Firmly focused on light weight and responsiveness under power, the team at Pivot is touting the whippet as a World Cup bike that can punch above its weight class. The frames have shaved about 300-400 grams from the previous version, with revised geometry to better handle modern tracks.
• Intended use: XC
• Carbon frame
• Travel: 93 or 103mm (World Cup builds) / 106 or 115mm on all other builds
• 100mm or 120mm fork
• 66.7° head angle (120mm fork)
• Small frame with rear shock (DPS): 1930 grams (4.25lbs)
• Complete bike weight under 23lbs (Size small, XX World Cup build)
• Price: $6,199 – $10,999 USD
• www.pivotcycles.com
The Mach 4SL comes in a 100 or 120mm fork spec, with fairly significant geometry differences between the two. The head angle goes from 66.7° to 68° when switching from 120 to 100, with an accompanying increase in reach of about 13mm. Seat tube angles are quite slack compared to other current options, sitting at 76° on the 100mm and 74.7° on the 120mm. Chainstays are the same length regardless of frame size, measuring at 432mm. Stack heights grow proportionally with each frame size, which is nice to see as you’ll be able to make use of the full advertised reach.
The Mach 4SL continues Pivot’s use of the DW-link suspension design, which should continue to offer an active yet efficient ride characteristic. Even at shorter travel numbers, dual link designs can provide pretty solid grip to the rear wheel. Speaking of travel, the rear-wheel travel of the Mach 4SL can be adjusted by a few millimeters with a flip chip on the rocker link. This gives you the choice of 95mm or 103mm on the World Cup builds, and 106mm or 115mm on all other builds.
There are plenty of spec options to choose from, with prices ranging from $6,199 to $11,599 USD. There are two frame colors to choose from: Seafoam Green or Ice Blue.
There are some nice details on the Mach 4SL frame, including a 3-boss mount underneath the top tube, as well as a cleanly tucked away multitool under the bottom bracket. Probably best not to use that as a bash guard, but luckily that should be easy enough if you’re sticking to XC terrain. All sizes will fit a large water bottle inside the front triangle, and there’s enough room on the medium to XL sizes to carry two water bottles.
We’ll be testing the Mach 4SL on some long and speedy pedals over the course of this summer, so stay tuned to see how it stacks up against the competition. To see how the team felt about the past version of the speedy Pivot, you can head here.
For purchasing options and more information on the Pivot Mach 4SL, head over to Pivot’s website.