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The 10 Commandments of Trail Etiquette

Three cyclists riding on mountain trail

You might’ve noticed a few differences out on the trails in 2020. When the pandemic hit last spring, people flocked to the outdoors and open spaces in search of fresh air. As a result, trails became packed overnight with all sorts of new trail users of varying experience levels.

The funny thing is, it hasn’t really tapered off. Trails are busier than we’ve ever seen them and this doesn’t feel like it’s going away any time soon. With all the new faces out on the trails comes a learning curve.

Certain practices that might be common knowledge to a veteran are totally foreign to a brand new mountain biker or trail runner. In order to help bridge the gap, we figured it’s a good time to bring everyone up to speed on trail etiquette best practices so we can all enjoy the trails safely together.

From the slightly obvious to the more nuanced, we put together a quick guide to help make your trail experience better and share with new riders as they hit the trails.

The 10 Commandments of Trail Etiquette:

1. Always yield to uphill riders.

Straight from the trail etiquette 101 playbook, the rider traveling uphill always has the right of way. When you’re descending any trail, always slow down and politely move over for the climbing rider unless the climbing rider decides to move out of your way and give you the go ahead.

2. Keep singletrack single. Ride through it, not around it.

It can be tempting to ride off the trail to avoid a mud puddle, especially when tire tracks of riders before you have set the stage, but “ride arounds” ultimately widen the trail and take away from the way the trail was designed to be ridden. Stay on the trail and ride through the mud puddle. Don’t worry, your bike will be fine.

This also applies when passing other riders. Stay on the trail and don’t ride off of it in order to pass. When in doubt, stay on the trail.

Riding around muddy sections widens the trail and ruins singletrack trails. Photo BoCo Open Space.

Photo: Nick Hanford, 303 Trail Monitor

3. Music – leave it at home.

Look, we all love to listen to music while we do our thing, we get it. The bottom line is that riding on the trails with headphones reduces your awareness and just isn’t acceptable on busy trails. Unless you’re on a quiet and isolated trail system, we don’t recommend riding with headphones.

And bluetooth speakers, well, just leave them at home. Nobody wants to listen to your jams.

4. Ride within your limits and when in doubt, just slow down.

Don’t be a hero out there. We’re all in this for fun, and narrowly flying by a group of hikers or riders can be intimidating and ultimately creates more tension between cyclists and other trail user groups.

Slow down and give other trail users some space, we’re all in this together.

If you’re going for a new PR or training for a specific downhill, ride it at off-times and be aware that your actions impact others’ experience. Take it easy, and ride within your ability levels.

5. Pick up after yourself – Leave No Trace

This one should be obvious, but the amount of wrappers and trash that we’ve seen left out on the trails this summer has blown our minds. Follow the simple rule:  If you pack it in, pack it out.

If there’s any question as to what’s acceptable, check out the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethic’s principles here.

6. Mind the yield triangle.

It may hurt to swallow this one, but we must acknowledge that mountain bikers are the lowest members of the proverbial trail-use totem pole. It’s our responsibility to yield to all other trail users out there in order to keep the peace.

Yield to horses.

Yield to hikers.

Yield to trail runners.

Yup, just slow down and give way.

7. Use a Bell

While it may not be absolutely required, a bell is about the best way to lower tensions out on the trail. It’s the best ten bucks you’ll ever spend.

8. Obey All Trail Closures – Know Before You Go

There are days where Mother Nature speaks her mind and tells us to just stay home. On those days, it’s our responsibility to listen. Riding muddy trails can damage and permanently alter the terrain for years to come and it’s our duty to exercise a little self-control and wait it out when the trail just isn’t ready.

If you find yourself out on a ride and in a questionable scenario, consider turning back. Are your tires actively sinking into the mud? Is your rear tire slipping and sliding as you pedal? These are good indicators that the trail is too saucy to ride.

Thankfully, we have a ton of resources available to us to check on trail conditions to avoid showing up to a messy trail. If you feel as though conditions might be uncertain, check the Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance Trail Conditions page for status updates before you head.

Another excellent online resource is 303 Trail Monitor on Facebook. This is an active online community with over 16,000 members constantly chattering about trail conditions in Colorado. If you’re looking for the status on a trail, odds are someone here knows!

9. Be prepared.

You’ve all ridden with that friend who doesn’t bring a tube or a pump and relies on you to fix their flat. Don’t be that person. Carry basic tools to fix a flat tire, broken chain and make minor adjustments to your bike.

Additionally, know your route, bring enough water and food and be self-reliant. If you have any questions on how to prepare for a ride, ask us!

10. Above all else, Be polite.

You know how your high school football coach always said, attitude is everything? Well, he was on to something. A good attitude can resolve almost any conflict you encounter out there. It’s a privilege to recreate in the great outdoors and on public land and it’s our duty to share it responsibly with our fellow humans.

Smile at the hiker you pass, say thank you to those that yield, and give a shout of encouragement to the kids out there. We’re all in this together, folks.

Colorado Trail: Nine days to cover 550+ miles

Words and images by Sports Garage Ambassador Brian Firle.

Photo: Colorado Trail Foundation

Four months ago when a close friend asked me if I wanted to ride the whole Colorado Trail in September, I was apprehensive.

I hadn’t really caught the ‘bike-packing’ bug and the idea of tackling some of Colorado’s most rugged and remote trails with 30 pounds of extra gear on my bike didn’t really strike me as fun. But once he pitched me his vision for the trip, I was in.

There are many ways people have attempted to travel the Colorado Trail in its entirety. Most people hike it, backpack and all, and generally take 4-6 weeks to conquer the whole 485 miles. But when you want to travel by bike, the trail crosses six wilderness areas that do not allow motor vehicles or bicycles to travel through them. So, because you must do six detours around those wilderness areas on gravel roads and highways, you add 80-ish miles to the journey totaling something like 550+ miles, with 80k feet of elevation gain.

Long story short: it’s a hell of a bike ride. Most people who ride the whole trail bike-pack it in anywhere from 2-3 weeks. Our goal was different.

What if you could ride the whole Colorado Trail stage-race style?

Meaning, what if you could section the trail into huge days where you only carried what you needed for the day, and then had someone move your gear from night to night? An extremely generous friend volunteered for the position of soigneur/cook/van-driver/camp-host and we sectioned the trail into nine days of riding.

Nine days to cover 550+ miles of high alpine single-track from Denver to Durango, averaging 65 miles a day and 8,000 feet of elevation gain. Seems doable right? Even when I looked at the numbers for the trip, the trail, the whole thing, I thought, “Couldn’t we do this faster?” Is this really going to be that much of a challenge? What if we did it in seven days and made a few days shorter? After all, we wouldn’t be carrying all our stuff.”

After years of racing bikes at an elite level, both on the road and the mountain bike, I thought, “How hard could this be? We’re not racing the thing. You just get on your bike and ride.” I wasn’t really intimated by the idea of riding the whole CT.

