Ever since I tried my first eMTB over 6 years ago I’ve been waiting in anticipation of the time when I’d be able to lift one over my head. It’s been a long wait but now the Specialized Turbo Levo SL is here, that wait is now over.
I’m not kidding either – this is the first full suspension eMTB that I’ve been happy to mount in the Thule rack on the roof of my car. The Focus Jam2 has come pretty close in the past with it’s smaller battery capacity but even that’s too much for my sad cyclist arms to deal with.
Now, you will have read Hannah’s news piece on this bike and if you haven’t then you should as all the details and numbers are there, including prices. But I was the lucky one who was allocated an actual rideable version of this bike to test. It turned up on Friday at the office and I got my first taste of it on the trails at the weekend.
What we have here is a video of my very first ride on the Specialized Levo SL Carbon Comp. Rather than ride and then tell you about it I thought I’d take you along with me as I throw my leg over it for the very first time.
Specialized Turbo Levo SL Geometry
| LEVO SL COMP CARBON | S | M | L | XL |
| Stack (mm) | 606 | 606 | 633 | 647 |
| Reach (mm) | 415 | 435 | 455 | 480 |
| Head-Tube Length (mm) | 95 | 95 | 125 | 140 |
| Head-Tube Angle (degrees) | 66 | 66 | 66 | 66 |
| B-B Height (mm) | 348 | 348 | 348 | 348 |
| B-B Drop (mm) | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
| Trail (mm) | 111 | 111 | 111 | 111 |
| Fork Length (full) (mm) | 560 | 560 | 560 | 560 |
| Fork Rake/Offset (mm) | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51 |
| Front-Center (mm) | 729 | 749 | 781 | 812 |
| Chain-Stay Length (mm) | 437 | 437 | 437 | 437 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1165 | 1185 | 1217 | 1248 |
| Top-Tube Length (horizontal) (mm) | 574 | 597 | 629 | 663 |
| Bike Stand-Over Height (mm) | 787 | 790 | 807 | 814 |
| Seat-Tube Length (mm) | 390 | 410 | 455 | 505 |
| Seat-Tube Angle (degrees) | 75.3 | 75 | 74.6 | 74.2 |
| Crank Length (mm) | 165 | 165 | 170 | 170 |
| Handlebar Width (mm) | 780 | 780 | 780 | 780 |
| Stem Length (mm) | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 |
| Saddle Width (mm) | 155 | 143 | 143 | 143 |
| Seatpost Length (mm) | 375 | 438 | 438 | 478 |
Specialized Turbo Levo SL Specification
- FRAME FACT 11m full carbon, 29 Trail Geometry, Integrated down tube
- battery, enclosed internal cable, Command Post routing, 148mm
- spacing, fully sealed cartridge bearings, 150mm of travel
- REAR SHOCK FOX FLOAT DPS Performance, 3-position adjustment,
- 52.5x210mm, Rx Trail Tune
- FORK FOX RHYTHM 34 FLOAT 29, GRIP damper, 51mm offset,
- 2-position sweep adjust, 15x110mm, tapered alloy steerer, 150mm
- of travel
- STEM Specialized Trail, 3D-forged alloy, 4-bolt, 6-degree rise
- HANDLEBARS Specialized Trail, 6061 alloy, 8-degree backsweep, 6-degree
- upsweep, 27mm rise, 780mm, 31.8mm clamp
- GRIPS Specialized Trail Grips
- FRONT BRAKE SRAM Guide R, hydraulic disc, 200mm
- REAR BRAKE SRAM Guide R, hydraulic disc, 180mm
- REAR DERAILLEUR SRAM NX Eagle, 12-speed
- SHIFT LEVERS SRAM NX Eagle, trigger, 12-speed
- CASSETTE SRAM NX Eagle, 12-speed, 11-50t
- CHAIN SRAM NX Eagle, 12-speed
- CRANKSET Praxis, forged M30, custom offset
- CHAINRINGS SRAM X-Sync Eagle, 94 BCD, 30T
- RIMS Roval Traverse 29, hookless alloy, 30mm inner width, tubeless
- ready
- FRONT HUB Specialized, sealed cartridge bearings, 15x110mm spacing, 28h
- REAR HUB Specialized Turbo, sealed cartridge bearings, 12x148mm
- thru-axle, 28h
- SPOKES DT Swiss Industry
- FRONT TYRE Butcher, GRID TRAIL casing, GRIPTON® compound, 29×2.3″
- REAR TYRE Eliminator, GRID TRAIL casing, GRIPTON® compound, 2Bliss
- Ready, 29×2.3″
- SADDLE Bridge Comp, Hollow Cr-mo rails, 155/143mm
- SEATPOST X-Fusion Manic, infinite adjustable, two-bolt head, bottom mount
- cable routing, remote SRL LE lever, 34.9mm, S: 125mm, M/L:
- 150mm, XL: 170mm
- MOTOR Specialized SL 1.1, custom lightweight motor
- UI/REMOTE Specialized TCU, 10-LED State of charge, 3-LED Ride Mode
- display, ANT+/Bluetooth®
- BATTERY Specialized SL1-320, fully integrated, 320Wh
- CHARGER Custom charger, 48V System w/ SL system charger plug
- WIRING HARNESS Custom Specialized wiring harness w/ chargeport
- SWAT Specialized Z-Cage, Swat CC Multitool in steerer tube without
- Chaintool
Next steps
This was obviously too short a period of time to really formulate an opinion but then that’s why we have this bike for a longer test. Once I’ve put some miles in on it, tweaked the settings and really got to know it then I’ll be back with a full review for our Premier members.
Comments (5)
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where did you test this?
The loop was Hurstwood trail near Burnley and the technical singletrack was up around the reservoir above the forest.
As a rider of both the original Turbo Levo and the 2019 carbon model 500 Wh (Mk2?), how far did you ride and how much battery power did you have left? Also what mode did you use most? If you used Eco mode at all how did it feel, what effort did it require?
Price vs spec is always an issue with specialised.
I’m in the market an was considering an ebike -old, dodgy hips etc
The none ebikes Iam considering are ripmo af or midrange orbea occam with upgrade 36s
Ebikes whyte e150s or orbea wild fs.
Iam really interested in the concept of the levo SL but looks like poor value forks.
Would the base model work with the forks upgraded a lyric or 36?
Would it benefit 160 up front?
Also I read you cant go bigger than 2.3 on the back?
Look forward to seeing the updates
It would be fantastic to see a comparison between this and the e zesty from Lapierre