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IMO, thats the direction EEEBBBSSS needs to go, lighter and less powerful.
£11k though is out of hand
if I had the spare cash, I'd buy one today.
£5k for the base model.
That's actually the approach to e-bikes I'm more interested in. Having bought mine a few weeks ago, I find I never use the boost mode, so the motor (and associated weight) is probably overkill.
However, I paid £3000 for the 2nd-from-the-top model. I don't have £7k lying around...
mate had a 2020 turbo levo for 3 weeks.
1 motor failure and 1 rear mech, it went back for full refund
Just what im after. but too much cash for me and i dont know anyone that hasnt had an ebike without issues.
will take a long look next year thats for sure.
That is nearing the weight of my (admittedly rather hefty) big bike. I just don’t know which way I’d go, light weight is nice but if I were going for a motor wouldn’t I just go for the Levo rather than less power and range of the SL? Only a demo would answer that question
1 motor failure and 1 rear mech, it went back for full refund
The motor failure would be annoying, but sending a bike back because of a rear mech going seems a tad daft
The cheapest (if you can call a £5K bike cheap) is 19.1KG, so not much lighter than the similarly priced, higher powered, bigger batteried Levo.
^^^^ this. Plus once the range extender is added on, which I reckon you'd want for 3hr plus rides, it's probably weighing the same as quiet a few other nice FS ebikes....
The motor failure would be annoying, but sending a bike back because of a rear mech going seems a tad daft
The question was whether it was actually the mech or another well documented one where the chainring and motor lock up, which then trashes the mech.
He only rode it 3 times and had 2 major mechanicals.... He lost faith in it.
ive had a turbo levo for 10 months with no trouble what so ever , its been ridden in all weathers and conditions
Although it weighs less I'll stick with the extra weight and bigger battery. Most of the time I run mine it Eco.
I did have a problem with the rear mech. It had a fight with a rock climbing the Beast and the rock won, had to push and freewheel to 18 Bikes who fitted another one.
The cheapest (if you can call a £5K bike cheap) is 19.1KG, so not much lighter than the similarly priced, higher powered, bigger batteried Levo.
not strictly true is it. S-Works Levo Turbo is 21.8Kg, aluminium comp is 23.5kg
Where are you getting those numbers? Carbon Comp is 20.5Kg according to an MBR review.
https://reviews.mtbr.com/2019-specialized-levo-ebike-first-ride
a little better than the first link i found but even so. maybe the 2020 ones are even lighter.
edit: i do find it interesting how shy most manufacturers seem to be about weight in the lower spec models....
Looks good. I'll never afford it though luckily.
The Specialized UK site says that the limiter kicks in at 20mph which is interesting. Higher limit allowed because of lower assistance?
As a Levo owner I'm in two minds with a lean towards I'm not sure i see the point. The main pro of the Levo for me is that in a couple of hours I can go out and smash loads of downhill runs, have a great time and return home knackered albeit in a slightly different way to a normal bike. I don't ever use boost but trail is still a lot more oomph than the SL provides and is great for hammering out climbs. So with a normal ebike I can do double the downhills of a normal bike whilst the SL only lets me do 50% more, why not be greedy and just run the normal ebike? Especially when I don't find the weight a factor.
The Specialized UK site says that the limiter kicks in at 20mph which is interesting. Higher limit allowed because of lower assistance?
No, that'll be a typo.
20mph is the American limit I believe. Maybe it's just been copied and pasted from there.
If I was in the market for a new ebike I’d be very keen on that... I have a 2020 Orbea Wild FS which is great, though I’ve been off it since october due injury, but that Spesh looks great and appears to have a great balance of weight and assist.
The question was whether it was actually the mech or another well documented one where the chainring and motor lock up, which then trashes the mech.
So well documented, I've been an owner 6 months (with numerous friends with them) and never heard of it.
That SL is great and a great sign for the future of ebikes, the price not so much so, but that Spesh for you.
Here's my take on the pricing.
Yes, the pricing is pretty sharp with a £5k entry point but then to be fair to Specialized they are pushing the tech envelope here in ways that even their closest competitors aren't. Most other manufacturers are working with existing motor manufacturers (Shimano, Bosch, Yamaha, Fazua, et al). Specialized collaborated with Brose (and still are) initially on their motor but the motor on the SL is an in-house development. That's pretty unique and not a cheap thing to do. That's reflected in the pricing.
All that said, they are expensive bikes.
How often do you see the S-works & founders models discounted. They’ll sell them all.
So well documented, I’ve been an owner 6 months (with numerous friends with them) and never heard of it.