I knew it would be hard, but not as hard as it was. By day five when we were crawling through snow and hundreds of down trees on Monarch Pass, I cracked. Not so much physically, but mentally. And that was a surprise to me. If anything, I thought my breakdown would be physical: my back, knee problem, crashing, or the like. But as turned out, it was the mental strength that I felt I lacked.

High alpine days left the crew short of breath, but the views were phenomenal.

A typical day looked like this:

Wake up at 6:30am feeling tired and hungover from the previous day of riding – lack of sleep, lack of food, lack of electrolytes. You crawl out of your sleeping bag like a creaky tin-man, put on two puffy jackets (it was cold), get some coffee, and attempt to put food in your mouth and stomach.

Prep your bike, prep your body, get your stuff organized. Try to eat again, try to drink more water. Doing everything you can to replenish the 8,000 calories you burned the day before. Try to eat again. Poop. Get all the food you might need for the day plus a few liters of water and roll out around 8:30am.

Ride some of the most rugged, remote, and challenging single track between 10,000 and 13,000 feet. All. Damn. Day. Imagine taking your longest trail ride you’ve ever done in the high country…4-5 hours maybe? Then double it.

Exhausted, you might get to the campsite by 5pm or 6pm or 7pm, once time 8pm. Fall off your bike onto the ground from exhaustion. Scrounge around for your gear. Set up tent. Wash your butt out with some hot water from a jet-boil. Change clothes, put both puffy jackets back on. Attempt to eat food (which doesn’t go well). You’re starving but you are still at 10,000 feet and you have been eating pop-tarts all day long so your stomach feels terrible. Try to drink more water and electrolytes. Eat more food than you feel like. Poop again. Wipe down bike and prep stuff for the morning. Lube chain, get more food and fill camelback because you won’t want to do it in the morning when its 27 degrees. Go to bed, attempt to sleep at high altitude. Sometimes you sleep hard. Sometimes you don’t.

Wake up at 6:30am, do it all over again. Day after day. Sounds fun right? It was.

Balancing challenges on and off the bike, the CT never ceased to confront us with a new adventure each and every day.

This is what we call a mixture of “type one” and “type two” fun.

Type one is the easy, low-hanging-fruit fun: movie night, hanging in the backyard with friends, water skiing. But type two fun is reserved for us masochists: mountaineering, bike racing, multi-pitch rock climbing, ultra marathons, and idiots that ride the whole CT in nine days.

This was the blend we were going for: something hard enough that pushed us mentally and physically, but not miserable enough to make it all feel like work. It could be argued either way but I think we found a good balance. 🙂

Either way, I cracked mentally on day five and it took all of one or two days for me to get over the hump. I even yelled at my best bud on the trip with me, telling him that his positive attitude was “dumb as hell.” By day seven, the “queen stage” day through the San Juan Mountains, I was feeling awesome. Tired, albeit, but mentally engaged, filled with gratitude, and enjoying the trail experience to the fullest. I had slowed down a bit internally, not feeling the pressure of getting through the trail as fast as we could to make it to camp before dark. Day seven (from Spring Creek trailhead, outside of Lake City to Silverton), was an epic day. 56 miles and 10k feet of climbing—with a total of 40 miles of continuous single-track above 12,000 feet through some of the highest and most rugged parts of Colorado’s mountains. This was a day that just kept on giving—grinding up the scree fields along the ridge-line and plummeting down the saddles between the peaks. The second you’d touch the high point of the next ridge, down you’d go to the saddle below, only to climb back up to the top of another ridge, or skirt around another peak. There aren’t words to really put to how incredible (and difficult) this day was. The temperature was perfect, cool but not cold, the sun was out, making paintings in the smokey sky and lighting up the colors of every plant on the mountainside.

Cracked and deep in the hurt locker: type 3 fun.

At the final climb of the day, I found myself in the company of two other friends from our trip. At 5:30pm, golden hour, we were standing on the edge of a 12,000 foot ridge, looking down into a valley of yellow and green ferns, maroonish grass, and bright red flowers. It was dead silent. There wasn’t another person probably 50 miles from us. I can close my eyes and still see the sun casting shadows in the warm valley. The little stream that twisted its way through the alpine grasses. And a complete 360 degree view of high peaks in all directions. The whole day felt like we were riding through the sky.

I wonder if this was the reason that God was always calling people to the mountaintop?

Because it is there and only there can you see the world through his eyes. Just for a moment we get to witness the big-ness of our world and our tiny place in it.

There is only one response that seemed natural at that moment like that: gratitude. Gratitude that I have a body that allows me to take adventures like this. Gratitude that I have loving people around me that empower me to push myself. Gratitude that with all the hurt and pain in the world, we get to escape it for just a few days—to retreat to a wild place and think about nothing other than “should I take the A-line or the B-line?”—the simplest of things.

All in all the trip was incredible.

There are so many stories, both on the bike and off that I could share. It’s crazy to me how novel warm water is after nine days of not having it, how dry your skin can get when you don’t put on lotion every day after a shower, and how amazing fresh lettuce is when all you’ve eaten is pasta and dried meat. How lucky are we that we get to willingly deprive ourselves of such things, only to easily return to them when the trip is over.

Sitting in the living room of my home in Boulder, CO, back to the grind and sometimes mundaneness of everyday life, I take myself back there. I close my eyes and I can feel my beating heart pounding out of my chest as I pushed my bike over Searle Pass. I can see all the valley above the township of Cathedral, where the sun was setting over the mountains and casting beams down to the small farms below. I can feel the dry wind and sand on my face as we detoured on 60 miles of gravel road after Sergeants Mesa. I can feel the burn in my shoulders and hands after descending for 10 miles off high mountain ridge.

All these experiences are what fuel and power my love for the sport.

In the moment we can pass right though them, remain unaware of the beauty that is set before us and within us, distracted by the beehive in our minds. The reason I go on these adventures is because they center me, challenge me, and expose me to a beauty that I would never have witnessed otherwise: the emotional breakdowns, the body aches, the trail ripping speed, the hi-fives, the “uffdah’s” after a big climb, the crashes, and the “sendable” sections. It’s not just the perfect moments, but it’s the whole journey that entices me out into the woods. I can always know that when I am detached from boujie facets of modern life, that I will experience a beauty otherwise unknown.

My hope is that we all do this in our own way.  Mine tends to look like this Colorado Trail trip, but thats just my prescription. What might yours be?

Sight Unseen Q&A with Brice Shirbach

In June professional mountain biker and content creator Brice Shirbach came to Boulder, Colorado to explore the rugged trails off of Lefthand Canyon and make a film, “Sight Unseen“, for Pivot Cycles.

Brice is based in Delaware, and has cut his teeth racing and riding up and down the east coast, starting in XC but quickly realizing that his sensibilities and body type were much better suited for enduro and gravity riding. Having not spent much time riding in Colorado, Brice decided to create a series of films documenting his experience exploring a few trails across the state. To celebrate the release of the beautiful film, Sports Garage sat down with Brice for a Q&A session about the Boulder section, his impressions of Boulder, the trails, and his bike setup.

