Long Termers: Benji’s Pivot Mach 4

Review

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Pivot Mach 4
From: Upgrade Bikes
Price: £1,599 (frame only)

Marzocchi Corsa SuperLeggera.

If you read my last update, you’ll be aware that I was on the lookout for a new fork for the Pivot Mach 4. The DT fork that was on there was a nice enough fork, but it didn’t match the feel of the rear suspension. The fork felt a bit too rampy for the final 1/3 of its travel. Whereas the back end felt a bit more linear and swallowy.

So I’ve stuck a handy pair of Marzocchi Corsa SuperLeggera forks on instead. RRP £599 from Windwave.

Now, I’ve only done one (snowy) ride on them but so far, so good. Excellent in fact. They feel a much better match for the frame. The fork is 100mm travel QR fork (like the DT before it) as I don’t want to slap a 120mm bolt-thru fork in there just yet. I want to give the bike a decent go with 100mm at either end.

With the new Corsa fork the bike handles noticeably better; it’s not just that each end reacts to bumps the same, it’s just as important that each end of the bike can be “worked” by the rider with a similar effect on the bike. Basically when pumping the terrain, or popping off jumps, or cornering, the bike doesn’t require you to ride with two brains anymore (one brain for the front/arms and another brain for the rear/legs).

Both the fork and the rear feel a bit coil-like; surprisingly active and “soaky”. And neither have a spring rate that obviously changes that much throughout the compression stroke. It is possible to get both ends to bob, but not to a deleterious degree. A bit of bob is certainly price worth paying for the handling benefits elsewhere.

I couldn’t be more pleased with the result really 🙂

I’m really looking forward to seeing what the Pivot Mach 4 can do now. I feel it’s time to give it some hammering, some proper stick. The niggle has been fixed. The last piece of the (current) jigsaw has slotted into place.

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve put some non-cage clipless pedals on the bike too. I thought I’d stick them on because my winter riding boots (Shimano WM80) are so thickly soled they don’t really allow much “feel” through them and so one of the reasons for running caged clipless pedals became irrelevant.

Weight weenies! Yes I have finally bowed to pressure and have weighed the bike. How much do you reckon the bike weighs in its current guise? The closest guess to the true weight will win… er, respect.

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Orange Switch 6er. Stif Squatcher. Schwalbe Magic Mary Purple Addix front. Maxxis DHR II 3C MaxxTerra rear. Coil fan. Ebikes are not evil. I have been a writer for nigh on 20 years, a photographer for 25 years and a mountain biker for 30 years. I have written countless magazine and website features and route guides for the UK mountain bike press, most notably for the esteemed and highly regarded Singletrackworld. Although I am a Lancastrian, I freely admit that West Yorkshire is my favourite place to ride. Rarely a week goes by without me riding and exploring the South Pennines.

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