Since launching in 2007, Pivot Cycles has become one of the most respected premium bike brands in mountain biking. Led by founder Chris Cocalis, Pivot made its name with bikes like the Mach series, Firebird, and Switchblade, pairing cutting-edge frame design with efficient suspension powered by Dave Weagle’s dw-link.
I really like Pivot bikes. I’ve personally owned a few iterations of the Firebird and Phoenix, so this was a great excuse to sit down and take some time to go into detail about their lineup.
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What Makes Pivot Bikes Unique
All Pivot full-suspension bikes utilize Dave Weagle’s dw-link suspension platform, a partnership that has helped shape Pivot as a leader in pedaling efficiency and trail-eating performance.
From the beginning, Chris Cocalis and Dave Weagle worked to blend pedaling efficiency, anti-squat, square-edge compliance, and active braking. Over time Pivot has kept refining those kinematics for each category; XC, trail, enduro, DH, and e-bikes, rather than just scaling the same suspension feel across every model.
If you look at the new Phoenix DH bike, you know they did not just re-purpose the Firebird’s suspension platform and give it more travel. They built this bike from the ground up and went through months (years?) of teasing us with the carbon lugged prototype, making sure that it was perfect for launch. Talk about refining a bike based on its purpose.
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Pivot Cross Country Bikes
Pivot’s line of XC bikes almost makes me want to start riding more cross country trails. Almost. The new 2026 Mach 4 SL is a great addition to the ever-growing “downcountry” category. I think aggressive short travel bikes are so much fun, and you can pretty much ride them anywhere.
The Les line of bikes has a Leadville 100-optimized drop bar model, and a classic XC-race hardtail version. My guess is this will run a 32” tire in the near future. Can you say rollover efficiency?! I can’t wait to see how dropper posts work with that. Sorry, getting off topic.
Les SL Drop Bar
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Best for: pedaling a lot, spicy gravel rides, endurance races
Travel: 100mm front
Frame Material: hollow core carbon
Wheel Size: 29”
Weight: 22.5 lbs (large)
Like I mentioned, this bike is optimized for long a** rides, having fun on MTB trails, or being the coolest in your gravel group. With a 1132mm wheelbase, 68.5 HTA, and room for 29” x 2.4 tires, this bike is not your average gravel ride.
Pivot currently sells one build spec of the Les drop bar, going for $6,399. It comes with a SRAM GX Eagle Transmission drivetrain, DT Swiss X1900 wheels, and a Fox Stepcast 32 fork, the one that looks backwards. It's a pretty great spec that's ready to ride. If I were to make one change though, I’d add a dropper.
Les SL
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Best for: XC speediness, racing
Travel: 100mm front
Frame Material: hollow core carbon
Wheel Size: 29”
Weight: 19.8 lbs (medium)
Pivot made this bike with pure XC racing in mind. The newest iteration dropped 300g from the previous model’s frame. In total, the new frame is 800g for a size medium. That's about 1.7 lbs. Dang that’s light. To put that in perspective, the Firebird’s frame weighs about 6 lbs.
There are 6 build tiers for the Les SL, ranging from $5,399 for the Ride Eagle model, to a whopping $10,299 for the Team XX. You can fit 2 water bottles in the frame and there is routing for an internal dropper post, although none of the factory builds come with one. You don’t need an e-bike to go uphill fast, you need the Pivot Les SL.
Mach 4 SL
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Best for: rough XC courses, full-suspension zippiness
Travel: 110 -120mm rear / 120mm front
Frame Material: hollow core carbon
Wheel Size: 29”
Weight: 24-ish lbs (depends on build)
Pivot just updated the Mach 4 for 2026. The geometry has been revised, suspension increased, and frame updates have made this bike much more capable than the last version. It’s so cool seeing modern XC race courses get gnarlier as racers navigate incredibly steep and rough sections. Naturally, the bikes need to be able to handle this terrain, and that explains the new updates for the Mach 4 SL. You can change the rear travel to be either 110mm or 120mm, depending on your vibe or race course. I think that’s a pretty sweet feature.
Pivot offers 5 build options ranging from $6,399 to $13,999. I think electronic shifting and suspension is super cool, but man they add a hefty amount to the price. I do really dig the “Blue Stellar Fade” color they offer, catch me riding that.
