The Pivot LT has undergone an overhaul and now sports a Bosch, rather than Shimano, motor. But it’s not Bosch’s latest Gen 5 Performance Line CX motor, launched in September.
Instead, the American brand has opted to install the Gen 4 Performance Line CX Race Limited Edition drive unit.
Unlike a lot of brands, though, Pivot doesn't only spec the Race motor on the flagship Shuttle LT model, but across all three build options, each accompanied by a 750Wh battery.
I’ve been fortunate enough to ride the new Shuttle LT Pro model for the last couple of weeks. Its staggeringly expensive £11,400 price tag translates into a seriously solid spec and amazing fun on the trails.
That’s down to the impressive geometry and really well-tuned suspension that does a superb job of balancing traction and support, but manages to feel lively, active and poppy.
This helps you not only carve tricky lines across dicey off-camber sections, but also hop and skip the bike around as you work your way down the trail, masking the overall weight impressively well.
On top of that, there’s the Bosch Race motor, which offers up some serious punch, making technical climbs manageable and a serious amount of fun.
Pivot Shuttle LT Pro motor and battery
The big news here is the switch to the Bosch drive unit.
Pivot originally launched the Shuttle LT with Shimano’s EP8 electric bike motor in 2022.
The new Race motor offers up 85Nm of torque, 600 watts of peak power and 400 per cent assistance (or support level).
There are four modes to choose from – Tour+, eMTB, Turbo and Race – the latter exclusive to this drive unit and harnesses the power more effectively. There's also a Walk feature to give you a hand when pushing the bike.
This performance-focused motor does away with the Eco mode and not only includes more assistance than the standard unit (which is 340 per cent), but also an increased overrun. This sees the motor continue to supply assistance to the rear wheel once you’ve stopped pedalling and is ideal for tackling tricky uphill obstacles.
Pivot opted for the Bosch Performance Line CX Race Limited Edition over the new Gen 5 Performance Line CX unit because, simply put, it's a big fan of the former, which remains Bosch’s highest-performing motor. The fact that it’s a touch lighter probably doesn’t do any harm, either.
Powering the motor is a 750Wh PowerTube battery and there’s a 250Wh PowerMore range extender available for £450.
The battery is integrated into the carbon frame and is said to be removable only by professionals.
Battery life and mode selection are monitored via the integrated top-tube controller, which gives basic information via colour LED lights, along with power and mode buttons. There’s no big-screen display, though.
A wireless handlebar-mounted remote enables you to toggle through the modes easily without having to remove your hand from the bar.
Pivot Shuttle LT Pro frame and suspension
Pivot says it has custom-tuned the carbon layup to best suit the frame size in a bid to give every rider, no matter their size, the same ride characteristics.
As standard, the Shuttle LT comes with mixed wheels – 29in at the front and 27.5in at the rear.
There is, however, a flip chip, enabling you to swap the rear wheel out for a bigger 29in hoop if you wish.
The 160mm of rear-wheel travel is delivered using the DW-Link platform, which features two co-rotating links that connect the front and rear triangles. This is designed around a 170mm fork up-front, as seen on the Pivot Firebird enduro bike.
Pivot believes firmly in the benefits of Super Boost rear wheel axle spacing, so it’s no surprise to see the 12x157mm standard used on the Shuttle LT.
And, if you’re keen on bolting spares or essentials to your frame, there’s a gear mount on the underside of the top tube.
Pivot Shuttle LT Pro geometry
Pivot has refined rather than totally overhauled the Shuttle LT’s geometry.
Reach measurements are around 3mm shorter than the outgoing bike across all sizes, with the medium I tested coming in at a claimed 468mm.
The seat tube angle is a touch slacker, too, rather than being steepened – as is all the rage. On my test bike, according to Pivot, it should be 76.5 degrees, as opposed to 77 degrees on the older frame.
Pivot has slackened the head angle, but only by 0.5 degrees, leaving it at a more modern 64 degrees.
Stack heights have increased across the board, too, while the effective chainstay length remains the same across all frame sizes, at 439mm.
One of the bigger changes is the bottom bracket height, which has been lowered by a significant 7mm, down to 350mm. That's arguably still pretty lofty, although on a bike you’re likely to pedal up chunky climbs, it’s maybe less of an issue.
| | S | M | L | XL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat tube angle (degrees) | 76.5 | 76.5 | 77 | 77.5 |
| Head tube angle (degrees) | 64 | 64 | 64 | 64 |
| Chainstay (mm) | 439 | 439 | 439 | 439 |
| Seat tube (mm) | 370 | 400 | 430 | 470 |
| Top tube (mm) | 605 | 630 | 650 | 669 |
| Head tube (mm) | 110 | 120 | 130 | 140 |
| Bottom bracket drop (mm) | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 |
| Bottom bracket height (mm) | 350 | 350 | 350 | 350 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1230 | 1256 | 1281 | 1307 |
| Standover (mm) | 686 | 690 | 692 | 693 |
| Stack (mm) | 636 | 645 | 654 | 663 |
| Reach (mm) | 445 | 468 | 488 | 510 |
Pivot Shuttle LT Pro specification
Fox suspension supplies its Factory-level 38 fork, which features the latest GRIP X2 damper and 170mm of travel.
