[Scimitar]

Got my new Mach 4 a couple of weeks ago. Don't have a lot of rides on it yet (that will change soon). So far it feels really great. I'm coming off an aluminum hardtail that I enjoyed climbing on and wanted to get a bike that would still climb efficiently as well as give me a bit of squish. The Mach 4 is exactly what I was looking for. Sprints great, pedals up hills almost exactly like the hardtail (actually feels like it offers more traction since it seems to hug the ground better), and turns on a dime.

Size: Small
Weight: 25.11 lbs (hanging scale) - Feels way less than 25. The wheelset really helps this bike accelerate out of corners and up hills. I figured it would weigh a bit less but it feels really good at this weight so I can't complain. I'll probably throw on some more weight weenie stuff on it down the road.

I've changed the set up a little bit from the stock XT build. The stock 100mm stem was a bit long so I'm looking to get a 70-80mm Syntace to replace it. Right now I have a Thomson 50mm on there but it's a bit too short. I swapped out the seatpost and saddle for something a bit lighter (100g difference) and more comfortable and added some little bling parts to play up the red.

I ditched the XT brakes for Avid's Elixirs because I like their power and levers. The power however is a bit lacking now that I've added some Starlite discs (78g). They're light but don't offer near the brute stopping power of the G3's (105g) from Avid. Swapped out the Fox fork which may surprise a few people but I wanted to try out Manitou's Absolute R7 to see how it feels for a while. Pretty impressed so far. It has an adjustable platform which is nice to dial in for the trail I'm riding (rocky, tame, mixed). I ride my XC bike on the road pretty often too so I can lock the fork out and flip on the Pro pedal and really firm everything up easily.

The wheelset was swapped to something a bit lighter as well. I replaced the stock Nevegals for Racing Ralphs because I've had really good success with them in the past and they're light. The Black Flag C wheelset wasn't exactly as light as the claimed 1420g weight but still came in at 1468 before rim tape. The ceramic bearings should hold up nicely and Sun Ringle hand builds these wheelsets.

Overall I'm super happy with my purchase. If you ever need help with a Pivot purchase or parts for your bike Vic Sandrin ([email protected]) and Chad at RedBarnBikes (redbarnbicycles.com) are really knowledgeable guys that can help you out. I definitely need to do some more riding on it to get a full blown opinion on it but as it stands I'm glad it's in my stable.

 

[dog]

nice! i like the little bits of red bling here and there... too bad it's gonna get all dirty:thumbsup:

 

[geogecko]

While it may not be a problem, it looks like you could have a little tiny bit of extra cable housing in the middle section on the rear derailleur. Mine is short too, but sitting there, I do have a little hump...may not be a problem for you.

I have had excellent luck with Purely Custom for extra bling. I claim to my friends that yeah, it adds weight, but it makes me go faster...

Those jockey wheels are pretty trick, who makes them?

 

[Scimitar]

While it may not be a problem, it looks like you could have a little tiny bit of extra cable housing in the middle section on the rear derailleur. Mine is short too, but sitting there, I do have a little hump...may not be a problem for you.

I have had excellent luck with Purely Custom for extra bling. I claim to my friends that yeah, it adds weight, but it makes me go faster...

Those jockey wheels are pretty trick, who makes them?

The bling will get dirty but that's ok. Part of the game.

The middle section of the rear derailleur was too tight. I had been parking lot / stand testing the drive train and it seemed to be ok. On the trail it had issues though with wanting to hop gears. I added some extra housing there and it cleared it up.

Purely custom does have some decent stuff for accents. The pulleys and bolts came from Toronto Cycles - http://www.torontocycles.com/. They only dropped 4g total off the old ones but I like the look.

 

[MTBNate]

wow! Nicely done!

 

[flargle]

You run riser bars the way I do, tilted back so you get a nice comfy wrist angle. This build is inspiring.