The Shadowcat is the brand’s new 27.5in-wheel trail bike
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Pivot has announced its new trail bike, the Shadowcat, designed with a focus on low weight and versatility across a range of terrain.
The carbon fibre Shadowcat uses 27.5in wheels, bucking the trend towards 29ers, and sports 160mm of suspension travel at the front and 140mm out back.
Starting at $6,199 in the Race XT build, the Shadowcat will replace the Mach 5.5 in Pivot’s range.
Pivot has stuck steadfastly with 27.5in wheels on the new Shadowcat, despite a general industry-wide shift towards 29in wheels for most trail and enduro bikes. The result, according to the brand, is a bike that offers a more playful and agile ride than a 29er.
The Shadowcat features a 65.8-degree head tube angle and 76-degree seat tube angle. The reach comes in at 460mm on a size medium. Pivot says that, with the geometry of the bike, it was looking to “meld super-confident handling with lightning-fast reflexes”.
These numbers initially might not sound particularly progressive on paper compared to the Shadowcat’s competition. There has been a shift to more progressive geometry, which translates to efficient yet confident handling on descents while retaining nimble steering, rather than relying on a shorter reach and longer stem.
Comparable bikes from other manufacturers include the Santa Cruz 5010 and Transition Scout.
The 5010 features 140mm travel at the front and 130mm at the back, and sports a 65.4-degree head tube angle and a 77.4-degree seat tube angle – figures that are both slacker and steeper respectively than the Shadowcat’s figures. The reach is slightly shorter at 450mm.
The Transition Scout is a slightly meatier frame, with 150mm travel at the front and 140mm at the rear. The head tube slackens to 64 degrees and the seat tube is a fraction slacker than the 5010 at 77.2 degrees. The reach is identical in a size medium at 460mm.
So why is the Shadowcat’s geometry, on paper, more conservative considering it has more suspension travel?
Although Pivot says the Shadowcat is designed for capability on technical terrain, with its longer suspension travel, the brand says it has also been designed to be efficient and agile for cross-country riding. This is why the geometry may not seem as up-to-date as its competitors on paper, because it’s performing a wider range of duties.
The Shadowcat will be available in four sizes and has been designed specifically to accommodate smaller riders. It features a low standover due to its vertically mounted shock (more on that shortly), and riders upwards of 4ft 10in will be able to fit the new frame, according to Pivot.
The Shadowcat features a full carbon fibre chassis, as is typical for Pivot. There are no tiered frame options in order to achieve a lower price point – you’re getting the same carbon frame no matter the spec.
The brand says it has scaled the wall thicknesses of the tubes across all of the sizes to ensure optimal riding characteristics.
Pivot also claims it has made advancements in the carbon fibre manufacturing process to achieve a lower frame weight, but does not specify what those advancements are. Weight has also been shaved at the headset area with an integrated headset cup.
Pivot says the Shadowcat weighs less than the brand’s Trail 429 frame and within 45g of the featherlight Mach 4 SL.
Pivot hasn’t provided an exact weight for the Shadowcat frame, but the Mach 4 SL was claimed to start at 1,845g when it was announced.
Like the brand’s existing bikes, the Shadowcat uses a DW-link suspension system. The brand says this is for pedalling efficiency and to eliminate pedal bob during hard efforts.
Pivot says it designed the bike around a vertical shock layout to improve stiffness and reduce weight. In addition, it also allows for cleaner Fox Live Valve integration.
The final benefit of vertically mounting the shock is the bottle cage clearance. Pivot says a large bottle fits on all sizes.
Pivot also includes mounting points for its ‘Dock Tool’, a utility system for carrying spares designed in collaboration with Topeak. This can be fitted either on the underside of the top tube or under the down tube towards the bottom-bracket area.
Other features of the Shadowcat include the use of a SRAM UDH universal derailleur hanger for trouble-free replacement and thoughtful frame protection features such as the moulded chainstay protector.
The full Pivot Shadowcat range will be available in the USA and some European territories. The Australian range is limited to certain Shimano builds.
In the UK, the Shadowcat will only be available in the Pro XT build with an additional carbon wheel upgrade option.
Oscar Huckle is a technical writer at BikeRadar. He has been an avid cyclist since his teenage years, initially catching the road cycling bug and riding for a local club. He’s since been indoctrinated into gravel riding and more recently has taken to the dark art of mountain biking. His favourite rides are epic road or gravel routes, and he has also caught the bikepacking bug hard after completing the King Alfred’s Way. Oscar has close to a decade of cycling industry experience, initially working in a variety of roles at Evans Cycles before joining Carbon Bike Repair. He is particularly fond of workshop tool exotica and is a proponent of Campagnolo groupsets. Oscar prefers lightweight road and gravel frames with simple tube shapes, rather than the latest trend for aerodynamics and full integration. He is obsessed with keeping up to date with all the latest tech, is fixated with the smallest details and is known for his unique opinions.
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