First Look: Pivot's New Shuttle LT eMTB

Frame and Motor Details

There's no arguing that the Shuttle LT has improved its aesthetics over the previous Shuttle with its beer belly downtube, but looks aren't the only reason for the change. Trunnion mount shocks are popular with frame designers for their short eye-to-eye and that decreases packaging constraints. Now, the Shuttle LT is optimized in terms of both desirable kinematics and allows room for a water bottle inside the front triangle. To fine-tune either of the air shocks that come spec'd on the builds, or a Fox DHX2, Pivot has published a comprehensive setup guide that includes settings for the stock fork.

At the top of the seatstay that elegantly flows into the top tube line, an offset pivot allows for 0.5 degrees of adjustment to the seat tube and head tube angles. The steeper of the two can be used to accommodate a 27.5" rear wheel. Even though the builds arrive with a 170mm travel fork, they are built to handle an extra 10mm, so long as it stays in the single crown variety. Another min/max is the rear rotor which is limited to specifically 203mm - a 200mm, like those from SRAM brakes will not yield enough pad contact due to the specific height of the post mount brake boss.

By now, the Shimano EP8 doesn't present any surprises. It's fairly reliable, quick to tune via the app, and easy to locate service centers, should it act up. 85Nm of torque and a 756Wh are fairly standard numbers when comparing what other brands offer on their full-powered eMTBs. That means that there are no ISCG mounts on the motor or frame, but there is a color matched, painted shroud that disguises the motor compared to other brands that simply plug and play the fitment of the EP8.

In about one minute, the battery can be removed without having to unbolt the motor and it has an integrated charging port at the bottom of the seat tube, above the BB. A full charge takes about 5 hours, but Pivot claims that wait time drops to 3.5 hours if you can make it back to the outlet with one bar of juice left.


Geometry

Compared to the Shuttle SL, the full gas, LT frame is geared towards rowdier riding and therefore received a slacker 64-degree head tube angle, but oddly enough, doesn't see the same decision to size-matched chainstay lengths. Those numbers remain at 441mm across the four sizes that span in reach from 445 to 510mm in the low BB setting, basically increasing 20mm per size. Pivot does kindly increase the seat tube angle for taller riders, which shifts from 76.5 degrees on the small and medium to 77 on the large, and 77.5 on the XL.


Specs and Pricing

What goes hand in hand with carbon and e-bikes? A much lighter wallet after the purchase of a Shuttle LT. There's no hiding that the prices are up there, but you are looking at a boutique frame with an electric motor to get you up the hill faster. With that said, there are only two build kits and no aluminum frame options.

Closing in on five figures, the $9,899 SLX/XT combo also sees some influx of Deore drivetrain components, namely the chain and cassette. As for suspension, the Fox 38 gets the base GRIP damper and Float X, which do the job quite well. There are also the DT Swiss Hybrid H1900 wheels which have proved to be bomber in past reviews and attentively, the Galfer Rotors are bumped up to a large diameter 223 at the front.

The Team XTR trim level receives a similar split on the chain and cassette, which are actually of the XT variety, but this time all the stops are pulled out for Factory level Fox components, like a Transfer post, 38 GRIP2 fork, and Float X shock. One move that was possibly a choice to get those weight numbers under a certain figure could be the Maxxis EXO+ tires which are questionable in terms of durability under a fully loaded eMTB.

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eMTB Reviews and Tech First Looks Pivot Pivot Shuttle Lt