Pivot Shadowcat Review 2023 - Ty's MTB Adventure Blog

Not your average Pivot Shadowcat Review..

My Pivot Shadowcat Mullet has been pretty sweet bike that I have been on in some time. Now this bike is far from stock as you can see. If you are unfamiliar with the Shadowcat, here’s a quick run down. It’s light, agile, fast and fun. Dual 27.5 wheels with a 160 mm Fox 36 fork and 140 mm Fox DPS shock. Coming in sizes form extra-small to large. I am on a medium frame and the stock reach is 460 mm and the head tube angle is 65.8 while the wheel base is 120.6 cm long.

Over the last season this bike has seen many different parts. Things making the bike lighter or heavier, depending on the day. The first day I built the bike back in April of 2022 it came in at 28.5 lbs, while today it’s sitting at just under 33lbs. Quite a difference but looking at the photos below you can see a few different parts and tires so the weight will vary. More changes soon, so keep an eye out.

Where I’ve Ridden and How the Bike Performs

I’ve put about 1,500 miles on it so far and I’ve ridden it places like Lake Leatherwood in Eureka Spring AR, Deer Valley Bike Park in Park City UT, and all your green, blue, flow and tech trails in-between. The mullet set up I am running is with a 140 mm fork with 51mm offset. With this the bike gets a little more slack from stock but makes it really stable but playful. I feel like I can really move and flick the bike around. The short rear end with a small snappy wheel helps with that, but on some trails it is just asking to be moved around In a fun way.

At high speeds the bike is super stable and pushing it into corners it feels right at home. It sits in a great spot for travel and geometry, Tackling rowdy chunky downhill sections while getting to the top is not bad at all. Very efficient despite the heaver weight I have it at now (33lbs). On some of the steepest climbs I’ve done, it feels planted and maintains traction. As long as the legs spin, it will get you up anything. The DW suspension is a very efficient and effective suspension platform that rewards climbing and excels at descending. Is it the best system our there? Maybe, but that’s all based on opinions and who you ask. I get along with it really well and I know what to expect when riding different bikes in the Pivot line up.

Changes to the Shadowcat

Some of the changes I have on this bike for sure make it a bit more enduro – ish, but its still efficient and well rounded for all kinds of single track. I preferred the Sram Code RSC over the stock G2 RSC. With bigger rotors for bike park days; and a minimal weight gain here so it’s worth it. Suspension can save me a lot of weight but I like my settings and love how well the coil feels with this set up. I thought the stock FOX DPS wasn’t great, so I tried a few different rides on a demo and just couldn’t get it dialed in. I opted for the Cane Creek DB IL Coil and that transformed the bike in a huge way. The coil just feels bottomless and the traction improved greatly.

You could also opt for a better suited air option if needed for your riding style (Trunnion 185×55). As for the forks, well the Rock Shox was my only choice at the last minute but it was a solid one. As I go forward, I will be on the Helm MKII from Cane Creek. I picked it up a week ago so just dialing it in at this time but the bike still feels the same. In the end I feel like this bike should have just been built as a mullet from the factory on a balanced suspension platform like this. It checks a lot of boxes for me and what I like to do on my bike.

From the stock 160 fox 36 to the Cane Creek Helm 140 my axle to crown is the same. Adding a 29in wheel should add 19-24mm of height depending on tires, giving us a 13mm longer wheel base axle to axle. If my math is right, it’s about 65 on the head tube angle. Not sure, someone check my math.

Pivot Shadowcat Review – Specs

Looking forward I wanna play around with the bike a bit more. With my current Cane Creek Helm fork I can change the travel to 160mm pretty easy. I plan on doing that as well getting a 27.5 wheel for the front to see how it goes with the suspension package I am running. Im hoping swapping the wheels around will make this thing corner like no other but I’ll find out later. The more parts I change and try on this will give me a different riding experience, but my overall Pivot Shadowcat review will stay the same. Its a great do it all bike for what I enjoy riding and pushing the bike through.