It's pretty darn difficult to ignore the current crop of hard-hitting 29ers that have come to dominate the enduro and gravity spectrum of the market recently. Aggressive trail riders and enduro racers are finally catching up to what cross-country racers have known for years, which is that larger 29-inch wheels cover far more ground and decimate rocks and roots standing in their way, due to the larger wheels offering a superb angle of attack and faster rolling speed than their 27. 5-inch brethren. However, it's taken a bit longer for bike manufacturers to dial in the geometry numbers and maintain the high levels of stiffness you've come to associate with smaller wheeled bikes, especially if you're a demanding rider. That being said, the folks at Pivot have dialed in the Firebird Carbon 29 Race XT Complete Mountain Bike for aggressive riders that skew towards the gravity end of the riding spectrum and demand the faster rolling speed and line-obliterating force of larger 29-inch wheels, but without drastically inhibiting the bike's ability to pedal back up for another grin-inducing lap or even pedal lengthy distances across formidable alpine terrain. The Firebird 29 borrows heavily for the design and geometry queues of the 27. 5in Firebird and its Phoenix DH Carbon siblings, with long reach numbers and 45mm length stems across the board. The Firebird 29's super-short chainstays sit at 16. 96-inches, thanks to the 12 x 157mm Superboost Plus spacing allow for snappy handling, quick power transfer, and easy lifting of the front wheel up and over techy climbs, and for those blessed with the talent, manualing. Also contributing to the climbing chops are its steep seat tube angle of 74. 5 to 75-degrees (based on its adjustable flip-chip position and lower headset cup selection), which places you right on top of the pedals and prevents the front wheel from wandering on steep switchback climbs while its adjustable 65. 5 to 65-degree headtube angle lengthens the bike's whee...