To run the forums, host the website, and travel, I charge a universal service fee for my reviews. This review was sponsored by Crazy Lenny’s E-Bikes. My goal is to be transparent and unbiased, this video and written review are not meant to be an endorsement of Pivot Cycle products.
There are so many electric bikes out there, sometimes they can blur together. A mish mash of components and features can make it hard to pick. But today, we get to check out the Pivot Shuttle. A bike that makes a clear statement as to what it is going for. This bike is streamlined, made of lightweight carbon fiber, and even uses all Shimano parts throughout including the E8000 mid-drive motor. We will get into the electronic details in a bit, but for now, lets look at the features. As I said before, the bike frame is carbon fiber, so you can expect it to be pretty light weight. Even with full suspension, motor, and battery, it is surprisingly light weight. Pivot doesn’t release official weights on their bikes since setups and frame size can vary, they recommend checking one out in person. They guarantee it is light and I for one, can vouch that it really is. With the battery neatly frame integrated and the Shimano E8000 being one of the lightest ebike motors out there, it really makes this feel as close as you can get to a normal bike while still getting the raw power of electric assist. The bike is full FOX suspension and makes use of a Performance Elite fork in the front with a massive 140mm of travel while the back utilizes a DW Link rear suspension system. If you are unfamiliar with it, creates kind of a bottomless feel to the travel and really works great in all conditions. The bike has a really premium feel, even the handlebar is made of carbon fiber, and you get these great locking flat grips for an aggressive feel. Continuing with the premium setup are these Maxxis 27.5” x 2.8” tires. These are not just ‘tubeless ready’, but actually come tubeless out of the box without the need to have it setup. There is also a dropper seat post here which comes in really handy for mountain biking, and really, other uses too. Being able to change your seating position on the fly makes everything from standing in traffic to shredding a trail that much more enjoyable. Overall the bike is incredibly stealthy and I love how everything seems to work in harmony.
Driving this ebike is the new E8000 motor system from Shimano. Their previous (and still used) motor focused on neighborhood and urban applications with up to 50 Newton meters of torque output and lower 100 RPM max assist speeds. With the E8000, Shimano is targeting trail and mountain applications with up to 70 Nm of torque and full 120 RPM support to match Bosch. For riders who like to spin, this is a great thing. It means you can achieve higher top assisted speeds WITHOUT having to shift gears. That’s a big deal when navigating varied terrain with ups and downs. It’s nice to have room to ride the bike vs. dealing with settings. Ebikes tend to be heavier, and the motor helps to make up for that, but keeping momentum and flow means you have to control the bike with your body and the three aspects of that are steering, pedaling, and positioning body weight. And so, for me it’s critical to have power when I want it and a range of pedaling options… all without switching gears or assist settings, and I feel that you get this experience with the E8000. It is not as smooth to start, there’s almost a click where the motor kicks in. And again, when you reach the maximum assisted speed of ~20 mph, the motor cuts out a little quick. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just different than Brose, which I consider to be the smoothest, and Bosch, which offers eMTB mode now for a wider range of power in a single assist setting. Just like those two, I believe that the the Shimano motor controller is listening for rear wheel speed, pedal cadence, and pedal torque. My favorite parts about this motor are how it looks, how little it weighs (6.35 lbs vs. 8.8 lbs on the Bosch CX), and the standard Q Factor (crank spacing). It was designed from the ground up to work with a standard sized chainring and not have a reduction gearing system that could create drag above assisted speeds and to position the spindle further back to keep the chain stay distance short and provide a snappy ride experience. I should also mention here that both the motor and display are IP54 rated which is kind of neat. Mechanically, the bike uses a Shimano XT 11 speed derailleur combined with the Di2 electronic shifting. The shifters for pedal assists are on the left and mirror the triggers you get for the 11 speed system. This makes shifting between the styles very fluid and natural. The cassette is an 11-46 tooth setup, so really a nice wide range here. For stopping power it features a set of Shimano Saint 203mm hydraulic brakes in the front and 180mm rotor rear. I love that it has these little fins that act as heat sync, quad piston calipers, and bigger rotors that cool faster and give great mechanical advantage.
