Pivot Phoenix Ride GX Bike

Pivot Phoenix Ride GX Bike puts Pivot's World Cup downhill platform on a mechanical drivetrain and more affordable suspension package, without changing the carbon frame or geometry that made the Phoenix a podium contender. Pivot developed the Phoenix with Pivot Factory Racing over more than a year of prototype testing on the DH circuit, and this Ride-level build gives access to that same frame at a lower price point, priced at $7,899.

Suspension runs through Pivot's DW6 design, a six-bar linkage developed with suspension engineer Dave Weagle, delivering 210mm of rear travel from a mid-high pivot layout built for square-edge bump compliance on rough tracks. A dual-idler, dual-chain drive keeps the system quiet and low-friction while virtually eliminating pedal kickback through the travel — the same mechanism used on Pivot's top-tier Phoenix builds. Reach adjusts across the Phoenix's frame sizes, and a flip chip lets you switch the geometry between a high setting for technical, rocky tracks and a low setting for maximum speed on straighter descents.

Up front, a RockShox Boxxer Base fork runs 200mm of travel through a Charger 3 RC damper, a simpler, non-Butter Cups version of the damper found on the higher-tier Boxxer Ultimate. Out back, a RockShox Vivid Base shock handles the Phoenix's 210mm of rear travel. Both are the entry point into RockShox's downhill suspension lineup rather than the race-tuned Ultimate versions, which means less external adjustment range, but the same fundamental travel and geometry as the Phoenix builds that race World Cup DH.

The drivetrain here is where this build differs most from the AXS-equipped Phoenix builds. SRAM's GX DH groupset shifts mechanically through a cable and a 7-speed trigger shifter rather than wirelessly, paired with a PG-720 DH cassette in an 11-25 range built for downhill-specific gearing. A Praxis DH9-73 crank spins the same 27t chainring found on Pivot's higher-tier Phoenix builds. Mechanical shifting means a cable to maintain instead of a battery to charge, which some downhill riders still prefer for its simplicity. SRAM Maven Bronze brakes provide the stopping power, running the same 220mm front and 200mm rear HS2 rotor sizing as the Team-level build, since braking power matters just as much regardless of build tier.

Wheels are DT Swiss F1900, an alloy wheelset built for durability over the carbon Crank Brothers wheels on Pivot's Team-level Phoenix, paired with the same Continental Kryptotal F and R tires in Super Soft compound and DH casing found across the Phoenix lineup. Pivot's own Phoenix-brand cockpit — an 800mm alloy low-rise bar and 45mm DH stem — rounds out a build meant for gravity, not pedaling efficiency. This is a bike for a rider getting into downhill or bike park riding who wants Pivot's World Cup-proven suspension platform without paying for a wireless drivetrain and carbon wheels. It's available through RA Cycles in Red Mint, Black Gold, and White Cobalt Blue, across sizes S1 through S4.