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I have asked this over on the eMTB forum too but keen for as much useful opinion as I can get.
Due to some heart issues I need to try to keep out of threshold HR zones. This is quite doable on road and gravel but not really on my MTB rides. So last autumn I bought an Orbea Wild FS and promptly had a silly slow speed fall on my first ride, with major consequences.
Cue 7 months later, a metal pinned shoulder with quite limited range of movement and a fair amount of weakness, doing loads of daily exercises on it but it’ll never be as good as it was.
I am thinking about supplementing my regular road and gravel riding with some tame off road stuff. I’m done with techy fast riding, jumps, drops and gnar, and at age 54 want to be doing big sky scenic rides on natural trails in west of Scotland, Cairngorms and the like, with perhaps a very occasional red grade trail centre.
I sold the Orbea a while back; it was losing value gathering dust and was possibly too much bike for me. I’m looking at various options and will be getting some test rides after lockdown, with a view to purchasing later in the summer, stock permitting. A key requirement is that I can get it from a LBS due warranty and repair, as is the norm with ebikes, so I have a few in mind.
Specialized - I tested the Levo last year and really liked it, so that’s a contender. Levo SL, that may be the perfect bike for my type of no gnar riding..
Heckler, like the look, gets great reviews, maybe too much bike ?
Another Orbea Wild, great bike but I’m not an aggressive enough rider to get the best out of it, and I fancy a change.
At the moment I think the top 2 are the Levo and the Levo SL.
Keen for thoughts and experiences.
I’ll still have my Bird Zero TR for when the ebike is away getting repaired...
I don’t see the sense in selling the Orbea and then buying the same bike back if you’ve said it was too much bike for you? Plus the other bikes you’ve listed are all in the same category.
I don’t rate the Santa Cruz and I haven’t seen many people say great things about it.
Have you looked at some of the smaller trail ebikes instead?
Glad you are on the mend and thinking about another bike
For what it's worth we can't fault the Turbo Levos that we have. A bit of a bias review from me but they just feel like a heavier Stumpjumper in how they ride, I've thrown my leg over quite a few of the others out there and can't get near to been tempted to change.
I prefer running 27.5+ but my daughter has stuck 29 wheels in hers as its more in line with her riding
Been using mine most days in lock down and yesterday did the first travel to exercise with an early loop over Cutgate. Keep on the mend and keep us up to date
Teaser from yesterday for you
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So many good e bikeS out there now
I’d suggest the Merida E140, fast and efficient in the Forrest but still plenty travel to help keep you safe
Biggest issue just now is getting a demo
Tracey, yeah, your riding pics always look good ! How do you find the sizing on the Levo ? I’m 5ft 9.5 with short legs so think I’d be a medium but probs needs to get a 125 dropper rather than the 150.
Focus Jam are good but tend to need a decent fork replacement.
They are good for gentle trail riding but just the right amount of travel to handle rough downs and also the technical climbs. I’ve done over 2k on mine and won’t be changing it any time soon.
Current Levos do seem to suffer from technical issues and seem overpriced for the build quality.
Just a thought about the SL that if you need to keep your heart rate in control then maybe more power is a better option , also is the battery life not a bit rubbish ? i know you can carry a spare but that might be a bit of a pain in the backside. I reckon the next version of the SL might be the one . Bear in mind though i know nothing about hearts and i have only had one quick go an ebike sothat might be nonsense .
Focus Jam2 was on my list before buying the Orbea, as I had a great day on one up in Cairngorms, courtesy of RideCairngorm.
Merida 140 9000 looks interesting and appears to be available locally, however the 500wh battery isn’t ideal..
Before spending tons on a new ebike, have you thought about lowering the gear range on your Zero so you can go uphill more slowly? Maybe even putting a double on there (you’d need to improvise the cable stops)?
Then again you do have proper hills where you are which might result in a lot of walking to keep your heart rate low enough without a motor to help.
I like my Levo a lot - I’m on a large with a 185mm dropper, just under 5’11 with long legs. A medium should be a good fit - it’s a big heavy bike with a lot of stability so you don’t need massive reach, especially if you’re not riding downhill at Mach enduro.
