2025 Pivot Shuttle LT
Wheel Size: 29’’ front / 27.5’’ rear (29’’ rear compatible)
Suspension Travel:
- Frame travel: 160 mm
- Fork travel: 170 mm
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes offered: S, M, L, XL
- Headtube angle (high): 64°
- Reach (size L, High): 488 mm
- Chainstay length (size L, High): 439 mm
Frame Material: Carbon fiber
Price: Complete bikes starting at $8,699 (build details below)
Intro
The release of the latest Bosch Performance Line CX triggered a landslide of new bikes hitting the market, and the Pivot Shuttle LT has officially foregone its old Shimano-based design to join the Bosch party. Pivot took the opportunity to redesign the bike, with some refreshed geometry and frame details, but the elephant in the room is that all builds come with the Performance Line CX Race Limited Edition motor (say that five times fast).
The Shuttle LT is still the biggest, baddest eMTB in Pivot’s Shuttle lineup. So, let’s check out what they’ve done with the latest version.
The Frame
The frame design of the new Shuttle LT looks quite similar to the old one, aside from some aesthetic changes (improvements, in my eyes) around the lower shock mount — the old model’s Shimano drive unit required a motor mount that interfered a bit with shock placement, resulting in the lower shock mount being a bit more forward in the frame. Otherwise, Pivot has stuck with their DW-Link layout with a vertical shock orientation — a layout shared across their entire range of full-suspension bikes (apart from the new Phoenix).
Pivot does not provide suspension kinematics for the new Shuttle LT, but this new version keeps the same front and rear travel as the old one, with a 170 mm fork matched to 160 mm of travel out back.
The Shuttle LT comes stock in a mixed wheel setup — the old one was based around 29’’ wheels. While the flip chip allows for an aftermarket swap to dual 29’’ wheels in the High setting, it’s great to see compatibility with both wheel sizes, especially for smaller riders.
Speaking of wheels, it’s worth noting that the Shuttle LT sticks with Pivot’s typical SuperBoost spacing, which means no compatibility with more common Boost rear wheels.
Drive System
The big news with the new Shuttle LT is the switch from Shimano’s EP801 motor to the new Bosch Performance Line CX Race Limited Edition. As much of a mouthful as that name is, the Race Limited Edition monicker essentially boosts the available assist from the motor via a special Race mode, providing up to 400% assistance to the rider’s pedaling input. The power and torque figures are the same as the regular Performance Line CX motor, with 600 W of peak power and 85 Nm of torque.
The Race Limited Edition motor has seen fairly limited application across other eMTBs, so it’s especially interesting that Pivot has opted to use it across their full range of builds.
The battery is Bosch’s larger 750 Wh PowerTube unit, providing plenty of range potential — though riders who plan to take advantage of the motor’s Race mode may appreciate that extra juice, as I can’t imagine that providing 400% assistance is particularly efficient in its energy consumption. Riders wanting maximum battery life or with a particularly acute case of range anxiety can also opt for the PowerMore Range Extender, which provides 250 Wh for a total of 1000 Wh at a cost of $500 USD.
Fit & Geometry
Fans of the prior Shuttle LT will be pleased that Pivot hasn’t deviated from the prior model’s geometry all that much — with the stock 27.5’’ rear wheel in the High position, it’s basically the same as outgoing 29’’ version’s geometry in the Low position. Pivot does not publish geometry figures for the Low setting, saying that they do not recommend using the Low position with the smaller 27.5’’ rear wheel.
The Large Shuttle LT is a fairly big bike. In the High position with the stock 27.5’’ rear wheel, it has a 488 mm reach, a tall 654 mm stack, and a very long 650 mm effective top tube length. The head angle is 64°, chainstays are the same as the outgoing model at 439 mm, and the bottom bracket height is 350 mm. The seat tube angle is 77°, which isn’t particularly steep but feels about right for an eMTB that will see mixed use on both flatter trails and steep climbs.
The same flip chip arrangement remains from the old one, allowing very easy changes between the two available positions. Having used this flip-chip system before, I can say it’s one of the more elegant implementations I’ve used, as the hardware remains captive so that you aren’t dropping any bits on the floor during the swap.
