About Me: Living and riding Missouri grants me mixed bag of terrain ranging from flowy hardpack, baby head laced flint rock single track, and full on technical rock ledge goodness. We have climbs, but few more than 200 foot of elevation gain. I've been riding for 20+ years, racing for the last 10. I was looking for a do it all bike, that blurs the lines between racer, and all day trail killer. My focus has moved toward endurance races over the past few years, and last year did some 50-100 mile, and 6 and 12 hour races in MO, AR, and CO. But enough about me what about the bike.
Bike setup: My race team is sponsored by SRAM, in as such, I have a fair bit of the Big S stuff installed. XO drivetrain (XT front no choice there), Avid Ultimate Carbon brakes, RS Sid Race fork, etc. I did opt for the FSA 2x9 though instead of the Truvative cranks. Then caped it off with Mavic SLR's and Tompson seat post and stem. Nothing heavy, nothing extra light. Think 4-5 year durability here. Entire package for a large frame is a real world 24.8 pounds with pedals. Personally, I'd rather have a reliable setup, with a frame I don't have to worry about pushing to the limits, than to save 2 pounds.
Riding: The magazine reviews are pretty accurate. The DW-Link if set up with 30% sag needs no Pro-Pedal, unless your flailing away with a horrible choppy form on a steep climb. You will notice a slight bit of bob on all out sprints, but not if seated. It will move out from a dead stop quickly, but not carbon hardtail quick. It really shines once you are up to speed though. The DW-Link smooth's out the trail chatter and with 28 psi in the tires makes the bike feel like its floating along.
The bike is very solid and quiet. The rear end is very stiff and fills you with confidence on hairy downhills. It just oooozzzzes quality when in the drivers seat.
Steering is quick but stable at speed and not twitchy. It handles drops up to a couple feet without issue, but this is not an all mountain bike, and should be treated as such. The cockpit is a little more upright than the full on race machine of today, but is very balanced, and will keep your back happy on all day events.
If you're looking for the fastest bike on the planet for sub 2 hour races, then keep looking, that's what carbon hartails and bikes like the Specialized Epic are for. If your trails are a little rougher, you race endurance class, enjoy going long AND you want to do it as fast as possible, THIS IS YOUR BIKE. There are faster bikes for closed course XC events where every watt must be transferred to the ground regardless of the effect on the rider, but very few if any capable of efficiently delivering a rider over a long course faster.
Little issues/complaints: I have the black ano, which shows dirt even after a through washing. Plan on at least a bottle of Pedros Bike Lust a year to get it looking like new. This bike is a bear to clean while we are at it. A problem with all dual link bikes I assume. Price to pay for a schweet suspension. Cable routing around the shock gets a little busy, and noisy if you don't zip tie em down.
Summary: The great thing about mountain biking is how everyone has their idea of how a bike should ride. It keeps campfire chat interesting. On a recent group ride I saw Ti, plastic, steel and Al. Hardtail, 4" and softtail. 29 and 26 inch wheels. We all traveled the same speed. Personally I want a bike that is as efficient as possible that rails at speed, is steady on descents, and buffs out embedded trail chatter, all in a reliable all day package. I think the Mach 4 delivers. It was good enough to carry me to a sub 9 hour Leadville Trail 100, and podiums at local XC, 6 hour solo and 12 hour team events. Just what I was looking for.
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Bike setup: My race team is sponsored by SRAM, in as such, I have a fair bit of the Big S stuff installed. XO drivetrain (XT front no choice there), Avid Ultimate Carbon brakes, RS Sid Race fork, etc. I did opt for the FSA 2x9 though instead of the Truvative cranks. Then caped it off with Mavic SLR's and Tompson seat post and stem. Nothing heavy, nothing extra light. Think 4-5 year durability here. Entire package for a large frame is a real world 24.8 pounds with pedals. Personally, I'd rather have a reliable setup, with a frame I don't have to worry about pushing to the limits, than to save 2 pounds.
Riding: The magazine reviews are pretty accurate. The DW-Link if set up with 30% sag needs no Pro-Pedal, unless your flailing away with a horrible choppy form on a steep climb. You will notice a slight bit of bob on all out sprints, but not if seated. It will move out from a dead stop quickly, but not carbon hardtail quick. It really shines once you are up to speed though. The DW-Link smooth's out the trail chatter and with 28 psi in the tires makes the bike feel like its floating along.
The bike is very solid and quiet. The rear end is very stiff and fills you with confidence on hairy downhills. It just oooozzzzes quality when in the drivers seat.
Steering is quick but stable at speed and not twitchy. It handles drops up to a couple feet without issue, but this is not an all mountain bike, and should be treated as such. The cockpit is a little more upright than the full on race machine of today, but is very balanced, and will keep your back happy on all day events.
If you're looking for the fastest bike on the planet for sub 2 hour races, then keep looking, that's what carbon hartails and bikes like the Specialized Epic are for. If your trails are a little rougher, you race endurance class, enjoy going long AND you want to do it as fast as possible, THIS IS YOUR BIKE. There are faster bikes for closed course XC events where every watt must be transferred to the ground regardless of the effect on the rider, but very few if any capable of efficiently delivering a rider over a long course faster.
Little issues/complaints: I have the black ano, which shows dirt even after a through washing. Plan on at least a bottle of Pedros Bike Lust a year to get it looking like new. This bike is a bear to clean while we are at it. A problem with all dual link bikes I assume. Price to pay for a schweet suspension. Cable routing around the shock gets a little busy, and noisy if you don't zip tie em down.
Summary: The great thing about mountain biking is how everyone has their idea of how a bike should ride. It keeps campfire chat interesting. On a recent group ride I saw Ti, plastic, steel and Al. Hardtail, 4" and softtail. 29 and 26 inch wheels. We all traveled the same speed. Personally I want a bike that is as efficient as possible that rails at speed, is steady on descents, and buffs out embedded trail chatter, all in a reliable all day package. I think the Mach 4 delivers. It was good enough to carry me to a sub 9 hour Leadville Trail 100, and podiums at local XC, 6 hour solo and 12 hour team events. Just what I was looking for.
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