How did the idea to ride in Boulder for “Sight Unseen” initially come about?

We were talking about trying to identify where would be a good fit for the project, Colorado gets a lot of attention but all my riding out west has been in the Pacific Northwest or Arizona, but I’ve never really ridden in Colorado, except for Fruita. But there are so many parts of the state and trails out here that are held in high regard in the mountain bike community, that I thought this would be a great excuse to get out here and sink my teeth into these places. It was perfect because the idea of the series was to push myself on trails that I’ve never ridden before.

What bike and setup were you riding during “Sight Unseen”?

When we filmed at Lefthand for the Boulder episode, I rode the Trail429 with an “enduro spec” version. I weigh 195-pounds and I occasionally ride the bike above its paygrade, so I definitely needed a spec that was a little beefier than a standard Trail429.

I had the DPX2 shock and I have the Fox 36 elite fork, I prefer it versus the factory one because of the black stanchions. I have an offset headset so its a little slacker than a standard 429 spec. The wheels and tires are Stans Flow EX3 with Maxxis Assegai 2.5 tires. It is a pretty burly setup and I run downhills casings on all my tires. The Assegai’s, for me, are the best tire of all time. You always get the comment about rolling speed, but to me that’s silly, because if I’m on a tire that is faster in a vacuum, but doesn’t brake as well, I’m not going to go as fast on it than I would on a tire that technically rolls slower but that I’m more confident one.

Brice’s Lefthand Trail Setup:
  • Pivot Trail429
  • Fox Factory 36 Elite (150mm travel)
  • Fox Factory DPX2
  • Shimano XT 4-piston brakes
  • Shimano XT 1X12 drivetrain
  • Stans Flow EX3 wheelset
  • Maxxis Assegai 2.5 DH casing (front and rear)
  • 9point8 Fall Line dropper post
  • Deity cockpit and saddle
  • Headset off-set for greater rake

Why did you pick Lefthand Canyon as the filming location for the video?

As I was planning logistics for the shoot Lefthand stood out because it looked like it had some cool fall line trails and long descents with a steady gradient without switchbacks, which generally means you can expect high speed. And when I got into town, I came into Sports Garage and had a chat with Jesse Kruzel, who helped me identify the go-to route on the way down.

Driving out of Boulder you turn left on Lefthand canyon drive and you are immediately in a Canyon. Boulder is densely populated and I was a little surprised by that. But as soon as I was 20-minutes outside of town I felt like I was way out of any population center, which was really nice and reassuring.

As soon as we got to the top where I was going to drop in it was absolutely beautiful. You can see the plains, Boulder, and even Denver. It was so pretty and I was immediately very happy that we decided to pick the location. It is tough when you go out and ride these places blind. There is always a little bit of anxiety about if the trail will be good and how we will make it look good if it’s not, but luckily, we didn’t have to worry about that at all. Right away I knew we made the right decision and the two trails we connected for the descent were just amazing. Super fast, fun and really stunning.

What were your first impressions and how did those change as you got more time on the bike?

I thought Boulder would be full of fit people and upscale, and it was. I loved the dedication to open spaces, if you are going to have a population center, Boulder does a great job of how you present yourself and achieve a standard of living for a large collection of people.

As far as the trails, the thing I was most concerned about was traction. I just kept hearing the words “kitty litter” over and over again when hearing about the terrain. In Delaware, summers are very humid and the mountains are very old, so there are tons of organic stuff and the dirt is delicious and amazing.

Lefthand isn’t well-represented with content, some grainy POV footage from first-gen Go-Pro, so I didn’t know what to expect outside of loose, dry dirt. Once I started putting rubber to the dirt, that description was certainly real. The traction is interesting, you are definitely drifting, but once you get comfortable drifting, it gets easier.

Lefthand was definitely chunkier than I’m used to. A lot of the trails on the front range are purpose-built and flowy, but Lefthand is just a bunch of old OHV trails that nature is reclaiming. It was really cool and interesting to see what happens when you take the off-road vehicles off and let nature re-take it. I had such a good time, the loose traction was a lot of fun, and the line of sight was amazing since there isn’t a lot of undergrowth. It was loose over loose and just a whole mess of amazing rock gardens. There were sections where you’d want to take it easy but you aren’t going to make a very dynamic video taking it easy and being measured, so I was trying to keep the fingers off the breaks. There were definitely times where I was a little white knuckled.

There is a stretch with the drone shot showing me on a little ridge going straight on a 10-percent pitch so in theory it is a perfect, no brake grade, but underneath my tires was golf-ball-sized rocks over kitty litter. I remember thinking, “I can’t even pretend to hit the brakes now or it will be a total mess.” It was a lot of fun.

Jesse’s advice was great and he was right, if you let yourself go too fast, it can be quite dangerous. It almost seemed to be the antithesis of the other front range stuff, it tends to be purpose-built and flow, jump centric. To have something that is a little more rugged and not built for MTB is pretty sweet, great to get to film on that.

Did you wish you had picked a bike with more travel?

I think some people underestimate how good short-travel bikes are these days. You’ll see conversations on social media where people think you have to go 150mm travel with a 180mm fork. But as the video shows, the shorter travel bikes are built to get loose on, they are just more efficient. So it was cool to show that even on a 120mm 29er you can really get after it.

The riding around the state really shows the diversity available in the mountains of Colorado. I’m looking forward to my next trip back.

Where Can I Ride?

Two cyclists riding bikes on scenic mountain trail

A Guide to Riding and Travel in Colorado’s Mountain Bike Destinations During COVID

As the COVID19 pandemic continues to upend all facets of regular life, it can be difficult to discern what exactly is allowed when it comes to traveling to and using our favorite mountain bike destinations.

Restrictions and guidelines change rapidly and can be confusing and difficult to track down. You might think that based on a lack of restrictions in your home county, things are uniform across the state, but this isn’t necessarily the case. It can be incredibly frustrating to travel to a locale, only to find trails and campsites closed or at a significantly reduced capacity. Even today, months after the first closure, many of the restrictions are vaguely defined and difficult to track down for specific locales. With that in mind, we wanted to attempt to lay out the current guidelines in place, keeping in mind that they may be ever-changing, for popular destinations in Colorado plus Moab.

When riding at any of the locations covered, please remember to be courteous to others by covering your face, giving space, and following local rules. IMBA has a fantastic list of riding during COVID FAQs on their website.

While Colorado state parks remained open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, camping was prohibited from Mid-March through early May. However, as of writing, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has resumed camping, though it’s important to note that it’s reservation-only. Reservations can be booked through its website.

The state of Colorado has released the following general state-wide campground guidelines: Do not exceed 25 campers outdoors and ten (10) campers indoors, maintaining six (6) feet distancing. Outdoors, up to fifty (50) campers allowed to gather for limited non-physical group activities.