While it’s an aftermarket swap only, moving to a 29’’ rear wheel would open up the use of both Low and High geometry positions, and Pivot says that the geometry in that case would look nearly the same as the prior Shuttle LT. Pivot is not publishing a geometry chart for that 29’’ rear wheel setup, but the Low setting would share nearly the same numbers with the stock mixed wheel setup in High mode. A 29’’ rear wheel setup in High would raise the bottom bracket and steepen things up — if the old Shuttle LT figures are any indication, the head angle would move to about 64.5° and reach would lengthen to just over 490 mm.
Pivot’s published geometry figures for the new Shuttle LT are below:
The Builds
Pivot is offering three builds for the Shuttle LT, starting with the Ride SLX/XT build. Priced at a rather hefty $8,699 USD, this build gets a mix of Shimano parts — a Deore cassette, SLX shifter, and XT derailleur make up the drivetrain, while the brakes are SLX with four-piston calipers mated to a 223 mm front rotor and 203 mm rear. DT Swiss Hybrid H1900 wheels roll on Continental Kryptotal tires, with a 2.4 front tire and wider 2.6 out back — we are fans of the Kryptotals here at Blister, but we’ve also found that 2.6 rear tires can feel a bit vague due to their massive volume. On the suspension front, it’s an all-Fox affair, with a Float X Performance rear shock and 38 Performance fork.
Stepping up to the $10,999 USD Pro XO Eagle Transmission build gets you Factory-level suspension from Fox in the 38 and Float X, and also jumps to fully electronic shifting via SRAM’s Transmission. The rear derailleur is an XO unit, whereas the cassette and chain are both GX. Shimano still provides brakes (this time XT, again for four-piston calipers), and the wheels get upgraded to DT Swiss Hybrid HX1501.
The final build in the lineup is the very posh Team XX Eagle Transmission Build, which breaks the bank at $12,999. This one gets a Fox Float X2 rear shock matched to a 38 Factory Fork, and shifting is provided by SRAM’s top step XX Transmission kit. This build also gets four-piston XTR brakes and DT Swiss’ HXC1501 Carbon wheels.
For folks curious about Fox’s new Live Valve Neo suspension, it’s available as an upgrade on the Pro and Team builds for an extra $1,500 USD. That extra spend gets you the DHX Live Valve Neo shock and requisite sensors.
Other bikes that we’ve seen offer Bosch’s Race motor have historically reserved it for the top-step builds only due to its added cost. Pivot includes it on all builds, but consequently, the pricing is fairly high — though it’s relatively on par with the prices we’ve seen from Santa Cruz’s recently released Vala.
Full build details are as follows:
- Drivetrain: Shimano Deore / SLX / XT
- Brakes: Shimano SLX (223 mm front rotor / 203 mm rear)
- Fork: Fox 38 Performance (170 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float X Performance
- Wheels: DT Swiss Hybrid H1900
- Dropper Post: SDG Tellis (Small: 130–150 mm, Medium–XL: 150–170 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX / XO Transmission
- Brakes: Shimano XT (223 mm front rotor / 203 mm rear)
- Fork: Fox 38 Factory (170 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float X Factory
- Wheels: DT Swiss Hybrid HX1900
- Dropper Post: Fox Transfer Factory (S: 150 mm, M–L: 175 mm, XL: 200 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM XX Transmission
- Brakes: Shimano XTR (223 mm front rotor / 203 mm rear)
- Fork: Fox 38 Factory Grip X2 (170 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float X2 Factory
- Wheels: DT Swiss Hybrid HXC1501 Carbon
- Dropper Post: Fox Transfer Factory (S: 150 mm, M–L: 175 mm, XL: 200 mm)
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) How much does the new mixed wheel layout change the handling of the Shuttle LT relative to the previous 29’’-only version?
(2) How does the Race Limited Edition motor from Bosch feel on the trail, and does that formidable Race mode have practical applications outside of an eMTB racing scenario?
Bottom Line (For Now)
Pivot’s new Shuttle LT has stuck with the geometry and travel numbers of the outgoing model but makes the jump to the fairly rare Bosch Performance Line CX Race Limited Edition motor. While we haven’t had a chance to try that new unit, it’s a differentiator for Pivot and should offer appeal to folks who are looking for the punchiest motor performance out of their next eMTB. We have a Shuttle LT on the way for testing and will be sure to report back soon on how it all comes together on the trail.