Take Flight. The Firebird sets the new gold standard in long travel trail bike performance. We've harnessed Dave Weagle's ability to design the world's best downhill suspension and added more than a few tricks of our own. The Firebird's dw-link® design has the DNA of 6 DH World Championships under its belt, and its gravity-based heritage is clearly evident in the bike's incredible descending skills...but it doesn't end there. We've built a bike that can climb as well as it descends. The dw-link's position-sensitive anti-squat characteristics make for exceptional climbing and snappy acceleration with perfectly tuned Fox suspension to handle anything and everything you love to ride. Build it up light for ultra-technical epics, or build it up big for gravity runs. The Firebird is your ultimate trail machine.
Legacy of Design Meets Modern Innovation
The Firebird is designed and built to set a new bar for performance in the 6" travel trail bike category. The Firebird features a trail-gobbling 6.6" (167mm) of rear travel. Dave Weagle and designer Kevin Tisue collaborated with Chris Cocalis to really get this bike dialed. Weagle's ultra-successful "Sunday" design combined with Tisue's downhill racing experience gave the Firebird touches that every "go big" rider will love. As with every other Pivot, the Firebird is also a pedaling marvel when pointed uphill. It pushes the envelope with some forward thinking technological aspects not found anywhere else in the sport.
The Firebird is packed full of cool innovations to make your ride better. The Firebird's full-floating rear shock (it's not attached to the front or rear triangle) sits independently of the frame, mounting to the carbon rocker and to the dw-link. This results in a constantly variable shock rate, giving precise control over the suspension performance at every point in the travel. The result is awesome small bump compliance and a controlled ride for every imaginable size and speed of hit-allowing you to ride faster and in control. In addition to the small bump compliance, the floating shock mount eliminates the need for welded parts. That means we are free to build a long travel bike that is lighter, stronger, and aligns the shock and pivots perfectly for smooth action and long-lasting shock and frame bearings.
The Ultimate Trail Machine Delivers Ultimate Versatility
We offer the Firebird in a couple different complete builds, featuring the all-new Fox 36 Fit fork set at 170mm of travel, but we also encourage you to build the Firebird up any way you want it. Depending on what you envision, the Firebird can certainly deliver as the "bike of your dreams" because it is so much more than just a long travel trail bike. It pedals and climbs so well that you'll make most 5" travel bike riders suffer on the hills. And with 6.6" of dw-link(R) travel, the descents are always handled with ease. Kyle Straight prefers to ride his Firebird in certain downhill and gravity based events. Another one of our riders won the Vet Pro class at Bootleg Canyon on the Firebird, and then set the fastest lap time on his team at the 24 hours of Old Pueblo on the same bike! The typical all-mountain build comes in around 29lbs, but we have seen Firebird riders with bikes built up under 26lbs, putting the Firebird in the elite light-weight trail bike category. Trust us...there is nothing like the feel of a 26lb bike with 6.6" of travel that pedals like the Firebird.
Floating Front Derailleur
Our patent-pending variable position floating front derailleur mount is another piece of engineering mastery that translates into even more performance gains. Big travel is the enemy of front shifting. On longer travel bikes, compromises have always been made with front derailleur performance and frame design restrictions.
Not anymore.
On the Firebird, the front derailleur moves in relation to the rear axle as the suspension moves through its travel, keeping the chain perfectly positioned in the "sweet spot" of the front derailleur cage through the travel. This results in huge improvements in chain retention and shifting performance. The chain stays put in rough terrain while in the middle or big ring, and is impossible to drop off the little ring. You can pedal hard through the rough stuff and aggressively shift into the little ring for steep climbs without ever having to worry about dropping your chain. The latest version of the floating front derailleur design features a new spring design and the addition of a new composite molded chain retention plate for quieter on-trail performance and smooth, consistent shifting.
In addition to the shifting performance gains, the Pivot floating front derailleur system also allows us to optimize the chainstay location, frame weight, and overall design strength of the Firebird frame.
But You Have Options
For those of you wanting to run a single ring guide, the floating mount is fully removable via one bolt so that a single chairing chain guide can be easily installed to the Firebird's integrated ISCG05 mounts. The bottom bracket is a standard 73mm-wide threaded shell to allow for use of new shifting systems and gives the rider a broader choice of cranks and chain guides. No muss, no fuss, and a better ride for you!
Powerfully Light Construction
The Firebird is constructed of oversized, triple-butted, hydro-formed 6061 aluminum custom-tuned for its aggressive nature while making the bike one of, if not the, lightest in its class. At 6.95lbs for a small anodized frame (or about 28lbs for a complete bike with our XTR kit), the Firebird has no equal. The front triangle and one-piece rear triangle are mated by anodized gold hardware (unique to the Firebird) and a high-modulus, weight-shaving carbon fiber upper linkage.
Rear Suspension
The standard Firebird is equipped with a custom-tuned Fox RP23, giving riders top-level performance in a light-weight, high-performance package with worry-free set-up.
A Fox DHX 5.0 Air option, available for a small up-charge, opens up the tuning possibilities for those who like to tinker or are truly pushing the limits of extreme riding.
RP23 vs. DHX
Which, you ask, is better? The custom tuned RP23 Boost Valve shock is the stock offering on the Firebird because it offers the easiest set up, lightest weight, most usable on trail options with its 3 ProPedal settings. For 95% of riders, the RP23 is the ticket. For those pushing the limits of resort and park riding (Whistler, Keystone, etc.) the DHX has higher oil volume and can therefore handle bigger repeated hits at high speeds that heat up the shock. The DHX also gives the rider increased tuning possibilities with the ability to run the shock really soft through the middle while being able to control bottoming separately...plus everyone agrees that it looks cool. For rides like Porcupine Rim and Downieville, the RP23 is still the best choice because of its versatility. Both shocks share the same volume air chamber and boost valve features, so general ride and bump performance are similar in most terrain.
The Firebird is a LONG TRAVEL TRAIL bike that can take you anywhere. It is not designed to be a jump park, freeride or pure downhill bike however capable to handle these disciplines.
Design Features
- The Firebird features a 1.5 headtube and is designed for a 160-180mm travel forks.
- Complete bikes feature FOX 36 RC2 170mm forks with 1.5 to 1 1/8th tapered steerers to optimize strength and stiffness while keeping the bike light.
- The 1.5 headtube offers true flexibility to run, 1.5, 1 1/8th, tapered, single crown, or dual crown forks.
- Seat clamp is a 34.9mm, seat post size is 30.9mm (as with all Pivots),
- Dropouts are 135mm standard axle. The rear shock is an 8.5" long X 2.5" stroke with .86" wide hardware at each end.
- Mounting bolts for the shock are M8 x 1.25mm.
Size Options
- Small
- Medium
- Large
Color Options
- Anodized Root Beer
- Anodized Jet Black
Geometry
Build Kit:
