Country Roads, Take Me Home: Pivot Launches $9990 E-Vault Gravel Electric Bike

After setting the bar for the eMTB class with the launch of the Shuttle, Pivot is setting its sights on the emerging “gravel” class bike market with the launch of the new E-Vault e-bike for 2021. It’s sort of like its premium Vault gravel bike — just, you know, electrified. But don’t assume that Pivot has just repurposed the same components it’s using in the shuttle, however, because that would be underestimating both Pivot and the E-Vault.

Pivot turned to the Shimano EP8 drive system and its 86 Nm of Torque for the Shuttle eMTB we covered back in December. Since Pivot is primarily known as a mountain bike company, it could’ve probably gotten away with using a similar drive system in its E-Vault, leveraging some economies of scale to keep its costs down. That’s not the way Pivot seems to do things, though, and the company has opted to build its new, gravel-focused e-bike around Fauza’s Evation 2.0 system, which offers a number unique advantages for road/gravel bikes. The first advantage the Fazua unit offers is that, thanks to its more compact motor design, the new Pivot E-Vault doesn’t shout “e-bike” to casual observers. Second, both the battery and the drivepack can be removed from the bike and it can still be ridden with minimal weight penalty (an optional down-tube cover to prevent the battery “pocket” from getting dirty).

With that 252Wh battery and 250W Evation drivepack in place, the Pivot offers up to 55 Nm of electric power, good enough to get you to a pedal-assisted top speed of 28 MPH. It’s just a bit slower than a Honda Metropolitan 50cc scooter, in other words, and you can ride it into your office or living room for an extra bit of security and peace of mind, if you don’t have access to secure e-bike parking.

Pivot E-Vault Fly By Video