2024 Pivot Phoenix

This layout, while a bit more complex, has a few advantages. For one thing, there’s much better chain wrap around both the chainring and the idler pulleys than there is on most high-pivot bikes, which should help with chain retention and drivetrain wear. By using two different size idler pulleys, Pivot is also able to increase the gearing through the idlers, and in turn, run a smaller chainring for more ground clearance. The Phoenix uses a 27-tooth chainring as standard, but by running a smaller idler on the input side (the one tied to the crank) and a larger one on the output (the chain that goes to the rear wheel), Pivot is able to produce the equivalent of a 37-tooth chainring in terms of the final gearing. The idler pulley mount is slightly eccentric to allow the lower chain to be tensioned; the derailleur handles things for the second chain as usual.

The Phoenix also uses a flex pivot in the rear triangle, in contrast to Atherton’s implementation of the DW6 suspension layout. Three rocker links define the six-bar layout; in the Phoenix’s case, there are two counter-rotating ones behind the bottom bracket / idler pulley area, and a more conventional one that drives the shock from above. A slight bit of flex between the chainstays and seatstays replaces the dropout pivot on most other six-bar bikes, such as the Atherton A200 or Commencal Supreme.

Pivot has used that six-bar layout to do some interesting things with the bike’s suspension kinematics. In keeping with Pivot’s description of the Phoenix as a “mid-high-pivot” bike, the axle path is substantially rearward but not wildly so, reaching about 22 mm of chainstay growth at ~135 mm of travel before coming back forward up to the 210 mm maximum travel. The anti-squat curve is very flat at about 120% until about halfway through the travel, where it falls off sharply, and the anti-rise curve is very flat and notably high, at just under 120%.

A flip chip at the lower shock mount toggles between two leverage curves, both of which are very progressive, in mostly straight lines. The lower-progression option is still almost 40% progressive; the higher-progression one bumps that up to 46.6%. Pivot says that the latter is tailored specifically to Bernard Kerr’s preferences, while the lower progression option “suits most mortals.”