Lightweight, mid-power e-bikes are the hot ticket right now, and none are coming in hotter than the new Shuttle SL from Pivot. Based on a 29er trail bike platform that delivers 132mm of travel, the Shuttle SL isn’t just another self-service uplift e-bike… but is it one of the best electric mountain bikes out there?

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Need to know

• 29er e-trail bike with 132mm travel that weighs 18.47kg
• Designed around the Fazua Ride 60 motor with 60Nm torque and 450W peak power
• Integrated Fazua 430Wh battery helps reduce range anxiety
• Shimano XTR drivetrain and four-piston brakes offer ultimate control
• Flip-chip in the rocker link pivot provides two geometry settings
• Entry-level Shuttle SL 29 Ride SLX/XT costs £9,500

Instead, Pivot has integrated the eagerly awaited Fazua Ride 60 motor (1.96kg) and 430Wh (2.2kg) battery into a full carbon frame to deliver a top-end bike that weighs 18.47kg in size L.

Now, you’re probably thinking, that’s not as light as Pivot claimed when it launched the Shuttle SL… And you’d be dead right. But the reason is simple.

Pivot has another Shuttle SL build called the World Cup XTR that costs the exact same money but gets a Fox 34 fork, inline Float DPS shock, Maxxis Recon tyres and a KS dropper post to maximise weight saving and boost the internet buzz with a sub 17kg claimed weight in size small.

Frame design and geometry

Regardless of the build kit all Shuttle SLs use the same full carbon frame. The 430Wh battery is fully integrated, so you can’t remove it for charging off the bike, like you can with the Trek Fuel EXe. And while Fazua also offers the Ride 60 system with a removable battery, as used by Transition on the new Relay, it’s lighter to go with the fully integrated approach.

The Shuttle SL is available in four frame sizes. The reach measurements are generous (480mm size L) and the chainstays lengths short. On the S and M the rear ends measure 430mm, on the size L it grows to 432mm and XL gets 436mm.

So the geometry is not truly size specific or proportional, as there are limits to how much you can move the DW suspension links rearward relative to the BB before you mess up the suspension characteristics.

In low geometry setting the Shuttle SL delivers a 65º head angle and a 75.5º effective seat angle at a saddle height of 740mm. So if you run your saddle height taller it will be a bit slacker. I don’t mind that though as this isn’t a steep up, speed down kind of bike, and the slightly slacker seat angle offers a more neutral position for pedalling on mixed gradient terrain.

And that’s the real beauty of the Fazua Ride 60 system. With the motor off or when the assistance cuts out, it has the lowest pedal resistance of any system I’ve ridden. So it doesn’t really matter if you’re in Breeze, River or Rocket mode (eco, trail, turbo) when the motor cuts out at the 15.5mph limit, as the transition is relatively seamless.

It has the lowest pedal resistance of any system I’ve ridden

The motor is also very quiet, and even when switching between the three distinct power modes the jumps feel evenly spaced. In Breeze mode the max power is 120W, River delivers 280W and Rocket peaks at 350W. All three power modes are adjustable in the Fazua app and you can change how the power ramps up too.

There’s also a fourth Boost mode. Hold the control button up and no matter which mode you’re in you get a peak power delivery of 450W that’s sustained for 12 seconds. Handy when you’re in a high gear, turn a corner and are suddenly faced with what looks like an impossible climb.

Fazua’s handlebar mounted controller is neat and very intuitive in use. And while the Ring Control unit is relatively low in profile, it feels a little flimsy and fragile, so fingers crossed it isn’t.

Fazua hasn’t gone all in on the display, like some brands, either. Instead, you have a basic traffic light system that shows you which mode you are in and how much battery capacity is left.

Yes, it’s relatively low tech compared to the display on Forestal’s bikes, but I never felt like I was missing out on any data. Then again, it’s my job to test the performance of the bikes, not list all of the metrics available. So let’s get into it.

How it rides

My very first ride on the Pivot Shuttle SL was on some of the off-piste tracks that surround Pedalabikeaway in the Forest of Dean. I set the sag a smidge higher than the dedicated sag indicator, suggested, as most of the trail bikes I test feel better with slightly less sag.

Not the Pivot Shuttle SL. Yes, the firm setup felt amazing on all of the pumpy, flowy, jumpy sections, but on the rough stuff I noticed my feet bouncing around on the pedals too much, even for a bike with only 132mm travel. The slightly firmer set-up also pushed me too far over the front end on steeper techy descents, which did nothing for my confidence.

First impressions of the Fazua motor were very positive though. It has great support and power and the overrun is really useful on more technical climbs. Let the overrun run its course however, and there’s a slight delay in the motor engaging. Thankfully, I only noticed this when mixing light pedalling with coasting along a fire road.

I dropped the shock pressure by just 10psi to 170psi on my second outing on the Shuttle SL which placed the o-ring right in line with the sag indicator that’s zip tied to the air can of the Fox Float X shock.

And it’s surprising what a difference this small change made. Not only did the suspension response improve dramatically, the bike really benefited from the lower dynamic ride height. Because, let’s face it, the 342mm BB height is pretty tall for a short travel bike.

With the shock at the recommended sag, getting full travel out of the rear suspension still isn’t easy. And that’s because Pivot delivers its bikes with more volume spacer fitted as standard as it doesn’t want riders complaining about bottoming the suspension. It also guarantees that you get the volume spacers you need with the bike.

So the next step for me is to crack open the shock and remove one of the spacers, to see if I can achieve full travel without having to send it too deep on drops. When the Shuttle SL is in the work stand I’ll also swap the EXO casing Maxxis Dissector tyres for the tougher EXO+ variety, which will tip the weight of the bike closer to 19kg.

Hopefully neither change will detract from the fact that the Pivot Shuttle SL offers a lively dynamic ride.

I’m convinced the short chainstay length helps offset the forward weight distribution of the bigger battery, that’s exaggerated by the motor extending up inside the downtube. And combined with the low standover height the shorter stays also make the bike feel more compact and manoeuvrable than the weight and reach measurements initially suggest.

And by not scrimping on battery capacity to save weight, Fazua has delivered a system that’s got just the right amount of power with none of the range anxiety associated with most mid power e-bikes.

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