Pivot's new Mach 4SL is a cross-country racing weapon
With a new frame that sheds up to 400g off the previous model
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While all eyes have been on the latest Pinarello Dogma XC, Pivot has introduced its latest cross-country contender - the Mach 4SL - which features a position-sensitive anti-squat dw-link for better responsiveness and 400g lighter frame.
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Pivot's new Mach 4SL gets a new XC-adapted travel-adjust flip-chip that allows the bike to be run with either 95mm of rear suspension travel, or 103mm on the World Cup builds, which benefits from damping supplied by a Fox Float DPS shock. The Team, Pro and Ride builds get more travel still, with either 106mm or 115mm and these bikes run a Fox Float shock.
As is the norm for Pivot, this bike gets a dw-link that offers position-sensitive anti-squat that's said to eliminate pedal bob during hard times on the pedals. We're told it provides better pedaling performance without affecting braking or the suspension feel and improves traction.
Similarly to before, this iteration of the Mach 4 rocks a vertical shock layout because it allows for a more compact frame and lower centre of gravity. But the brand reckons that it enables the design of better suspension kinematics and a lighter and stiffer frame.
The bikes offer Pivot's proprietary ride turning, offering bikes that fit riders from 4'10" up to 6'7" with sizes ranging from X-Small to X-Large. Each frame then comes with an independent strength-to-weight analysis to achieve consistent performance throughout the range. This is then helped through the use of custom-tuned carbon that scales stiffness across the sizes.
Handily, there's plenty of space for two water bottles on the medium up to extra large frames, with space for all sizes of water bottles.
There are two builds of the Mach 4SL available. The World Cup is a true XC thoroughbred, with the rear suspension figures as mentioned before, but with a Fox Factory Stepcast 32 fork with 100mm of travel. It gets a flat handlebar, a three-position lockout and the lightweight Fox Transfer SL dropper.
The Team, Pro and Ride builds get 120mm of fork travel provided by a Fox Stepcast 34. Then the Pro and Team build get a flat handlebar whilst the Ride gets a low-ride aluminium bar. The former two models benefit from a two-position suspension lockout and a Fox Factory Transfer dropper post, while the Ride comes with no lockout and a Performance level dropper.
Moving onto the geometry, the bike with a 100mm fork (the World Cup build) gets a 68-degree head tube angle, a 76-degree seat tube angle and a large frame size comes with a 475mm reach. Up the fork travel on the Team, Pro, and Ride bikes, and those figures change to a 66.7-degree head tube angle, a 74.7-degree seat tube angle, and a 462mm reach.
The Pivot Mach 4SL comes in a huge number of builds offering options of both Shimano and SRAM drivetrains with pricing starting at £4,100 for the frame only and going up to £12,000 for a World Cup build with a SRAM XX drivetrain and a 100mm fork.
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