Last weekend I was fortunate to be part of a great cause. The bonus, I was given the opportunity to test ride a few sick bikes from Pivot. JT’s Bicycles in Las Vegas held its 3rd annual Demo day in conjunction with ShadeTree womens and children shelter charity event. At the end of the day, conveniently just as the rain hit, was the raffle where TONS of goodies were handed out and even two bikes from Giant Bicycles. The demo bikes were supplied from Pivot, BH, Giant and BMC. Although I wanted to ride them all, I was only able to take a few rides on the loop that last about 45 min each going from the event back to the event with a stop here and there to over look the bikes and gawk at the fine machine that just got you either up that switchback infested climb or down that crazy downhill section.

The Shade Tree Shelter

The Shade Tree Shelter is an organization for abused women and children and now pets to take safe haven and regroup their lives. In todays world of economic stress, and the way todays society functions, more and more women and children find themselves in need of assistance. From domestic crimes and abuse the cases are on the rise. Here is a statement from Shade Tree—

The Shade Tree’s Mission…

To provide safe shelter to homeless and abused women and children in crisis and to offer life-changing services promoting stability, dignity, and self-reliance.

The Shade Tree Vision…

Self-reliance for every woman and child.

At The Shade Tree, we believe…

That no one should ever have to endure a state of homelessness, existing in fear for personal safety
and without the means to meet even the most
basic of human needs – food and shelter.

That every human being, regardless of social status, has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.

That all homeless children are victims because they lack choice and mobility.

That homelessness is a community problem that impacts everyone. That everyone can be a part of the solution.

If you ever have a chance to attend an event like this please do and bring as many donations as you can. Sometimes the gift of giving pays off in huge dividends later.

If you would like to know more about ShadeTree or would like to donate please visit their website ShadeTree Shelter

JT’s DEMO bikes…

Tied in with the Shade Tree charity event were Pivot bikes and Giant bikes with full fleets of bikes to choose from to demo out on the nearby trail. My bikes of choice were the Pivot Phoenix DH bike and Mach 5.7 AM/Trail bike and a BH Prisma road bike. Since this was my first time to JT’s and my fist time on this trail, I was a bit surprised. JT’s Bicycles is a nice shop with lots to choose from and VERY hospitable. The trail was located on the hills just behind the nearby grocery store and was a good 30+ min ride and then a moderate uphill ride back to the shop on the pavement. This is a definite come back trail with good switchbacks and nicely groomed, plenty of uphill and downhill sections to test most bikes on…..a lot of work went into this trail. I unfortunately grabbed the wrong memory card so no video from my GoPro camera….oops. With the time available during the event and the weather I only was able to throw a leg over these 3 bikes on these moderate length rides. All in all about 3 hours of riding total with tooling around in the parking lot too. Since these are not full reviews I will just give my riding impressions.

Pivot Phoenix DH

Ok lets start off with the trail….this was my first time here and I followed a guy that was even more lost than I was. SOOO as a result I ended up starting on what I thought was a trail and finished off by just improvising down the mountain side as the trail disappeared. That said the Phoenix handled awesome. One thing I just couldn’t get over was how light it felt as you pedaled. It didn’t feel like the 38lb bike that it was, more like a 30lb bike. Not that this is a bike you would tackle any long climbs in. But the usual “heft” of most DH bikes just wasn’t there on this one. Since most of my ride was impromptu, the Phoenix did well, motoring over boulders and maneuvering around nasty thorn laden bushes. Equipped with Shimano Saint group and a Fox 40 to point you in the right direction, it was a joy to ride.

Pivot Mach 5.7

AHHH the Mach 5.7 from Pivot. I am going to start off by saying I am NOT a climber. AT ALL. SO the young lady at the Pivot camp helped me dial in the settings on the 5.7 and sent me on my way. This time I followed a group of guys that knew where they were going so I ended up on the correct trail. And these guys all looked like they rode this several times, so I was worried I was gonna be left in the dust…..HAHA not so. In fact just the opposite. They on their Giant demo bikes and me on the DW link Pivot, I left them in the dust. The climb isn’t terribly long maybe a few hundred yards with several switchbacks. However for me it was like several hundred yards. Normally I would struggle with this type of climb but once settled into the right position I motored up the hill with such ease I thought I had someone elses legs attached to my body. I only had one spot where I set a foot down due to my misjudging a steep uphill switchback. Rider error not the bike. Throughout the remainder of the ride I only got off the bike to look it over and wish I could take it home. Once pointed downhill this thing ripped as a light AM/trail bike. The switchbacks on the downhill section I would normally go much slower than I did on this bike. Lean the bike over and turn your hips out and assume the attack position. This bike was a true joy to ride. XT components and a FOX Float kept the bike on the trail no matter what direction you were headed in.

BH Prisma

Ok so this was my first road ride in many many years. This was also my first time on a Carbon road bike. After riding the Prisma I don’t think I want to ride anything that isn’t carbon. For a road bike this thing is stiff and gets up and goes yet still offers an acceptable amount of give to make the ride not so harsh. The Prisma is a mid level bike, mine equipped with Shimano 105 group. As a mentioned earlier I am not a climber and after riding the other two bikes I was a bit tired on this one. However it went well overall and after hitting the afterburners going down the hill I had to ride back up the hill. Its time to get a road bike of my own now. I had fun on this bike.

Bike shops often hold demo days with bike brands. Visit your local shop and keep an eye out for one. It is a great way to really test a bike that you may be interested in and really get to RIDE it. As most bike shops only let you toy around in the parking lot, these big companies bring the whole fleet with them for you to really put in the dirt or the road. And if you run into a Demo day that is tied into a charity like this one again don’t forget to bring donations. You can usually find out what they need by calling the charity or the bike shop. Have fun and ride hard!