Last updated on August 30, 2021
For years the Pivot Trail 429 series of bikes have been a sort-of Holy Grail bike for me. The ultimate aggressive cross country / trail mountain bike, and something I really wanted to try. In August of 2020 I was able to spend a few hours riding v2 of the bike around some of my favorite Marquette and RAMBA trails and fell in love. Something about the bike and I clicked, and I came away wanting one. After that trip I sold my beloved Specialized Camber and got ready to buy a new bike.
With the COVID-19 related bike industry shortages it took a lot longer than I’d hoped, but almost a year after that demo — in August of 2021 — I made a quick trip up to Bellaire (three hours each way) and picked my new bike from Patrick at Paddles & Pedals: a Pivot Trail 429, v3, Race XT build, with the crank and wheels upgraded to high end carbon bits.
While I hadn’t ridden this new v3 of the Trail 429, and it’s a much longer reach bike than v2, I’d stared at geometry numbers for hours, comparing it to my current bikes, and figured that a size large in this model would also be right for me. After getting the bike and swapping the usual contact points, fitting the larger rotors that I wanted, and some other little bits, it was all ready to ride.
Using the Low bottom bracket setting (the higher of the two), a 35mm stem, an upper stack height of 30mm (headset upper cover + 15mm spacer) and the 11° sweep Salsa Salt Flat Carbon bar the RAD ended up just 5mm shorter of the Timberjack and feels pretty good on its first ride.
I may experiment with the Lower setting, which’d slacken the head tube and seat tube angle by 0.5°, bring the reach in and increase the stack, but this’ll likely require a 50mm stem to get the fit where I want it. At the same time, it’d bring the bottom bracket height closer to that of the Camber’s, which might be really nice. Between suspension setup and such, I’ve got a lot of experimenting to do.
Current build details are as follows:
Frame: Pivot Trail 429 v3, Large, Silver Metallic
Fork: Fox 2021 Performance Series 34 FLOAT 29 130 (Short ID: D4SW / 2021, 34, A, FLOAT, 29in, P-S, 130, Grip, 3Pos, Matte Blk, No Logo, 15QRx110, 1.5 T, 51mm Rake, OE)
Fork TA Parts: QR15 Geared Cam and Hardware
Rear Shock: Fox 2021 Series FLOAT (Short ID: D9N4 / 2022_21, FLOAT DPS, P-S, A, 3pos, Trunnion, Evol LV, Pivot, Trail 429, 165, 45, 0.9 Spacer, LCM, LRM, CML, No Logo)
Headset: Pivot Precision Sealed Cartridge (OE)
Crankset: RaceFace Next SL (170mm)
Bottom Bracket: RaceFace BB92 Cinch 30
Chainring: RaceFace 1x Chainring, Cinch Direct Mount- SHI 12 (32t)
Chain: Shimano CN-M7100
Derailleur: Shimano XT RD-M8100-SGS
Shifter: Shimano XT SL-M8100-IR
Shift Cables / Housing: Jagwire LEX-SL
Cassette: Shimano SLX CS-M7100-12
Brakes: Shimano SLX, Rotor: BL-M7100 / Caliper, BR-M7120
Brake Pads: Shimano N04C
Front Rotor: Shimano RT-MT800 M
Rear Rotor: Shimano RT-MT800 L
Front Brake Adapter: Shimano SM-MA-F203P/P (160mm Post to 203mm Post)
Stem: ENVE Alloy Mountain Stem (31.8mm clamp, 35mm length)
Bar: Salsa Salt Flat Carbon (750mm)
Wheels: Reynolds Black Label 309/289 XC
Tires: Maxxis Rekon (29 x 2.6″, 3C/EXO/TR)
Seatpost: Fox Transfer Performance Elite (175mm, 31.6mm)
Dropper Lever:Wolf Tooth ReMote Light Action (Black, 22.2mm Clamp)
Seatpost Collar: Pivot OE
Saddle:Specialized Power Expert (143mm)
Pedals: Shimano XTR PD-M985
Grips:ESI Extra Chunky (Black)
Bottle Cages:Specialized Zee Cage II (Black Gloss, 1x Left)
Computer:Garmin Edge 530, Garmin Speed and Cadence Sensors (v1), Best Tek Garmin Stem Mount
Bell: RockBros Handlebar Stainless Steel Bell (Black)
Derailleur Hanger: SRAM Universal Derailleur Hanger
Frame Protection Tape: McMaster-Carr UHMW PE