A Pivot Vault joins the wine-toned fleet

[livesadventure]

I picked up this bike from Studio Velo in the sad wake of their closing. After riding a friend's Open UP on a long ride I was ready for a new carbon gravel bike but wanted something a bit less common than an open or a Crux. A few friends race for Pivot and love their Vaults, so I jumped on the deal. The size medium isn't perfect, especially bc it is built with huge bars. I've realized I severely dislike flared bars on gravel bikes, so I'll likely replace the bars with Enve Compact or AR bars as I refine the fit.



The ride is spectacular. The bike is incredibly fast and agile, without riding harshly. It took a few rides to get used to tight switchbacks off of a mountain bike, but I've been loving everything from fast fire roads to techy trails on this.



Pretty much a stock Force AXS mullet build with the following changes:

Bars: Easton EC70ax 44cm --> ???

Saddle: WTB stock garbage --> Specialized Power Expert 143

Tires: Pirelli Cinturo to --> Ultradynamico Cava Rose JFF

Chainring: 36T with spider to 44T direct mount



Once I dial in cockpit I'll weigh it. Its not featherweight, but the weight sure isn't slowing it down.

[livesadventure]

60 miles and 9000 feet of slay today.


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[adamhell]

so tight

[skiezo]

I have a 2021 vault with GRX 2x and some carbon shoes and I really love the way it rides. Running a 38f and 40r. Very stable and controlled ride. Good on double track and some mild single track. Really a under rated bike.

[jpritchet74]

I absolutely love those wine colored framesets.

The complete build looks great!

[livesadventure]

Originally Posted by skiezo

I have a 2021 vault with GRX 2x and some carbon shoes and I really love the way it rides. Running a 38f and 40r. Very stable and controlled ride. Good on double track and some mild single track. Really a under rated bike.

Nice ! It really handles everything well so far, including some pretty spicy single track!


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[livesadventure]

Originally Posted by jpritchet74

I absolutely love those wine colored framesets.

The complete build looks great!

I’m soon to have only wine colored bikes

The color is stunning for a stock option, need to take some proper photos


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[jonnyBgood]

Originally Posted by livesadventure

I picked up this bike from Studio Velo in the sad wake of their closing. After riding a friend's Open UP on a long ride I was ready for a new carbon gravel bike but wanted something a bit less common than an open or a Crux. A few friends race for Pivot and love their Vaults, so I jumped on the deal. The size medium isn't perfect, especially bc it is built with huge bars. I've realized I severely dislike flared bars on gravel bikes, so I'll likely replace the bars with Enve Compact or AR bars as I refine the fit.



The ride is spectacular. The bike is incredibly fast and agile, without riding harshly. It took a few rides to get used to tight switchbacks off of a mountain bike, but I've been loving everything from fast fire roads to techy trails on this.



Pretty much a stock Force AXS mullet build with the following changes:

Bars: Easton EC70ax 44cm --> ???

Saddle: WTB stock garbage --> Specialized Power Expert 143

Tires: Pirelli Cinturo to --> Ultradynamico Cava Rose JFF

Chainring: 36T with spider to 44T direct mount



Once I dial in cockpit I'll weigh it. Its not featherweight, but the weight sure isn't slowing it down.

How are those Ultra Dynamico tires? They have sparked my interest but haven't heard much from anyone who has actually ridden them

[livesadventure]

Originally Posted by jonnyBgood

How are those Ultra Dynamico tires? They have sparked my interest but haven't heard much from anyone who has actually ridden them

I really like the way they ride. The front mounted very easily, the rear under some duress. I have ten miles to and from the dirt from my house. These roll great on pavement but have shown to have some great bite on dryer and loose trails. Haven’t ridden much off road since it’s been raining here so no word on mud performance.


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[Eli Bingham]

Originally Posted by livesadventure

I really like the way they ride. The front mounted very easily, the rear under some duress. I have ten miles to and from the dirt from my house. These roll great on pavement but have shown to have some great bite on dryer and loose trails. Haven’t ridden much off road since it’s been raining here so no word on mud performance.


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You should totally do a mud performance test, the Marin Headlands and Tam fire roads are g2g on dry days (like yesterday) if you don't mind a bike wash afterwards. Marin Headlands especially drains very fast - the cursed sandy soil in the headlands shines in weather like this. Just stay off Coastview and the like.

[livesadventure]

Originally Posted by Eli Bingham

You should totally do a mud performance test, the Marin Headlands and Tam fire roads are g2g on dry days (like yesterday) if you don't mind a bike wash afterwards. Marin Headlands especially drains very fast - the cursed sandy soil in the headlands shines in weather like this. Just stay off Coastview and the like.

I really wanted to, but I’m also glad I didn’t. Wound up snagging a pair of G27s and mounting some 2.1” tires on them. The bike ripped through mud and wet rocks with such confidence.



I think I’ll keep the 700c set for longer mixed terrain days and use the 650b for fun days and sutro.

Funnily enough, even though Pivot markets the Vault as interchangeable between 700c and 650b, I couldn’t find a single example of one running 650b. What’s a shame because the bike really came to life with this setup. Running pressure in the high 20s, it was still really springy, but descended with so much more confidence


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[livesadventure]

Big day on the big tires!


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