I ordered up my Pivot Les frame this spring with mixed feelings. I was excited because I know how fast hardtails can be, and because the geometry numbers led me to believe the Les would be a on the fun end of the hardtail spectrum. But, Pivot makes a lot of fun bikes, and I really, really like full suspension rigs. What would it be like to get back on a hardtail after two years of being spoiled by full squish rides and dropper posts? Quite a bit of fun as it turns out!
First impressions out of the box: the Les is a beautiful crafted carbon fiber wonder bike. It's crazy stiff laterally, isn't overly harsh, and weighs 2.5 pounds. All built up mine clocks in and 21.5 - and it could easily be closer to 20 with a few changes (cassette, brakes, and cranks mainly). That low overall weight certainly plays a part in the way the Les rides. The inputs needed to get this bike up to speed, or to lift the front wheel etc. are so small, especially compared to a dual suspension bike in the 26-30 lb. range. Once you get used to that it really changes how you can ride the trail. Of course, the bikes geometry plays a role in that too.....
One of the things I love about the Les is it's versatility. It's a blisteringly fast race bike yes, but the Swinger dropouts easily let you run it geared or singlespeed without adding much weight. It's also got a 69 degree head angle and 17.1 inch stays, so if I threw a short stem on there it could be a pretty all-mountainy bike. It's also good to go with a 120mm fork and a dropper post too if that's the route you want to go.
Pivot's attention to detail is evident throughout. I'm running a Wolf Tooth Component's XX1 style chainring this year (which is awesome - stay tuned for a full review) and Pivot hooked me up with this tidy cover for the front deraileur mount. Slick. There's also a cover for the cable port on the downtube. When you're spending a lot of money on a bike, little touches like these make a difference.
Plenty of tire clearance with my Stan's ZTR Race Gold wheels. Seriously, these wheels are faster than anything else I've ridden, and yes, you can feel the weight difference when riding. No jokes or gimmicks there. Just bomber tubeless reliability and ultra light weight. I run the Crests and Arch's for training, and they're awesome too. I hear people complain about tubeless sometimes, and I just don't get it. With Stan's and Continental tires I can mount tires up with a floor pump (it's seriously about as easy as pumping up a tube), run 18-22 psi depending on conditions, and never pinch flat. What's not to like?
I have to say, the Syntace P6 Highflex post is incredible. At first I thought it was a lot of money to spend on a rigid post, but Pivot (to their credit) spec it on many of their bikes, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I'll put it this way: when a friend borrowed my bike to check it out his first comment was "wow, that doesn't feel like a hardtail, it's way more compliant than I expected." Part of it's the frame, but the post makes a huge difference. Worth every penny.
Other bits. I've been running the Ti Expedo pedals. 100 grams lighter than XTR and bombproof so far. I'm sold. As I said before, the Wolf Tooth Ring has been stellar. I'm also digging the new saddle from Ergon. I've used their grips for years, and was buying them long before Ergon sponsored me. So it's no surprise to find their saddles to be equally comfy.
Bottom line: The Pivot Les is a a fast, fun, and versatile bike. It's gotten me through National level XC races and 100k endurance races, with plenty of fun trail rides in between. Yeah, it's still a hardtail, and if you get off line you'll know. It's probably not going to win you an enduro race either. Personally, I'll be keeping a dually around too. But between well constructed frame, the trick dropouts, and the dialed geometry, the Les is a great example of how far hardtails (29er or otherwise) have come. I'm hanging on to this one!
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