Continuing our series of Bike Checks, here’s Tailfin’s Head of PR and his Pivot Mach 4SL.
This is James Bracey and his lighter-than-your-gravel-bike Pivot Mach 4SL.
Who are you then?
James Bracey: “My job title is long [Head of PR, Comms, Riders, Community & Events] and varied but essentially I look after all the PR, riders, events and wider community around Tailfin. It’s super fun in that every day brings something new to work with but I would guess a lot of my time is taken up with working with our vast crew of R&D Division riders, liaising with the product and design team to provide essential feedback from the riders alongside keeping the industry abreast with the latest Tailfin endeavours. Right now I’m also working hard to bring our first ever bikepacking event to fruition. It’s called Detours, is based in Wales on the 12-14th of September and quite possibly is the only event of its kind in the world, offering something new and interesting for anyone interested in bikepacking and racing.”
What size frame?
JB: “I’m currently riding a large frame – I’m all legs but short torso.”
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What’s your favourite component?
JB: “That’s a pretty hard question as I’ve been very lucky to spec almost my complete wishlist on the build but if I was to narrow it down I’d actually have to say that the wheel and tyre choice has been a revelation. For a set of XC race wheels that weigh 1.3kg the ENVE M5 Pros are insanely capable and bombproof and are one of the first sets of wheels I’ve had where you can actually feel them doing a proper job (the front wheel has a juicy level of flex that really helps a short travel bike track and grip the ground) The WTB Rangers are proving to be that kind of dependable all-rounder tyre that I’m finding it hard to swap to something else currently.
“Honorable mention needs to go to the SRAM XX SL Chain and cassette though. I’ve now put nearly 4000 miles into the drivetrain and only changed the chain at 3,500 miles as I was doing a bigger event. The cassette hasn’t missed a beat, gear changes are as crisp as day one and it is still going strong.”
Where does this bike excel?
JB: “I use this bike for all my general trail riding, XC racing and bikepacking! Any ride where you want to cover ground as quickly as possible, over (almost) any grade of trail is where the Mach 4 excels. It’s hard to not sound like a marketing man but the Mach 4 really does do it all well. It’s basically the type of bike most of us should be riding all the time. Where I live in South Wales it’s only really on the steeper trails with more features that I ever feel like I need to be on my bigger bike. The DW-Link rear set to the ‘longer’ 115mm shock position provides more than enough travel, especially when the bike is light enough to float over stuff.”
What’s the next tweak for the bike?
JB: “Brakes. Upgrading to Trickstuff pads has been a revelation in terms of increasing the stopping power but I’m hankering after an upgrade of the whole new system. Maybe the Trickstuff Piccola will be next.”
Fork – settings?
JB: “90 psi, 1 click high speed compression. Slightly faster rebound than rear.”
Shock – settings?
JB: “171 psi. About mid rebound.”
How is the suspension set-up generally?
JB: “It’s taken me a long time to re-program from a ‘stiffer is better’ XC approach but now I generally run your classic 30% sag front and rear but with slightly less compression at the front. The rear has a remote lockout but it’s rarely used. Top hack here is I swapped out the stock RockShox gripshift lockout (Yep, I know it’s a Fox shock…) to a £20 SR Suntour offering. This lever is hands down my favourite in terms of performance, tactile feel and space saving.”
What do you think it weighs?
JB: “About the same as most people’s gravel bikes! I guess about 10-10.5kg. I might swap out the Reverb to a Wolf Tooth Resolve and save another 300-400 grams.”
Specification & geometry
Frame // Pivot Carbon, 106-115mm travel
Shock // Fox Factory Float w/remote lockout (190x45mm stroke)
Fork // Fox Factory Stepcast 34, FIT4, 44mm offset, 120mm travel
Wheels // ENVE M5 PRO, 29”
Front Tyre // WTB Ranger, 29×2.4” TCS Light/Fast Rolling, DNA SG2
Rear Tyre // WTB Ranger, 29×2.4” TCS Light/Fast Rolling, DNA SG2
Chainset // SRAM XX SL, 34T
Brakes // SRAM Level Ultimate, 160/160mm
Drivetrain // SRAM XX SL Transmission
Stem // ENVE M5, 60mm
Handlebar // ENVE M5, 760mm
Grips // Wolf Tooth Fat Paw Lock-On
Seat Post // SRAM Reverb AXS, 120mm drop
Saddle // Phoenix WTB Volt Carbon
Head angle // 66.9º
Effective seat angle // 76º
Seat tube length // 465mm
Head tube length // 120mm
Chainstay // 432mm
Wheelbase // 1185mm
Effective top tube // 753mm
BB height // 336mm
Reach // 462mm
Nice. I like that 🙂