5: Pivot Mach 5.7 Carbon

US manufacturer Pivot were an early adopter of 29in wheels, and recently have added a 650b bike to their range, but they haven’t yet removed the excellent Mach 5.7 Carbon. Like all Pivot’s full-sussers, the Mach uses Dave Weagle’s DW Link, a pair of short linkages connect the swingarm to the mainframe and control the rear wheel path and suspension tune. There’s 145mm travel from the Fox shock and the use of carbon saves about 300g over the alloy version.

More information: Pivot Mach 5.7 26

So there you go, five very good 26in trail bikes, proving that, for now at least, there is still life in the 26in wheel size. How long these bikes continue to be available for remains to be seen though…