I have finally had a good ride on the Pivot Mach 5.7 so can make some comments on it.  First of all, this is a pretty big bike with a Dave Weagle link, which many people rave about.  All that techno mumbo jumbo doesn’t interest me! However, now it does because this bike REALLY climbs well.  I used Propedal as I was on automatic pilot but quickly turned it off, as it was unnecessary.  Even on the road it’s not really that important. For a bike with this much travel, that is impressive! The head angle feels pretty slack but you can still get over the front to keep the front wheel from wandering so it instils a lot of confidence.  This is something I really need to have a look at, as the head angle is apparently 68.5 degrees or thereabouts.  It feels closer to 67.5 to me (I ride Whyte 19s with exactly that head angle and Lapierre Zestys and they feel very similar).  EDIT: I’ve found out why:  you use lots of sag with this link so it puts everything back the way so it must slacken the head angle by at least a degree – it appears I’m not losing it after all.

Through the usual trails, which had suddenly got a little slippery, I was impressed.  Inevitably, I’m comparing with what I am used to and I felt that it climbed even better than the Lapierre Zesty, which is an amazing bike for the money and has a great following from us.  Overall, would I buy one over a £2300 Zesty though, when the frame alone on a Pivot Mach 5.7 is £1799?! I’m still figuring that one out, as I would be happy with both but if I had the money, I think I would get myself a Pivot.

The suspension is super-smooth on the downhills and the technical bits were covered with ease I am simply not used to.  It is not invincible the way a bigger bike is (such as the Pivot Firebird I tried last week), which is perfect – I don’t like using big bikes through the usual terrain as they make things a little boring!  However, I noticed how smooth the  suspension is simply because the Fox fork did not seem to keep up quite as well as I would expect (the ones I tried were non-FIT forks, and I think I can tell the difference).  No problems though – it’s just when something is so good, it often shows up things you had previously thought were perfect!  I even got the jump off a wall in the local Mine Woods completely wrong (obviously on purpose, just to test the bike!) and I got away with it due to the forks and the amazing rear suspension.  Then again, so did my riding buddy, Ben, on the Lapierre Zesty and we both survived.

Build kit: Unimportant really for a frame such as this but it should be mentioned.  It came with full SRAM X0 2X10. I use this kit myself on my Morewood Zula and it’s fantastic but I know why I couple it with Formula The One brakes. The SRAM X0 brakes (Avids) leave me uninspired, especially with a 160mm front rotor. Whose idea was that?  I know I’m spoilt with my brakes but still, a bigger rotor to make up for the lack of power is no bad thing.  Super nice lightweight but tough DT Swiss wheels were a fantastic touch and a great help to the light weight of this all round trail machine.

Did I like it though? YES! So much so, I’m thinking of buying a Pivot Mach 4 for myself (I still like short-travel bikes!) and a Pivot Mach 5.7 for the shop as a demo bike (I may just have to use it from time to time…!!)

UPDATE: We are now a Pivot dealer and have a Pivot Mach 5.7, Mach 4 and Firebird on their way. I looked at the price list as well, which we will put on our website soon, and it compares favourably with its competitors – the frames are a bit more expensive than its competitors (all DW link bikes are) but I can see why and the build kits are very cheap for what you get. You should get a very well specced Pivot Mach 4 or Pivot Mach 5.7 for a similar price to a Lapierre Zesty 514 or 714, Turner 5 Spot build, Rocky Mountain or Trek Fuel.

Ox and I went out on Monday night with our new Exposure demo lights.  I had the Six Pack (I’m the boss and I’ve always wanted to say I have one) and Ox had the Diablo helmet light and Maxx-D front light.  We rode out of the front door and towards the woods at the back of the University of Stirling. Ox saved his energy by drafting me along the road with the excuse that he had a small flashing LED (mine) on his backpack (mine!). He was also kept warm by a Smartwool Sport NTS base layer (mine).

Anyway, once we were in the woods, we realised how powerful these lights really are – we climbed on medium setting most of the time and used them on high power the rest of the time (we did not turn them off during stops either).  For some reason, even though the country is flooding, all the trails were pretty amazing although there were a few places where it was crunchy undertyre but also muddy. We had a fair few sketchy moments on the descent of Mine Woods but we got through for our climb up to Kippenrait Glen. A beautiful descent followed by Darn Walk allowed us to see the river that had burst its banks the previous day back to normal.

After hearing that Ox was “pooped”, we then climbed back up to Mine Woods again and then along the back roads home. First crash of the night came when Ox turned a corner on the road and hit black ice. Nasty one but he got away with it (just shows – the crashes always happen when you’re nearly home on easy terrain!).

We were out for 2 1/2 hours and the only light which was starting to drain was the USE Exposure Six Pack, which was showing an amber light. Not bad when you consider that high power should drain the battery in 1 1/2 hours!

The lighting was fantastic from all the lights, although I do still prefer the spread from a Hope Vision 4.

Roll on the Spring.

They came in, today. I couldn’t wait to see this bike but I really didn’t think the downhill boys (mechanics) and even Jeff would share my sentiments about what a piece of work this bike is.  It’s dripping with kit, has a Maxle back-end, Maxle front, great robust forks, great detailing, lightweight and has the typical Whyte backup and warranty. Most importantly, it’s already in Flying Fox bikes colours!

The bad bits: they’ve saved money on the finishing kit – saddle, bars, stem and seatpost. However, it’s all really nice, lightweight kit that matches the bike and looks phenomenal. So no problems there then.  The seatpost is 27.2mm – this caught me off guard. This limits your choice of uppy-downy seatpost. Strange. For me, I don’t care as it has the best Q/R seatclamp in the business. Some people may not like this fact though and will have to get a Gravity Dropper, as they seem to be very good in 27.2mm guise. Maybe I’m missing the point of this bike though? A bigger front rotos would have been nice too but then I need to lose some weight!