Thinking about it more, the Levo SL may be a better fit - in full turbo the normal Levo is a bit manic uphill, I find it really intense compared to riding my hardtail without power, it’s so fast up, along and down. And the weight does take some strength to manhandle when going fast and turning quickly.
^^^ really helpful, thanks. I have pretty low gearing on the Bird and can get up most things, but I ride with an HR alarm on and it means climbs are very slow. Ebike definitely the way I want to go.
The weight and manhandling of a heavier bike is certainly a thing with a dodgy shoulder, infact my initial tumble which did all the damage to me, on the first ride on the Orbea, was a front wheel washout after a loose corner where I simply wasn’t used to the weight of the bike.
I can’t really see a negative to the SL, especially if I buy a range extender. I am quite fit, just needing enough help to not have HR peaks, so maybe it’s the way to go. Thankfully budget not too much of an issue and I have a couple of great local bike shops, one who does Spesh and will be on hand for the inevitable warranty stuff. I’m sure they can swop out to a shorter seatpost too of a Large is the way to go, though I’m kind of between a medium and large.
Im 5' 9" and 30" inside leg and the medium fits me just right. We have just got back from the bike shop as we have been humming and arring over getting a SL and selling Kevins 2017 medium Turbo Levo on.
Sat on both the 2020 Turbo Levo and Levo SL in medium and large. The medium Levo SL felt the right fit for me, the reach was a bit too much for me on the large. However the Kevin felt the large felt better for him.
Decided to go with the large SL, comp carbon in berry, once its built up I can give you a like of like comparison if it would help.
I have a riding friend with a Levo Turbo. He has an app that links with your HR monitor/chest strap and you can set more assistance depending on what HR you set as a limit.
Seems a good idea and may prove good for you in your circs.
Im glad you are still riding and working round your health issue.
Regards
Ian
Tracey, thanks for that, useful info. I’m in between sizes I think but have a demo sometime soon on a large. I know I’d need to get the dropper swopped to a 125 though due my 30 IL leg length. Is Kevin similar height IL to you ?
breninbeer, aye, have seen that and it will be handy, cheers.
Kevin is 5' 11" with 32" inside leg. On the large I needed the dropper slammed to the frame.
^^^ thanks for that, will have to see if I can get it work with a 150 dropper in as far as it goes but on paper I doubt it. When do you pick up the new one then ?
Once its built up they will give us a ring. We could have brought it back today but thought it best they give the electrics a once over. We are in no rush to pick it up.
Local bike shop is pulled out with work and sales, going to swap the brakes and wheels out when we get it along with a 2.6 front tyre
Looking forward to first ride report ! I have just asked LBS to dig out a medium for me to try also, slightly less stretched may be better for dodgy shoulder and I’m only half an inch or so taller than you !
I'm same height and inside leg as you, and on a large SL with the OE 150mm dropper,fits me well and post is not slammed right in still has another 30mm showing. Tried FF Levo but didn't like the weight of it as it just bulldozes everywhere, you can see the 'Levo Lines' on our local trails. I have a Fubar shoulder waiting for a replacement and find the SL no harder to manage than my old fashioned clockwork bikes. As for the assist, its about a third of a FF Levo, but it works better over a wider range of cadence I would have thought that if you just sit back and spin rather than racing to the top it should be OK.As for the range its excellent regularly doing 40k loops without extender and not emptying the tank, also you can ride with it switched off on easy flat bits, actually did 22miles with 1890ft climbing switched off for the whole ride a couple weeks ago and it was no worse than on a clockwork bike really.
konanige, that’s really helpful, many thanks. Hope the shoulder isn’t holding you back too much. I can only now get mine up over horizontal under its own steam following a full reconstruction back in November. Daily rubber bands and dumbells for evermore I reckon...
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/specialized-turbo-levo-long-term-reliability/
Interesting reading on the thread above. Might be worth you having a word with our mutual builder friend about the experience he had with the Levos he and his missus had for some real world, not through the prism of the internet experience.
