Pivot Mach 4 - Review -Does it measure up?

January 31st, 2012 4:19pm

I am pretty lucky. I get to ride bikes more than most people. That is a benefit of being unemployable. While I forego the big paycheck and thumb on top of my head, I do get to sharpen my skills and pencil by riding a variety of bikes and writing about them. One of my all-time favorite bikes was a Titus Racer-X. So when Chris Cocalis began Pivot, I was more than excited to ride one. Could they design a bike as good or better than my beloved Titus? If he could, I wanted one.

Initial Impression: My first look at the bike came at Interbike 07. Pivot offers only three color options and two finishes. Anodized cobalt blue, anodized jet black, or the white & black paint scheme. Good colors for sure nothing extra special. I was lucky, I personally liked the stealth appearance of the anodized jet black.

Purpose: The Mach 4 is a general purpose cross country bike designed for cross country riding in all conditions. Don't let the moniker of general purpose scare you. This bike is hard to pigeon hole. It does cross country very well and handles the descent with more than enough confidence. If this rear end design is good enough for Down Hill World Champion Sam Hill, then I am pretty sure it can handle anything most of us mortals can through at.

Handling: To design a bike that handles, I don't think there is a better builder than Cocalis. He has the knowledge, experience and accolades that proves he knows what he is doing. Geometry must be his middle name because the Mach 4 is one of the easiest handling bike on the planet. Unlike steeper rigs that have hyper quick turning and a tendancy to push if your weight is not distributed just right, the Mach 4 is so nuetral that all levels of riders can sit back, rail corners and be in control. Again, thanks to the perfect geometry, a 71 degree headtube angle and one of the stiffest rear triangle/linkage set ups on the market.

Climbing:For a four inch travel bike, the bike is not the lightest bike in the segment. The extra weight is can be felt in the sturdy linkage of the bike. But like I said, this bike is hard to pigeon hole. At almost 27lbs with a full Shimano XT build, it is not a purpose built cross country race rig although I have seen this bike in the 22-23lb range. The couple extra pounds on my bike shows up in the climbing. It's not that it climbs poorly either, just compared to the rest of the bikes characteristics it's not as good. The bike does not squat at all when you stand and sprint thanks to the DW link rear suspension but for some reason it feels sluggish on the climb. I experimented with the Fox RP23 in both open and Pro pedal modes trying to fine tune the bike for climbing. Descending:What ever the bike gives up in climbing, it more than makes up for in descending. Right out of the box this bike feels like a full 5" travel bike. Just set air pressure and the sag on both ends and the balance is perfect. The suspension will swallow anything in its path and track straight while doing it. I raced this bike hours after building it and the way it tracked over hard breaking bumps on a rutted Fontana track was inspiring.

Overall Value: The Mach 4 sports a price tag above the $4000 range depending on the build kit. From a riders perspective, this bike does it all. It does everything except climbing exceptionally well. Finding a bike with all around excellent manners that can still be raced is tough to beat. So my verdict is in. The Mach 4 is a BUY.

You can see the Pivot at the Dirt Demo where it was introduced by the creator Chris Cocalis in this video.

See the Pivot Mach 4 in action in this Video...