Furthermore, every county serving as a recreation destination in the state of Colorado asks that visitors and residents following the rules and regulations listed below:

  • Maintain 6 feet of physical distance
  • Wash our hands often
  • Properly wear cloth face coverings in public
  • Stay home when sick
  • Get tested if we have symptoms
Two cyclists riding bikes on Salida mountain trail

Durango

Durango and La Plata county appear to have 100% occupancy rates at short-term rentals, campsites, and trails.

Purgatory Resort Bike Park is currently open but attendance levels are limited, must call ahead to book.

Durango COVID Resource

Fruita/Grand Junction

Mesa County is currently in Phase 2 of its Safer-at-Home order. This has no impact on the trails and personal recreation but local business are limited to 50% capacity. However, it appears that short-term rentals and campgrounds are functioning at 100% occupancy capacity. https://www.fruita.org/citymanager/page/july-2-2020-covid-19-news-archive-news-week-end-july-2-2020

Moab

Moab obviously isn’t subject to Colorado’s Safer-at-Home directive, and its Stay-at-Home order expiration date expired on May 1st. This means Moab is open for riding and camping, but it is important to note that while all dispersed camping on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land and commercial campgrounds are operating at 100% capacity, developed campgrounds on BLM land are currently only running at 50% occupancy capacity.

Discover Moab Website with up-to-date information

Salida

Chaffee County was one of the Colorado counties to extend their closure of short term rentals and campsites, but as of June 1st, they have lifted restrictions on short term rentals/hotel rooms/campsites.

Chaffee County public health resource

Cyclist riding bike on mountain trail

Steamboat Springs

Lodging and campgrounds in Routt County appear to be open at 100% capacity as of June 1st.

https://www.steamboatchamber.com/traveler-information/

Unfortunately, Steamboat Resort Bike Park will not be opening for the summer of 2020. National Forest trails surrounding the resort will be available to those who are willing to pedal to the top.

Summit County

Summit county trails and campgrounds are open and the county lifted their restrictions on short-term rentals as of June 1st. However, the county’s ski resorts aren’t universally accessible.

Copper Mountain Bike Park opened on July 4th and bike haul will run daily from 10 am to 4 pm. Social distancing guidelines will be in place for all summer users.

Breckenridge and Keystone resorts are closed until further notice.

Telluride

San Miguel County, where Telluride is located, was subject to more restrictive health orders than the rest of the state, but effective June 1, they have been more aligned with the State’s new Executive Order. Since the order went into effect, lodging has been opened to guests at 50% capacity and the 14-day quarantine for people returning to the area was lifted. Private campgrounds opened on June 1, with state and federal campgrounds already open.

Telluride Bike Park is currently open

San Miguel County COVID Resource

Vail/Eagle County

Short term rentals, campsites, and trails are open with 100% occupancy rates.  Specific guidelines have been put in place by Eagle County to ensure as safe of an environment as possible for visitors.

Vail Bike Park and its 343 miles of mountain bike trails opened on July 17th, including the bike haul out of Eagle Bahn Gondola (#19) and Gondola 1.

Beaver Creek Resort is also running bike hauls starting July 15th.

Winter Park/Grand County

https://www.co.grand.co.us/1303/Activity-Specific-Protective-Measures

Campgrounds are open but subject to statewide guidelines. Additionally, they say to camp only with members of your household in your local region. Do not invite visitors to your campsite

Short term rentals are full capacity, recommended 24-hour rest period with adequate sanitizing and disinfecting between guests

Trestle Bike Park is open at reduced capacity and daily tickets must be purchased at least 48 hours in advance from their website.

Granby Ranch Bike Park is currently closed due to the coronavirus.

Crested Butte

Gunnison County has announced on May 27th that they were “wide open” for visitors, so it is safe to assume that campgrounds, short-terms rentals, and trails will be open and ready to ride. Unfortunately, Evolution Bike Park in Crested Butte is closed for the season.

We hope this guide allows you to get a firm grasp of the riding/travel/camping restrictions in the places we all love to ride in this beautiful state and gives you the confidence to get out there and ride your bike in the beautiful summer weather.

In-Depth 2020 Pivot Cycles Switchblade Review

Pivot Cycles Switchblade body

Words: Ryan Cross
Photos: Ryan Cross

Sports Garage ambassador Ryan Cross recently took the Switchblade to Grand Junction, CO (pre-pandemic) to put it to the test on steep, technical climbs and challenging desert descents and was remarkably pleased with how it performed.

In the competitive landscape of the modern-day trail bike, it’s not often we see a new player emerge as a true bike of the year candidate. With so many brands serving competitive options for do-it-all trail bikes, how does one stand apart?

Enter: the 2020 Pivot Cycles Switchblade. A completely redesigned frame and upgraded build packages set this bike apart from its predecessor, which was leaned unapologetically towards the cross country end of the spectrum. The new Switchblade got a facelift and the modernized 2020 model outperforms its previous iteration in more ways than one. Sports Garage got an opportunity to check out the new Switchblade at an event in Arizona and covered what is new and what was remained the same for 2020.

Pivot Cycles Switchblade body

First Impressions – it climbs like a champ

My rides at Grand Junction’s infamous Lunch Loops system started with a tough climb. I put the DW platform to work right away and was incredibly impressed with how efficient it felt. On steep, technical climbs where I remained seated, the power transfer to the rear wheel was on par with anything I’ve experienced on a modern suspension platform, leaving me confident and composed on low-speed technical terrain. A reduced offset fork (more on that later) kept the front wheel from wandering and allowed me to navigate through technical climbs with comfort and confidence and predictability.

Where the Switchblade really began to stand out was on the less aggressive, faster, bumpy climbing where consistent out of the saddle efforts were met with a quick, yet efficient, response. Typically, I find that most trail bikes come up short here while dipping too deep in the stroke of the suspension under the force of repeated standing accelerations. When I popped out of the saddle on the Switchblade, I stayed high on the stroke and was able to power up and over rocky terrain efficiently and powerfully. I felt like I got the support I needed from the suspension without a sacrifice in efficiency during out of the saddle efforts and that’s a feeling worthy of praise.

What goes up, must come down.

The Switchblade’s climbing prowess was impressive, to say the least, but it’s unsurprising that the bike goes uphill well given its somewhat cross-country oriented roots. The real test of whether or not this bike would land in the category of other industry-leading trail bikes, was going to be put to test on the descents. And it passed. Boy, did it pass.

With a 66-degree headtube angle, the Switchblade isn’t aggressively slack, but to further tighten up the handling, the 2020 model uses a reduced offset fork (44mm) to bring a little more balance to the front end.

The result? A machine that gives you the stability and confidence of a much longer, lower, and slacked-out bike in a much snappier and quicker handling form. As I whipped down fast and flowy desert singletrack, I felt like the bike was quick and poppy, almost as if it was one step ahead of me when I looked through my next turn.