Pivot Trail Bikes
I kind of get confused with modern day “trail bike” categories. Companies offer a few options in this category, with each one going up 10mm from bike to bike. I think it’s great, you can get the exact tool for the job you prefer. But is it necessary? I don’t know, I think I would need time on each one back to back to give you an educated answer.
Sorry for the ramble, Pivot’s trail category has a lot of options, including the 27.5” Shadowcat that is designed for a good time. Trail bikes are so fricken capable these days that if you could only have one bike, this is where you should look.
Trailcat SL and LT
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Best for: trail rides with medium sized rocks. The LT for eating bigger rocks
Travel: 120mm rear / 140mm front (SL) 135mm rear / 150mm front (LT)
Frame Material: hollow core carbon
Wheel Size: 29” or MX
Weight: 28 lbs (medium SL) add a pound for the LT
SL stands for Super Light, LT is for Long Travel. That pretty much describes the difference between the two. The bikes are made using the same frames, just different suspension links and rear shock lengths to create the difference in travel. The change in travel creates a slight difference in geometry, with the LT being a tad slacker. You also have the ability to flip the chip giving you a high and low setting. With the chip in the high setting you have the ability to comfortably run a 27.5 wheel in the back for the ultimate corner ripping party bike.
You have the option of 6 different build levels for the SL and LT. The SL ranges from $5,999 to $13,099, where the LT ranges from $6,199 to $13,299. Extra travel ain’t cheap! In all fairness these bikes come equipped with great components and you will likely be happy no matter what spec you get. If I had the option I’d rock the LT with MX wheels because that just sounds like a heck of a good time.
Shadowcat
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Best for: popping off stuff and generally having fun on every trail, delete Strava
Travel: 140mm rear / 160mm front
Frame Material: hollow core carbon
Wheel Size: 27.5"
Weight: 26.5 lbs (medium)
The only other company off the top of my head that makes a similar bike to this is Yeti with their SB135 (please drop other ones in the comments). I am actually old enough to remember when 27.5 was the next big thing until 29 took over, now we are seeing the 32” evolution, ahhh! Anyways this bike does not prioritize all out speed and efficiency like so many other bikes do these days, and I am all for that. It’s too easy to get stuck trying to beat PRs and just all out rip. Relax, take a breath, pop off that stump over there. The Shadowcat is super light, Pivot claims only 45g heavier than the Mach 4 SL. This undoubtedly should make for a super playful bike that's easy to lift up and do sick bunny hops.
You guessed it, 6 build options, ranging from $3,999 to $11,999. The most cost effective build is called the Brunch Ride. This makes me laugh as we are not far from Yeti HQ, known for their Lunch Ride builds touting larger forks and aggressive build kits. I also wish I was shorter because there is a “Disco Oil Slick” color available on this bike which looks absolutely awesome, but only found on XS and SM frames.
Switchblade
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Best for: rowdy backcountry epics, casual enduro races, heck - take it to the bikepark
Travel: 142mm rear / 160mm front
Frame Material: hollow core carbon
Wheel Size: 29"
Weight: 29 lbs (medium)
I like this bike a lot. If I had to choose one, this is probably it. 29 pounds is awesome for a bike of this caliber. You can definitely do massive all-day rides on it, and still have enough travel to get some lift assisted laps in. My only complaint is the SuperBoost rear wheel. When I had my Firebird, I dinged up the M1900s pretty good, and my only replacement option was another set of them. I am sure there are more options out there but I found the spacing to be very limiting on what wheels I could run.
7 build options available for this bad larry. $6,499 to $11,799. I would be curious to ride this back to back with the Firebird and see what I liked more. The sharper handling and less travel sounds very appealing, especially for a guy like me who likes to casually race now and then while also enjoying those little take offs on trails.
Pivot Enduro Bikes
Technically Pivot claims the Switchblade also falls into the enduro category alongside the Firebird. But for all-out racing, and from what I have seen the team rocking, the Firebird is the go-to choice for high alpine races. Pivot is currently on the 6th generation Firebird, with this generation getting some minor upgrades to the geometry and suspension, but most notably in-frame snack storage. Or you can store tools and stuff, but that’s not as fun.