This is paired with a Float X rear shock – also from the top-tier Factory line-up.
While the fork features both high- and low-speed compression, and rebound-damping adjustment, the shock includes low-speed compression and rebound-damping adjustment. There's also a lever to help firm things up quickly when you hit the climbs or long tarmac sections between trails.
SRAM provides the gearing in the shape of its X0 AXS (rear derailleur) and GX AXS Transmission (chain and cassette), although this is paired with an alloy Praxis crankset.
The crank arms in question are short, 160mm numbers, which are perfect for ebike shenanigans, ensuring you have plenty of clearance when pedalling up chunky trails.
Pivot has opted for Shimano XT (with four-piston calipers) on the Pro build. You’ll need to drop another couple of grand if you want true high-end stoppers, such as the XTR brakes found on the Team build.
DT Swiss Hybrid HX 1501 wheels are wrapped in front- and rear-specific Continental Kryptotal tyres, both with soft rubber compounds and enduro casings.
The weight of the Pro build in size medium is 24.17kg with pedals.
Pivot Shuttle LT Pro ride impressions
I’ve had the Shuttle LT for a few weeks, but only managed a few full days’ worth of rides so far, all of which have been on my local, very familiar trails.
These range from rolling, flowy jump tracks through to steep, technical natural trails, all of which are perfect for an electric mountain bike like this.
New Pivot Shuttle LT Pro setup
Setup was quick and easy, and once I’d stuck 150psi in the shock to achieve 30 per cent sag and backed off all the damping adjustments, the rear end of the bike felt spot-on.
Up-front, 82psi, three clicks of low-speed compression damping, plus one click of high-speed compression (counted from open) with the rebound fully backed off, left me with a fork that felt controlled and capable when pushing hard.
Pivot Shuttle LT Pro climbing performance
Uphill, the Shuttle LT feels very capable.
In medium, with my preferred saddle height, the seat tube angle felt just about steep enough for me, with plenty of weight on the rear tyre to ensure traction was maintained without the front feeling overly light or wandering.
On really steep pitches, though, I found I had to pull myself forwards on the bar to help keep the front wheel down.
This isn’t out of the ordinary, though, considering just how steep some of these climbs were. Even if the Shuttle LT’s seat tube angle was a degree steeper, I’d have likely had to do the same anyway.
While the Bosch Race motor feels incredibly punchy and powerful, it remains easy to control and feed that power in.
This was especially noticeable on slower, awkward sections of technical climbs, where I found myself crawling around features and picking my way up the hill.
If you do get stuck and need to drop a foot, getting started is surprisingly easy, too. Every time this happened to me, I never struggled with the bike pulling away from me uncontrollably.
Race mode feels like an amped-up Turbo mode when accelerating, making getting out of slow corners feel that bit more urgent and explosive.
It’s still easy to control, though, and once you’re up to speed, doesn’t feel all that different from Turbo.
While there’s no shortage of power and assistance on tap, it’s worth noting there’s a cadence sweet spot to make the most of all this.
I found if I kept my legs spinning a little quicker than I might normally, I got the most back from the motor.
Once you find it (depending on the mode you’re in), you can make the most of the help and battery range.
What I have enjoyed is the overrun feature. This maintains power to the rear wheel if you stop pedalling.
On tech climbs, when navigating obstacles or popping up rock steps, this helps preserve momentum and save you from those awkward stalling moments.
In the Turbo mode, I managed 36km and 1,771m of climbing.
Pivot Shuttle LT Pro descending performance
The Shuttle LT instantly felt balanced and confident from the off.
I think that’s down partly to the medium proportions, which are very similar to my long-term Pivot Firebird. This suits me well and feels balanced, but the suspension tune is also partly responsible.
While some eMTBs at this weight can feel as though they’re stuck permanently to the floor, the Shuttle LT is more lively and poppy than you might expect.
This in turn enables you to ride the bike in a more dynamic way without putting your back out trying to muscle it up and over trail features.
Instead, you can load the suspension up, push hard through turns and bounce from obstacle to obstacle more easily.
For me, this ups the fun factor. While I’m a big fan of eMTBs, I don’t like having to work against them or feel like a complete passenger when piloting one.
The Shuttle LT’s lively handling means I not only felt more in control, but also had more fun every time I dropped into a trail.
However, there’s no shortage of grip when you need it. The Continental rubber works impressively well in a multitude of terrain and conditions, while the supple suspension helps ensure the tyres can trace the trail’s undulations to enhance traction as much as possible.
That means despite what appears to be a relatively high bottom bracket on paper, it doesn’t feel tall or unwieldy on the trail.
Commit to a turn, get off the brakes and the Shuttle LT will rip through the corner with masses of control, enabling you to simply focus on the line ahead.
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