Pivot is no stranger to building fast bikes that tackle demanding terrain and its Vault has been its interpretation of a do-it-all drop bar offering for several years now. It’s a bike that's at home jumping in the weekly road hammerfests, hitting up gravel adventures on the weekend, and hopping barriers in the fall. It's back and better than ever with the Vault Team Force/X01 Gravel Bike. This capable built is designed to take you farther, faster, than before. With a mullet drivetrain for optimal gear range and a gravel-ready cockpit, this Vault is the perfect partner to go explore.

First up is the bike's geometry. Pivot has carefully refined it for cross, gravel, or road and it pretty much excels on any surface. Thanks to its new dropped chainstay design, the stays sit at 420mm. This not only helps keep the frame nimble and the wheelbase tight, but it also makes for more efficient power transfer. You'd be excused for thinking the shorter stays limit tire clearance, in fact, clearance is increased everywhere from the massive 700x47mm or road plus 650x2.0in tires.

The stays complement the returning BB386EVO bottom bracket shell that reduces watts lost to waggle and flex while sprinting out of hairpins or hammering up climbs that amount to 5-digit elevation days. Also returning is the tapered head tube, oversized steerer tube, and 12mm thru-axles front and rear that also contribute to overall stiffness while keeping the Vault tracking like it's on rails on smooth canyon roads and flowing hardpack alike. The bottom bracket also drops half a centimeter across all sizes providing more point-and-shoot stability for confidence powering through sand pits and down steep, washboard riddled descents.

Pivot also refined the carbon layup and tuned the tube shapes to impart more comfort and compliance while still relying on its tried-and-true hollow core internal molding. The process makes for greater structural integrity, which our practical side appreciates, and a lighter, stiffer frame, which satisfies our less practical hunger for podium places. The lay-ups are also tuned specifically for each size, allowing Pivot to imbue each size with the same level of eager responsiveness without undue weight gains. Requiring a larger frame no longer comes with the penalty of a noodly, poorly tracking ride. There are of course some new frame details we'd be remiss for not mentioning and one is its patented Iso-Flex Technology that fits 27.2 or 30.9mm seatposts. Iso-Flex is essentially a shim that sits in the seat tube and isolates the post from the frame for next level comfort without compromising frame stiffness. Now you can remain seated and dish out all of the watts without getting bucked over rough patches.

This particular Vault is finished with an adventure-ready build from SRAM with an eTap AXS mullet drivetrain of a Force 1 crankset and X01 rear. This massive gear range provides ample options to both spin across the flats and descents as well as amble up steep pitches on your way to the lookout. Reynolds ATRx wheels, paired with Maxxis Rambler tires, offer the efficiency and grip needed to ride with greater confidence as you head further into new terrain.