TESTED: 2022 Pivot Firebird Pro Enduro bike

“Everything we did, we did for speed,” said Chris Cocalis, founder and CEO of Pivot, regarding the release of the 2022 Pivot Firebird Pro.

“With developmental input from our Pivot Factory Racing team EWS riders, we built a faster Firebird. We bumped the travel up, increased reach across all sizes, gave it a slacker head angle, steepened the seat angle, incorporated size specific chain stays, made it stiff where it needs to be, and kept the weight down and the climbing manners sharp. This bike is designed to go fast, push new limits and win races,” Chris continued.

As part of Pivot's overhaul of their line-up, the Firebird has gained a vertical shock position, moving from the horizontal positioning of the previous model. This dramatically opens up the main triangle for bottle mounts, and brings the centre of gravity a little lower as well. Pivot have sunk the trunnion mount of the shock into the down tube, which itself projects forward to keep the main triangle open and allow oodles of standover height across all sizes. There's some hefty rubber on the front side of the down tube as a roost guard. Pivot have also got their Tool Dock mount on the underside of the top tube, meaning pack free rides without having to go short on spares.
The DW-link has means the bike climbs so well for the 165mm of travel on offer, even with the very enduro-centric suspension performance of the Fox Float X2.

The geometry has had an update, with the front end slackening by a degree to a 64 degree head angle. This is paired with a 44mm offset fork. The seat tube is 77.0 degrees effective (Measured based on an actual seat height rather than where the top tube and seat tube centre lines intersect giving some wacky virtual figures we often see on charts), which measures as an actual 72 degrees. With 438mm chain stays and a long 1267mm wheel base on the large, Pivot are dealing a hand that walks the line between being steady at high speed while still offering the pop'n'launch ability an enduro racer will want. Get all the details via our video review from Ryan Walsch.
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0:00 - Introduction
0:15 - Key features and changes on the 2022 Pivot Firebird
1:22 - Pivot's geometry adjustment and the Universal Derailleur Hanger
1:50 - The sound of silence. This thing is so quiet!
2:39 - Pricing on our test bike, and the range in Australia
3:00 - Components on the Pivot Firebird Pro XT/XTR
3:23 - The DW-link and suspension kinematics
4:13 - The Reynolds Blacklabel Enduro wheel upgrade
5:00 - All about the geometry on the new Pivot Firebird
7:07 -So how does it ride?

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