If it was me, I would take a different path and just buy a Canyon Spectral ON. I was blown away by how well the 2020 model rode when I tested one back in March just outside Barcelona before all the current weirdness kicked off. On paper, I was hesitant to like it. 650 at the back? One piece bar and stem? And then I rode it. Easily the best e bike I have ridden - it rides closee to a normal bike on the descents than any I have tried. I would have one in a heartbeat. It had none of that unwieldy tank feel that so many have and which can make descending feel like a wrestling match where the bike doesn't want to go where you want it to. They seem to have realised that building an e bike takes an awful lot more than just chucking a motor on a frame and hoping for the best.
Having seen the Canyon factory first hand, I would be pretty confident in them turning around any repairs quickly even with the need to send back to Germany. It would be interesting to do a head to head comparison with an LBS.
As for the Heckler, the cheapest model is only £300 less than the range topping XTR equipped Spectral ON that I tried. That is a big gulf in price there. I'd still love to try one though to see how it compares.........
https://singletrackworld.com/charged/2020/03/17/canyon-spectralon-review/
Of course, knowing you, you will buy the Levo then sell it not too long afterwards! Ha! Ha!
Cheers
Sanny
Cheers Sanny, alway good to hear your opinion. Aye, I have had a chat with said folks and have also chatted to some others, real people too, around the problems with reliability on some models.
Hadn’t really considered the Canyon so will have a look, though the lack of a local shop for when it inevitably breaks is a big thing in my view.
How would you envisage they would deal with a motor failure, as seems to plague all, whether Brose, Shimano, or Bosch ? If fails to work, or an error code is up, and there isn’t a LBS to take it to for them to look at and fix for you under warranty ?
My nephew just picked up a new 2019 Focus Jam2 in medium for £2600, absolute bargain. Decent spec on it, not too heavy. I’m 6’, had a ride up the street and it felt lovely.
Local bike shop an first class warranty should be on my list just in case.
Pic of the new one
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So far so good with my Levo over about 18 months and 2000 miles, wet and dry. If it does go wrong I trust my LBS to deal with it!
As your shoulder is a bit knackered, definitely go for a medium rather than a large, run slightly narrower bars (wide bars are harder on your shoulders, just as a wide grip when benching or doing pull-ups is much tougher on the shoulder joints), and don’t go too short on the stem (because super-short stems need wide bars to calm them down).
Get as much dropper travel as you can fit - the lower your seat, the less chance of going over the bars and landing on your bad shoulder when things go wrong!
My Levo is a complete monster truck downhill, it’s quite ridiculous! I have a short offset 160mm Lyrik which makes it even more stable (head angle down to 65 deg and the extra trail from the reduced offset is like taking another degree off the head angle), and I’ve ended up running a lot of sag because that’s how it feels best to me (30% front, 37% rear). It’s a handful once it’s up to speed - if you don’t ride it positively it would just ride over everything in a straight line - partly geometry, partly the frame weight adding stability, partly the frame weight’s effect on the suspension (it works soooo well). It’s great when you really RIDE it though, full attack!
I haven’t ridden the Levo SL but when I picked one up in my LBS it felt like a normal full-sus in weight, not like an ebike. That, plus the shorter chainstays should make it much easier to handle.
Having seen the set up at the factory and how Canyon acknowledged the issues they had when they transitioned to their current set up a few years back, I reckon they would be good to deal with. They appear to have worked really hard and continue to do so on their customer service and dealing with problems. They were very open about it when I met with them and didn't shy away from recognising that in the past, they hadn't done things as well as they would have liked.
They are well set up to deal with warranty issues and repairs. If there is something like a motor failure, even with an LBS, I would expect any bike would be sent back either to the importer or the manufacturer. I am very much a champion of the LBS but credit where credit is due, the likes of Canyon seem pretty slick. Enough so that I would put my hand in my own pocket and buy from them. Every bike of theirs that I have tried has been really bloody good. I had a Strive last year for several months and it is still the best long travel 29er I have tried. I'm not paid to say that. Same for the Spectral ON. It is just a bloody good bike.
Ginger is currently looking at getting an e Bike. The top contender at the moment is the Spectral ON but she will try others before making a decision including the Levo SL.
Cheers
Sanny
Oh and one other thing! The top end XTR equipped one with Reynolds carbon wheels is actually a couple of hundred quid cheaper than the basic Heckler. Eek!
