First Look: 2022 Pivot Shadowcat - A New 27.5" Trail Bike

It's hard not to be too glib and take some of the claims of the new bike with a lot of salt. In fact, as exciting a prospect this mid-travel bike is, its information sheet does read like a parody of a press release from just a year or two ago. For instance, "Seriously, it’s as if people have forgotten just how awesome 27.5” wheels can be. Shadowcat is here to remind everyone of that awesomeness. Big wheels may roll beautifully, but if you really want to get rowdy, 27.5” is where it’s at" feels like something Gareth Yoghurtbottom would have perhaps written. In fact, the theme continues throughout with mentions of eye-blink direction changes, cheetahs, stewards of nature, and even Usain Bolt at one point.



Frame Details

All that to one side, the sleek looking frame that features a low-slung top tube to maximise fit options for riders. The vertically mounted shock allows a large sized bottle to fit on any size and will mate well with Fox Live Valve, should you have it on your bike.

To look at the frame, it clearly has the same design cues as a lot of the recent Pivots, and in some ways resembles a very svelte Firebird. The cables are all internally routed, the headset is integrated, there is ample chainslap and downtube protection, as well as a SRAM UDH. It is also compatible with Pivot's Dock Tool storage system, which can fit a Topeak tool onto the frame. Unlike the Firebird, this bike uses a Boost 148mm rear axle.


Pivot says that their carbon utilises independent strength to weight analysis for each frame size, which helps achieve consistent metrics for the frame. Custom-tuned carbon also helps scale the stiffness across all sizes, instead of following a one-size-fits-all approach. This should mean that, if we take on some broad assumptions in relation to rider weight being relative to stature, then each Shadowcat frame should ride the same irrespective of size. Similarly, the bike can be custom-built via Pivot to let the rider have the exact spec they want.

The bike is available in Danger Fruit or Blue Mirage.


Geometry


The bike's geometry looks to be more about versatility than any single focus. That said, with reasonably large reach numbers throughout and a few interesting dimensions it should be an adept descender, too. Pivot are aiming for this bike to be fun and capable, and not just the latter. To double down on this ethos, the bike comes with short 430mm chainstays, which should make it very easy to get your weight over the rear axle.

All that said, the 76 degree seat tube angle, which is by no means slack, does contribute to a large effective top tube which might make it feel quite big, even if only when sat down and seated. At 650mm for a size large, it's maybe around 30mm longer than other bikes with a similar intended purpose. For instance, the Giant Trance X, which also has 27.5" wheels, roughly the same amount of travel, and similar intentions, has an effective top tube of 622mm in the low position. In my experience, it can feel slightly disjointed to ride a bike that has two very different characters depending on whether you're seated or standing, and that cuts both ways, for instance with long-reach enduro bikes that have ultra-short top tubes.

The low stack height, combined with the aforementioned seat tube, could make this bike a very versatile machine that will feel at home on fast, flowing singletrack as well as being able to dabble with, and have fun on, steeper, more technical trails.


Build Options

Pivot includes Race, Pro and Team build options, as well as wheel options on several builds. There are 8 stock options overall, including the $13,599 Live Valve XX1 AXS build. Below, is a selection of the Race and Pro options.




The Shadowcat is available now through Pivot Dealers worldwide.

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Reviews and Tech First Looks Trail Bikes Pivot Pivot Shadowcat