Terrain-dextrous as they come
Photo Credit: Justin Olsen
We loved the previous edition of this bike, which Pivot called the Mach 429 Trail. It was a 116-millimeter-travel 29er trail bike, derived from an XC platform, that punched way above its weight. We loved exactly where it sat in the spectrum of trail bikes—not too aggressive, not too cross-country. It was quick as hell, but maintained remarkable composure when things would get nasty.
So when we got the news that there’d be a new, updated version of the bike, now simply called the Trail 429, we had our concerns. Pivot dropped the ‘Mach’ and moved the ‘Trail’ up front. Was the name change a sign that the new version of the bike we loved so much would favor shred over speed?
The short answer is no. Pivot may have dropped the ‘Mach’ but, this bike is still wickedly fast.
And, while the bike has gotten the requisite geometry updates, some of which are considerably different than the prior bike, Pivot simply left some things just where they were. What we’ve wound up with is a bike that is indeed more capable, but the Trail 429 still stays true to its 429, XC roots. This is not a trail bike trying to be something more, like, say, the Yeti SB130.
Pivot de-swooped the design of the 429, leaving a cleaner looking frame in its wake.
Pivot upped the bike’s travel by just 4 millimeters, to 120 millimeters out back, while leaving the fork spec at 130 millimeters of travel. The head angle is essentially the same as well, going from 67.5 to 67.3 according to Pivot’s geometry chart. The most significant changes occur in chainstay length, reach and seat angle. The stays were shortened significantly, from a considerably long 443 millimeters to a stubby 429 millimeters (partly thanks to Super Boost Plus axle spacing). The reach on the new Trail 429 is hugely different as well, growing by 37 millimeters (423 millimeters to 460 millimeters) on the size large, and a whopping 45 millimeters (435 to 480 millimeters) on the XL. Finally, the seat tube angle on the new bike is nearly 2 degrees steeper as well, coming in at 74.6 degrees.