Same, ‘cept I’ve been an owner for 3.5 years...
How would the chainring locking/stopping trash the mech?
Looks lovely and I really want one but.....having had a Scott e-bike for 18mths with a Bosch motor and no troubles I bought a new 2020 Spesh turbo levo 5 weeks ago. TBH it was against my better judgement as Spesh aren't know for the most reliable e-bikes but the backup is very good. However 2 failures including a new motor at 90 miles and I rejected it. A £5k purchase should be a quality item and my experience and that of others shows they aren't despite the great back up.
I'm sure this'll appeal to a lot of people, but the geometry seems quite conservative - perhaps deliberately due to the price?
Potential buyers likely to be well-heeled older folks, less interested in shredding the gnar?
Not criticising it as such, and I'd like to test ride one - but the sizing would rule me out I think.
jam bo
How often do you see the S-works & founders models discounted. They’ll sell them all.
My friend was sold a brand new 2020 S-work, not long after the launch, by Leisure lakes at a discount... I was very surprised and when he said had expected it to be a 2019 model they needed to shift, but this was not the case. Though yes, I'd agree with your point, that they do have an audience who are willing to pay top wack for the 'best/latest and greatest' bit of kit they sell.
interesting that the biggest criticism of the bike is it cant keep up with a normal ebike on climbs.
Shows you how crazy this is.....
from what I see, the tradeoff vs full gas Levo is loosing turbo mode and gaining a few pounds weight saving, shorter chainstays, rolling a Levo and bio trail bike into 1 bike, and plausible fly-ability.
I'd take that deal.
Want.
Mmmm,
I nearly cracked as these were down to half price, but like the Levo the stand over is a bit big for me and the fixed battery is a right impracticality, and then they were all sold, so problem over.
Nice little tech walk through video here:
My big bike is nearly 15kgs, but its a third of the price. Even on finance, I'd wear out one of these, or it would be obsolete before I had broken even. I guess its not aimed at me.
The mid range ones, 5-7k, are same price area as similar specced ebikes from other manufacturers, Orbea, Giant, Trek.
I reckon they will fly out the shops as a great compromise for many riders who wants bit of assist but for whom a full fat ebike is maybe too much.
When I buy an ebike in about 5 years, it'll be more like this than a Kenevo. I've always thought the weight of 'full fat' ebikes was a huge barrier to purchase. But something that's only about 8lbs heavier than my trail bike and still gives me a push up the hill? I'm up for that.
A friend of mine probably has one of these on the way (Specialized like giving him things!) His main ebike now is a previous gen Kenevo set up 27.5x2.8 at the back and 29x3.0 up front with a 200mm Boxxer DH fork! He’s got a Levo too but he’s loving the Kenevo with the huge fork and 29+ front end.
So I’m curious to hear how this almost opposite kind of ebike goes down with him!
curiosity has got better of me demo booked for weekend
Nobody seems to talk about the price of the range extender thou ???
Nobody seems to talk about the price of the range extender thou ???
What do you have to say about it?
Enjoy the demo, would be great for some feed back. No room in our garage for another one
I think this would be great, maybe the next evolution with some slightly more progressive geometry, and newer battery tech to squeeze more range out of it.
I’ve been riding a Trek Rail 9.9 for a few weeks, and whilst I don’t use turbo mode the 625Wh battery means you can get some seriously big rides in.
At £10k though, it’s bonkers monkey. Out team gets good support from Trek, but even with that, it’s eye wateringly expensive.
I prefer the new Bosch motor to all the others I’ve now ridden though 🙂
Range extender is £300
And it’s not 10k unless you go silly spec, the Carbon Comp is 6k, plus £300 for range extender. That’s in the same ball park as many similarly specced ebikes.
Most other manufacturers are working with existing motor manufacturers (Shimano, Bosch, Yamaha, Fazua, et al). Specialized collaborated with Brose (and still are) initially on their motor but the motor on the SL is an in-house development
The motor is not entirely their own work, it was developed in conjunction with Mahle
https://www.mahle.com/en/products-and-services/emobility/e-bike/
Just popped into my LBS and had a look at one out of curiosity. Good lord, it feels like a normal bike when you pick it up - it's close to the weight of my old Spitfire, and it was the slightly less expensive one I was looking at, no carbon wheels etc.
Personally I like how the weight of my Levo makes it handle and how well it makes the suspension work but I'm not light and am fairly strong, so it suits my unsubtle style - but a lightweight yet gnarly e-hardtail would be awesome.
First e-bike I've thought that I might actually be interested in. Watched Marks vid and it looked pretty impressively, well, like a normal bike.
👍