At Eurobike, Pivot made news with the launch of its Shuttle e-bike, essentially a motorized version of its popular Switchblade (which we once called the Holy Grail of trail bikes). Crowds gathered to gawk the entire show for all kinds of reasons.

Pivot founder Chris Cocalis kicked off a few things that make the Shuttle different than many of its competitors: geometry, suspension tuning, and other technical details that set it apart. But the biggest reason is that it exists at all. Along with Rocky Mountain, Pivot is the first “core” North American mountain bike brands to step into the e-mountain bike market, which represents an important shift in perception. The issue is that the shift depends on which market you’re in.

“In the European market, you’re not considered a legitimate mountain bike brand unless you have an e-mountain bike,” said Cocalis. “But in the US, you’re not considered a core brand if you do.” European market demand led Pivot to make the bike. But Cocalis said Pivot knew it would not be planning to sell it in its home market. Unlike the crowd at Eurobike, the response to the Shuttle from North American cyclists on forums and mountain bike sites, he said, has been scathing. And Pivot's not alone: Rocky Mountain’s Altitude Powerplay, its first e-mountain bike, is a Europe-only product. Scott debuted an e-mountain bike version of its Spark trail bike, but waited to bring e-mountain bikes to the US until the company felt there was sufficient demand. Two E-Spark models will be available in the US starting later this fall.

The North American market for e-bikes in general is perceived to be a few years behind Europe, and as much as a decade behind on e-mountain bikes specifically. Reasons vary, but the top two are the highly decentralized approach to trail access in the US, and negative feelings toward e-bikes from riders, perhaps partly out of ego, but also from genuine fears of a revival of old access wars from the 1980s.

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Of course, there are also technical obstacles to bringing e-mountain bikes to both markets. Regulations on e-bikes in the European Union are slightly different than the US, for instance. The lowest level of pedal-assist bike in the EU has a motor that cuts out at speeds above 25kph (15.5mph), while in the US a Type 1 e-bike can provide power up to 32kph, or 20mph. Charging systems also differ based on plug and electrical current.

The US mountain bike market—at least at the high end—is also a bit different. The rider buying a $5,000 mountain bike is typically an experienced enthusiast looking for an e-bike for technical trail riding. So, bikemakers also have to figure out how to create an e-bike that matches those expectations for things like handling and suspension feel.

Take geometry: due in part to the mid-mount motor, chainstays on most e-bikes are a good 20mm longer than conventional bikes, which stretches the wheelbase. That can offer a stable feeling at speed, but at the cost of nimbleness in low-speed, technical riding situations.

And, Cocalis points out, most e-mountain bike suspension platforms are only partly tuned for the added weight and speed of the system. “The motor’s effect on suspension is hard to deal with,” said Cocalis. “On the Shuttle, we tuned the anti-squat kinematics (resistance to pedal-induced movement) to better account for the motor’s weight and power.” That allowed Pivot to keep a more responsive tune in the Fox shock itself. “A lot of bikemakers just ramp up the air spring pressure and make the compression rate more progressive, but that means the bike always feels harsh and locked-out when descending,” said Cocalis.

Is the massive downtube on the Shuttle, which houses the motor and battery for a Shimano STePS E-8000 system, the shape of things to come? joe lindsey

These technical challenges, along with the motor system itself, drive prices higher. If sold stateside, the Shuttle would cost a whopping $12,000. Rocky’s Powerplay wouldn’t be far behind. At the high end of the range, bicycles—even traditional ones—have been exceptionally expensive for a while now. But e-bikes put a twist on that old bike shop joke about a customer asking how much a bike costs and, when told, reacting, “Does that thing come with a motor?” Now, the answer might be yes, and the presence of the motor invites price comparisons to, well, other motorized vehicles.

In that frame, the Shuttle is midway between the price of new BMW F650 GS ($8,000) and F800 GS ($14,000) multisport bikes, and almost double the price of a typical two-stroke trail motorcycle. One of the least-expensive new cars, the 2017 Nissan Versa S, sells for just $1,000 more than the Shuttle.

There are less-pricey e-mountain bikes available. Trek’s Powerfly 5 FS Plus is $4,500, for instance, the same price as Specialized’s Turbo Levo FSR 6Fattie (both available in the US). But these less-expensive bikes come with drawbacks for a serious mountain biker, namely weight. Pivot says its Shuttle weighs 44 pounds. That’s still a load, but it’s about six pounds lighter than Specialized’s top-of-the-line Turbo Levo ($5,500). At $4,500 and up, the market for these bikes right now is a serious rider, one who will notice and be critical of any adverse ride characteristics.

These technical issues will likely recede quickly in coming years. Motor systems will get lighter and more compact, allowing geometries to settle closer to conventional bikes; motor and suspension tuning will improve, and costs will drop. So the biggest obstacles, at least for the US, remain legal and emotional.

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And unlike the tech, Cocalis, and others we spoke to, don’t see those obstacles changing rapidly. The bike industry’s approach to regulation is to lobby for laws that classify Type 1 pedal-assist bikes, like those listed above, as normal bicycles. But those regulations only govern use on roads and paved off-street paths. Natural-surface trail use is murkier, because of the patchwork of federal, state and local agencies that regulate access to open space. The International Mountain Bicycling Association is generally neutral on e-mountain bikes, but explicitly categorizes all of them as motorized. If land managers follow suit, as they generally are so far, that means those bikes are barred from non-motorized trails. IMBA is also wary of what it calls a potential “broad, new challenge to mountain bike access” presented by e-bike trail use.

Access decisions are often made by individual land managers, and there is currently no momentum for broad agency-wide policy changes on e-bikes at the federal level. Even if that push comes, the federal decision-making process often stretches out for years, and wouldn’t affect state and local lands. So, as it stands, there aren’t many places to legally ride e-mountain bikes in the US, and those areas that are open (such as 4x4 routes) aren’t always the kind of trail experience that mountain bikers want.

And finally, there’s the question of whether the trail experience US riders want includes an e-bike at all. When Pivot announced the Shuttle, it attracted a range of reactions, from standard bike lust to shock over the price to criticisms of aesthetics—a “fluorescent Dustbuster,” read one comment. But a significant theme was concern and anger that it even existed. Opinions on e-bikes run hot, and forums aren’t exactly known for sober, rational discussion.

That's the massive divide between the European and North American markets right now, and it doesn’t look like it’s closing anytime soon. For brands like Pivot, the only way to bridge it is to try to be one kind of mountain bike company in one part of the world, and a different one the other.

An earlier version of this article mis-stated that Scott was not importing e-mountain bikes to the US yet.

Joe Lindsey Joe Lindsey is a longtime freelance journalist who writes about sports and outdoors, health and fitness, and science and tech, especially where the three elements in that Venn diagram overlap.

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