Firebird
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Best for: enduro race, bike park steeze, eating trails
Travel: 165mm rear / 170mm front
Frame Material: hollow core carbon
Wheel Size: 29"
Weight: 32 lbs (medium)
I had the pleasure of riding both the gen 4 and 5 Firebird. Both awesome bikes, the 6th generation boasts some slight updates from the gen 5, like tweaked geometry, suspension, and the addition of in-frame storage. The 4th gen was great, but very linear and had no water bottle space, the gen 5 was amazing, it had countless park days on it as well as a few DH and enduro races, it truly shined when plowing through everything. All-out enduro race bikes are so much fun, especially at bikeparks when they can ride any trail and remain playful enough to not be over-burdened by travel. Buy this bike if you want to ride steep rough trails or race. Definitely not an everyday rider unless you are willing to drive that extra bit to get to the good stuff.
10 build kits available here, wow. You also have the option for each build kit to come as a mullet, which is really cool. Builds range from $6,899 to $15,099. If you have the beans to pay 15k you’ll be happy with an electronic Shimano drivetrain and Fox’s new upside down Podium fork. SWAG.
Pivot Downhill Bikes
I have been watching Bernard Kerr’s YouTube videos for some time now, seeing the evolution of the Phoenix feels like watching a kid grow up (I have no kids). I rode the 27.5” Phoenix back in the day and remember the suspension was pretty linear and I had a size too big, so can’t say it was great for me.
Today the Phoenix is unrecognizable from previous generations. It has 2 whole chains and looks absolutely killer. @PivotBikes, can you send me one for “testing”?
Phoenix
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Best for: downhill racing, super-fast people
Travel: 210mm rear / 200mm front
Frame Material: hollow core carbon
Wheel Size: MX
Weight: 35 lbs (S3)
I need to get a downhill bike again. It’s bikes like these that just look so cool and fast I can’t help but have the urge to move to the mountains and solely ride park. Designed specifically around a mullet setup, the new DW6 suspension features a mid-pivot design, with two chains and three suspension links. The Phoenix has two flip chips allowing for different progression rates and a high/low BB adjustment. When you are getting a full-on race bike, having adjustments like these are crucial for finding your perfect setup to feel comfortable on.
The Phoenix ranges from $7,899 to $9,499, with 3 different builds available. Pivot also just released the Special Edition Phoenix XX. With the fancy new RockShox BoXXer found on eBay and SRAM XX DH drivetrain, only 100 units will be released for a cool $10,499.
Pivot Electric Bikes
Dear reader, I have a confession. I get a little salty every time I ride a trail and am passed by people on ebikes cruising uphill, sometimes passing me more than once on their second lap as I have yet to complete one ascent. Saltiness aside, ebikes look like so much fun. Having the ability to complete what would otherwise be an epic half day ride in the timespan of one regular afterwork ride sounds like an absolute dream.
Pivot has a great lineup of ebikes that could easily find their way in my garage. The Shuttle is the main model they iterate off of, having some big boy motors that will rocket up, as well as a lightweight SL model that I am sure is crazy fun to ride, imitating a regular mountain bike.
Shuttle SL
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Best for: lightweight e-biking so it feels like a regular bike, think Trailcat LT
Travel: 132mm rear / 140-150mm front
Motor / Drive Unit: Fazua Ride 60
Wheel Size: 29"
Weight: 36 lbs (medium) thats really light
At 36 lbs this bike is about the same weight (maybe lighter?) than my enduro bike. Note, I have a few years of sealant in my tires I keep adding too. With 60Nm of torque and 450 watts peak power, this should be more than enough power to assist the steepest climbs. The SL has size-specific chainstays along with some flip chip geometry adjustments so you can really dial this bike in.
3 build kits available ranging from $5,999 to $8,999. Honestly, not that bad compared to some of the competition which easily reach 5 digits.
Shuttle SL/AM
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Best for: enduro riding with electric zest
Travel: 150mm rear / 160mm front
Motor / Drive Unit: Bosch Performance SX 400Wh
Wheel Size: 29"
Weight: 40 lbs (medium)
If I won the lottery, there would be signs. This in my garage would be one of them. At 40 pounds, this bike sounds very manageable to maneuver and has enough power to make the uphills actually fun? 55Nm torque and 600 watts is more than enough to pop wheelies as you cruise by analog riders struggling uphill. The SL/AM seems like the perfect balance of power and weight, and I just realized it spells SLAM. That's fun.
