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Apr 09, 2024

Pivot Shuttle AM Review

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. How we test gear. Put the Pivot Shuttle AM at the top of your list if you’re shopping for the best

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. How we test gear.

Put the Pivot Shuttle AM at the top of your list if you’re shopping for the best all-around e-mountain bike.

Last summer, Pivot rolled out two new e-bike platforms that bookended its existing Shuttle e-mtb. The Fazua Ride 60 aided Shuttle SL (132mm rear/150mm front) is a lightweight and lower-powered—along the lines of Trek’s Fuel EXe and the Specialized Levo SL—addition to the line. The Shuttle LT is a full-power e-MTB with a Shimano EP8 motor, a big battery (756Wh), and lots of travel (160mm rear/170mm front).

In the middle was the Pivot Shuttle AM (140mm rear/160mm front), which traces its DNA back to Pivot’s first e-bike: The 2017 Shuttle. The Shuttle AM saw its last major update in 2020; eons ago in the fast-moving and ultra-competitive e-MTB category.

So, it is not surprising that Pivot was working on a new Shuttle AM: That bike breaks cover today. Pivot didn’t change the bike’s purpose or positioning: It’s still a full-power, mid-travel (148mm rear/160mm front), all-around e-mountain bike. Even so, it is a radically new bike.

From the beginning, the Shuttle (rebranded Shuttle AM with the launch of the SL and LT) used a Shimano motor. But after six years of Shimano power, Pivot switched to Bosch motors for the latest Shuttle AM.

That means Pivot’s three e-bikes each use a different brand’s motor: Fazua for the Shuttle SL, Bosch for the Shuttle AM, and Shimano for the Shuttle LT.

I asked Pivot’s president, Chris Cocalis, why there is a different motor supplier for each e-bike in his line, “We’ve chosen different motors for different performance reasons,” he explained, “With the Fazua motor, it enabled us to build the Shuttle SL with the lowest weight and the best power to weight ratio in the sport. With the Shuttle LT, the Shimano system offers great controllable power in a lightweight package with the longest range battery options, and the ability to place that weight super low in the fame, and have a removable battery. With the Bosch system on the Shuttle SL, we get wireless integration and support from the largest e-bike motor supplier in the sport”.

The Shuttle AM Ride ($9,000) and Shuttle AM Pro ($11,800) use Bosch’s Performance Line CX motor which features up to 85Nm of torque and up to 320 percent support. It’s fueled by a 625Wh battery (Ride) or a 750Wh battery (Pro).

Meanwhile, the Shuttle AM Team ($14,000) uses Bosch’s limited edition hot rod motor: The Performance Line CX Race. This motor’s major distinction is its Race mode which offers up to 400 percent support and unique assist characteristics. This motor features a lighter (by 136 grams) magnesium casing and some internal changes to handle the additional assist. But other than Race mode, the Race motor operates the same as the Performance Line CX motor. The Team also has a 750Wh battery.

At present, Bosch sells a maximum of 500 CX Race motors to each OE: Consequently, only 500 Pivot Shuttle AM Teams are available worldwide. In addition to limited numbers, Cocalis stated each Race motor costs Pivot almost double that of the Performance Line CX.

The last time I reviewed an e-MTB with a Bosch motor, I was frustrated by the experience. Bosch used a massive (and overly complicated) handlebar remote and the clunky Kiox display. And because Bosch restricted riders’ ability to customize drive modes. Also frustrating: Bosch didn’t let riders pair the system to an external GPS computer like a Garmin or Wahoo.

The Pivot Shuttle AM I rode was a much different experience. It featured Bosch’s new tidy—and wireless—three-button Mini Remote. Plus, it has the brand’s low-profile System Controller in the top tube (offering battery status indicator lights, a power switch, and a drive mode switch).

Pivot also equipped the bike with Bosch’s wireless rear wheel speed sensor which eliminates the need for a wired speed sensor pickup in the non-drive swingarm dropout, and the magnet on the rear disc rotor. Bosch has also relaxed its hold on riders’ ability to customize drive modes in the brand’s Flow app.

However, the system still won’t pair with a GPS unit. Bosch does have their own Kiox display and riders may use the company’s Flow app and run their smartphone as a handlebar dashboard, so options are available for riders who want more detailed information on their bars.

But I still find it absurd that Bosch doesn’t unlock this option when Shimano, Fazua, Specialized, TQ, eBikeMotion, and most other premium e-bike drive units can talk with a rider’s head unit and display info like battery status, drive mode, remaining range, rider, and motor power, and so much more. Bosch addressed many of my other complaints, so hopefully, connectivity to Garmin and Wahoo head units is on Bosch’s to-do list.

The Shuttle AM comes equipped with a 625Wh battery (Ride) or a 750Wh battery (Pro and Team). These batteries are not quick release—removing them requires dropping the motor. But all frames are compatible with both batteries, so Shuttle AM Ride owners can step up to the larger battery for more range, while Pro and Team owners can drop down to the 625Wh battery and take a pound and a half off the bike’s weight. However, either battery will cost you nearly $1,000.

