A Matter of Perspective: Ride Review: Pivot Mach 429 Continued

I was concerned with the fact that I hadn't gotten a pre-race tune up like I wanted. The SoCal Endurance 6 hour race was tomorrow and my bike, a bit dirty and mildly out of tune, was in need of some PRO love from a serious spanner. Freaking Eric from ITSA Bike Shop, to be more specific.

His shop is where I go to drink beer, watch Archer, and talk shit on people who don't know I'm doing that...but always in the most polite way possible. If you didn't get a chance to read the first one...here it is....HERE

So how did it hold up? GREAT!

The Cockpit

Pictured right after being built at ITSA Bike Shop

I literally (quite literally) had ZERO problems with the stem, bars, seatpost, saddle and grips. Everything that came stock on the XT build kit is easily suitable for all but the most demanding. The thoughtful placement of aluminum FSA parts provides a nice bit of strength and feedback while being both light and sharp. Throughout the 6 hour race I thought about things things a grand total of ZERO times which, for me, is perfect. Grab the bars, get seat, climb like a beast (sorta). That's all I need.

Brakes

Dig.

Post mounts. Ice Tech brake pads. Center-lock. 125% increased braking power. 25% increased sexy-rear-wheel-slide-destructive-roost-of-hottness.

Sometimes, when I feel like I want to slow down, I pull the super ergo XT levers. When I do that, I stop. Quickly. Screaming, rocky downhills at Vail Lake in Temecula, CA were the perfect recipe for building speed in a quick and dangerous amount of time. A non-technical trail was made super technical by the sheer fact that overshooting any corner resulted in a short free-fall-to-terrafirma. I had confidence all day long, even after 5 hours of straight mountain biking.

Stomp. The. Pedals.

Crankset and Hotness

Oh man look at all that hotness. And stiffness. The closeup shot of the XT crankset shows that this bike is most definitely apt for power delivery. Asymmetrical stays and a close view of the DW-link systems helps to show a fine attention to detail. The 429s come set-up with sweet hardware. Anodized red on this particular bike, and it looks good. The direct mount is clean, allowing for multiple front set-ups. 2x10 is clutch, the only thing that would be sweeter would be the forthcoming 1x11, but I'll be waiting for Shimano's offering.

Coat it with Kashima

The Shock

I don't know anything about suspension. I know that when I used to try to change the fork seals on my yz450f, I'd drain fork oil all over the garage. I'm a failure of a mechanic. What I do know, is that this 2012 frame got hooked up with the 2013 fox shock. Air pressure with a 3-position trail adjust. It makes me want to go fast down steep hills. And it makes me not really really mad when I have to pedal uphill. Reach down, flick the toggle over to 'climb,' and pedal. No longer does the suspension system mock you, robbing you of power with each pedalbob. Sure enough, the firmness of the 429 while ascending can be attributed to the Dw-Link, but it's strength lies in the complete package.