CHARGE OF THE

Pivot’s new Shuttle SL is one of the lightest production e-bikes ever

Pivot is the latest brand to join the lightweight e-bike movement with its Fazuaequipped Shuttle SL and a headline-grabbing weight. At just 16.44kg (36.25lb) it’s one of the lightest production e-bikes ever, yet it still boasts a potent 60Nm of torque, 450W of peak power and a substantial 430Wh internal battery.

Loosely based on Pivot’s 429 trail bike, the new Shuttle SL has been modified with a slacker 65° head angle and size-specific chainstays that grow from 430mm on the Small to 436mm on the XL.

Travel is only 132mm at the rear, using Pivot’s familiar Dw-link (twin-link) arrangement, but you can choose fork travel depending on preference. Most of the models come with 150mm-travel Fox 36 forks, bolstered by piggyback shocks, 200mm brake rotors up front and Maxxis Dissector EXO tyres. But if weight saving is your priority, then the Team WC hits that 16.44kg mark thanks to a 140mm-travel Fox 34 fork, inline shock, smaller front rotor, carbon dropper post and Maxxis Rekon tyres.

Boosting rider power is the new Fazua Ride 60 system. An evolution of the old Evation Ride 50, as the name suggests, torque has been increased to 60Nm, along with a very respectable 450W peak power – more than Forestal’s Bafang and Trek’s TQ motors. Fazua’s motor is also slim and neatly packaged, so it takes up very little room, and at only

1.96kg it’s right on par with its competitors.

On previous Fazua units the battery slid into the drive unit, which constrained packaging options within the frame, but the new version allows the two to be separated. The result is that Pivot has been able to design an e-bike that looks genuinely indistinguishable from a regular analogue bike.

Despite its waif-like down tube, the Shuttle SL packs in a sizable 430Wh battery. That’s bigger than its competitors, and should help minimise range anxiety. It weighs 2.2kg and can be fully charged in 3.5 hours. Fazua