[farmertan]

I want to bump up the travel a bit on my Mach 5. I'm trying to decide between the Talas 150 and the Float 150 (both with the FIT damper). The weight difference, according to Fox, is only .09 lbs. Pivot told me that the Mach 5 doesn't ride well with less than 140mm up front, so I'd mainly use the Talas travel adjustment for long climbs.

My main concern with the Talas is that it wouldn't perform as well as the Float. I've heard that they have more seals and therefore are less plush. Maybe that was with the older ones?

Any feedback would be appreciated!

 

[Mike Aswell]

I see a lot of different opinions on TALAS forks.

I can tell you this, I have a Mach 5 with the old TALAS 140 fork (100-120-140) and I never have it set on anything other than 140. It was the fork I had when I bought my Mach 5 frame which is why I used it. If I was buying a new fork for my Mach 5 today I wouldn't go TALAS.

That's my opinion. I don't find 140 to be problematic at all when climbing.

 

[Evil Patrick]

IMO, air sprung forks just don't perform as well as coil sprung forks. I had a TALAS 36 and
I didn't like it. It just couldn't be tuned to take the "jitter" out of the trail like a coil spring.

Now, that being said, if your riding is primarily on trails where jitter isn't an issue, then
maybe a TALAS will be fine for you.

I put a 36 Van on my old Mach 5 and it worked quite well with that bike.

 

[onegymrat]

I completely agree with Mike. I have an '09 Talas 140 as well and never use the other travel lengths. I got this previously for my Intense 5.5 and used the 120 quite a bit. With my Mach 5, I never seem to need to change it and seems smoother in the 140.

If I could do it over, I would have purchased the Float.

 

[TIMBERRR]

Float!!!

 

[gticlay]

Float 36 on a Mach 5.

 

[manitou2200]

Float is the way.I have a Pushed Factory Float 140 RLC and it's perfect! I also have a Lyric SA 170, I9 Enduros and I am amazed at what I can climb up with that build on my Mach 5.

 

[farmertan]

First ride with the Talas 150

I ended up getting the Talas 150. First, I have to say that the Mach 5 rides GREAT with a 150mm fork. I wouldn't be surpised if Pivot starts spec-ing the Mach 5 with a 150mm in the future. The bike feels very stable at high speeds and drops with no negative handling effects on flat trails. Although I haven't ridden long climbs yet, I did try dialing the fork down on shorter, steep climbs. The bike feels very precise when set at 110mm or 130mm on climbs. Easier to keep under control than with the 150mm.

At 130mm on flat trails the bike handles very well. It feels slightly quicker than with the Float 140 without feeling twitchy. I don't think I'll use the 110mm setting except on long, steep climbs. I think I'll use the 150mm setting most of the time and dial the fork down for long climbs or on tight, flatter trails when riding with guys on 4" race bikes.

FYI I have my Float 140 posted in the classified section under Suspension, Front Forks, if anyone is interested.

 

[ppcontrol]

Thank you Farmertan,
I was investigating which is better for the mach5, and I usually prefer travel adjust (lowering) for climbing. Most of the riders here prefer to stay at 140mm at all time, so you are (I think) the first to voice out the advantage of lowering the fork.
I will pick the revelation U-turn, any comment?

 

[crank1979]

I'm running the Float 150 on my Mach 5. It' a great fork although sometimes i wish it was a bit lower on steep pinch climbs. I know i can fix this with better technique as well and i'm working on this because i don't want to fiddle with a travel adjustment. But it's really only those surprisingly little pinches when i wish the front was a little lower.

 

[farmertan]

I will pick the revelation U-turn, any comment?

I've never ridden a Revelation so I can't really give accurate input. If it's as smooth as a Fox and can be adjusted as easily as a Talas, then I'd say go for it. The new Talas is VERY easy to adjust on the fly, with the knob being larger and the adjustments being made in 20mm increments. Curiously, the weight of my Mach 5 didn't change when I replaced the Float 140 with the Talas 150.

 

[LightMiner]

I do a lot of climbing, hard technical *very* steep climbs and there is no way I could do them at 150. I'm either a bad rider, or I do very hard technical steep climbs . I honestly don't know, and am going to find some people from the lbs that ride 160 front ends and take them on some of the trails I do and see if they can keep the front tire on the ground. From bikes I rented I just couldn't keep the tire on the ground, let alone steer properly. And, yes, my chin was basically on the headset, I was forward on the seat, etc.

So I'm a Talas guy, and regularly go down to the two other levels. Also, if the singletrack I'm doing is flowy and not rocky, its great to get the steeper head angle and 'fly like its 1995'. Gives more of a Bontrager feel vs modern downhill bike feel. Its not that one is better than another at all times - the Talas allows you to choose what you want! Perfect for me.

That said, the Pivot does suffer, as far as I can tell, from the 'increased resistance with lowered fork' issue that MBA is trying to figure out. People aren't quite sure what the deal is, but basically, when you lower the fork, there is some sort of increased resistance to forward movement. There is some good info in the current MBA in the 'Trails' section on it, there have been 5 or so letters written in about it over the last 6 months or so.

