Pivot’s Shuttle SL joins the lightweight electric bike ranks

By Tom Marvin

Published: Tuesday, 02 August 2022 at 12:00 am

Pivot has been in the electric mountain bike game since 2017, when it launched the Shuttle. In 2022, it has joined the growing number of companies offering a lightweight, slightly lower-powered eMTB with the Shuttle SL.

The Shuttle SL delivers 132mm of DW-Link suspension at the rear, with either 140mm or 150mm-travel forks at the front. The carbon frame holds a Fazua Ride 60 motor, as well as a 430Wh battery.

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Pivot believes it has kept the Shuttle SL as close to a non-assisted bike as possible, when it comes to handling.
Pivot Cycles

The news of the Shuttle quickly follows the launch of Trek’s Fuel EXe, and bikes such as the Orbea Rise and Specialized’s SL versions of their numerous eMTB offerings.

Pivot decided it wanted to deviate from the script of most eMTB builders, by offering a bike that, it says, focusses on the dynamic of trail riding, with low weight, refined suspension, crisp handling and claimed game-changing performance.

As such, at the top end of the build options, the Team WC model comes in below 16.5kg – very light for a bike of this type.

Pivot Shuttle SL battery and motor details

Pivot has turned to Fazua to power the Shuttle SL, with the brand’s Ride 60 motor providing the drive.

The motor is relatively compact, and weighs just under 2kg. It provides up to 60Nm of torque, 10Nm more than Trek’s motor, and the same as the tuned-down Shimano motor in the Orbea Rise.

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A Rotor crank hides the diminutive Fazua Ride 60 motor.
Pivot Cycles

It’s paired with a 430Wh battery, integrated (and non-removable) low down in the bike’s down tube. This is larger in capacity than the batteries found in the Trek, Orbea and Specialized bikes.

The motor effectively disengages from the cranks when it’s turned off, which Pivot and Fazua say makes for a resistance-free and silent non-assisted ride.

On the bar, Fazua’s Ring Control offers control of the ride mode and walk assist in a very compact package. It’s paired with the LED Hub built into the top tube of the bike, which displays the battery level and riding mode, while also communicating with your phone or GPS via an ANT+ interface and offering a USB-C charge port for electronic devices.

"Pivot
Battery level and power mode information is displayed here.
Pivot Cycles
"Pivot
The LED display pops up, revealing a charge port.
Pivot Cycles

The system offers three riding modes (Breeze, River and Rocket), each of which can be customised with the Fazua app. The top-end Rocket mode even includes a Boost function, which’ll push 450W of assistance out, temporarily.

Pivot Shuttle SL frame and suspension details

The Shuttle SL frame is built from a proprietary carbon fibre, though details of the material used are scarce.

As we see on all of Pivot’s full-suspension bikes, a DW-Link (named after the suspension engineer Dave Weagle) linkage is used to control the 132mm of travel. This is a virtual pivot-point design, where the front and rear triangles are linked by a pair of co-rotating linkages close to the main triangle of the frame.

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Dave Weagle’s DW Link suspension controls the back end.
Pivot Cycles

Pivot says that the kinematics of the suspension (how the suspension works and feels) give plush compliance, efficient pedalling and plenty of pop. At the same time, there’s ample progression for control on bigger hits.

The DW Link suspension is said to have ‘position sensitive anti-squat’ which ‘eliminates’ pedal bob during hard efforts. It is also designed to improve traction and shouldn’t sacrifice braking or suspension feel.

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Rubberised protection gives you peace of mind against rock strikes.
Pivot Cycles

The shock sits vertically in the frame, which Pivot claims allows for a more compact frame design, while still allowing full-sized bottles and decent standover height.

Cables run internally, as you’d expect, while there’s built-in chainslap protection and armour for the down tube. The charge port for the battery sits low, on the side of the belly of the down tube.

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The charge port sits on the side of the down tube.
Pivot Cycles

Pivot Shuttle SL geometry

The shape of the bike is decidedly modern, with fairly slack angles and longer reach and wheelbase for a bike with this level of travel.

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The Pivot Shuttle SL is one of the newer breed of lighter-weight eMTBs.
Pivot Cycles

There are two BB height options, a Low and a High, enabling you to alter the shape of the bike slightly. Low BB settings are presented below, but raising the BB adds 0.4 degrees to the head and seat angles and gives an extra 4mm reach.

Seat tube angles steepen with larger frames, while chainstay lengths also get longer on the bigger bikes. This is to better distribute a taller rider’s centre of mass between the wheels.

SIZESSMLXL
Seat tube length (C-T) (cm)36.839.443.247
Top tube length, effective (cm)59.863.264.666
Head tube length (cm)9.511.212.713
Head tube angle (degrees)65656565
Seat tube angle, effective (degrees)76767676.8
Chainstay length (cm)43.243.243.443.8
Bottom bracket height (cm)34.734.734.734.7
Bottom bracket drop (cm)2.72.72.72.7
Standover height (cm)66.566.867.467.8
Wheelbase (cm)118.6122.3124127.2
Stack (cm)6162.66364.2
Reach (cm)43.546.547.850

Pivot Shuttle SL specification and price

Four models will be available to buy. The highest-priced Team WC is decked out in lighter-weight components, achieving that sub-16.5kg claimed weight, and includes an ebike-ready Fox 34 fork. The other models gain a burlier Fox 36 fork.

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150mm (or 140mm on the Team World Cup model) forks sit up-front of the 132mm travel frame.
Pivot Cycles

Pivot Shuttle SL Ride SLX/XT specification and price

  • Fox Performance E-Tuned 36 150mm fork
  • Fox Performance Float X shock
  • Shimano SLX / XT drivetrain
  • Shimano SLX 4-piston brakes with Galfer 203/180mm rotors
  • DT Swiss M1900 wheels
  • Maxxis Dissector 29×2.4WT 3C MaxxTerra EXO front and rear
  • £8,500 / $8,299 / €8,999

Pivot Shuttle SL Pro X01 specification and price

  • Fox Factory E-Tuned 36 150mm fork
  • Fox Factory Float X shock
  • SRAM X01 drivetrain
  • Shimano XT 4-piston brakes with Galfer 203/180mm rotors
  • DT Swiss XM1700 wheels
  • Maxxis Dissector 29×2.4WT 3C MaxxTerra EXO front and rear
  • £10,500 / $9,999 / €10,499

Pivot Shuttle SL Team XTR specification and price

  • Fox Factory E-Tuned 36 150mm fork
  • Fox Factory Float X shock
  • Shimano XTR drivetrain
  • Shimano XTR 4-piston brakes with Galfer 203/180mm rotors
  • Reynolds Blacklabel 309/289 wheels
  • Maxxis Dissector 29×2.4WT 3C MaxxTerra EXO front and rear
  • £12,000 / $11,599 / €11,999

Pivot Shuttle SL Team World Cup specification and price

  • Fox Factory E-Tuned 34 140mm fork
  • Fox Factory Float X shock
  • Shimano XTR drivetrain
  • Shimano XTR 4-piston brakes with Galfer 180mm rotors
  • Reynolds Blacklabel 309/289 wheels
  • Maxxis Rekon 29×2.4WT 3C MaxxTerra EXO front and rear
  • £12,500 / $11,999 / €12,599