Positives: Monarch shock – very, very good. It’s no longer the fact that without a Fox shock, every bike is a mess. This is a phenomenal shock and works well on this bike. Brakes – very good for the money, very adjustable, our mechanics like them and they’re pretty reliable. Gears – SRAM 2X10 – on this machine it doesn’t get any better – perfect for the pedalling and pivot point of this machine. I have this on my bike and it cost a fortune separately. Rockshox Reba 120mm forks – with a Maxle Lite, colour matched with the frame and parts and the guys round here use them around here for years. We like. Wheels – WTB kit, reliable and great – even the tyres are fantastic all-round tyres (thank you Whyte for ditching those Mountain Kings – we thought we were going to be killed!).

No bob so far to speak of (although I was riding around the shop!!!) but I’m not sure if I should step up to the large yet. Oh, hang on, this bike isn’t for me (if I repeat that enough, I shall start believing it!).

I cannot type them all out just now but the ones that I have had personal experience of and agree with are noted below (!):

Sim: Favourite components of 2010

Continental Rubber Queen Tyres (they’re in the shop but not the website!)

Get these in the Black Chili compound and 2.2in size and you have possibly the best all-round trail tyre out there. Loads of grip, not much weight or rolling resistance and they wear reasonably well too. Rubber love is not wrong.

Crank Brothers Joplin 4 seatpost

No more ‘I wish I had my saddle down for that bit’ regrets, push the lever and the saddle is out of the way so you can fully enjoy the trail. As eye-opening as the first time you fitted disc brakes and grabbed a handful of brake lever, but without the bruising.

More to come when I get chance.  It’s Christmas Day for crying out loud!

Downhill bike at Fort William with Gee Atherton or Enduro bike with David Knight?  Fort William DH course is designed for a downhill mountain bike and Gee Atherton has some knowledge of the course but then David Knight is majorly talented and has an engine!

http://video.mpora.com/watch/pRUvdUU8j/

I have to admit, I’m hitting this wee article with a lot of negativity so don’t expect this to go well.  First up and controversial to say the least:

Forestry Commission

I’m no expert but as far as I can see, they are hanging folk out to dry – the effective founders of Glentress and the girls who built it up to be what it is today have been left out of their latest tender so they’re going to lose what they have built up.  Carron Valley was another story of a lot of disgruntled folk walking away (these are both my opinion as an outsider with a whole lot miised out!).  I like mountain biking because it’s my chance of escape, not to get enveloped in political crap.

The future

If mountain bikers have a place to go then does that mean we are not going to be allowed on proper trails in the future?  This is the scariest element to me.  I would much prefer a ride up the local hills, whatever the weather, than having to get in a car and drive to a trail centre.  Very few (much less than 1%) would actually ride to a trail centre so surely this is bad for the environment too?

“Winding down” a hill

I hate berms and constant “keep your height” rubbish. I much prefer a proper steep descent than only losing ten metres of height in 5 corners.  Berms and silly jumps are about as natural and beautiful as Jordan.  There’s really no need for either on God’s clean earth!  (Just to contradict myself I really like the berm at the bottom of Cannonball Run at Carron Valley!)

I haven’t been to that many but…

Laggan Wolftrax almost feels natural from time to time and I absolutely love getting as many laps in as I can.  The bike shop is okay and the cafe fine.  Even my buddy Danger gets (more than) chatted up by the staff in the cafe too so it’s a nice wee departure from natural riding.  The black is something to aspire to (for me, having not done every feature!) and the reds are swoopy and fun.

Carron Valley used to be good fun and the lack of “motorway” tyre surface (i.e. more rugged) was a nice change.  That’s all changed however and it’s been tamed unfortunately.  Whoops.

Glentress is a massive disappointment for me.  The black is good fun and nothing like what I imagine a black to be as it’s not difficult.  However, it feels natural and exposed in places, which is more my bag.  The red is okay but nothing inspiring and the blue is great for beginner’s so there’s a reason for that one.  Otherwise, it’s a total yawn fest and waste of fuel.

Dalbeattie

Love it!  Not much climbing and some nice technical (semi-natural?) features.  Good time, not very busy but one of the best.

So, it appears I like them after all…apart from the fact that I would much prefer to be up Dumyat, Ben Cleuch, the Lairig Ghru, Ryvoan Pass, Menstrie Glen or sliding my way down Kippenrait Glen on my backside watching my pals doing the same!

My felt arse has arrived!  It’s not built up yet unfortunately and there’s lots of changes I’m going to make.  Not a great rush for it as yet: the amount of snow and ice has caused my “comeback” to road cycling to be delayed somewhat.  At least I can get out on the snowboard again (a Santa Cruz Perfect 11 snowboard with K2 Cinch bindings that I managed to buy from Flying Fox Bikes!!!).

I hope to update you soon as to how the bike rides…

Okay, so it isn’t really a surprise of any sort but at least it’s now happening.  There was chat he may sign with another team to raise their profile but it’s great to see him with the Schlecks.  Arguably the best rider of 2010 with the guy who should have won the Tour de France, and his brother, who won the Tour de Suisse before breaking his collarbone in the TdF.

Oh, and apparently his “engine” inside his bike was all a load of rubbish – apparently he does actually just turn those pedals round himself.  Phenomenal.  He is cheating though – with all those cycle paths and respect from drivers in Switzerland, at least he isn’t fearful of losing his life on his training runs unlike us in the UK…