Pivot 429c or Rocky RSL BC, weight, mud clearence?

[kaplanjoe]

Which one to choose: Pivot 429c or Rocky Element BC edition ( weight 27.7 lbs) ?

My main daily use will be for XC and trail use, with occasional XC races. Our local trials may be wet and quite muddy. A couple of times yearly I do longer trips, primarily to places such as Lake District, Wales, Italy.

As far as I can, see the price of the Pivot 429 carbon in XT build will be comparable- approximately 5k.

I tend perhaps to favor the Pivot, but somewhat concerned about tire clearence and mud- most of the pictures of this bike seems to be taken from dry places.

I have not been able find the weight of the Pivot 429 carbon XT model- would appreciate any information.

Any thoughts, opinions, particularly regarding Pivot vs Rocky, e.g XC/trail use, weight and mud-clearence?

thanks

Jonathan

[etanc]

The med wt of the 429c is 5.7 lbs so an equivalent build will be within a 1/2 lb or so. You can find bb height comparisons on their web sites, I didn't have any trouble with pedal strikes with either bike on the same course. Its dry where I ride so mud clearance isn't an issue.

The 429c has a lighter steering feel than the Element but the Element handled more like a race bike. If the geo works for you, you can't go wrong either way but I would lean toward the Pivot, the dw-link is one of the best in the rough stuff. Nothing like a demo if you can do it.

[Mt.Biker E]

I've been riding my dad's 429 quite a bit lately and its a very fast & capable bike.
Like all Pivots its very stiff & tracks well. Twisty single track is no problem either.
I'm used to riding my Firebird and hitting what ever line is in front of me. I was surprised how well the 429 hit techy sections. I even hit a few smaller jumps and drops with it. Plush - no, but capable yes.
No issues with pedal strikes but i'm also used to the Firebird so take that with a grain of salt. Its mud season in New England and I haven't had any issues and I've never heard my dad complain & he is pretty damn fussy when it comes to his bikes. Put it this way he was convinced his bike wasn't climbing well so i took it out & climbed the all the tecky steep stuff I could find in the big chain ring. It wasn't the bike!, it was a 65 yr old taking the summer off to sail and kayak