When it was time for a ledgy descent or a big drop, the Switchblade performed beautifully. The plush suspension platform never had me wishing for more travel and the bike met all the demands I threw at it. Even on the challenging technical trails of Colorado’s Western Slope, I never felt like I found the end of its capabilities.

Build, Sizing and Geometry

Pivot Cycles Switchblade cables

The new Switchblade comes in 5 sizes from XS to XL. I’ve always respected Pivot’s dedication to their size run, and their support of smaller riders through the testing and development with pro rider Chloe Woodruff, who’s barely 5 feet tall. I was testing an XL frame and felt perfectly fit for this bike at 6’2”.

While many brands offer a large number of different frame qualities, increasing with price as carbon gets higher and higher quality, Pivot designs around a single frame layup. This means there is only one Switchblade frame, which earns a major fistbump from me.

Race Face remote lever

All builds come with a trusted Race Face remote lever.

As with the previous version of the bike, it can be set up as a 29’er or 27.5+ and uses the Super Boost spacing on the rear wheel with capacity for up to a 2.6” tire. It comes spec’d with Maxxis Minion DHF 2.5” front tire and a Minion DHR 2.4” in the rear. The frame gives enough room for a full-sized water bottle cage (HURRAY) while still accommodating a coil shock.

Pivot Cycles Switchblade's clean lines, tidy cables and bolted housing guides

Clean lines, tidy cables and bolted housing guides.

A couple checks in the aesthetics column come in the form of a wavy chainstay protector (no chain slap here!) and super sleek bolt-on housing guides in the frame. I’m a sucker for clean lines and these made my eyes twinkle a bit.

Pivot Switchblade cycle's new anti-chain slap guard

The new anti-chain slap guard looks great too.

The new Switchblade comes with a flip-chip that allows the bike to be run in two positions. Position A, let’s call it, sits 6mm higher and tightens the head tube angle by half a degree. Position B – actually, let’s call this one “party mode,” lowers the BB and slackens the head tube angle. I rode it in both positions and noticed the subtle differences in each. Frankly, I don’t see this as a dynamic feature that you’d play with mid-ride or even on a day to day basis, but the option to optimize the geometry to your riding style is a major plus. I didn’t feel that party mode was a drawback in the slightest on the climbs and for my preference, the bike would live in this setup full-time.

The 1x-specific frame comes with a slew of build options, with SRAM and Shimano 1×12 drivetrains. The base model is impressively affordable at $5,499. Check out Pivot’s website for full specifications and price breakdown or reach out to Sports Garage and chat with the staff, they’ll be happy to help you.

The Verdict

Categorically, where does the new Switchblade land? It has the DNA of a trail bike with the pedalability of a marathon cross-country bike, but frankly, it does them both so well that it sits in a class of its own. It’s the first bike I’ve ever ridden that blurs these lines with this level of grace, and defines itself as a true (buzzword alert:) quiver-killer.

When buying a new bike, we all have to find something that’s optimized for our style, preferences, and terrain choices. The 2020 Pivot Switchblade checks more boxes than any other bike I’ve thrown my leg over. It’s a bike riders’ bike, the kind of machine that you want to spend hours and hours riding and not get sick of. One that’d be just as aptly suited on the smooth flow of the 401 as the ledgy sandstone of Porcupine Rim. To sum it up, this thing can do it all and is fun as hell to ride. If you want to own one bike that’s going to put a smile on your face on 99% of your rides, this might just be the one.

Don’t just take my word for it, demo one of these things with Sports Garage immediately.

MTB Review Review

Yeti demo bike inside Sports Garage store

Bike reviews, tests, and “first rides” are sometimes helpful, often entertaining. We have never advocated for making a final bike purchase decision based on a review, but we to find reviews a useful tool for:

  • Gaining insights about what to look for in your own demo experience
  • Getting familiar with the tech specs of the bike
  • Creating a list meaningful questions to discuss in-store

When reading a review one is learning about the bike, AND the media site publishing it. Very rarely is a truly bad review published, occasionally prompting the criticism that reviews are advertorial in nature and test rides are “pay to play”. Whether that is true or not, what is not debatable is the need for media sites to appeal to their core audience. We’re not cookie cutter consumers: Some of us are under 30, some are over 50. Some of us spend disposable income on our bikes, and some of us scrape the couch cushions for the latest technology. Some of us curse chair lifts, and some of us feel naked without a full-face helmet. All of these little audience statistics add up to important numbers when measuring website traffic. So, to review a review, one needs to know less about what the site wants to talk about, and more about who the site wants to talk to: and it may or may not be you.

Some sites, like VitalMTB, make their audience statistics public. (Younger, 27.5 wheels, love the park, west coast.) Sites like The Loam Wolf have clearly accepted e-MTB technology more than others, often resulting in a less hesitant tone of voice with product reviews. Pinkbike wields influence on a larger scale, earning the ability to crowd-source it’s news stream effectively. We’re turning the conversation about reviews inside out by offering a review round-up organized according to media site for three influential 2020 bikes:

  • 29” wheels: Pivot Switchblade
  • 27.5” wheels: Yeti SB140
  • E-MTB: Santa Cruz Heckler
Read reviews to find the media site that speaks your language. Be informed and entertained. And then pick the best bike based on your own ride experience. The demo process will make you your own expert, and your review will be the one that tips the scale.

Gravel Grinding Colombia: Transformation on Two Wheels

Two cyclists riding through Colombia

Words: Ryan Cross
Images: Dane Cronin Photography & Ryan Cross

When Sports Garage ambassador Ryan Cross arrived in Duitama, Colombia for a seven-day cycling journey, he was prepared for a seven-day, 350-mile ride through the stunning Colombian countryside with a whopping 35,000-feet of climbing. However, he was unaware that he was about to stumble upon a larger story about how the beautiful South American nation is attempting to put a period of violence behind it and take a trip that would change the lens through which he would view the country. It was a cycling tour, sure, but it ended up being so much more than that.

Our group rolled out of Duitama to begin the first ride of our epic journey together, led by our new friend and local cafe owner, Mayra. As we soft-pedaled through the chaotic streets of Duitama, we were greeted with cheers and whistles, children turned their heads, and cars honked in excitement. “Vamos Gringos!” they said, over and over. The people in Duitama were absolutely thrilled to see a group of Americans taking to the streets on two wheels exploring their country. Our group of seven riders moved along with a palpable energy. None of us had ever experienced a welcome quite like this, and we were only two miles in.

Group of cyclists riding through Duitama

Mayra (center) directs us through Duitama. Rolling through town was an adventure in itself. 

