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Full First Ride Write-up & Press Release:
theloamwolf.com/2022/09/01/release-first-ride-pivot-shuttle-lt/
We were lucky enough to receive a new Pivot Shuttle LT to review for a couple weeks before the launch of this new enduro-ready eBike. Hot on the heels of the recently released Pivot Shuttle SL, the new Shuttle LT boasts 160mm of DW-Link suspension paired to a 170mm fork, a Shimano STEPS EP8 drive unit, and a 756Wh battery. In the short period of time that we’ve had the bike we were able to put together this video review with our initial impressions and have a few takeaways. We look forward to putting a lot more miles in different terrain and conditions on our Pivot Shuttle LT for our long-term review, which we’ll work on ASAP. Until then, here’s our first impression.
Using the Pivot Firebird as inspiration for the capability and intended application of the new LT, Pivot had a big leap to make to bring the Shuttle up to speed from their mid-travel Shuttle AM (OG model). For many riders - ourselves included - this was the Shuttle we wanted to see Pivot deliver. It’s got a slightly slimmer, more appealing aesthetic and has the travel aggressive riders have been waiting for.
Pivot did a nice job taking the good things about their mid-travel Shuttle AM and giving it a healthy dose of growth hormones. They also paid attention to the critical feedback they received on the original model and worked to address and improve these elements and more. Gone is the bloated belly and conservative geometry, in comes a sleek aesthetic and geometry that is ready to rip in combination with the bump up in travel.
The new Pivot Shuttle LT’s long geometry had us debating on whether sizing down to a medium or sticking with the large would be the best fit. At 5’11”-6’1”, our test crew have long been riding larges, but find that our preferred 475-480mm reach is now floating in a “no-fly zone” as larges tend to hover around the 490mm reach area and mediums tend to fall around 465-470mm. We went for the Large in the end, which worked well after some adjustment period. If you’re also wondering which direction to go, Pivot Cycles has a live chat feature on their site where you can ask their team of experts for input based on your height, terrain, and riding style.
Moving beyond the reach we look forward to spending more time fine-tuning the geometry for our trails. In the Low setting, the bike’s 64-degree head tube angle was plenty slack enough for the steepest and fastest trails we found. The 77-degree seat tube angle puts you in a comfortable position while pedaling, without being overly upright and limiting rear wheel traction on the climbs. Something that stood out during our first rides was the 653mm stack height. This puts the stack on Pivot’s Shuttle LT higher than any of the bikes we tested in our 2022 eMTB Shootout several months ago, and will likely have us dropping the stem even further down the steerer tube.
Out back the 439mm chainstays are super short in the eMTB world, giving a fun and playful feel. In some ways it served as a great counterbalance to the long front end, however in our early testing it also gave us a contrasting feeling of two different bikes from the front to the back in certain awkward corners. We started to figure out how to shift our weight appropriately to get the short, snappy back end to come around and compensate for the long front end. This issue is certainly not going to be the same for everyone, as many riders out there seem to be loving the long front ends for their local trails and riding styles. It does have us wondering if a medium may have been the better call, but the large size Shuttle LT had its benefits. The ability to claw its way up steep climbs was impressive, with the short chainstays failing to spoil the ease of keeping the front wheel planted and in control on the way up the hill.
We found the front end to dive a bit on the steep, brake-heavy corners so we will be experimenting with dropping the bars some more (to offset the high stack height) and adding a volume reducer to the fork to have our body weight a little more balanced and stable. We suspect that more time aboard Pivot’s Shuttle LT will remedy the infrequent issue that we experienced in our early rides as we become better acquainted with its weight distribution.
Visit Pivotcycles.com to find your local Pivot dealer.
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00:00 Introduction
00:24 Suspension Setup and User Manual
01:26 What's New and Geo
07:03 First Ride Review