Pivot Firebird review on Pinkbike

[skiingnow]

Here (http://www.pinkbike.com/news/pivot-firebird-review-2010.html)!

http://www.leelau.net/Misc/2010pivotfirebird/IMG_5447pivotwbaker.jpg

[Crinkle]

this link was already sent to me by 3 people. Awesome job on the write up. Sums up the bike in my experience to a "T". I Lee accidentally showed us his "O-face" in that one pic of him.

[frorider]

Lee, the stated BB height of 13.9 inches is not particularly low by modern AM bike standards; coupled with the well-documented tendency of DW link to not squat much under pedalling, it would follow that pedal strikes on rocks during tech uphills would not be a big issue. your part of the review seemed to confirm that.

so my question is why do you think Sharon was negative about the BB being too low...'This was most annoying on technical climbs and traverses '? were the two of you using the same amount of static sag?

just curious, since other than that your reviews were pretty similar.

[LeeLau]

Lee, the stated BB height of 13.9 inches is not particularly low by modern AM bike standards; coupled with the well-documented tendency of DW link to not squat much under pedalling, it would follow that pedal strikes on rocks during tech uphills would not be a big issue. your part of the review seemed to confirm that.

so my question is why do you think Sharon was negative about the BB being too low...'This was most annoying on technical climbs and traverses '? were the two of you using the same amount of static sag?

just curious, since other than that your reviews were pretty similar.

ya that was a bit of a disagreement between me and her and she pressed me pretty hard on that point but I had to stand by my impression since that was I got from the bike riding it uphill. Here's my response from PB on the comment page

" I climbed the bike on technical trails without rocky ledges. Shar climbed it more and used it more and climbed it on rocky ledges. I didn't really have to pop and accelerate a lot. Shar had the bike more than I had and her impressions on the bike are to be preferred over mine. Both of us found the Firebird to be the best climbing long travel AM bike we've ever ridden - which should say something"

Crinkle - what do you think? Like to hear your thoughts on that too. Not too many Firebird riders around and given how good this bike was i have to question why

[Crinkle]

As always I have an opinion when it comes to this bike. I have not ridden as many bikes as you and Sharon have, but I have ridden quite a few in the past 2 years in this "all mtn" category.

I haven't had nearly as many pedal strikes on any bike as I have on the firebird. I don't know exactly what it is. The shorter wheelbase /chainstay? I never measured the bb height with the 30% sag, maybe combined with the other factors it contributes as well. It must be somthing in that geometry that makes it prone to pedal strikes. I have just figured my way around it with all the time that I have put on that bike. I climb in bigger gears in technical areas, because of less number of rotations, making it less prone to strike and easier to time around that 6 oclock position. And when asked, it is the only thing that bugged me about that bike. In your review you noted :


John could ratchet then stall then ratchet, accelerate and/or crawl up the most relentlessly steep grinding technical climbs.

Part of that might of been his way of getting around pedal strikes, by rachet and stalling? The relaxed geometry and feel of the bike does make those moves easier.

It definitely isnt' a deal killer and seriously its the only downfall of the bike, but with enough time on it, you either work around it or get use to it. A lot of the other bikes in this category have much larger faults in suspension or geometry (in my eyes) than pedal strikes. So, when compared to its peers, its still the greatest bike I have ever ridden, hands down.

One of my good friends just picked up a firebird, he was so sold by seeing me on mine, then spending time on a demo that he realized it was the bike for him. He just ordered shorter crank arms, which I personally wouldn't do, but it will be interesting to see if it makes a noticable difference. I'll get to ride it next week in Fruita, I'll report back then.

Its not necessarily a bad thing on downhills and corners as it teaches you to have your feet in the proper position for cornering ;)

[skiingnow]

Hey Crinkle,

I agree with you about the pedal strikes.

It was more of a surprise when it happened but easily compensated for.

I rode the bike in more technical terrain on the North Shore. Lee based his review on his riding it in Smithers and Terrace which aren't quite as technical.

[frorider]

thanks for the added info. depending on tire choice, the BB height on my nomad/lyrik (160 mm) is right around 13.9-14.0 inches. running 175 mm cranks. clearance on the tech uphills (norcal/socal, OR, WA..) has been fine. I do have to time my strokes somewhat. can't just mindlessly spin up as if i were road riding.

on long uphill rides i tend to use some propedal, which does keep it riding a bit higher in the travel. my wheelbase is around 45.2" as I recall. longer WB would increase hits if anything.

[Crinkle]

After re-reading what I posted, I think my statement might lead people to believe that pedal strikes is all this bike does. It is merely the only blemish on what is the perfect bike for me. Wow, I am a pontificating ass. It might have been more about me becoming more comfortable in technical climbing, but I still had more strikes on the same trail than I did with my 575 or other bikes I demo'd on the same trail. Like skiingnow said, its easily compensated for with minor adjustments.