Group of cyclists riding through Colombia
Cyclist riding through Colombia city streets
Until recently, the idea of riding your bike in rural Colombia wasn’t just unsafe, it was unheard of. Colombians did not travel in their own country. The political violence and drug wars took a deep toll on the country’s people. A local may not have considered setting off on the remote areas that we pinpointed as destinations on this trip, let alone a group of foreigners like us.
Yet, Colombia persevered. The government fought back against the famous narco cartels and over the course of a decade-long war, reclaimed a certain level of peace for its people. The country still has its issues, but the transformation that occurred has turned this once-dangerous landscape into an open book of exploration, and what better way to do it than on a bike?
Group of cyclists riding through Colombia
After taking off from Duitama, it didn’t take us long to find the gravel. I tend to go for the route less traveled and this adventurous bunch was no different. I’d taken two trips to Colombia prior to this one and had the pleasure of spending a week in this region last year planning out this trip.
Our group was perfectly matched for this mixed-terrain route, and we set off on our first few days with an appetite for adventure and empanadas.
Scenic countryside in Colombia

The stunning countryside had us all in awe, each and every day.  

Colombia was untouched ground for almost our entire group, and the adventure that came next was one that would be one of the best of their lives.
I’d ridden all of our routes on this trip but one: our point-to-point ride from Duitama to Villa de Leyva. I mapped the seemingly straightforward route online and consulted a few locals. It looked like a lot of gravel but our friend selling panchos said that they were well-maintained gravel roads… So, off we went.
Two hours into the ride, we descended a 30km sharp gravel downhill that tested our bodies and bikes. The group accumulated seven flat tires throughout the day and crossed over a landslide, before guiding ourselves home in the dark with some makeshift ponchos (read: trash bags). The driver of our support car, our beloved guide Andres, couldn’t pass through the landslide and had to drive four hours out of the way to meet us in Villa de Leyva. We arrived 12 hours later (yup, 12) and all reveled in what was the most adventurous day we’d ever had on a bike.
Cyclist checking bike tire

We pushed our bikes and bodies to the limit. 

Cyclist riding on smoother roads at lower altitudes in Colombia

After descending over 20 miles, we appreciated the smoother roads at lower altitudes. 

Two cyclists riding bikes on the gravel roads in Colombia

The gravel roads in Colombia are some of the best any of us had ever ridden. 

Over the course of our seven-day tour, we traversed through jungles, crossed high-deserts, rainforests, and palermo (alpine) climates. Each day presented its own variety of fun and excitement, and our crew had the trip of a lifetime.

Cyclists taking a break in laid-back colonial town of Villa de Leyva
We’d spend the last three days of our trip in the laid-back colonial town of Villa de Leyva. With incredible access to calm and quiet gravel roads and the famous “Nairo Pilgrimage” ride at our fingertips, we saved some of the best riding for last. World Tour road sensation and national hero Nairo Quintana was born nearby and on day seven, we would ride to his home of Combita and stop at his cafe and enjoy some hot empanadas served by Nairo’s Mom.
Our final ride wasn’t without its share of challenging climbing (about 7,500 feet of it) but it provided a moment of reflection for me. I was able to show my friends this wild and transformative country that I love so much while bringing joy to the Colombian people. To see their smiles day in and day out affirmed that what we were doing was meaningful and impactful to a group of people that have been faced with adversity for decades.
I felt the pride of the Colombian people in the hills on that day. I’ve always known that the bicycle is a tool for exploration, but today it felt like something more than that. The bicycle brought us closer to the Colombian people. Their cheers and smiles throughout the week were confirmation that our bike tour was something bigger than ourselves. We were living proof that Colombia is stronger than ever before.
Trip Beta:  Trip organized, guided and produced by La Cicla Tours.
Ride Stats: 7 days, 350 miles, 35,000 feet of climbing.
Riders: Katrina Englestad, Dane Cronin, Jason Mulawa, Joe Brzuchanski, Kate McLaughlin, Jimmy Smith, Tony Orozco and Ryan Cross.
Favorite Rides:
Support: Christian Arbelaez (empanada King) & Andres Cuervo
Gear: I traveled with my beloved Open U.P. gravel bike, which was the perfect tool for the job. I ran tubeless 36mm tires and had a flat-free week. I wouldn’t recommend traveling to Colombia with a road bike, there’s just too much great gravel to explore.
Trip Locations: Duitama, Gambita, Laguna de Tota, Sogamosa, Paipa, Villa de Leyva, Combita, Bogota.

Baja California Sur – What Outside Missed

Cyclist riding on a Baja California Sur trail
A month before Outside Magazine online published “The Ultimate Baja, Mexico Travel Guide”, we had confirmed a seven-day itinerary at the tip of the Baja with the express intention of riding. The first paragraph of Outside’s review references growing mountain bike trails in La Paz, Todos Santos, and Los Cabos, and offered – if nothing else – positive confirmation bias about our decision to seek out south-of-the-border early spring miles.
Our favorite way to travel is with a bike. We are not travel writers: we are mountain bikers, who really like to travel. While we love discovering new destinations, eating at hidden gem cafés, and turning over rocks to find local bakeries, we put the majority of our travel energy into being on the trail. Accordingly, our travel reporting is a bit unvarnished, and our ride reporting focuses on trails, conditions, and routes.
Baja California Sur trail routes

GEAR

Our quick gear packing list:
  • Large Trail 429 Pro X01, in an Evoc Pro travel bag (an extra 3” to 4” of space in the Pro version is best for the large frame)
  • Small Rocky Mountain Instinct X01, in a regular Evoc travel bag
  • Spare parts, including derailleur hangers, extra GX derailleur, SRAM 12-speed masterlinks
  • Maintenance and flat repair supplies, including chain lube, hand pump, shock pump, standard flat repair (no C02), multitool, and a few spare wrenches
  • Hydration packs
  • Riding gear
  • Headlamps
Arriving at San José del Cabo airport (SJD) is a quick, easy direct flight on Southwest, where bikes fly for $75 USD each way, even with the additional weight of tools.  Although we had reserved a minivan prior to arrival, the art of negotiation at the terminal earned us a long wheelbase 4×4 Jeep Wrangler for the weekly price of an economy rental. The Jeep proved valuable everywhere we went. We cruised past the Cabo San Lucas all-inclusive scene and Costco, heading up the Baja west coast toward Todos Santos.

