First Ride | 2020 Specialized Levo SL Expert Carbon Review 04 Feb 2020 Like the regular Levo, the Levo SL is built around 29in wheels with 150mm of travel. Specialized Turbo Kenevo Expert Review and photos by Ralf Hauser After the massive update the Turbo Levo FSR received about a year ago, it was just a matter of time before the Kenevo … The alloy rear end didn’t bother us at all. Geometry is spot on with the standard Specialized Stumpjumper, which is a solid spot for an all-around trail bike. Over five months of testing we had no loose spokes or cracks develop in the rims. Specialized has a Mission Control app that is handy and fun. NEWS During our test period, we took the Levo on more trails than we can remember. If you want to build your own slalom track, this thing will slay. The person with the smartest and most helpful replies will earn some sweet new gear. While Specialized has improved their e-bike controls since the last model we tested, especially the location of the LED display, it still loses a little ground to the competition in this metric. Laying this bike over in rutted corners, berms, or dropping a foot and drifting flat turns at speed all resulted in huge grins as fingers moved farther off the brake levers and firmly wrapped around the grips instead. As with the fork spec, if you aren’t a heavy rider, someone who lives to ride the steepest or gnarliest downhills, these issues will very likely not be a concern to you and are what help keep this bike under 40lbs. We’d been lucky enough to spend several months on the bike in Bend, Oregon before putting it head to head with some of the newest ebikes on the market. When we were planning our trip to Palm Springs for the 2020 eMTB Roundup, there were a few bikes we already knew would be top contenders. It's a completely … Specialized Turbo Levo Expert … With a lively and lightweight ride, 150mm of bump-eating suspension and incredible range, the Specialized Levo is a worthy adversary. GEAR REVIEWS Followed closely by Gen 4 Bosch-equipped bikes and their 630Wh batteries. 150mm travel I didn’t realize the 2020 Turbo Levo comp is spec’d so much better. Tires: Specialized Butcher Grid Casing; 29×2.6, DRIVETRAIN The main battery is internal with an optional range extender, which we’ll get into later. Due to the lower torque, the Levo SL doesn’t want to constantly loop out like some of the bigger bikes. Now that we think about it, that could be part of the reason we had some problems with the Roval wheels holding up. The Specialized Turbo Levo SL bucked the trend and was among the first sub-40-pound eBikes available aimed at riders looking at a more ‘natural’ riding experience while still benefitting from electronic assistance. Moving on from our nitpicking and focusing on the many great things this bike has to offer, it’s easy to see why we love it. MOTO Frame: FACT 9m Carbon w/ Aluminum rear triangle, 150mm If you’re charging the range extender, plan on an additional couple hours, or you can purchase the Y-charge cable which charges both batteries at the same time and will increase the individual charge time a bit. The Levo is a very impressive eMTB and one of those machines that makes us excited for the future of ebikes. It has just enough weight down low in the frame to allow for the benefits of eMTBs in corners or momentum preservation, but not so much weight that it feels sluggish or hard to get off the ground. Both models use the same M5 alloy … The upside of course is a more natural, light and lively feeling eBike on the downhills. The bike stays composed in almost all situations and utilizes all 150mm of travel without feeling harsh at the end of the stroke. My review of the 2020 Turbo Levo Comp. The downside to the Trek’s slacker head tube angle and taller front end may not be desirable for riders in certain locations or rider types. Wheelbase is 1,217mm and bottom bracket drop is 27mm. The fully integrated battery provides 320Wh of power with an optional 160wh extender that fits in the bottle cage. The Specialized will be snappier for riders looking at an ebike with those types of characteristics. Reviews, ratings, specifications, weight, price and more for the 2020 Specialized Turbo Levo SL Expert Carbon E-Bike The Specialized Levo wheelbase is 8mm shorter than the Trek and has a 10-15mm shorter reach, with 8mm longer chainstays. It performs well on rocky, chunder, and loose trails. It is true, with all the wiz and fanfare around electric mountain bikes these days occasionally we still hear a little pessimism from the odd naysayer out there… Sure, there will always be your traditional let us … As much as we liked the bike on the trail, it had it’s limitations. What we mean is that manuals, nose bonks, poppy playful lines are all welcome aboard the Levo. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. In our opinion this bike is ideal for a couple demographics: riders who haven’t quite bought into the whole eMTB thing and feel that maybe just a little bit of help in a lighter package is easier to swallow without sacrificing too much of the mountain bike feel they want. NEWS We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. eMTB Now, this will only be a factor for aggressive riders who spend time pushing their equipment and charging steep and rough terrain. With the Range Extender, the SL Expert build weighs 41 lbs. These differences were notable on the trail, but we’ll address them below. The bike rolls fast and smooth and encourages non-ebike riding styles. It shares much with the regular Specialized Turbo Levo, but weighs around 4kg less. The Levo battled head to head with the Trek Rail for the top spot in our Trail category, so we’ll share a couple key differences in measurements. Want to win some free schwag? Saddle: Specialized Bridge Comp, Cr-mo rails ... 