Unmatched Power and Acceleration: Pivot Cycles Lightweight Shuttle AM E-Mountain Bike Review

In late August, Pivot debuted the brand new version of the full-powered, mid-travel Shuttle AM electric mountain bike. Earlier in the summer, I had the privilege to test one out in Crested Butte, Colo.

The updated Shuttle AM is topped off with a new, lighter-weight Gen 5 Bosch Performance Line CX-R drive unit, which launched this year. The best-in-class motor delivers more power and ups the ante with a brand-new race mode.

This polished upgrade adds a smidge of travel, making it a 160mm (front) and 150mm (rear) workhorse, up from 160/148mm. Recently, in 2024, the DW link system in the suspension was also redesigned to a vertical position, allowing for internal cable routing, a smoother aesthetic, and an updated geometry.

Considering other full-powered e-mountain bikes on the market, the Shuttle AM is a massive investment for serious (or wealthy) cyclists. The $14,500 price tag will make many scoff. But it’s also among one of the absolute top-shelf e-mountain bikes on the market. More on this later. Just know what you’re getting into here.

In short: Wildly smooth and decisive, the Pivot Shuttle AM ($14,499) accelerates to top speed with uninterrupted precision. This electric mountain bike tackles slopes with an 800Wh internal battery, 750 W of peak power, 100Nm of torque, and a race-tuned motor that’s highly efficient all the way through its max output in Race mode. Sitting at 160mm/150mm in the front/back, the mid-travel combined with a carbon frame and carbon wheels makes an ideal setup for big mountain rides.

I tested the Team XX build with 29-inch wheels, but it’s MX (mixed wheel) compatible, and adventures can be lengthened with a 250Wh range extender ($550, sold separately, not tested). Like the Team XX, the Pro build also comes with the race drive unit — the Bosch CX-R — while the Ride Eagle build has the non-race version: the CX drive unit.

Test Rides: Pivot Cycles Shuttle AM Electric Mountain Bike

I’m just under 5’6″ and tested a small frame size, which felt pretty spot on for my height and reach. For a full-powered e-mountain bike, I was pleased with the weight at 47.5 pounds. With moderate effort, I could lift the bike onto the hitch bike rack of my Tacoma.

From spring to fall, I’ve tested several e-mountain bikes across 45 hours, alongside analog rides. Altogether, I logged 3 hours, 33 miles, and 4,400 vertical feet on singletrack, double track, and paved paths around Crested Butte and Gunnison, Colo., on the Shuttle AM — and it left me wanting more miles. This bike is an absolute blast.

For comparison, the e-MTB I’ve most ridden this season is a Scott Genius alloy 29er with 150mm front/rear travel. At nearly 55 pounds, that model has a Gen 4 Bosch motor with 85Nm of torque and 625Wh.

With how sleek, quiet, and powerful the Shuttle is, that Genius is valiant, but the handling and power feel comparatively clunky and antiquated. E-mountain bikes have come a long way in a short time.

Race Motor: Power and Drive System

As I pedaled into a wide bend on the paved Rec Path, from the town of Crested Butte up to Crested Butte Mountain Resort, I noticed something strange. I was literally passing the Mountain Express bus en route on Gothic Road, parallel to the Rec Path.

Glancing down at the bike’s bright, large display, I saw why: 20 mph. I’d reached the bike’s top speed, but the acceleration was so buttery, I didn’t even notice.

Shuttle AM’s acceleration and power are unmatched. This Team XX build comes with the race-tuned version of the Bosch CX-R drive unit, a race-ready motor that’s 100 g lighter than the standard one. It’s built with a premium crank spindle, housing, and bearings. There’s also a Race mode (a step above Turbo), which can be deselected/selected via the Bosch eBike Flow app.

While existing Gen 5 CX motors can now be updated through the eBike Flow app — to have 100Nm of torque, 750 W, and boosted pedal assistance from 340% to 400% — the Race mode is exclusive to the CX-R hardware (hence the “R”).

The CX-R Race mode isn’t technically faster than a traditional Turbo mode. Both have a speed cap of 20 mph. What makes it different is how quickly and powerfully the motor reaches that ceiling, which was very noticeable while test riding the Shuttle AM. The output has a sharper energy curve, greater acceleration, and an extended boost. It’s full throttle.

Heads Up: How Power Influences Overrun

Any e-mountain biker should know the term “overrun” before hopping on an electric mountain bike, especially this powerful machine. Race mode has more acceleration and drive than traditional Turbo mode, so there’s also more delivered in the overrun.

When a pedal stroke activates the motor, the energy has run out. After you stop pedaling, the motor provides continued assistance for a split-second. This is noticeable when you’re pedaling up technical obstacles, like roots or rocks.

If you’re not positioned and ready for that output, you could unexpectedly wheelie on a steep, rocky section or overshoot an uphill berm in a tight corner. It’s something you can adapt to, but there’s a learning curve.

Also, you don’t need a full pedal rotation for output. Even the slightest pedal stroke delivers power.

While I loved the top speed and race mode for long approaches to trails, paved paths, and double track, it’s not my choice setting for narrower, technical singletrack. I liked to use the higher modes on smoother, predictable, and open climbs. I typically dropped the mode down for dynamic singletrack and technical ascents.

Battery and Range

Compared to the former 750Wh battery, this new 800Wh battery is 0.9 pounds lighter.

For one 11-mile ride, I pedaled the majority of the 47-minute session in Race mode — taking a blend of double track and singletrack from Crested Butte town to the top of Crested Butte Mountain Resort. With an elevation gain of 1,400 feet, the battery dropped from 100% to 78% charged.

