Pivot has a new SL e-bike for you called the SL/AM, its incredibly light for an e-bike, uses the Bosch SX motor and dishes out 150mm travel.

So while most e-bike brands are looking to pile on the power in 2025, Pivot has turned the other way and gone for the mid-power Bosch SX, wrapped up into a bike weighing under 18kg. That’s lighter than the benchmark Specialized Turbo Levo SL, and less even than some modern human-powered enduro bikes.

I think Pivot wants us to call this the Slam, a lightweight all mountain bike with 150mm travel

Nevertheless it’s a bold choice in a world where a wattage arms race is well underway – just this month we’ve seen Bosch increase power on its Performance CX Gen 5 motor to 750w, and DJI announce a 1,000w power boost for its Avinox motor.

Pivot must be gambling that there is still a core of mountain bikers who prefer the ride feel of a lighter, more natural feeling bike, as I’m assuming the SL/AM is. It’s hard to argue it’s not behind the curve on this though, especially given it actually delivers less torque than any of its previous e-bikes.

Pivot SL/AM need to know

• All new bike gets a Bosch SX motor with 600w peak power and 55Nm torque
• Bike weighs less than 18kg, Pivot says, with a full carbon frame
• 150mm travel via Pivots dw-link suspension design, and a 160mm fork
• 29in wheels as standard, with a flip chip to mullet the bike
• Five sizes including an XS, with tuned frame characteristics for each size
• 400Wh battery, plus a Powermore 250 range extender comes fitted in the UK
• Three builds, from £12,999 ($12,399) to £8,599 ($8,000)

The next generation of Pivots e-bikes is clearly targetting weight, with a headline figure sub-20kg

Let’s get some details about the new SL/AM then, which actually looks like a wicked little bike. While the SL/AM might look a lot like the Shuttle e-bikes from a few years back, this bike gets a whole new frame design. It’s pretty subtle, but the frame looks slightly chunkier than the Shuttle, with more reinforcement around the BB area and head tube.

That probably explains why it’s heavier than the Pivot Shuttle SL 29 Team XTR then, which dipped under 19kg and was our best lightweight electric mountain bike last year. Pivot is comparing the new SL/AM to its Switchblade analogue bike though, rather than the Shuttle, which is a kind of do-it-all bike for all trails.

The SL/AM still uses the its Pivot dw-link suspension design, generating 150mm travel – 8mm more than the Switchblade, but the same as the Bosch CX powered Shuttle AM. Dw-link is essentially just a fixed rear end, connected to the front triangle by two short links that rotate – in Pivot’s design – in the same direction as one another.

There’s a flip chip where the seat stay meets the upper link, flip it to drop the bike into a mullet wheel setup

Naturally there’s a carbon frame on a bike as light as this one, and it’s built for a 160mm fork. The SL/AM comes as a 29er too (mullet in XS), although there’s a flip chip to let you mullet the bike and maintain the same geometry. Pivot says you can use this to tinker with the geo and change the head angle, but it’s only by 0.5degrees so really it should be seen as a wheel size tweaker.

Pivot’s done a great job with the SL/AM frame, the bike comes in five sizes, including an XS, which is pretty rare on an e-bike. Hats off to Pivot for being so inclusive then. What’s more, it’s conducted “independent strength to weight analysis so each frame achieves consistent performance metrics” – meaning smaller riders on XS bikes should feel the same ride characteristics as bigger riders on XLs.

There’s new cable routing too on the frame, a dual port lets two hoses through, which it reckons makes spannering less work and it’s easier on the eye too. The larger opening provides an easier and more efficient routing process for your cables. Increases versatility for custom setups, including moto-style cable routing.

Opt for a Fox Live Valve Neo update and tack on $1,500 to the build price

I said earlier the SL/AM has less torque than any other e-bike the brand’s made – the Shuttle SL uses the Fazua Ride 60 with 60Nm of torque, the new bike here gets just 55Nm. However, the SL/AM gets more raw power, the Bosch Performance Line SX can generate 600W peak power to Fazua’s 450W.

Inside the downtube is a fixed 400Wh battery, but Bosch has Powermore 250 range extender to take that to 650Wh. What’s even better is Pivot will include one with the bike (for £500), so you don’t have to go out and source one yourself. Or if you’re in the UK, importers Saddleback will ship all the bikes with the range extender included – if you don’t want one and it’ll be deducted from the bill.

Pivot’s built its own charging port too, where the cover is removable so you can run it neatly with the range extender plugged in. The bike still has the old old Bosch top tube display rather than the new, colourful Kiox 400C display we saw last month at the Bosch Performance CX Gen 5 Race motor launch. 

There’s no new Bosch screen in sight on the Slam

Pivot SL/AM build options

Team XX Eagle Transmission £12,999 ($12,299)

The top end bike is literally top end. It has a SRAM XX wireless drivetrain, Fox Factory suspension with a Float X shock and 36 fork and Grip X2 damper. There’s a carbon bar, SRAM Motive Ultimate brakes, and Reynolds Blacklabel Trail Pro wheels with Industry Nine hubs.

Has it cheated on the tyres to keep the weight under 18kg? Yes and no, all the builds come with the same Maxxis Minion DHF 29 up front, with EXO+ casing and MaxxTerra compound, while out back is a Maxxis Minion DHRII 29 with EXO+.

Ideally we’d like to see a DD tyre on the back for puncture protection, while a MaxxGrip compound up front usually makes more sense on an e-bike.

Pro X0 Eagle Transmission £10,999 ($10,399)

Step it down a notch and you’re talking SRAM X0 AXS, and pretty much the same build kit including the Factory suspension. What also changes though are the wheels, we lose the carbon and go for DT Swiss XM1700.

Pivot SL/AM Ride Eagle 70/90 comes with a functional setup that makes it my pick of the range

Ride Eagle 70/90 £8,599 ($7,999)

This bike gets mechanical Transmission, with a blend of SRAM Eagle 70 and 90 drivetrain. The suspension steps down a level too, to Performance, as do the wheels to DT Swiss Hybrid H1900.

What’s really cool about the Pivot builds though is you can upgrade to the Fox Live Valve NEO Air shock on the Pro and Team builds. It’s really not cheap though, at $1,450 more you’d probably want to be racing to get the most from it.

Pivot SL/AM geometry

“Progressive All Mountain Geo”

Pivot says the bike’s geometry is progressive for an all-mountain bike, and I’d tend to agree… depending on your definition of all mountain. The 64.1° head angle is pretty normal for e-bikes with 150mm travel, and comapres pretty nicely with bikes like the Santa Cruz Vala. The SL-AM’s 345mm bottom bracket height might be considered a touch high though, but then again what is all mountain? If you’re using this bike to scramble up rocky climbs, such as you’d find in Arizona, then it’ll be spot on. 

Is the SL/AM on my wish list for 2025? I’d definitely like to ride it, and given how great the previous three Shuttles have been, I doubt I’d be disappointed. What’s not clear though is whether the stonking headline weight will really hold water. I’d be surprised if the weight doesn’t come from the top-specced bike with carbon wheels, meaning most riders will be getting a bike over that figure, while switching to beefier carcassed tyres will add a few hundred grams. Finally I’d want a range extender on a bike like this, which adds around 1,500g to the overall weight. Sudddenly we’re looking at closer to 20kg than 18kg. But perhaps I’m wrong, and stronger tyres and more range just aren’t necessary for the kind of riding you do.