Pivot Shuttle: The US luxury forge is under power

Pivot Firebird, Switchblade or Mach 5.5 - die-hard mountain bikers click their tongues at these names. But the US brand, on which Emilie Siegenthaler is enjoying success in the DH World Cup, can also do things differently: the E-Fully Shuttle is celebrating its premiere at Eurobike. Ride chased the bike, which will only be available in Europe, around the test track.

It felt like the bike that rolled over the test course the most at Eurobike: the Pivot Shuttle, the US luxury manufacturer's entry into the motorized mountain bike market. The bike offers a trendy enduro geometry with a short stem, long top tube and playful top tube. At low speeds, this makes the bike feel a little wobbly, but the Shimano motor nimbly ensures that the bike gets up to speed immediately after a short crank movement. The drive is muscular, and in Boost mode at the latest, climbs lose their terror. What is immediately noticeable during a test ride: the bike feels balanced and very stiff. Even if the rear suspension with 140 millimeters and DW-Link and the Fox 36 fork cannot show their potential on the smoothly ironed Eurobike test course, there is a premonition that the bike is probably not afraid of difficult terrain.

The Pivot Shuttle's low weight of 19.95 kilograms is remarkable. This is a new record for Pivot, comparable bikes such as a Rocky Mountain Altitude Powerplay leave the needle on the scales at around 22 kilograms. The Maxxis Rekon tires are certainly a concession to this weight, but a Maxxis Minion tire is probably more fun in difficult terrain. Some manufacturers rely on non-removable batteries to keep the weight down, but not the Shuttle: the Shimano battery sits under a carbon cover, which is designed as a load-bearing frame component. This cover is secured with several Allen screws, so it is not a case of pure plug and play when changing the battery, but removing and fitting the cover takes a few minutes.

The short chainstays of 437 millimetres, which are made possible by the use of a rear hub with an installation width of 157 millimetres, are also noteworthy. The price is also causing a stir, which at around 10,000 euros could limit the number of buyers somewhat. The Pivot Shuttle will only be marketed in Europe so as not to exacerbate the discussion or even the problems surrounding access to trails in the USA. The first availability of the e-bike from Arizona is set for October.