Powering the bike is a 36v 13.6ah lithium ion battery pack. The battery is frame integrated which helps the bike maintain its stealthy look while staying secure at the same time. I say secure because there are 8 hex bolts that bind the battery safely and strongly into place. The battery even has its own plate that it rests on, (the plate is the part that bolts on) so it stays protected and stable. I was really impressed with this, however, it could be cumbersome to always have to remove and redo bolts if you are someone looking to charge the battery off of the bike… you will mostly be charging the battery on the bike. So it definitely has its target user, rather than the guy that wants to remove the battery all the time to charge in the office. To really care for this and other lithium-ion packs, I have heard that storing in a cool dry location vs. extreme heat or cold will extend the life and try to keep it about 50% full when not using for long periods so you won’t stress the cells. Try not to let it run down to zero, because that’s really hard on the cell chemistry.
The cockpit is very orderly and neat thanks to the small Shimano display. It seems to trade convenience for durability and stealthiness. It also works in tandem with Shimano’s E-TUBE app allowing for more functions. In short, the power button is way down on the battery and the display screen changer button is this little round button positioned below the display, not within reach of either grip. You cannot cycle through readouts without taking one of your hands completely off the bar and then carefully pressing up on a tiny rubber circle that’s about the size of a round eraser built into the end of a pencil! Even when stopped, if you’re wearing gloves, this button seems a little small. Perhaps it’s not an issue for most riders because all you really need to do is turn the bike on and then click the left trigger shifters to navigate from Off to Eco, Trail, or Boost… and then pedal. But if you never press this little rubber button, you won’t see your distance, odometer, range estimate, trip time, average speed. You’ll just see your current speed or pedal cadence (those are the only two readouts that stay put when you cycle to them). To me, this is a purist decision, one that favors symmetry and tradition over usability. But, it’s not bad. I’m the kind of rider that prefers the extra large Bosch Intuvia or Brose center displays because I cannot read fine print and those products have easy to reach rubberized buttons that do many things. Perhaps my favorite part of the compact Shimano display is that it provides readouts for both motor assist, lights (if you had them integrated), and gearing because of the electronic shifting used on this EN model. I love how snappy the gears changed, that they would stay true longer because there’s less cabling to get stretched, and that I could still do multi-step shifts. It really is neat to have trigger shifters that click (on both bars) that really aren’t pulling any cables, just sending electronic signals. The drivetrain here is tight, and even provides a one-way clutch system to reduce or increase tension on the chain, which can reduce bounce and drops. This is a different sort of electric bike, one that seems to be chasing the pure cycling experience and layout while stuffing in the latest and greatest technology throughout.
In conclusion, the Shuttle is a very premium ebike with a streamlined and well thought out approach by keeping everything lightweight and in the Shimano family. There are some tradeoffs to consider here though. While I like the Shimano display and it’s minimalism, it is hard to reach and only shows battery level in 5 ticks. This could be annoying trying guess how much battery level is left. Speaking of the battery, the other tradeoff is battery removal. As mentioned before, it is secured by 8 hex bolts, so while removal is possible, you will likely be confined to charging the battery on the bike most of the time, where as typically it is better to keep batteries indoors when not in use. The final tradeoff would be for some, the price. At $9,999, this bike will not speak to everyone. However, for the right person, it could be a perfect setup. It is not easy to come by carbon fiber, full suspension, high component, electric bikes, so in some ways, this is the realization of a dream many have had for years. It was so much fun to take it out and I want to thank Pivot for letting me test out the Shuttle.
As always, I welcome questions and feedback in the comment section below. Whether you own a previous version of the bike, have taken a test ride, or are brand new to the space, my goal is to provide an objective and honest resource. You can also join the Pivot Cycles ebike forums and share your own photos, videos, and review updates to help others! Have fun out there, and ride safe :)
Pros:
- The bike is very lightweight, and that is thanks to this carbon fiber frame, really a quality setup
- The full suspension here is great, they are both Fox brand, the front has 140mm of travel, while the rear uses a DW Link setup that give it a ‘bottomless’ feel, really a great setup
- I love how streamlined everything is, the bike has a really stealthy look, part of that is from the frame integrated battery, the battery is strong and secure via 8 hex bolts and even gets its own skid plate
- The bike feels really premium, while being light at the same time, a great example of this is the handle bar that is also made of carbon fiber!
