Pivot has retained the agile 27.5” wheel standard for its 2021 Mach 6, but nearly everything else has been updated.

The American brand believes that its market for long-travel 27.5” dual-suspension bikes remains robust, even as most enduro bikes are now 29ers.

Read more: Best long-travel enduro mountain bikes

This new Mach 6 is aimed at riders to refer the agility of smaller wheels, steering within a 160mm fork.

Proven DW linkage with a new shock mount

Dedicated flowers of all things Pivot will immediately notice that although the Mach 6 retains its independent front and rear triangles, the shock position is notably different. The compact rocker now connects to a trunnion mount, driving a vertical coil shock.

With 158mm of Dave Weagle engineered rear wheel travel, the Mach 6 is a bike for taming steep and technical terrain. As such, Pivot’s frame designers have given it a 65.6° head angle and generous 485mm of reach.

Adjust the flip-chip and this new Pivot slackens to 65°, whilst the reach trims by 5mm.

The new suspension linkage configuration allows for a lower overall centre of gravity on the new Mach 6, whilst reducing standover height. It also makes for a roomier front triangle, allowing both a large water bottle and additional stowage space under the top tube for tools or CO2 reinflation canisters.

Pivot has also included its Tool Dock system, which secures a small stowage compartment under the Mach 6’s bottom bracket.

Pivot is marketing the new Mach 6 in a broad spread of 14 build options, starting at £6000 and peaking at £12 900, with two colour options: mint and stealth black.

The Race specification builds combine Marzocchi Bomber coil shocks with Z1 forks, whilst Pro and Team grade March 6s, use Fox’s DHX2 coils at the rear and the latest 38 Grip 2 forks up-front. There are air shock builds available too, for those lighter riders or enduro racers who prefer Fox’s Live Valve technology.