Sanny, I had a google at them on the back of this thread and the xtr one is amazing value and hugely tempting. If I was buying a regular bike it would be a no brainer for me.
However, buying an ebike, which I know is going to go wrong electrically in its warranty period, the peace of mind of local shop dealer support is worth a huge amount to me. If/when it goes wrong it’s a 15 minute trip to drop it off at the shop, then it’s their responsibility and hassle to get the bits, strip it down, send it back, whatever.
Tracey, that purple colour is stunning !
^^^ meant to add, keen to hear what H decides upon and we can catch up for a ride once we’re allowed to ?
4 years this weekend since the Prostate Cairngorm Ride and the founding members are still going .. 😀
chief, very useful insight and thoughts on sizing, much appreciated.
Iain
A wee reminder from that trip for you............
I look forward to finding out what e bike you buy.......although we both know that it will be the Levo SL! Ha! Ha! You know yourself that you have already made that decision..........
Cheers
Sanny
Thanks for posting that up Sanny, what a tremendous trip that was 😀👍
You may be right re the Spesh, I suppose you have known me for best part of 15 years ! Just waiting till restrictions lift to get a sit on a medium and large and a demo ride. I guess that’ll be a few weeks away.
The Levo SL sounds like just the bike you need, enough power to keep you out of the danger HR zone but light enough to pickup, with a dodgy shoulder. If I didn't already have a full fat e-bike and majority of my riding buddies ride them, it'd be the bike I looked at (except it's too pricey for my pocket). I have the std Levo, with a recently replace motor, after been being introduced to the e-bike world via cheap internet bargain Vitus, there no way I'd buy an e-bike online again. LBS support is the way forward for e-bike, for now IMO. As for the 'issues' around the Levo, would I buy one again... yes in heartbeat, without even giving serious considering the 'bargains' available (& Spesch were a brands I have avoided for years). Reliability? I know 6 other (19/20) Levo owners (2 other with kenevo's), and I've been the only unlucky one needing a motor replacement, threads complaining about them are magnets for ppl repeating what their m8 heard, and ppl with a axe to grind, and some very unlucky ppl, same old story.. the STW forum is not the real mtb world...
Turbo Levo SL Expert Carbon ordered, in Oak Green/Aqua 😀. Went for a large and shop will swop to a medium if it’s too big on a pavement ride outside shop. Arriving next week, many thanks for all the words of advice 👍
32lb levo sl
^^^^^ mine isn't gonna be quite that light !
Good choice
Ours wont be either, once we have swapped stuff around, so far it will be wheels, chainset, brakes and may be forks.
Lighter tubeless tyres looks a relatively cheap way to lose a bit of weight
Tubeless yes, I thought everyone on here was tubeless. Lighter tyres not wort the risk, Im running the Blck Dmnds on my Turbo Levo. Will be changing the front to 2.6 Grid Trail on the SL
one thing worth remembering about specialized is their 2 year no quibble warranty. This covers motor and batery issues and is transferable to subsequent owners. Worth thinking about if you ever want to sell. I have a 2nd hand 2019 levo comp and the motor went, swapped strait out for a new one.
First ride out today 👍
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/gJTGpKkB/1-A6-D4536-F5-A6-4691-AA11-04-C3761-C2-F44.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/gJTGpKkB/1-A6-D4536-F5-A6-4691-AA11-04-C3761-C2-F44.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://keyboardtester.co/ ]keyboardtester com[/url]
Looks good, did it all go well
Thanks, yes, well impressed with it. A tame ride from home up to and road nearby windfarm. Even with 10 miles of road it was comparable pace to gravel bike. Enough assist on the windy hills to keep it fun 😜
Have you got your new one built up yet ?
Got the 2019 Turbo Levo and just done trouble free 3700km on it now, only issue was the battery terminal cable which was sorted within 24hrs under warranty.
I'm 5"10 and got the medium and its spot on, just fitted the on one 180 dropper and using the full 180 !
great bike with great warranty cover
Picked the Levo SL up today. Everything swapped over apart from the forks and brakes then it will be good to go
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