The ride: The “5” inch travel segment covers some pretty broad territory. You have bikes from 4.75 to almost 6” falling within the realm and ride goals that are even more varied. This is the category where bike companies are trying to design the “one” bike that can do it all. Unfortunately, you can’t do it all. To us, a 5” travel bike that is super plush kills off the entire epic, long ride, go anywhere focus of what a 5” travel bike should be. If you lean towards the ski resort/north shore/ more extreme type of riding, then get a 6” travel bike and build it up light. The Mach 5 has 140mm (5.5”) of travel and is meant to cover the spectrum of 24 hour racing to all day in the saddle rides, with the ability to devour technical descents. As was noted from the parking lost test ride, this bike doesn’t bob under power and it isn’t real squishy feeling (we like highly technical terms like squishy).

What you can’t tell in a parking lot is that the Mach 5 absolutely comes alive at speed (even in rock gardens which we have tons of in AZ). We have tested this bike from South Mountain’s National Trail to Moab’s Porcupine Rim. There are certainly longer travel bikes that are plusher, but it’s all about controlled travel. The Mach 5 holds its line at speed and always seems to have extra travel in reserve for big hits, big drops, and even the occasional big jump. Look at the Pivot site in the not too distant future and we will expand on what makes this bike such an incredible peddler yet allows it to really soak up the bumps and drops at mid to high speeds.

Also, just as a couple other points of reference. The head angle with the fork at 140mm travel is 69 degrees. This is a nice stable number for handling very technical terrain. When the fork is dropped to 120, the head angle is at 70 degrees which puts the bike in stable handling XC to moderate technical territory. Additionally, with the DW Link and the shock we are using (2.25” stroke on a medium frame), it is imperative to run 30% sag (.675”). Most people are used to running less because other bikes need to have more air to keep from bobbing. NOT THIS ONE! The Mach 5 is all about achieving a balance in what we believe to be the perfect combination of incredible pedaling efficiency and frame stiffness with a controlled feel throughout the stroke and enough travel to keep our customers grinning from ear to ear in even some of the most technical terrain.

Welds: The Mach 5 uses a combination of traditional welds and smooth welds. The smooth welds on some bikes are polished out after being completed (a la Cannondale). We like the flat bead look of the smooth weld as it is laid down. We use it near on the top tube shock tab area to keep things smooth and snag free and on other areas because it actually reduces stress risers and makes for a nice strong joint.

Headset: We tend to agree that integrated headsets are not necessarily the best choice for a mountain bike. They have proven reasonably durable, but if anything does go wrong, your frame is the headset race and it can take a beating without easy replacement. The Mach 5 and Mach 4 do not use an integrated headset. It uses a zero stack standard headset. This headset takes cups just like a normal external 1.125 headset. However, the head tube is significantly larger in diameter and the entire headset cup fits inside. We did this for a couple of good reasons. First, as forks get longer and tires grow bigger, the front end heights continue to skyrocket. This is not such a problem for a 6 foot tall person, but for just about everyone else (particularly the under 5’ 8” crowd), this headset design reduces the front end height by over 1” because the cups are inside.

It works great on the Mach 4 and Mach 5 and will prove to be a huge benefit on a future 29er as well. The second reason is that a big diameter head tube is that it is simply stronger and allows more surface area to weld to. It’s a nice secondary benefit that really makes the front end of the bike look nice as well. The zero stack design is available in headsets from Cane Creek, Ritchey, FSA, and others. They make it in their top models with the same bearings that are in the external headsets. The cups press in and/or remove just like a traditional headset. We have even spoken to Chris King about this standard and unlike his stance against integrated headsets, he finds this route much more appealing. We have to agree.