
In the year 2025, if you are in the market for a new bike, chances are you're looking at too much travel. Gone are the days where you can skip past all the short travel “bikes for lycra wearing riders” options and head straight to the 160mm+ category. Instead we now find ourselves in an era of mountain biking where bike geometry has progressed to a point where bike companies are now able to create short travel trail bikes that are as capable, if not more so, than previous generation enduro bikes. Enter the Pivot Trailcat to the conversation.

Pivot Cycles recently released the new Trailcat SL and Trailcat LT, making that question of what bike is right for you and your riding style that much more interesting. The Trailcat is replacing the Trail 429 in their model lineup, but kicking things up a bit when it comes time for the downhills. It has a more aggressive geometry while retaining that short travel approach people have grown to love in the Trail 429.
The Trailcat comes in 2 versions, an SL and LT. The SL has a 120mm of rear travel with a Fox Float rear shock and is paired with a 140mm of front travel via a Fox 34 fork. The LT features 135mm of rear travel with a Fox Float X rear shock and has 150mm of front travel via a Fox 36 fork. The LT has a more aggressive geo while the SL has a racier feel to it out on the trails, although in our opinion is plenty capable, but more on that in a little bit.

Now while the Trailcat SL and LT share the same frame, they are different models in the lineup. In addition to having different geos as well as travel, both also have different upper links as well as shock sizes and suspension kinematics. Both models do feature a flip chip geo adjust, with Pivot’s classic High and Low approach. You also have internal frame storage via a latch system. The system is flippable in the frame, allowing you to reposition the water bottle placement to make room for the piggy reservoir shock the LT comes with.
First Ride Impressions :
Climbing

I was lucky enough to be sent both the Trailcat SL as well as Trailcat LT in the same exact builds, but with both stock suspension setups, to really get a feel of the differences between both models. I am 6’2 and the XL fit me perfectly. This is also where I first started to see some of the more progressive changes Pivot was making with their geometry as the XL felt much roomier than previous Pivots I had tested in the past, something that was much appreciated!
Climbing on both the SL as well as LT felt very similar. The SL does have a noticeable amount of acceleration efficiency, where out of the saddle sprints felt a tad more lively than the LT version. However both pedal like Pivots and left me rarely reaching for the lockout. Traction on technical climbs was also very apparent, with a slightly more active suspension feel on slower tech bits. The SL version did feel absolutely perfect when it came to the seat angle. Pedaling wise I felt right on top of the BB and I was very happy with it in both the Low as well as High setting. The LT version did feel a little on the slacker side in terms of seat angle in the low setting, however it was not a deal breaker and the bike in the high setting felt great!

Downhill
Both the SL and the LT are very fun bikes when pointed downhill. It is very apparent that Pivot wants these bikes to be true “do everything” 29ers, and I was constantly blown away by both in terms of what I felt confident riding. The SL version has this snappy feel to it, where it wants to be jumped off of every trail feature and has the geo and stability to help back that up! The LT takes this a step further and gives you that added room for error, and a touch more confidence when you get off line.
Something I noticed on both was the lower BB than traditional Pivot models, something that was much appreciated when things got on the flowier side. Both models put huge smiles on my face after big corner sections and it is clear that Pivot is stepping away slightly from the more desert favored geo approach and taking things into the high speed stability world with their geos.

I will note here, while the LT version did feel more confident in chunky and tech, the lower BB was a bit more noticeable here in regards to pedal strikes in the low mode, something that I will probably adapt to and also appreciate more as we leave the desert.
First Thoughts:
I still have a lot of miles to put on both the LT as well as the SL but my first impressions so far are very good! Between the two, I think I favor the SL model, as that short travel approach and confident geo leads to a perfect blend of both worlds. You can rip it like an XC bike, but still hit all of the fun stuff! I do really like the LT version as well, and I appreciate the capabilities of the model out here in the desert chunk, but for me the geo on the SL is absolutely perfect all around in both the low and the high setting. My wife Hannah had a chance to ride the SL version and she shared those sentiments in our YouTube video review here: https://youtu.be/Nm-VITnpw6w

Something else that I would add is that while both the SL and the LT share the same frames, this isn’t a buy one bike and get two deal with the investment into a few extra parts. As of right now, Pivot has no plans to sell the upper link which you would need to make the change over. While I don’t see myself as the type to want to go back and forth via swapping suspension and parts, I can see this as something people might want to do.
Like I said I still have to put a lot more time on both models, but so far Pivot Cycles has absolutely crushed it with the Trailcat SL and LT. Short travel bikes are going to be a big part of 2025, and I am very stoked that Pivot crushed it with this one, it's going to be a fun year!
-Mo Awesome
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