...is probably my favorite mountain bike ever. And I have had a number of bikes I have loved. And a few I have TRIED to love. This bike has just proven to be everything I have wanted... even if I keep making changes.
It was late 2022 when I bought this Pivot Mach 4 SL from Competitive Cyclist on closeout. The bike had been on my radar for the last 6-8 months since it had the right geometry. Dropped the money and just before Xmas, I was back on a full-squish mountain bike. In the last three years, it has went through more than few changes.
The first change was the dropper post. The bike came with a Fox Transfer... that was at the minimum insertion point once I dialed in the fit. After a few rides, I need more height... and didn't have enough post. I swapped in a Wolftooth Resolve dropper... and haven't looked back since. This post has been serviced once and still feels great. The only thing I would suggest to anyone looking at this post is 1) service the post sooner than ya think and 2) LOAD UP on the Slick Honey when you grease the internals. The function of the dropper has been way more reliable and consistent since I did. The Muc-Off rim tape is my "gauge" for the saddle height... 'cause I have put in LOTS of time dialing in that.
The saddle is a Bontrage Verse Comp... with the Cr-Mo rails. Lighter rails do not hold up under all this ass. This saddle has been my favorite... so far.
The Twin Six spare bag has been cool - plenty of room for everything I carry (tube, Co2 & Prestacycle inflator, quick-link & tool).
The next big upgrade was the wheelset. It came with some good (now spare) DT Swiss alloy rims. They never felt unstable... but they didn't feel quick either. This is a set of DT Swiss 240 EXP hubs (with the 56 tooth ratchet upgrade) laced to a set of Nox Teocalli carbons with DT Swiss 2.0-1.8 Competition spokes, 32x rear & 28x front. I am using Muc-Off tubeless valve stems at the moment with Stan's sealant and Muc-Off tape inside.
They are a bit noisy, they engage as quick as any other hub I have (Chris King, Industry Nine) and seemingly always feel stable. The rims have been great - I think this was the third set of wheels I built with Nox rims. Every rim I have purchased from Nox feels great when building... and seems to hold up REALLY well. Once or twice a year, I will pull the wheels off my bikes, yank the tire off and go through the truing process to see where the wheel is. Using a tensiometer, I measure the drive-side spokes for consistency... and these wheels always seem to be great. The only time I had to make much of an adjustment to the front wheel was when I slammed into a rock in Flagstaff, endo'd the bike and the tire rolled off the bead for a split second. The next day I pulled it apart, checked it over... and had to bring the tension back up in 1,2 spokes.
The tires are Maxxis Forekaster 2.6 in the front, Maxxis Rekon 2.4 in the rear. I don't know the specifics of which casing and ??? off the top of my head, but these have been my choices in tires for a few years now. About once a year or so, I step off the bus and order something else to try. Back in June, I put in ONE ride with some Continental Kryptotals. Before the next ride, I switched back.
The next big upgrade was a 2025 Fox 34 fork. I would love to say I bought it because I am so fast that I needed the latest and greatest. That would NOT be true. I needed it for one reason - dialing in my fit. I chopped the steerer tube on the original Fox 34 too low. After more than a few fit sessions with MyVeloFit and experimenting with riser bars and pointed-to-the-sky stems, I plunked down the $$$$ for an uncut fork.
Which I cut down again before my last ride. I have not had the gumption to measure and see if this fork is MUCH higher than the original... 'cause I think I would tear up a little.
The original reason aside, I can say the '25 fork is better than the '22. The feel in ROUGH, chunky is more confident. Cornering is a bit more controlled regardless of terrain. The two-position switch (versus the original three-position) is more decisive - you are either open and soaking up everything or closed(ish) and riding firm & fast.
The other interesting note about the fork is it has never had a star-nut installed. That is a Specialized SWAT tool that serves as a compression tool.
Now... let me clarify why it's a big deal for me. The tool comes with an assortment of bolts to connect the two, NONE of which will reach the adapter if you have 1) an XL frame & head tube and 2) more spacers to accomodate a higher position. I had to fabricate an extended version. Big deal? Not for anyone but me... The other note if you find you want the SWAT tool as well - cover the quick links with black tape (as they will bounce out).
The stem is a longer RaceFace 70mm stem. The bars are carbon Salsa risers. The grips are Wolftooth lock-ons with foam covering. The Togs... are just something I dig and have on all the mountain bikes now.
If you read the last post, it's already obvious the latest upgrade - SRAM AXS shifting. That's an X0 rear derailleur controlled by the rocker switch shifter up on the bars. So far... I dig the electronical shifting. It's quicker, feels WAY lighter than expected... and has been reliable.
I was against electronic shifting on THIS bike until recently. My reason had always been I wanted the reliability of cable operated shifting. My reasoning was a battery will run outta juice... and I didn't want to be stuck 3 hours away from the truck with no shifting. Then someone pointed out on a blog post (after switching to electronic themselves) that they carry an extra battery. I did the same on a recent 3 hour gravel ride... and had to swap the battery 2 hours in.
The last thing I will admit to is an aversion to complicated squishin' systems. Years ago I started on a single pivot... that sucked and inspired me to buy a whole series of hardtails. Even my first Horst-link bike (a Jamis) was a disappointment after breaking multiple times (... but admittedly that was more on Jamis' cheap alloys & my fat ass).
Fast forward to buying the FrankenEpic (another Horst-link) and I gave into loving full-squish again. While I grew to love that bike, I was working in a shop in Tucson that saw a few different brands come in... but it was an Evil that turned me off to having more pivots. That bike sounded horrible, creaking from so many places.
One of the reasons I held off buying the Mach 4 SL for awhile was ALL those pivots pictured above. I talked to friends who loved the DW-link (...stands for Darrell Waltrip, if ya didn't know) and others who hated it. When the opportunity came to buy this bike at a closeout price, I gave in.
I have NOT regretted the purchase yet. While it did take some time to dial in the feel, it has been incredibly predictable, one of my complaints with the Stumpjumper I had before this bike. It responds as well as my hardtail when climbing ROUGH shit. It descends better than the Stumpy did... but that can be attributed to the fit and geometry as well. The only place a hardtail feels better in on the road to the trail.
So far I have serviced the bearings once... and after you find the videos of how to do it, you realize it is incredibly easy.
The rest of the bike is pretty much stock:
- the stock XO cranks have a Cane Creek tensioning ring...
- the 32 tooth chainring is stock
- the chain has been replaced twice (I think)
- the bottom bracket was replaced when I installed the CC ring...
- the brakes are SRAM Level TLM (?) with MTX pads and the thicker HS2 rotors.
- the position of the shifter is still in my brain... it needs to be moved so I can more easily shift with the forefinger...
- the upshift needs adjusting after that last ride when it was a touch slow when climbing under a heavy load...
- the squishin' stuff pressures are always in question...
- just like tire pressure...
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