TODOS SANTOS

Sleepy, magical, and still uniquely Mexican, Todos Santos is one of 111 Pueblos Mágicos in the country, a domestic initiative of the Mexican Tourism Secretary to preserve the historic and symbolic pueblos of Mexico’s collective imagination. Stylish small hotels, quaint cantinas, and art galleries neighbor the panaderías and tire shops of every day Mexican village life, an intoxicating combination for us. Over The Edge bike shop in Todos Santos (Pivot, Trek) is ideally located just up Calle Javier from Hotel California.  The hotel, once claiming indirectly to be the spot where you “can check in any time you like”, was actually sued by the Eagles in 2017 for monopolizing on the band’s successful song.
Over The Edge bike shop in Todos Santos
Baja California Sur trail routes
The main trail attraction in Todos Santos is Sierra Madre Trail, built and maintained by Dave, the easy-going owner of Over The Edge. To get to Sierra Madre from Over the Edge, ride straight up Calle Obregon from Dave’s front door, keep going when the road turns to dirt, and go all the way to the colorful cemetery. Turn left and circumnavigate the cemetery clockwise until you reach poorly marked single track. If you make it to a wide double track, you’ve gone a bit too far. Follow the single track to a sign that says “MTB” with an arrow pointing up and to your left. In about 50 yards you’ll come to a red and white hand-painted sign that reads “Sierra Madre” and beyond that a rancher’s gate.  This entrance feeds you clockwise into the trail loop, and you’ll soon climb to an electric tower, followed by a fun descent to the highway underpass.
The real evidence that we are neither professional trail reviewers nor travel writers? We forget to stop and take pictures. We’d nearly ended our 2-day, 3-night stay in Todos Santos before we remembered our intention to blog about the trip.
Todos Santos trail sign
The remainder of Sierra Madre, including the El Ejido and Dave’s Trail loops, roll through a coastal desert landscape. At the outer edges, near the entrance to El Ejido, the trail sometimes shares cattle paths or wider dirt tracks used by local ranchers but is still easily navigable on Trailforks. The only benefit to riding the loop counterclockwise would be to finish on a downhill from the electric tower, which we did once and it’s fast. Upon returning to town, Brad’s talent for literally sniffing out local bakeries proved to transcend borders.
Bike outside bakery in Todos Santos
All in all, our estimation is two days of riding in TS. The only surfing we did was on the internet, as we both chose to work remote half days during the first leg of the trip, but the surf at nearby Cerritos beach is alone worth the trip for many.

LOS BARRILES

We crossed the peninsula to the Sea of Cortez with the windows rolled down and the Pacific breeze blowing over the mountains. We had almost no expectations about Los Barriles as most travel sites cursorily mention the place in a list of eastern cape hot spots for kiteboarding. LB flies below the radar of Baja travel guides…a fact that thrills Todd. We met Todd by random luck within 20 minutes of checking into our seaside one-bedroom rental. He rolled by in his minivan, and we struck up a conversation. Forty-nine years old, with enthusiasm seeping from every pore, Todd builds and maintains a grassroots network of trails in Los Barriles. He comes down from The Dalles, Oregon in November and for the next four months invests approximately 30 hours/week to keeping single track single. Todd’s not alone. He threw out names we had heard from other locals – names like Warren and Eugene. They tend to work independently, discovering each other’s work with each new season on the trail.
“I got addicted to not having to ask permission to build new trail”, Todd told us. And these trails are the real deal. Truly a single track, we rarely rode anything wider than four tire widths. The topography of the mountains bordering the sea in Los Barriles, ideal for mountain biking, took us quite by surprise. Each ride we put together averaged about between 100 and 150 feet of climbing per mile of riding. We found purpose-built features, professional contouring and tread work, and plenty of elevation.
Riding on the a Baja California Sur trail
All the trailheads in LB are an easy 5 to 10-minute ride from the center of the village. Finding them, however, requires Trailforks and a little sense of adventure. We mistakenly pedaled up more than one arroyo our first day out.  The most useful trail entrance is just south of town on the carretera, turning right onto “Lefty’s Road” just before the mileage sign. Here you can jump on Scotty’s and climb south into the majority of the trails or turn back to the north on Righty’s. We easily found trail to turn a three-night stay into four days of riding.
1.5 – 2 hours: climb Lefty’s Road to Righty’s, descend Greenhorn.    Greenhorn is one of the most recent trail additions to the Los Barriles. When you pack for a mountain biking weekend in LB, don’t forget to pack your bike handling skills. Greenhorn shows the genius of the local trail builders:  little techy step-ups are strategically built between cactuses and embankments. There’s literally nowhere to burn a B-line and stitch the trail. It’s awesome.
Baja California Sur trail routes

A screenshot of our location, heading down Greenhorn, the blue trail to the north, yet so new the name didn’t appear on Trailforks.

Riding on the a Baja California Sur trail

Brad at the Longhorn/Greenhorn intersection.

3.5 – 4 hours: climb Scotty’s to Shady Rocks to Vista to Lejos. Ride Jupiter clockwise, and descend via Cielo, ChinChin, and Gummy Bear. The canopy changes as you climb Vista to Lejos, with more foliage and shade. Heading up to the massive granite boulders on Jupiter, we felt like we were leaving the seashore altogether. It’s worth pulling out your trail app to navigate through the intersections to descend ChinChin and Gummy Bear.

Jupiter trailhead marker

4+ hours: Link it all together via Gummy Connector, starting with the Scotty’s / Vista / Lejos climb. Adding the Corrales and Mars/Rastro Vaca loops to the Jupiter and Cielo. Halfway down Gummy Bear, turn north on Gummy Connector to get back over to the Righty’s climb. Descend Greenhorn into town.

Baja California Sur trail routes
Riding on the a Baja California Sur trail
Why did Outside – a publication dedicated to adventure and exploration – miss the LB trails?  We can only guess.  And these are our two guesses:

1. They’re not super easy. The trails are sometimes rocky with plenty of kitty litter, the climbs are punchy, the margin for error is slim, and the corners are hard to cut. But that’s not a good reason for a publication dedicated to adventure an exploration to overlook an awesome experience.

OR (more likely)…

2. “The Baja Wheelchair”: LB is largely populated by retired ex-patriates who traverse town and the beach on four wheelers with milk crates strapped to the hood. Before arriving, we had heard Los Barriles referred to as “Gringolandia”.   The charm is, shall we say, hidden.

The Baja Wheelchair

The Baja Wheelchair

Using the nothing-draws-a-crowd-like-a-crowd standard, we judged the most popular restaurant in town to be Dylan’s Hot Dogs and Tacos. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights this taco cart and open-air kitchen is surrounded by a dirt lot jam-packed with ex-pats crowded around plastic folding tables. If there were a dress code, it would say “bandanas required”, and a Christmas tree made of recycled bottles casts a romantic glow over the whole scene. If you could envision the opposite of Todos Santos, Los Barriles is it.

LA VENTANA

With complete transparency, we decided to change course for our sixth day of riding. We had originally planned to drive up to La Ventana area and ride at Rancho Cacachilas, a beautiful piece of property with camping, an organic farm, and private beginner/intermediate trails developed by a Walton heir. After our experiences riding the trails built and maintained by Dave and his crew at Over The Edge, and hanging out with Todd and riding dozens of unique miles in Los Barriles, we couldn’t bring ourselves to pay $90 USD to ride trails machine cut by one of the richest women in the world. Todd didn’t charge us a dime. In fact, he offered to buy us a cookie at Joe’s Deli. We stayed in LB to link together a few more loops, opting to pay our respect instead – to Todd and the other locals who have a really good thing going. We’ll be back.
Nearly dark on a nearly deserted Pacific beach

Nearly dark on a nearly deserted Pacific beach.

