Lighter than Nino Schurter's Scott Spark RC 900 SL
The new Pivot Mach 4 SL is a no-compromise XC race bike that is lighter than Nino Schurter’s Scott Spark RC 900 SL… with an eye-watering price tag.
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Pivot Mach 4 SL need to know
- XC 29in wheel race bike weighing 300g less than Pivot Mach 429
- DW-Link suspension dishes out 100mm travel
- Full carbon fibre frame with alloy rocker link
- Fox Live Valve build options
- Eye-watering £11,800 price tag for the top end bike
The new Mach 4 SL is the lightest and fastest 100mm travel XC bike the US brand has ever made, Pivot says. They’ve shaved 300g off the old 429 SL making the XTR World Cup Race build a scant 20.9lb (9.4kg) in size small, it’s claimed.
That makes it lighter than Scott’s Spark RC 900 SL — Nino Schurter’s bike — that clocks in at 1,799g for frame and shock, Scott reckons. The Mach 4 SL is just 1,930g with its DPS shock.
It’s not all about weight saving either, Pivot has stuck with its famous DW-Link suspension design but they’ve flipped up the shock position so it’s vertical, something we’ve not seen for years from Pivot.
Why? Well, it means the smallest size, XS, can now come with 29in wheels rather than 27.5in. Apparently it’s all about leverage ratios and clearance. The vertical shock also makes space for a water bottle — the lowest standover height in the market still fitting a water bottle, Pivot says.
Most importantly though, they’re space for the Fox Live Valve gizmo you can see dangling off the top tube in the pictures. Live Valve acts as an automatic pedal platform that firms up your suspension front and rear when you’re pedalling, and opens it up when you need the travel. It’s quick too, it opens and closes in just 3 milliseconds – 100 times faster than the blink of an eye.
OK, elephant in the room time, the top end Mach 4 SL is nearly £11,700 with XX1 drivetrain, SRAM AXS, Fox Live Valve and carbon wheels. That’s thousands more than the competition.
“We know we’re more expensive, but this really is the absolute top end in terms of tech and performance,” said Volker Knaus from Pivot. “We want to show what is possible at a high end brand.”
In short, they reckon their bike pedals better and more efficiently than the rest, and descends faster with the DW-Link suspension, and carries a little something extra as a Gucci high-end brand.
The details
The Pivot Mach 4 SL has 100mm travel, and either 100 or 120mm up front, dependant on the bike you go for. The frames have internal cable routing, including for a dropper post.
There are three builds on offer, from top end Pro down through Race to Team at the bottom, and you can choose between SRAM or Shimano drivetrains on each build level. Only the top end Pro level builds come with Live Valve options.
On top of that there’s a WC build with XTR drivetrain and a fixed post, and also a frame and shock options. There are five sizes from XS to XL. The bearings are guaranteed for a year and the frame for 10 years. Finally, the tyre clearance is impressive — you can squeeze 2.5in Maxxis Minion DHFs in there if you really want to.