock set in the fully open position this
bike feels energetic and spritely whenever you’re
on the gas what’s really impressive though is the
rougher and more technical the terrain the better
the pedalling performance gets the dw-link design
is really impressive at separating pedalling inputs
from what the rear shock is doing the way that
it keeps feedback to a minimum is dead brilliant
and allows you not only to maintain but actually
build momentum when pedalling over rock gardens
helping here is the Trail 429’s relatively tall
ride height there’s very little wallow from the
rear suspension and the bottom bracket also sits
quite high to begin with i measure the static bb
height at 338 millimeters off the floor which
is a little bit higher than the Optic and the
Ripley and notably higher than the Tallboy and
the Stumpjumper this makes it very unlikely to
stall on the crux moment of an awkward tech climb
certainly on those 50/50 climbing sections the
efficient pedaling performance and the generous
ground clearance meant that my chances of making a
clean run were drastically improved the impressive
technical trail control extends to the descents
with that newly endowed front center the Trail
429 has a really solid footprint on the trail
which promotes greater high speed stability than
its predecessor despite the sub-13kg weight it
does take quite a lot to get knocked around while
riding this bike bump control is fabulous given
there’s only 120mm out back and while it doesn’t
hover like the longer travel switchblade it does
absorb a wide range of hits both efficiently and
effectively the progressive suspension design
gives a load of high speed control and it manages
its travel really well in fact i’m still yet to
bottom out the rear shock completely up front
the 34 is equally impressive but having ridden
the GRIP2 version of this fork i must admit that
i did miss that buttery plush performance here
the GRIP2 damper does offer more adjustability
better high speed poise and it’s more sensitive
than the FIT4 damper however it is more expensive
heavier potentially harder to tune and it misses
out on the lockout too so i can see why Pivot
has spec’d the FIT4 fork on the Race build
and the reality is those who are chasing plusher
performance for riding more technical terrain
will naturally gravitate towards the enduro build
which comes with that 36 GRIP2 fork and the DPX2
shock despite the extra length and stability the
Trail 429 still has a lot of pop and playfulness
about it thanks to the low weight and responsive
carbon chassis it’s an easy bike to flick about on
the trail the predictable suspension behavior
is also a significant contributing factor
because the rear shock doesn’t seem to get bogged
down it means that weight distribution on the
front is more consistent that said you still have
to ride the front wheel more assertively than the
old bike and after all that added stability
doesn’t come for free if you’re feeling a bit
tired or lazy and you’re riding off the back of
the bike it’s more likely to understeer and wash
out on tighter corners what helped here though was
flipping the geometry chip into the high position
now of course that lifts the bottom bracket
to give you a little bit more ground clearance
and it steepens the effective seat tube angle to
75.5 degrees and that improves the seated climbing
position more importantly though it also steepens
the head angle by half a degree and that naturally
pushes more weight onto the grips and down into
the front tire this setup allowed me to initiate
turns more naturally and it also allowed me to
carve tighter and twisty trails more easily too
helping here is the Trail 429’s short rear center
length which facilitates quick changes of
direction however it’s the stiff chassis and the
stout back end that ensure the rear wheel doesn’t
wander offline through high speed berms there’s
certainly a very strong connection between the
handlebar and the rear wheel i’ll also say that
the Maxxis Dissectors are a great match for the
Trail 429s handling these tyres are faster rolling
than a Minion DHF but they’re also more versatile
and they offer more cornering grip than a Rekon
they’re certainly well suited to my local dusty
rocky hard pack trails though there is a slightly
unnerving traction gap between the center tread
and the cornering blocks once you commit and
lean the bike over they do hook up nicely
and if you do push past the limits of surface grip
they engage in quite a nice controllable drift as
for the rest of the components on the Trail 429
it’s all performed well and it’s a very high
quality package as you’d expect for the price it
hasn’t been totally immune to issues though we had
some cable rattle from one of the entry ports of
the head tube which needed some electrical tape to
snug it down and of course Shimano’s finned brake
pads make the usual rattle i’d recommend replacing
those with non-finned brake pads once the originals
wear out otherwise the full piston XTR brakes are
fantastic with huge controllable power and the
shift quality has been rock solid throughout
testing as well the Race Face carbon crank set is
quite light and they look lovely too and they’re
paired to a custom Enduro bottom bracket which
has deeper insertion cups and double row Enduro
MAX bearings there’s lots of other nice details
on this bike too like the 3D chainstay protector
and the option to fit Pivot’s tool dock system
i also really like Pivot’s lock-on grips which
have a nice tacky compound and a tapered profile
which gets thicker to the outer end of the bar
and i also dig Fox’s dropper lever
which has a nice machined alloy paddle
which sits a little bit further off the grips
making it an easier and cleaner target to hit
and lastly i will say that the Reynolds wheels are
absolutely superb these are quite light they came
in at just 1540 grams on our scales and with their
low profile asymmetric carbon rims bladed spokes
and that buzzy Industry Nine freehub they provide
excellent acceleration with a nice and whippy but
well-tuned ride quality that suits the Trail 429
well and that my friends brings us to the verdict
of the new Pivot Trail 429 i will say that this
isn’t just the best looking iteration yet it’s
also the best performing trail bike to have ever
worn the pivot cycle’s name by reworking the shock
layout Pivot’s engineers haven’t just improved
the overall packaging of this frame they’ve also
improved the dynamic performance on the trail it
offers more stability and rough terrain control
over the previous bike though it maintains agility
thanks to the responsive carbon frame and that
short and stout back end add in the adjustable
geometry the wheel size adaptability and the
impeccable pedaling performance and there are
no doubts this is one of the most versatile and
well-balanced trail bikes currently on the market
now if you’d like to read the full review of the
new Pivot Trail 429 make sure you click that link
in the video description below to take you through
to the full review over at flowmountainbike.com
if you’ve got any questions for me about the Trail
429 make sure you drop those into the comments
below and make sure you give us a thumbs up
if you enjoyed this video otherwise that’s
it from me guys and i’ll see you next time