On another 60-minute, 10.5-mile ride, I mostly used eMTB mode, as well as Turbo and Race mode. With a total ascent of 1,350 feet, the fully juiced battery ended at 76%. Battery efficiency can be optimized through consistent rpms. That said, higher power output requires more energy.

Components and Build

Older e-MTBs and motors might feel a bit jolty or lag between modes but, here, those snags feel ironed out. As you move between modes, the output is smooth and immediate. The shifting and motor makes very little sound.

That velvet experience is thanks to the SRAM XX Eagle Transmission Drivetrain — a wireless, electronic design for high-output e-MTBs, even under lots of torque — and the elegant SRAM XX 1297 Eagle Transmission 10-52t cassette. The cockpit is super clean with the wireless SRAM AXS Pod Controller.

Display and App

While I’m biking, I like being able to quickly glance down at a screen and see data. The Shuttle AM’s glossy new Bosch Kiox 400C top-tube display does just that. I appreciate how wide, tall, and navigable this screen is.

The buttons are easy to press, too. Especially on lightweight e-mountain bikes, the display can easily be half this width, shorter, and more challenging to thumb through with fewer, smaller buttons. Less information can be previewed at one time, requiring more scrollwork.

Now, I had trouble syncing this demo bike to the Bosch eBike Flow app (I suspect because it was synced to another phone). So, I was not able to make micro-adjustments of the preset modes, customize the display, or diving into the ethers of this app.

To get an idea of the app, I checked it out on someone else’s phone (paired to a different bike). It was very easy and intuitive to navigate.

On it, you can see the current riding modes that you can select in your bike. The loaded riding modes on the CX-R are Tour+, EMTB+, Turbo, and Race.

Even mid-ride, you can open the phone app to deselect or select from a long menu of additional preset modes and voilà! The modes appear on the bike’s display screen. Each pre-established mode has default settings, which you can customize: the Assistance, Dynamic, Max speed, and Max torque. There’s a 10-point scale of soft to powerful.

Geometry: Ride and Handling

My first descent on the Shuttle AM was after a long approach and climb. When I started the downhill, my initial response was, wow. The Shuttle feels so planted and well-balanced on fast descents, which surprised me, partially because the lengthy ascent was equally comfortable.

On the descent, it’s easy to maneuver, quick, and carries smoothly through tight turns. It feels light and playful, even on small jumps, which is surprising for an e-bike that’s heavier than my regular mountain bike. On the ascent, it felt easy to direct the bike and stay grounded. The bike felt predictable when I accelerated and while pedaling up chunky sections.

The Shuttle AM has a flip chip allowing slight adjustability of the geometry, which is useful depending on the type of ride. The Low setting is best for steep downhill terrain, as it slackens the geometry and lowers your center of gravity, creating a more stable, planted bike with a slightly longer wheelbase.

The High setting is better suited for mellower, flatter terrain, as it tightens up the geometry, creating a more playful, speedy, and tighter-turning bike. I mostly rode in the Low setting.

In its stock Low setting, the small frame has a 43.1cm reach, 63.2cm stack, 71.5cm standover, and 59.9cm top tube length. All four frame sizes — small through extra-large — have a head angle of 64.1 degrees and seat angle of 76.5 degrees.

In the High setting, the reach and standover are greater — 43.5cm and 71.5cm, respectively — and the head angle increases by 0.4 degrees.

Critiques

No product comes without critiques even the top-of-the-line ones. And the first one here, well, is price.

To compare, the Santa Cruz Bullit X0 AXS RSV has a $12,349 price tag. The full-powered Bullit is downhill-oriented with 170mm of travel, but like the Shuttle AM, it has a carbon frame and carbon wheels. It’s built with the Bosch Performance Line CX Drive Unit (not the Bosch CX-R).

The carbon Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo 4 LTD ($20,000 — you read that right) costs way more, setting an expensive benchmark with the Levo’s most premium trim. It’s packed with a slightly larger battery and more torque (840Wh, 110Nm torque), the same travel, and a bit less power: 720 W.

Neither of those bikes has Bosch’s race mode. All said, you could snag a Turbo Levo 4 Alloy for $6,100 (101Nm torque, 666 W, 840Wh), which seems like a deal in comparison.

The charging port door was disappointing. At first, I was pleased to see that this weatherproof cap could easily open and close. But after a couple of days of use, I noticed it easily snaps off the tiny rail that it clips into. Once it was off, it was consistently challenging to get back on and to close.

I plan to charge an e-MTB after every ride and frequently transport the bike on a hitch rack. So, the charging port door is a small but essential, high-use element. For such an expensive investment, it would be great to see a more secure and functional closure.

Secondly, this stiff saddle (called the Pivot Ride E-Bike) got a low grade (from myself, as well as an entire crew of local bike mechanics who also test rode this bike). Regardless of if you’re a dude or a gal, plan on an upgrade.

Conclusion: Who It’s For

With progressive power and a sharper, smoother acceleration, the upgraded Pivot Shuttle AM e-mountain bike sets a new benchmark for full-powered designs. This setup is a sweet investment for mountain bikers who relish a speedy, energetic experience both uphill and downhill.

While this premium package offers a higher delivery, it’s also predictable, becoming an incredible teammate on long and dynamic trail rides. The frame has slightly adjustable geometry for your personal preferences and routes, but the bike is also relatively neutral, playful, and well-planted.

If you’re looking for a mid-travel, lightweight design in this category, don’t overlook the new Shuttle AM as a top contender.