- The hydraulic brakes here are super impressive, it features a set of Shimano Saint 203mm hydraulic brakes in the front and 180mm rotor rear, I love that it has these little fins that act as heat sync, quad piston calipers, and bigger rotors that cool faster and give great mechanical advantage
- Most high end ebikes have tires that come ’tubeless ready’, where as the Shuttle comes tubeless as is!
- The Shimano E8000 motor is mountain-specific, delivering higher peak torque up to 70 Newton meters vs. the standard Shimano E6000 which offers 50 Nm, it’s a bit louder and will drain the battery faster but performs very well on steep, rugged terrain
- The motor itself is very compact, positions the crank arms further back to reduce chainstay length (for a snappier ride), and is angled up to maximize trail clearance, I believe that it uses a traditional Q-Factor as well so the crank arms aren’t pushed out as wide as some other ebikes
- Because Shimano has designed their electric bike motors to work with standard sized chainrings, you can change the sizing easily aftermarket, there’s also no mechanical drag because of a reduction gear when pedaling unassisted or beyond the maximum assisted speed of 20 mph
- Extra wide gear range in the 11-speed cassette, you get 11-46 tooth sprockets and a XT derailleur, shifting is done electronically on this bike which means it is faster, more exact, and won’t suffer as much from cable stretch over time
- Super clean cockpit with ebike controls that imitate shifters, the display is smaller than a lot of competing products and allows you to manage gears as well as motor assist levels
- Has a seat post dropper, so different sized riders can enjoy riding the bike and mount more easily while also transitioning smoothly between different stances and terrain
- Shimano does offer a smartphone application called the E-TUBE App which allows you to adjust more settings, I believe their system can also connect with heart rate monitors using ANT+ wireless, it’s neat that you can just hold the circle button on the base of the display and get access to so many menus (including the ability to turn off beeping noise)
- Compared to the city-oriented Shimano E6000, the mountain-oriented E8000 has a higher RPM support, so you can spin up closer to 120 and not have to shift as much to hit higher speeds
Cons:
- A pricier ebike at $9,999 so it may not be for everyone, when you do consider the carbon fiber frame on the bike, as well as the nicer Shimano components, it does make sense a bit though
- The Shimano display is compact and purist, but you cannot adjust it or remove it easily, also the main button is difficult to reach, especially so during aggressive riding, with no controls on the side, you have to remove a hand from the handle bar to view other stats, also the display is so compact, the smaller readout can be difficult for some
- There is no shift detection here, which is a bit of a missed opportunity since it employs an electronic shifting system
- The battery is secure, but removal and putting it back means undoing and redoing 8 hex bolts, so most people will be charging the battery on the bike, unless you have a climate controlled garage, not the best for storage and can get in the way of charging the battery indoors at the office for example
- No lights, fenders, rack, bottle cage boses, or kickstand… this is not a big deal for much of the target audience here, but as more and more people are commuting with mountain bikes (our friend in the video commutes on a Pivot Shuttle) it would be nice to have some options and mounting points
Resources:
DeBee Corley
5 years ago36volt, 250w, 70nm for $10,000? Lightweight at 50 lbs? 20mph. I built my own Bafang Ultra suspension bike. Put a large front sprocket on for speed. I had to notch the swingarm to make it fit. It was aluminum. This bike has a swingarm that also interfers with a large front sprocket. I wouldn’t dare notch it.
ReplyCourt
5 years agoHi DeBee, I hear ya. Keep in mind that they needed to maintain Class 1 specifications for the bike to be qualified for pro racing events and for use on most North-America trails. You’ve exaggerated the 50lbs, because it’s closer to 47lbs, which is pretty good for a full suspension product with a 500 watt hour battery pack. Yep, there are alternatives out there for sure, and we try to cover a variety here. This is just one of the more expensive and premium legal products being done by a leading name in the space… Pivot Cycles ;)
ReplyBen
5 years agoThis is not a bike on which speed is important. This is a bike for serious mountain bikers who don’t want to sacrifice the agile handling of a really good mountain bike when going electric. The frame geometry for this bike is very close to Pivot’s analog mountain bike, the Mach 5.5. There are versions of that which cost more than this electric one!
If you ride like this, then you know what I mean.
Reply