[vikb]

That said, my own experience with my personal 'Blade here in the fast, techy stuff in Phoenix, is nearly perfectly 180 degrees from Vik's.

I bet I'd really dig the SB on National. That's probably no accident with Pivot HQ not far away. :thumbsup:

I totally understand where you are coming from.

 

[Shawn in da Canyon]

your opinion is almost the total opposite of mine! I rode this and had almost the exact opposite reaction to each of your 'cons.

That's because you know what you're talking about and the reviewer doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. The review is full of contradictions, he rides a large a medium and an XL in another model. I'd bet all the bank I have that the bikes he rode were very poorly set up. Plus, it takes at least 10 rides for anyone to adjust to a new bike. Any new bike is not going to feel right until you get some time on it and adjust to it. Even if it's a much better bike than you own.

 

[vikb]

That's because you know what you're talking about and the reviewer doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. The review is full of contradictions, he rides a large a medium and an XL in another model. I'd bet all the bank I have that the bikes he rode were very poorly set up.

The medium SB was the only SB available when I arrived at the demo. With a seatback seatpost the cockpit dimensions and wheelbase are comparable to the large M6 I own. The large SB is a bigger bike than my large M6. I rode that as soon as it was available.

The XL Mach 6 was a demo bike my buddy wanted to try as well as the large SB so I swapped with him so he could get time on both bikes. Take look at the geo charts for the Mach 6 and the SB....the spread between med - large on the SB and large XL on the Mach 6 is not crazy.

As for setup I think the demo staff took as much time as they could given the constraints of the situation. Naturally it's not going to be perfect and demo bikes are always going to be a little beat up. I actually thought the folks from Trail Bikes and OTE handled the chaos really well to get people in and out in a reasonable time.

Bottom line if you want to disagree that's cool, but you don't need to be a dick.

 

[Shawn in da Canyon]

The medium SB was the only SB available when I arrived at the demo. With a seatback seatpost the cockpit dimensions and wheelbase are comparable to the large M6 I own. The large SB is a bigger bike than my large M6. I rode that as soon as it was available.

The XL Mach 6 was a demo bike my buddy wanted to try as well as the large SB so I swapped with him so he could get time on both bikes. Take look at the geo charts for the Mach 6 and the SB....the spread between med - large on the SB and large XL on the Mach 6 is not crazy.

As for setup I think the demo staff took as much time as they could given the constraints of the situation. Naturally it's not going to be perfect and demo bikes are always going to be a little beat up. I actually thought the folks from Trail Bikes and OTE handled the chaos really well to get people in and out in a reasonable time.

Bottom line if you want to disagree that's cool, but you don't need to be a dick.

You rode two bikes that didn't fit you and you rode one that had the geometry ruined by a setback post. You shouldn't have written the review. Wait till you ride one that fits you and you have ridden it for a couple hundred miles. Ok, sorry for being a dick.

 

[vikb]

You rode two bikes that didn't fit you and you rode one that had the geometry ruined by a setback post. You shouldn't have written the review. Wait till ride one that fits you and you have ridden it for a couple hundred miles. Ok, sorry for being a dick.

I didn't ride any bikes with a setback seatpost. You clearly didn't actually read what I wrote.

I rode the two sizes of the SB that were potential candidates for fitting me. I'm not sure what you think the purpose of a demo day is if one of the main objectives isn't to get a handle on bike fit before you spend a bunch of $$.

This whole site is about bike reviews and a lot of the comments are not from owners who have a chance to ride a bike for 200 miles.

If nobody was supposed in this thread who hadn't had 200 miles on a SB we'd still be on page 1 or 2.

 

[Blatant]

Run along now. The adults were having a conversation.

 

[Shawn in da Canyon]

I didn't ride any bikes with a setback seatpost. You clearly didn't actually read what I wrote.

I rode the two sizes of the SB that were potential candidates for fitting me. I'm not sure what you think the purpose of a demo day is if one of the main objectives isn't to get a handle on bike fit before you spend a bunch of $$.

This whole site is about bike reviews and a lot of the comments are not from owners who have a chance to ride a bike for 200 miles.

If nobody was supposed in this thread who hadn't had 200 miles on a SB we'd still be on page 1 or 2.

I did miss read. But, yeah demos kinda suck, because it doesn't give you enough time to become one with the bike. If you kept riding one properly setup, all those cons would mostly disappear. I promise you.

 

[SDMTB'er]

I did miss read. But, yeah demos kinda suck, because it doesn't give you enough time to become one with the bike. If you kept riding one properly setup, all those cons would mostly disappear. I promise you.

Folks like Vik I am pretty sure know their way around the suspension to at least get it damned close.

Vik's review is one of the ones I have been waiting for as the SB has been positioned as a 29'er version of the M6.

 

[SIruZ]

The temperature is rising here :madmax:

Perhaps I can provide my review of the demo bike.

Background:

Height 1.7 m (5'6 i believe?) Inseam 31 inches

I ride a Santa Cruz Mk 2 aluminium Nomad size Medium. Old 26 inch wheel bike but with a Rockshox Pike and Monarch plus debonair.

Demo Switchblade:

For my height, I should be riding a size Small for the Switchblade but there was only a Medium sized demo bike available. Demo bike was in 27.5+ mode with aluminium wheels in the mostly XT build. No dropper post though :skep:

I had time to setup the suspension settings myself, using the settings recommended on the Pivot website.

Ride Impressions:

Trail A - Mostly straight and wide gradual uphills and relatively high speed downhills. Non technical terrain.

