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Had one since 2017, a Turbo Levo.
I tend to swap between riding my Enduro and it on a regular basis.
I'm a lightweight rider and would say I'm probably average on fitness and my riding ability.
Don't have a problem throwing the Levo about and I think its probably improved my skills.
What suprized me about it was how versatile it is on the DHs.
We took them out to Sospel, San Remo and Finale last September and never felt underbiked. Without them the first half of the holiday wouldn't have been as good as we couldn't get uplifts and they made the trails accessible.
To me what ever I'm riding its all about the fun.
I've just recently got an Orbea Rise, & cant find anything negative to say about it, handles just as well as my normal bike (YT Jeffsy) & although a bit heavier easy enough to lift over gates & stiles, I used to hate climbs, but this makes them fun.
Well, after being told 2023, I managed to find a Rail 9, Blazing bikes had one in XL coming into stock in october, so I pressed the button. Cannot wait.
^^^^ yaay 🙂 I took the Levo Sl on the Arran Club ride round West Kilbride etc the other week and it was awesome fun going up Kaim Hill !
Magic. Aye, I was up Kaim on saturday, it's a fair hoof, had plans to ride the quarry descent then go back up to the top and ride the hill race route as a descent, but the clegs had other ideas. I'll gie ye a shout when it comes, show ye the good stuff up there, canny be telling these islanders though.... 🙂
🙂 🙂
we came down the quarry route, one proper steep right hander was a bit scary !
Nobeer.
Give us a shout when you get it and we can try and sort a ride out.
Well, after being told 2023, I managed to find a Rail 9, Blazing bikes had one in XL coming into stock in october, so I pressed the button. Cannot wait.
Nice one, welcome to the Rail gang, fantastic bikes. Just check all of the bolt torques when it comes (especially shock mounts and cranks), I had a few loose ones.
Yet mine had none. It was an early one though so perhaps the assembly line wasn’t bored of them at that point.
Cool, will do. Need to get a front tyre sorted, don't fancy the stock ones, got a 2.5WT DD Aggressor for the rear.
The exploded diagrams of the Rail showing torque values are on emtbforums.com
Magic!
don’t fancy the stock ones
Don't write them off too quickly. I thought I would hate them based on reviews, but actually I like them in dry to dryish conditions. So much so I bought a replacement.
I've found them surprisingly tough in use. Crap in mud tho.
Crap in mud tho.
In the West of Scotland, tyres choice is pretty much based around mud tbh!.
Test rode an Orbea rise last night, best ebike I’ve ridden so far in terms of feeling like a normal bike. Had a play on a kenevo, levo, levo sl, merida e160, decoy and spectral on, none of them were as nice to ride as the rise. As mentioned above, rode very similar to my jeffsy but whistled up the climbs effortlessly. Will most likely replace Jeff in the near future
Nowt against ebikes and can see the point but I have to keep fit for work and cycling is my favourite form of exercise so I'll be 'keeping it real' for a fair few years yet.
What do you do work wise?.
“ Nowt against ebikes and can see the point but I have to keep fit for work and cycling is my favourite form of exercise so I’ll be ‘keeping it real’ for a fair few years yet.”
I’ve been on a Levo for most of my riding for the last 2.5 years. When I ride my hardtail (which isn’t electric) I’m no slower than before I had an ebike. I think many MTBers are lacking in strength and they’d be fitter overall if they had the head to toe power to manhandle an ebike down twisty trails.
I find riding the ebike is usually more intense than riding my old hardtail. The climbs are over faster so I push harder on them. The descents are faster and there’s just less mental space to chill out because you can lap a hill so fast. I ride the hardtail when I have more time!
More laps = more trail maintenance. Hopefully with all the energy saved, people go on more trail days 😉
More laps = more trail maintenance. Hopefully with all the energy saved, people go on more trail days 😉
'more' sounds like you're assuming everyone does some maintenance as it is, I wish!.
I'd make it mandatory, no build, no ride! 😉
I'm moving to an area with an abundance of trails on the doorstep soon, most of which are steep and involve a grindy climb. The idea of being able to nip out at lunch or after work and smash out 3 trails in an hour is extremely appealing. I will definitely be trying to find a way to afford an eeb soon. I would still ride my normal bike with my pals at the weekend though.
So I guess from my perspective, whether it's a good idea depends a lot on where you ride.
So I guess from my perspective, whether it’s a good idea depends a lot on where you ride.
Absolutely, if I lived in an area with lots of rolling XC, and that was my bag, then I wouldn't bother tbh, or if I just rode TC's, ditto.
I’m moving to an area with an abundance of trails on the doorstep soon, most of which are steep and involve a grindy climb. The idea of being able to nip out at lunch or after work and smash out 3 trails in an hour is extremely appealing.
Golfie ride from last month.
I think you might manage more than 3 trails. 😂
Golfie ride from last month.
I think you might manage more than 3 trails. 😂
I'm more talking about what I could get in over a very quick <1.5 hour blast, but aye that just sort of reinforces my want for one! It's Inners I'm moving to 🙂
“ More laps = more trail maintenance. Hopefully with all the energy saved, people go on more trail days 😉”
Or in my case, fewer laps than before I had three small children and an ebike but at least some riding in the tiny windows of opportunity!
