The Pivot Mach 6 is reborn!
Pivot's all-new Mach 6 is designed to party on the trails, with a completely overhauled design.
The Pivot Mach 6 has been the stalwart of the Pivot full-suspension range, offering 6 inches (or 155mm) of travel, 27.5” wheels and aggressive geometry. Like all Pivot full-suspension bikes, the DW Link means no matter the travel on offer, the bike pedals well for its given purpose. None of those big details have changed with the new and improved Mach 6, but there are a bunch of updates that really bring the Mach 6 in line with current expectations, and help it fit in with Pivot's design architecture on their most recent updates, like the Switchblade, Mach 4 SL and of course the Firebird.
All about the new Pivot Mach 6
The Mach 6 frame is full-carbon, and still employs the DW-link for excellent pedalling efficiency suspension performance. There's 158mm of travel for the 27.5" wheels, and some might wonder about the smaller wheel size.
Pivot state that they have taken the stability of the 29" Firebird and mixed it with the agility and fun of a 27.5" wheeled bike – making a bike that suits from peak to park. Which if we filter out the marketing talk, means it should be a bike that is fun for doing laps in the bike park with plenty of stability for highspeed trails and agility to change lines. But it will also be equipped for big days in the hills, chasing the hidden gems of backcountry trails and descents away from the crowds.
"Everyone knows that 27.5” wheels are more fun, and the new Mach 6 pegs the funmeter at a new level," said Chris Cocalis, Pivot's founder. "We don’t just spend our days slaving away designing bikes so our World Cup riders can set their fastest time (although we do a lot of that). More often than not, we’re looking for bikes to make us feel like superheroes and put the biggest smile on our faces. The Mach 6 does that and then some, making it my new favorite bike. The Mach 6 is fundamentally designed to be super fun and poppy, giving everyone the magic carpet ride with maximum performance and maximum fun.”
Well, 29" is the new black but fun sounds good to us.
That ability to get good feedback when you jam on pedals and deliver plenty of full-suspension fun comes down to the infamous DW-link and Pivot's benchmark suspension. The DW-link has position sensitive antisquat – which means it's not squishing when you're giving it the beans, and braking and pedalling input really doesn't impact the suspension. Pivot have used a longer DW-link on the Mach 6, much like they did on the Phoenix DH bike, to help create more of a rearward axle path so the wheel doesn't get hung up on square edged hits.
On the Mach 6, the shock has moved to a vertical position ahead of the seat tube, and you'll notice the seat tube lengths are low, and the top tube has plenty of stand over. You'll be able to run a longer dropper so you can really get moving on the new bike. The vertical shock position works better for the models using Fox Live Valve, and the progression of the suspension has been designed to work with both coil and air shocks.
The Pivot Mach 6 frame lines are straight, meaning there is a bunch of room for a water bottle inside the main frame, and there is also an additional mount beneath the top tube for spares. There's a fore and aft position so you can really customise how you carry your spares.
Adding to that, Pivot have also included a tool storage space ahead of the bottom bracket, nestled in below the inbuilt roost guard on the frame.
The added bonus of straighter lines is less material is required, helping keep weight lower and stiffness higher, as the material is used for strength, not shapes. There are some slight curves in the small and XS frame top tubes for additional standover height.
On sizing, between the XS and Large sizes Pivot do use size specific ride tuning, which means the right amount of material is used in the frame to deliver a similar ride quality no matter the size of the rider
The shock's lower mount is hidden right down into the frame, helping keep the centre of gravity low, and meaning Pivot can offer super low standover heights. They even state that someone as short as 147.5cm will fit on the XS size!
Pivot have added adjustable geometry via a flip chip in the upper pivot on the swingarm, allowing you to choose a higher position with slightly steeper geometry, or something a little lower to give even better stability on high-speed or super steep terrain.
What is really cool are the options available. Coil or air shocks, and even Fox LiveValve options. In fact, Pivot Australia have 20 different bike options, when you add in the optional carbon wheel upgrades on some models. They run from a Shimano XT spec for $8999, all the way up to XTR Team Live Valve model at $16999. What is common is that they all have big and burly builds – the Mach 6 is designed to get rowdy!
In terms of geometry, Pivot use a 44mm offset fork, with a 65 degree head angle and 75.5 degree seat tube angle. These go half a degree steeper in the high BB setting.. On a size large, the reach is 480mm. Chain stay length is 431mm (on all sizes) and bottom bracket drop is 7mm, or 1mm in high.
While bikes come equipped with 2.5" tyres, you can fit 2.6" in there if that suits you and your trails. If you have questions about the new Mach 6 – check out the Pivot Australia website and light up their inbox with your enquiries.