3 builds for this model starting at $8,499 and maxing out at $13,199 with a shiny XX Transmission drivetrain.
Shuttle LT
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Best for: Rip to the top very fast, go down very fast
Travel: 162mm rear / 170mm front
Motor / Drive Unit: Bosch CX-R
Wheel Size: MX
Weight: 52 lbs (medium) don’t worry, the motor is really strong
This is the Firebird, but with 750 watts that make uphill… fun? I know I just said that. 100Nm of torque is crazy, I have personally never ridden a high-power e-bike, but if I could, I bet it’s super neat. At 52 pounds she is no lightweight either. All that extra weight will make this bike feel crazy planted on the trail, more like a mini moto than a lightweight race bike. You also get Pivot’s Slacky McSteepTube design (great branding) that will let you tune the bike to your riding, with chainstay adjustments and a flip chip for geo and shock feel.
You have your choice of 5 build levels ranging from $8,999 for the budget conscious, to $16,699 for those who, uhhh, have that money.
Shuttle AM
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Best for: Just like the LT, but full 29” and slightly less travel
Travel: 150mm rear / 160mm front
Motor / Drive Unit: Bosch CX & CX-R options
Wheel Size: 29"
Weight: 47.5 lbs (medium)
Switchblade but electric? I am going with that. Like a blend of enduro and all-mountain trail riding. So many terms and categories! Same power output as the LT so you get up to 750 watt and 100Nm of torque but in a lighter package. This would probably be my preferred high-power ebike from Pivot, super capable and you don’t have to try when going up! At least for me, I would just be using the full power mode 24/7.
4 build options ranging from $8,499, featuring SRAM’s mechanical Transmission drivetrain, and all the way up to $15,999 with an XX groupset and Fox Neo Live suspension so you don’t have to think about anything!
Pivot Dirt Jump Bikes
Only one model from Pivot. Their steel DJ bike is clean, affordable, and guaranteed to be a fun time.
Point
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Best for: endurance road riding, just kidding, it’s a dirt jumper!
Travel: 100mm front
Frame Material: double-butted chromoly (steel)
Wheel Size: 26"
Not much to say here, awesome steel DJ bike available as a frame or complete. The complete will get you a Manitou Circus 34 fork, SRAM Level brakes, and a really cool Pivot DJ saddle. The frame goes for $499 and the complete will cost you $1,099.
Pivot Gravel Bikes
The Vault is a dedicated gravel bike which is why there is only one in this category. Pivot puts their Les SL Drop Bar in this category too, but I feel like that is much more a mountain bike than it is gravel.
Vault
Photo Credit: Pivot Bikes
Best for: gravel riding, adventure, race, light MTB, all of it (almost)!
Frame Material: hollow core carbon
Motor / Drive Unit: Bosch Performance SX 400Wh
Weight: 18.2 lbs
Tire Clearance: 700x50c (1x configuration) 700x47c (2x) or 27.5” x 2.0”
Larger companies will have dedicated race, adventure, and endurance gravel bikes. Not Pivot. The Vault is your one-stop shop for anything. The ability to run 27.5 tires is great for extended routes on rougher than average gravel or fire roads. With the big tires you can even ride MTB trails for those who shred. You get Tool Shed in-frame storage, an ISO Flex seatpost to smooth out bumps, and plenty of mounting points for bottles and bags.
You get 4 complete build options ranging from $4,199 to $5,999. The frame only comes in at $2,899 should you choose to deck this out for a specific purpose.
Conclusion
And that's it! Pivot’s 2026 lineup is stacked. They pretty much have any type of bike you could need, and all of them come with fantastic build options ready to go out of the box. If you're still reading this I am stoked! It’s fun to digest what bike companies are putting out and seeing just how many new disciplines of riding there are based on 10mm jumps in travel.
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Hopefully this guide will help you narrow down your choice of bike, should you be in the market, or at least I hope I gave you some information that is useful! Shameless plug time. We carry a ton of different bikes at The Pro’s Closet, including Pivot. Check out our selection of bikes and Pivot bikes to see if we have anything that fancies your interest.
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