Riders who want yet more range can add Bosch’s new PowerMore 250Wh external range extender. Pivot did not have a price for the range extender yet—it is not available until fall—but based on what I could find online, I expect it will run about $500 in the USA.

In what seems like a very Bosch move, this battery does not fit into a standard water bottle cage like other range extenders. Instead, it employs a unique mount that anchors to the frame’s bottle cage bosses. Bosch offers a bottle cage adapter that clips into the range extender’s mount for rides when the extender isn’t necessary.

I’m reasonably certain there’s an engineer or twenty at Bosch that could provide a lengthy explanation as to why this mounting approach for the range extender is superior but, jeez-um, from a bike owner’s perspective, it sure seems overly complex compared to what other brands do: Simply shaping the range extender so it fits in a good old standard bottle cage.

Range estimates were not provided, and I’m actually thankful. e-Bike range varies so much based on riders’ weight, terrain, weather, and more that range estimates are guesses based upon guesses.

What I can tell you is my second ride on the Suttle AM is one of my favorite loops anywhere in the world: Crested Butte, Colorado’s Reno Divide, Flag Creek, Bear Creek, Deadmans’s Gulch loop (26.6 miles and 3,900 feet of climbing). Dressed to ride and with a small hydration pack, I’m coming in around 180 pounds these days. I ran sport mode for the Reno Divide climb (4.7 miles, 1,300 feet of climbing), then used turbo and e-MTB modes (occasionally using Race mode) for the rest of the ride. The total moving time was two hours, and I finished with about 20 percent battery remaining.

Pivot debuts the new Shuttle AM in three builds; priced at $9,000 (Ride), $11,800 (Pro), and $14,000 (Team). Pro and Team models are in shops from today; Ride models arrive “slightly later” according to Pivot.

Full build details are at Pivot’s website, but here are a few highlights:

All builds run Maxxis Minion Wide Trail MaxxTerra tires with EXO+ casing front and rear and get a Pivot stem, handlebar, and lock-on grips.

All use the same carbon fiber composite frame, with the Ride and Pro running the standard Bosch Performance Line CX motor, while the limited-edition Team (only 500 units available worldwide) uses the Performance Line CX Race motor.

The rear suspension system is, like all Pivot suspension frames since the beginning of the brand, DW-Link with 148mm of travel. The previous generation Shuttle AM had horizontal shock placement (the last Pivot model to have a horizontal shock), but the new frame switches to the vertical arrangement now employed by all Pivots. Cocalis stays this lowers the frame’s standover (this model has the lowest standover of any Pivot e-bike), increases bottle clearance, and is ultimately lighter than a horizontal shock. Air shocks are standard on all builds, but Cocalis states the frame is coil-over approved.

This bike runs 157mm Super Boost Plus rear axle spacing: No surprise here as Cocalis was the driving force behind the standard. Like most modern mountain bikes, this bike runs the SRAM UDH standard.

A high/low flip chip resides in the swingarm’s upper link attachment which, with the stock-matched 29-inch wheels, alters angles 0.4 degrees, and raises or lowers the bottom bracket by half an inch. The Shuttle AM sells with matched 29-inch wheels, this bike is compatible with a 27.5 rear wheel—Pivot recommends running the flip chip in the high position with the smaller rear wheel.

The Shuttle AM has Pivot’s familiar clamping cable hatches with routing tubes inside the frame. The port system is compatible with US and UK brake setups. The accessory/dock mount under the top tube is another detail found on several Pivot bikes.

The Shuttle AM arrives in four sizes: small, medium, large, and extra-large. Geometry tables are below for your enjoyment.

In typical Pivot fashion, the Shuttle AM has a generously roomy cockpit with a long reach and top tube, a sane (not stupid steep) seat tube angle, and a slack-ish head angle.

I’ve only had two rides on the new Shuttle AM so far, but they were great rides in Crested Butte Colorado on trails I know well. The terrain was typical Colorado mid/high country terrain: Long expanses of primarily flowing trails with occasional rock gardens and numerous switchbacks. Fun, but I would not call it rowdy: There were no frighteningly steep sections, jumps and drops, or extended sections of punishing chunk and gnar. Pivot set me up on the top-of-the-line Team edition with the Bosch Race motor.

I’ll get my complaint out of the way first: The Bosch motor is a bit noisy. There’s both gear whine when the motor is running and clunking from the motor when coasting. But I found it wasn’t long before the motor noises faded into the background, and I wasn’t thinking about them while I was concentrating on the trail ahead.

As I noted in the Trek Rail review, on the trail Bosch’s latest motors are superb. Most assist modes—and particularly the dynamic eMTB mode—are well-tuned, intuitive, smooth, and feel quite natural.