On trail A, this bike was insane. Flying up the hills and bombing down with much ease. The M size without a dropper post was easy to maneuver and took me almost no time to get used to the bike. The bike felt much lighter than my Nomad, so I could ride faster and felt less tired. After the ride, I weighed it and it actually is the same weight as my Nomad at 13.5kg!

Trail B - Tight and technical terrain with no high speed sections

On trail B, the lack of a dropper post and the minimum seat height prevented me from going all out on the rock gardens as I would on my Nomad. The bike felt like a bus going round switchback climbs and due to either the seat post position being a little too high even at minimum or the top tube being too long, I couldn't get low and back enough to feel comfortable to bomb down the gnarly stuff.

Overall Assessment after 2 rides:

The suspension (Fox 36 and EVOL dps) I set up was spot on; no major differences from the pike and monarch plus I'm used to. Bike size M seems a little too long for me, so I'm going for the recommended S.

If I felt like I was flying on a bike which weighed the same as my current one, I would like to know how a full carbon build would be like so I've taken the plunge into the carbon circus.

Also, I'm a full plus size convert after these 2 rides. So definitely it would be a B+ setup on my bike.

Here's me on the biggest rock garden on Trail B

And here's a longer chesty POV on Trail B

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional Components Review:

XT 11 speed shifter -

the shifts are crisper and the clicks are heavier to engage vs the XT 10 speed ones. they feel very similar to the 10 speed Saint ones I am currently using

XT M8000 brakes -

these feel very identical to the M785s they replaced but look fantastic with the all black finish. Currently I'm using the XTR 9020s on Nomad, and I must say the modulation is better on the XTRs. Both versions of the XTs are more "on or off". But I love the servo wave function on all these models so I am a big fan of shimano brakes.

XT 11-42 11 SPEED WITH ONE UP 45T KIT Cassette -

My Nomad has a 10 speed setup with a 30t ring and 11-36 cassette. I did not use the 45tooth ring much for the 2 rides so I am going for a 32t chainring for my build.

 

[Affe]

I totally fit this statement. But I'm constantly searching for a 29er that is as playful and quick as my B-6er. I want all the benefits with no downsides.

I always felt it was the longer CS that turned me off 29ers

So did you test the SB that has short CS?

 

[Salespunk]

So on my personal bike I run a 65mm stem and 720mm bars. The demo bikes had a shorter stem...I'm going to say 50mm, but that's just a guess and wider bars....say 740mm or 760mm...again a guess.

My personal experience is that demo bikes are a complete waste of time. Unless they are setup exactly as you would set your bike up (bar width/rise/sweep, stem length/rise, cranks length/gearing, suspension settings (usually at least three weeks for me to dial in on each new bike), tire pressures set to a .5 PSI accuracy and a few other items such as grip type, brake type/engagement point etc) I don't get much out of them. For example I hated the M6 demo bike, but loved mine when I bought it and dialed in the setup. Just my personal opinion so take it for what you paid, but be careful about making multi thousand dollar decisions just based on their preconceived notion of what the builds should be.

 

[vikb]

My personal experience is that demo bikes are a complete waste of time.

While I don't agree that demo bikes are a total waste of time I do agree that you have to look past the obvious limitations. If I got a SB it would be a frame up build so I am not overly concerned about the parts spec other than the rear shock.

I also would not expect a demo bike to compete with my 3yr old bike that was custom built and dialled well.

What I am looking for out of a demo bike is to confirm sizing and get enough sense of the potential of the bike that I am inspired to spend $3K+ for a frame and $7K+ overall for a new ride.

Given that I have two bikes I really like riding at the moment I'm only going to add a 3rd bling bike if I get really stoked about it.

So I take your point, but I'm not just going to start throwing down serious $$ without some confidence I'm going to be happy with the end result.

There is no harm in waiting and taking the opportunity to demo another SB and other 29ers I'm keen on. I may find that I'm not going to get on with any 29er for my local riding. In that case I'd like to come to that conclusion without spending $7K. SB frames are probably months away from being available for sale at this point.

I should note I keep my bikes a long time so I want to make the right choice. My two main trail bikes are 8yrs and 3yrs old with no plan to sell either. I'm not buying and selling bikes every season or two.

 

[Picard]

This is bad news if sb climb slow and sluggish

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

 

[techfersure]

This is bad news if sb climb slow and sluggish

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

Naysayers and BS,coming off a Trek Superfly Fs8,Switchback is the most all day fun on a 29er then you can imagine!

 

[invol2ver]

This is bad news if sb climb slow and sluggish

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

it does not climb sluggish. that's bs

 

[ALC0R73Z]

has anyone here tried it with the 3.25" tires?

 

[techfersure]

it does not climb sluggish. that's bs

I put a 32t ring and a 11-40 Xtr cassette on mine,much more efficient gear range.IMO 30t is a bad choice for this bike.

 

[techfersure]

has anyone here tried it with the 3.25" tires?

Been running 3.25 Duro Crux,I had earlier posts with pics.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

I put a 32t ring and a 11-40 Xtr cassette on mine,much more efficient gear range.IMO 30t is a bad choice for this bike.

Not for those of us one step away from ebikes[emoji12]

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[wilks]

Yep. The one I rode had a 30 up front and 45 out back. Perfect for my level of fitness. And by the way to echo what others said in 27.5+ mode I thought it climbed very well and wasn't what I'd describe as sluggish. In the chunky, rocky, tech climbs it did really well out performing my dhf dhr 2 equipped Mach 6. In fact it outperformed it on the downs and flats too. I liked how it cornered also. I'm wondering about a SB or Mojo 3. I really like my Mach 6 though. Edit the M SB felt as big as my large M6.