 

[LightMiner]

farmertan - yeah - you said it on your post above - at 130 it feels quicker, I think 'tighter' as well, if you're not doing serious downhill then 130 feels awesome, I like the tighter feel. That is exactly it. Add a joplin 4", and you can have a bike that totally transforms what kind of bike it is in 5 seconds. I love the combination of Joplin and Talas. One minute I'm riding stretched out, high as a road bike maybe with 130 in front and cranking up a long steep fireroad, then drop the seat an inch for some singletrack downhill, then drop the seat all the way and raise the fork to the top for drops and more serious downhill, etc. Its great.

 

[bauhaus]

I just switched from a Talas 140 RLC to a Revelation 150 Team Air U-Turn. I wanted the extra 10 mm of travel and I never really was able to get all of the travel out of my Talas.

I also have a hard time keeping my front wheel from wandering on real steep climbs, no matter how much I scoot up on the seat. I put the Revelation down to 120 or 130 on steep climbs, keep it at 140 for most stuff and raise it to 150 for the rougher downhill runs. This travel adjust along with my adjustable seatpost lets me dial in the bike for lots of different terrain. I use it for anything from 24 Hour Endurance races to Big Bear lift runs.

Overall, I like my Revelation much more than my Talas, but to be fair, my Talas was a 2007 with a 9 mm QR. My Revelation is a 2010 with a 20 mm Maxle Light. The Revelation seems much more "plush" to me and I am able to get the full 150 mm of travel out of it.

 

[manitou2200]

Sorry Guys,
I still say 140 Float RLC is the best all around fork for the Mach 5, set your sag correctly and it will do it all. This is not a race bike, yes maybe and an endurance race bike but really a great trail bike and a jack of all bikes. I am not into travel adjust forks at all, it's all just more stuff to go wrong and break. If I can climb Western Zipity up to Zipty Do Da and all the Zipity climbs (Fuita, Book Cliffs area) with the 140 Float then it works for me. I also put a Lyric Solo Air on this bike which slacks it out to 67.5 deg head angle and it climbs very well with that fork on it. If you want to ride a bike with a 70 deg or steeper HA then buy the Mach 4.
That's my preference and my .02

 

[bauhaus]

I also put a Lyric Solo Air on this bike which slacks it out to 67.5 deg head angle and it climbs very well with that fork on it. If you want to ride a bike with a 70 deg or steeper HA then buy the Mach 4.

By the same logic - if you want to ride a bike with a 67.5 or slacker HA then buy a Firebird.

I think the ability of the Mach 5 being able to adapt to different riders and terrains is one of its key strengths. I wanted only one bike in my stable and I feel that the Mach 5 (along with the Mojo SL) allows me to run the largest varieties of trails out there. It is superb at being a great all-around trail bike and can easily be modded to excel at 24 hour races as well as the rocky stuff at Big Bear.

When I originally saw pictures of your bike with the Lyrik, I was stoked that it could be set up as such. I think that the original Mach 5s were spec'ed with TALAS forks, so the bike was obviously engineered around the possiblity that the bike would be run with the fork lower than 140 mm.

I love its versatility.

 

[manitou2200]

By the same logic - if you want to ride a bike with a 67.5 or slacker HA then buy a Firebird.

bauhaus,
Touche! and to each his own! I guess that is why we all ride the Mach 5. Just in general terms with mountain bikes I think it's easier to change bike's geometry and make a bike a little slacker as opposed to a little steeper. I don't mean you can't make it steeper easily, you can but it won't be a lighter faster bike that drops down into the shorter travel category below it's intended use. On the other hand making it slacker as long as it won't void the warranty adds a ton to it's versatility and blurs the lines between bike categories. I am just not a fan of travels adjust forks period.

I hopefully will ride a Firebird one day. I have an Iron Horse 7point with a super nice build and quite light for what it is at around 36 lbs. I am going to part it out an sell off the parts i don't want and maybe one day buy a Firebird. I have been riding DW link bikes for a while and love the way the handle and climb. For now I will use my Mach 5 as a trail bike and as an all mountain bike just swapping out forks and wheels. Love it!

 

[bauhaus]

Yeah, it seems like the adjustable fork is really a love/hate thing. If you do not need it, no need to get it - it is just one more thng that can go wrong with a fork. Unfortunatley, with my climbing technique, my front end goes all over the place if I do not lower the front.

The 7point is a fun bike. Have a couple of buds who ride them.

 

[Aging Wannabee]

I had all kinds of OTB trouble with my stock '09 Mach5 with Fox (can't remember what Pivot shipped, I think float 140) . It would ride great until some mysterious thing happened and I found myself going over. I had it adjusted for my weight and even had the lbs check those settings. It's like the rebound wasn't working at slow speeds or the head angle allowed the fork to twist too easily or something. This was happening going over 5" logs and short, steep rolls off boulders. Stuff I'd done a million times on other bikes.

I finally put the Pike from my old bike on it. I'm using the same hub, just with 20mm core instead of 15mm adaptor. I haven't ridden it enough yet to know if it's the fork or the difference in the frame. I'm hoping it's the fork.

I know, a little bit of a thread poach, but it's my way of saying "neither. go with Rock Shox".After that experience last season I'm not a fan of the fox.