But Race mode is bananas, offering full beans with even a hint of rider torque on the pedals. In addition, Race mode offers a lengthy “extended boost” which is how long the motor continues to drive after the rider stops pedaling. Between the two, riders can get a hell of a lot of thrust even while ratcheting (or “tippling” as Bosch’s German employees call it) through technical terrain.

My two rides on the race motor were not enough time for me to fully learn how to work with it on the trail. Particularly on steeper and more technical climbs where, as I found out, looping out is a real possibility. But even on flatter terrain Race mode hits so hard and fast that, at slower speeds, it was tricky to keep the bike under control when smooth and subtle movements were required.

I think that Race mode is best used for faster and more flowing terrain, and the more regulated power of Bosch’s eMTB mode is best for riding tech, but I don’t have enough time on the system to know for sure.

But one thing I quickly felt was how amazing Race mode is for accelerating out of slower corners. In race mode, it takes only a few crank revolutions to shoot from walking speed to the assist limit: Brake, turn, two pedal strokes, and, bam, 20mph.

I ride e-mountain bikes regularly now, so I’m used to how they feel and react on the trail: Wrangling a 50-pound motorized mountain bike down the trail is no longer the shock to all my senses it once was.

But many e-mountain bikes do feel different underneath me, and usually worse in ways, than unpowered bikes on the trail. To me, it feels like many e-bike frames have a combination of too much stiffness in some areas of the frame and too little stiffness in others which leads to slightly unpredictable, slightly vague, slightly numb, slightly mysterious sensations. But I’ve generally put these sensations aside because that’s just how e-bikes felt.

The Shuttle AM did not have those mysterious sensations. The unified and harmonious feel from the frame was a level above anything I’ve yet experienced from an e-bike. This bike felt natural; it deflected, wound up, and snapped in predictable and normal ways and there was almost none of the thudding feedback seen in many e-bike frames.

This well-tuned frame was complimented by the Shuttle AM’s balanced handling, which is suited to its role as an all-around. If anything, it has a slight bias towards stability, illustrated by the 1250mm wheelbase (size medium): That’s a bit longer than Trek’s Rail (1236mm, medium), Santa Cruz Heckler (1226mm, medium MX), and the Specialized Levo (1225mm, S3)—both 150mm rear/160mm front travel bikes like the Shuttle AM).

While the wheelbase is on the longer end the steering remains responsive, and the Shuttle AM gets around flatter and slower-speed corners well and without requiring a ton of work on the rider’s part to get the front tire to bite.

The effective seat tube angle hovers around 76.5 degrees (your specific seat tube angle aboard a Shuttle AM, like most modern mountain bikes, is dictated by your saddle height), which is on the slacker side of fashionable at the moment.

I suspect riders who live in areas with very steep sustained climbing will complain that it is not steep enough. But I—and I’ve stated before that I prefer more moderate seat angles—found it in the sweet spot for both climbing and pedaling on flatter sections of trails. Plus, I posit that dw-Link bikes—because they have great anti-squat support and ride higher in their travel than many other suspension systems—don’t require the super steep seat angle of a bike with less anti-squat support.

The Shuttle AM, like every Pivot, runs Fox suspension. Up front is a 36, which I applaud. There is an argument that the stiffer 38 is more suitable for a 50-pound e-bike. However, I find the super rigid 38 chassis transmits more shock to the rider, I think it pinballs and deflects more in rocky jank, and I think the 38’s spring support in the initial stages of its travel leaves something to be desired. If you’re a heavier rider, or you’re smashing terrain at pro speeds, the 38’s stiffness is probably a benefit, but for many of the rest of us, I think the 36 is a better riding and better handling fork.

At the rear is a custom-tuned Fox Float X. Pivot, in my opinion, is one of the best at dialing in shock tunes. And combined with the brand’s long relationship with dw-Link suspension, the Shuttle AM gets the most out of its rear suspension. There is excellent support on the climbs and when pushing through high-G corners, the sensitivity and traction are great, and the bike floats, skips, and sucks up terrain beautifully.

As a category, e-mountain bikes continue to get better, more refined, and more diverse. But at this moment, I think there’s no better all-around e-mountain bike you can buy than the Shuttle AM.

A gear editor for his entire career, Matt’s journey to becoming a leading cycling tech journalist started in 1995, and he’s been at it ever since; likely riding more cycling equipment than anyone on the planet along the way. Previous to his time with Bicycling, Matt worked in bike shops as a service manager, mechanic, and sales person. Based in Durango, Colorado, he enjoys riding and testing any and all kinds of bikes, so you’re just as likely to see him on a road bike dressed in Lycra at a Tuesday night worlds ride as you are to find him dressed in a full face helmet and pads riding a bike park on an enduro bike. He doesn’t race often, but he’s game for anything; having entered road races, criteriums, trials competitions, dual slalom, downhill races, enduros, stage races, short track, time trials, and gran fondos. Next up on his to-do list: a multi day bikepacking trip, and an e-bike race.

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