Businesses we enjoyed in Todos Santos

  • Pura Vida Health Food Store – Staying at a casita with a kitchen, we cooked most of our meals, sourcing ghee, local honey, almond milk, and our other pantry items at Pura Vida.
  • Caffé Todos Santos – near Calle Centenario, there are entrances at both the front and rear, and a hometown vibe.
The rear entrance to the Caffé, where the wifi connection and coffee were both strong

The rear entrance to the Caffé,  where the wifi connection and coffee were both strong.

  • The local pasteleria –  we stumbled upon the local bakery late one evening while taking a walk.  Six pesos each for empanads de queso, sugar cookies, and other delightful treats.  “Stumble upon” are the best directions we can offer.
  • Docecuarenta – A decidedly upscale and delicious coffee roasting company based in La Paz has opened a slick new location just outside of downtown.  If Mexico’s dusty backroads having you missing an urban vibe, this is the place.
Camping out for a few hours of pre-ride remote work at Docecuarenta
Camping out for a few hours of pre-ride remote work at Docecuarenta

Camping out for a few hours of pre-ride remote work at Docecuarenta.

Businesses we enjoyed in Los Barriles

  • Joe’s Deli – A local entrepreneur, Joe was born in Ensanada, BCS, raised in Northern California, and now calls Los Barriles his personal and professional headquarters.  This unexpected fine food grocery was our home away from home, and we stopped at Joe’s every day for his wife’s homemade chocolate chip cookies.
  • Spa Vida – This sweet day spa with a palapa roof sits behind Joe’s.  El enjoyed a facial and massage with the local girls.
  • Tres Palapas Pickleball Resort – Five bucks for three hours of “happy hour” court time!  And the only place in town we found veggie tacos.
Purple pickleball courts and fresh guac near Buena Vista beach

Purple pickleball courts and fresh guac near Buena Vista beach.

  • Café Encinalito – This is the best coffee, smoothies, and coconut macaroons in town. The open air café is a laid back social hub for adventurers in town.
Sitting at the bar at Café Encinalito for post-ride papaya, ginger, and date smoothies

Sitting at the bar at Café Encinalito for post-ride papaya, ginger, and date smoothies.

Brad, the owner of Sports Garage Cycling, and his wife Elorie, are not travel writers. They probably missed some stuff, for sure. They don’t “live the dream” getting comp’d at fancy boutique hotels.  They just really love to travel, ride, discover new trails, and share their experiences with their community. 

1x or 2x

Bike chain

One of the most common questions we field when discussing gravel bikes is drivetrain configuration. The quintessential question being whether to run a “one by” or “two by.” For simplicity sake we are only going to cover the most relevant versions. In this blog post we examine the details of each to help you figure out which one is right for you.

1X Options

The first thing to know about 1x setups is that there are a few different types. You will have your choice of 11 or 12 speed drivetrains.

  • Shimano has a 1×11 GRX groupset that has a cassette that ranges from 11 to 42 teeth.
  • The equivalent groupset from Sram runs a 10 to 42 tooth cassette, thus giving it slightly more range.
  • The most exciting and widest ranging 1x setup is the “wireless mullet.” This pairs 12 speed wireless Sram road shifters to a 12 speed wireless mountain derailleur. This allows for the use of a massive 10-50 tooth cassette (the same one found on mountain bikes.)
1x setup

2X Options

For a long time gravel cyclists were stuck with gearing that was designed for road bikes. Thankfully gravel riding has pushed manufacturers to offer to gearing suited to winching up steep, back roads.

  • Shimano’s all new GRX is available with a 48-31 or 46-30 crankset paired to an 11-34 cassette.
  • Sram also offers a myriad of 2X options. For 12 speed your options are Red or Force AXS. Red, Force, and Rival are the mechanical variations.
Bike chain

Let’s Talk Climbing

Climbing is never easy, particularly west of Boulder. Many people are worried that giving up the front derailleur also means giving up giving up gear range. Most 1×11 drivetrains offer the same gear ratio for climbing as their 2x counterparts. Where a 1×11 falls short is top end speed. Typically you would be “spun out” just shy of 30mph.

1X Pros
  • Less Maintenance: No front derailleur means one less moving part to keep functioning
  • Simplified Experience: One less thing to think about while piloting your bike through the world
  • Less Weight: Less chainrings and less derailleurs= lighter
  • Sram 1×12 allows for greater range than most 2X options
1X Cons
  • Decreased Top End Speed: Only true if using a 1X11
  • Bigger Gaps Between Gears: The jumps between each gear are bigger making it harder to find “the perfect gear”
2X Pros
  • Wide Gear Range with No Compromises: WIth a 2X you can have a wide gear range AND close steps.
2X Cons
  • More maintenance: The front derailleur will require just as much care as the rear
  • Heavier: More chainring and more derailleurs= Heavier

The truth is that you should try to demo both to see which one best meets your needs!

2020 Pivot Switchblade Review

Man exploring trail scenery

Pivot invited their top dealers out to Arizona to come ride and learn about the new Switchblade. We spent two days on the trails of South Mountain to find out how the new version rides. Let me start by saying that the trails near Phoenix are a bit different than the trails in the Front Range. They are a bit tighter than our trails, and the climbs and descents don’t tend to be as long as many of ours. Otherwise, the trails are similar in that they are at least as rocky as our trails and have a lot of dry, sandy soil. After two days of desert riding I have a good idea of what the new bike is all about.

What’s New?

There have been a lot of smart changes made to the Switchblade. The rear travel goes up from 135mm to 142mm. The suspension is also a lot more progressive than the old system, meaning it is more supple in the beginning of the travel and ramps up to provide support deeper into the stroke. The shock is now vertically positioned which allows for a large water bottle on all sizes (great for all those short rides.) It is also coil compatible now! The front fork is 160mm with a reduced 44mm offset. The geometry makes the typical changes we expect to see. The headtube angle is slacker, the seat tube angle is steeper, and the wheelbase is longer. For those of you worried about the bike getting too long need not worry. This bike is still snappy, easy to ride, and playful. The bottom bracket height is also a bit taller than the old Switchblade so you can pedal over rocks without smashing your pedals.

Pivot bike laying on trail

What’s the Same?

It keeps the super boost rear spacing that allows for better tire clearance and short chainstays. The build kits are pretty much the same as they have been in the past. The Switchblade still fills the same place in Pivot’s line up. It’s their all mountain 29er that’s ready for anything.

How Does It Ride?

Out of the gate one of the first things I noticed was how intuitive this bike is to ride. After about 20 minutes it felt like I had owned the bike for a few years.  I was jumping off of rocks and taking the fun line whenever possible. It handles its suspension really well. You can stand up on the pedals to get over tricky climbs and the bike provides support. You can descend down a rocky, eroded trail and the bike hugs the ground soaking up all the bumps like it’s nothing. I feel that the geometry is a really nice balance of high speed agility mixed with low speed agility. Uphill switchbacks? No problem! High speed alpine descents? Let it rip! It’s a bike that will feel fast at Betasso and capable in Moab. If you like to ride all over and have an appetite for technical terrain then this might be the bike for you!

See all the new details directly from Pivot.

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