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Rivette H4 tom K - review What Mountain Bike |
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Rivette H4 Tom K Special WMB July 08
SHARP-SHOOTING SPEEDSTERS
For riders who value pure speed, the rapid responses and taut ride of the classiest lightweight hardtails are something special
Words: Steve Worland - Photos: Russell Burton
Rivette H4 Tom K Special £1175 complete bike
Endorsed by a Le Mans 24hr winner, can this Dane bring home the bacon?
This tasty Danish brand is now available in the UK through distributors 2Pure. The bikes are endorsed by Le Mans 24hr motor racing legend Tom Kristensen, who’s pretty good at racing 24 hours on a bike, too - watch out for the Rivette team at this year’s Mountain Mayhem.
Rivette’s hardtail bikes are different enough from the big-brand alternatives to make them stand proud. The simple, clean lines and smart painted overcoats are nicely complemented by XC racer-bred geometry and finishing kit.
The facts
The first thing you’ll notice about Rivette frames is the lack of clutter, helped by routing the gear cables and rear brake hose through the frame. We used to be nervous about internal cable routing, but when it’s done as beautifully as this it’s an enticing feature.
Sheathed inner cable guides run all the way from the front side of the head tube to exit points right by the gear mechs. No crud can get in, and the frame is left completely free from lumpy guides, and with nothing to slap about over the bumps and rub the paint off. Apart from a floral flourish on the down tube panel, the graphics are nicely understated too.
The build quality and finishing detail is professionally tidy, with neat welds and lots of clever tube profiling to improve ride feel, precision and durability. We particularly like the flared wishbone seat stay, the way the big down tube flares into the reinforced head tube and the long and low-slung laterally ovalised top tube. There’s lots of mud room between the fat curvy chainstays and the seat clamp slot faces forward, out of the rear wheel mud spray.
The RockShox Reba SL 100mm travel fork has a nicely controlled action, a very effective rebound damping adjustment knob and a bar-mounted Poplock to increase compression damping on climbs and in sprints, which is always welcome on a race-bred bike like this.
The feel
First impressions of the H4 were that absolutely everything felt spot-on. It’s rare that we feel that on a first ride, especially of a bike that’s essentially a race-ready offering with skinny treads and a 23in flat handlebar. But despite this, and its steepish frame geometry the Rivette H4 exudes instant quiet confidence on the trail. In fact, a bit quieter than usual on the raggedy descents of our regular loop, because there were no cables and hoses slapping around here.
The Reba fork is a great choice on a bike like this, with that extra 15mm of travel over the Magura fork on the Tank making it slightly easier to hit the really lumpy stuff at speed. Actually, this was where we were made aware of the Rivette’s one slight weakness: its l2in bottom bracket height. While a low BB improves stability, you need to be aware that, with the fork set plush, you risk pedal strikes if you keep pedalling through bumpy corners.
Its no big deal, though, as the wonderfully stable overall handling character of the H4 is a potent reminder than a low centre of gravity and race-worthy geometry can benefit more riders than just race-heads. The sub-26th heft and fast tyres are a bonus in acceleration and on climbs, and the well centred ride posture encourages you to sit slightly forward to gain maximum advantage from the fork on technical singletrack. The Rivette is always a lively bike, but it inspires rather than ever feeling nervous.
Kit notes
We’ve seen slightly better equipped bikes than this from the mainstream brands, but the componentry is pretty good when you consider the fact that you’re getting a frame that would cost £475 on its own.
The drivetrain twins SRAM X.7 shifters with an X.9 rear mech, X.5 front and medium-budget Truvativ Blaze cranks. The wheelset laces Jalco X320 rims to an own-brand front hub and Shimano Deore at the back with fast, skinny, lightweight Maxxis Larsen TT treads.
House brand Ten provides the flat 23in bar, stem and seat post. They’re basic, but they’re the right shape to suit the bike. UK distributor 2Pure fitted an impressively comfy SQ Lab saddle.
Summary
If you can’t quite stretch to this, there’s an H4-1 that sells for £1000. It’s a little heavier than this and comes with a Tora fork, so it’s well worth stretching yourself to score a Tom K Special. The frame and fork are a superb combination for racers and demanding trail riders alike, a potent reminder that not all hardtails are created equal. It’s sometimes well worth taking a look outside the predictable mainstream.
AT A GLANCE
HIGHS: Clean, cool lines and hidden cabling; lively, predictable, fast and confident ride.
LOWS: It takes a while to get used to the low bottom bracket height.
BUY IF... You want to feel like a trail superstar. It you don’t already ride with finesse, just fit a riser bar
UNWRAPPED
Great Dane
Perhaps we’re just showing our ignorance of anything non-bike-related, but Famous Danes don’t exactly trip off our tongues - apart from maybe King Canute, Hans Christian Andersen, Brigitte Nielsen and Thumbelina - which is probably why Rivette endorser and seven-times Le Mans 24hr winner Tom Kristensen makes the ‘Wonderful Denmark’ Great Danes list. We’re not saying it’s a good reason to buy the bike, but it never ceases to impress us that so many motor racing drivers seem to love racing bikes, too.
SPEC CHECK
PRICE £1175 (frame only £475)
WEIGHT 25.8lb without pedals
FRAME H4 7005 aluminium
FORK Rockshox Reba SL with Poplock
WHEELS Jalco X320 on Shimano rear hub, Ten front hub
TYRES Maxxis Larsen TT 1.9in
CRANK Truvativ Blaze
GEARS SRAM X.9 rear, X.5 front, X.7 shifters
BRAKES Avid Juicy Three
BAR Ten 23in oversize flat
OTHER STUFF Ten stem and seat post, SQ Lao saddle
CONTACT 0844 811 2001 www.2pure.co.uk
GEOMETRY
SIZES XS, S, M (tested), L, XL
TOP TUBE LENGTH 591mm (23.25in)
SEAT TUBE LENGTH 470mm (18.5in)
HEAD ANGLE 70.5 deg
SEAT ANGLE 72.5 deg
BOTTOM BRACKET HEIGHT 305mm (12in)
CHAINSTAY LENGTH 419mm (16.5in)
VERDICT
UPHILL 9/10
DOWNHILL 9/10
CROSS-COUNTRY 9/10
VALUE 8/10
An unusual and impressively put together machine that’s a lot of fun to ride.
WMB verdict
THE WINNER IS…
Never make assumptions when you look at the price of a bike and its frame material. Carbon frames are often a little lighter and/or more interesting than the aluminium alternative, but if they’re on a bike that costs the same then look out for lower-grade componentry to make room for the extra cost of the frame. A bike is the sum of its parts.
...
Everyone who slung a leg over the Rivette H4 loved it - it just felt right. The ride is surprisingly comfy for an aluminium hardtail, achieving a great balance between thoroughbred racer and confident, relaxed trail tamer. There’ll be those who’ll be concerned about its concealed cabling, but weigh that up against the joy of no more cable rattle and worn paint. Likewise, the low bottom bracket will be an issue for some, and there are slightly better specced bikes around for the same money, but it would be hard to find one that rides as well as this. It was our clear favourite.
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