@singlespeedstu Have you ever thought about a spare battery? £800 seems expensive at first, but for weekends away or a mega days descending, it's a thought?
Or ye reckon once you've descended over 5000', it's enough? 🙂
I do actually have a spare battery i've just never used it.
With my shoulder the way it is ATM i'm pretty destroyed after 1700M.
Bike came as standard with a 500 battery and part of the deal was they swapped it for a 700.
They then sold me the 500 back for a couple of hundred quid.
It will be useful when we start going away for weekends camping again and there's no electric points on site.
That ride was mainly in eco with the last climb in turbo and I still had two bars left.
Mrsstu is a fair bit lighter than me still had 3 bars left.
Aye, pretty much my thinking, I may end up getting a spare, we'll see.
See if they'll do you a deal with the bike?
I would have a think before stumping out for a spare, we have never needed one but could if needed take it off Katie's bike if she isn't with us. We though about the extender for the Levo SL but glad we didn't get one as its not been required.
We have the ability to charge in the camper, during the day so the solar keeps the leisure batteries topped up but have never had to on a weekend away.
I think a spare battery is a little cheaper than a camper and solar system for a weekend away
charging option. 😉
Ive said before with my old Rail I can comfortably get over 2k meters of climbing in (albeit in lower power modes) which ultimately means 2k of vert back down again. At pace, i'm pretty cooked mentally at that point - so wouldn't really feel the need to go and do more.
I'm fairly sure playing with the assistance levels on my new Levo I can get close to 3k of vert with a 700Wh battery, which is more than enough for a days riding.
The Bosch BMS is pretty good in my experience (which makes up for the absolutely turd user experience of their controllers).
Probably right, although both the Levo and the camper have had loads of use since we got them. The inverter was fitted so we could run the coffee machine. The solar was a must for the time we spend off grid.
Can eek out 7000ft with a mix of eco and tour, if keeping up with people in emtb, its a proper work out, ruined by the end of it.
Two batteries means 8000ft+ in emtb without worrying about range, no queuing at BPW and sitting in a stinky slow bus!
Aye, I love an uplift day, but I'd rather miss out on the whole bus part!.
We though about the extender for the Levo SL but glad we didn’t get one as its not been required.
I don't use my extender that much, the regular SL battery, at 320Wh is good for around 3 hrs of regular xc riding (nobeer - to put into perspective, I can go round Burma Rd clockwise, picking up the Carrbridge trails and a bit of High Burnside and back to Aviemore with about 5% remaining) but I do pop it on for full day rides or ones that I'm not sure of, to avoid any worry. I do also have a Creo SL road bike and the battery serves both bikes, so was a good option for me, as it lets me extend regular road rides from about 60 ish to closer to 100 miles if required.
Aye, tbh I don't really want an extender, as I generally like my bottle cage and that's their mount point.
That’s good really, seeing as there isn’t a range extender available for the Rail.
Considering the Bosch hardware has existed for several years it’s a bit disappointing that Trek didn’t accommodate dual batteries like Scott and Orbea.
That'a sealed the deal then! haha!.
I'll give it a few months riding first, see how I get on, pretty sure I won't bother.
What do you do work wise?.
Fire Fighter. I'm not suggesting you can't keep fit on ebikes but I imagine you'd need to ride further and for longer to get the same result. I just don't have the time to ride more atm.
“ Fire Fighter. I’m not suggesting you can’t keep fit on ebikes but I imagine you’d need to ride further and for longer to get the same result. I just don’t have the time to ride more atm.”
It depends on your attitude but from how I ride I’d say it’s the opposite. You can push harder on climbs on an ebike knowing that if your legs/lungs give out you can let the motor help more. You can do more descents in less time and you’re manhandling a heavier bike so it’s better for that kind of throwing a bike about strength endurance. You can go for a ride when you’re worn out from work/life and let the motor do more.
If you want to do chilled pootling I think eMTBs are easier than normal MTBs but if you’re pushing hard then I think it’s the reverse.
BS. They are no effort to ride up a hill. The only tiredness you get is from the upper body workout because they weigh a lot. Why can't you put the same effort in on a normal bike?
For the same saddle time a normal bike will leave you more tired. You can ride further but don't pretend you're more knackered on a eeb.
Proof is in how fatter the embn presenters are compared the gmbn guys.
“ BS. They are no effort to ride up a hill. The only tiredness you get is from the upper body workout because they weigh a lot. Why can’t you put the same effort in on a normal bike?
For the same saddle time a normal bike will leave you more tired. You can ride further but don’t pretend you’re more knackered on a eeb.”
If you choose to put no effort in on an ebike then that’s your choice. It’s the same as those people I’ve seen at the gym who put no more effort into the rowing machine than I do walking downhill to the shops. When I get on a rowing machine I row as hard as I can even though the bloody thing doesn’t go anywhere!
Maybe if you don’t own an ebike and try one you think you’re meant to use the motor to go uphill at the same speed but with less effort - when the truth is you can pedal harder for less time, pedal super easy for more time or anything in between. Your choice!
If some ebikers are fat and unfit then that’s their choice. I want to be able to ride normal bikes as fast as usual, and be functionally strong in other ways. That’s my choice. It’s not about the ebike.
makes no sense. buy an ebike and pedal it harder than a normal bike