2018 Specialized Turbo Levo Expert - First Ride Review … Join the Pack and get the latest news and read the latest reviews on the top mountain and electric mountain bikes. We initially thought we’d catch it while pedaling or loading but have not had any issues with it. With the addition of the unique SL 1.1 motor however, Specialized … We had a blast riding it on flatter, pedaly rides where beginners or those who aren’t looking to push the limits of gravity will ride. Hubs: Roval 15×110 Front, DT Swiss 350 12×148 rear With that much time on the bike, we’d say it’s time for a long term wrap up. Weight: 39.3 lbs (large) My opinion on the 2020 Specialized Turbo Levo Expert Size: XL Color: Sage Green/Black Build spec consists of a SRAM GX eagle drivetrain and G2 brakes with 200mm front and 180mm rear rotors. However, the fork was a bit flexy for some of our heavier or more aggressive riders on the steep descents. Results 1 to 5 of 5 Thread: My review of the 2020 Turbo Levo Comp. Huge selection of mountain bikes from brands such as Trek, Specialized… The battery extender, which weighs 2.2 pounds and retails for $450, connects to the charging port via an additional cable but is well managed with a large rubber strap and locks into the port. The Specialized 2.1 motor is quiet and powerful, the battery range is impressive and it rides lighter than many other bikes in the category. As you could imagine by the 35Nm of torque, the Turbo Levo SL climbs right between a full Turbo Levo and the non-powered Stumpjumper. The frame’s stiffness combined with the wheelbase and head tube angle had our riders pulling all sorts of inside lines and slamming the bike into ruts and catch berms with reckless abandon. Drive Unit: Specialized 2.1 Rx; 250w, COCKPIT This is one of the most fun and playful ebikes we’ve ridden. When in full Turbo mode, which utilizes 100% of available power, the power level is about double what you can put out with a traditional bike. We tested a size large, which has a 455mm reach. By Drew Rohde | Photos by Dusten Ryen If you are looking for an eMTB that performs like a trail bike, but can cut your ride time down while also giving you a little assistance on the climbs, the Turbo Levo SL is the ticket. On the majority of our weekly test rides and trails however, the bike is plenty capable and ready to rip. We found that the wheels on our recently reviewed Stumpjumper Evo and the Turbo Levo suffered the same issues. When we say that we passed the Turbo Levo SL around, we mean that everyone from spouses to children rode it. Front tire: Butcher GRID trail, GRIPTON compound 29×2.3 But the Mission Control app is where you can really unlock the potential of the Levo SL. The new magnesium body reduces weight by 11% and is 15% smaller than its predecessor. SPECIALIZED TURBO LEVO SL EXPERT CARBON REVIEW. Specialized in-house components make up much of the cockpit and wheels. Other big updates for the 2019 second generation Turbo Levo platform include a SWAT toolset that fits into the steering tube, under a swivel-top stem cap, a much more reachable Turbo Connect Unit (TCU) … STORE, ABOUT US Handlebar: Specialized Trail alloy, 27mm rise 780mm wide ... Would a 2.8 fit in the rear of your 2020? RockShox’ Deluxe air shock suits the bike fine and is supportive and … Handlebar: Specialized Trail; 780mm Cranks: Praxis; 165mm, 32t Specialized does not recommend running more than 150mm of travel forks on the Turbo Levo SL, but we still think a 150mm 36 would be a better call than the 150mm 34 for aggressive riders. An X-Fusion Manic dropper with 150mm of travel fits in the 34.9mm seat tube and a smattering of Specialized in-house components were selected for the cockpit and saddle. Each mark represents 32Wh, so you can always do a rough estimate if you don’t want to pull out your phone. >>> Best electric mountain bikes for 2020. Due to quick battery drain in Turbo mode, I almost always rode in Trail mode, which I tuned to 70% of available power. Here's where the gloves come off—the Turbo Levo Expert Carbon sheds serious weight with … The app allows the rider to custom tune how much torque and power is used in each power setting, check battery or motor status, and track rider performance with integration into other riding apps. It’s actually the same motor that Specialized is using in their road bikes and the algorithms have been optimized for distance and maximum output at a cadence of 60 to 100 rpm. Cranks: Praxis M30 170mm Specialized shook up the eMTB market with the Levo SL when they took one of their best-selling eMTBs and revised the design around a more compact drive unit with less power and a smaller, lighter battery. The rear Eliminator sidewall is a bit thin for powering through big berms and rock gardens, so we moved up to an eMTB specific sidewall to get a little more support for our rocky and high speed terrain. Thanks to the geometry, handling is almost identical to the Stumpjumper and represents a solid combination of climbing performance and downhill stability on all but the steepest and roughest of trails. TERMS OF USE Our favorite place to ride the Specialized Turbo Levo, however, was on trails with some speed and sharp, quick turns. Uses a proprietary mid-drive motor and downtube … CONTACT US The 2021 model ups the price even more to $9,500. View and share reviews, comments and questions on mountain bikes. Laying this bike over in rutted corners, berms, or dropping a foot and drifting flat turns at speed all resulted in huge grins as fingers moved farther off the brake levers and firmly wrapped around the grips instead. PRIVACY POLICY THE DIRT Rear tire: Eliminator, GRID trail, GRIPTON compound 29×2.3, DRIVETRAIN Stem: Specialized Trail, 50mm, WHEELS rides where beginners or those who aren’t looking to push the limits of gravity will ride. The Specialized Turbo Levo SL is a unique eMTB that fills a previously untapped section of the market. The SL 1.1 motor is a 240-watt unit capable of 35Nm of torque. TERMS OF USE Range can be similar to other eMTBs but you will get there a bit slower and you’ll have to work harder. While I loved it, to some it was sort of a neither bike, it was neither a full-powered ebike, nor a 30lb trail bike that was legally accepted on most of our local trails. All cables are internally routed and rear hub spacing is 148mm. Starting at the heart of the bike, Specialized uses a 2.1 Rx trail-tuned motor. Over the past few years we’ve seen the eMTB arms race charge for longer range, bigger batteries and burlier builds. The suspension worked well. Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo (Click for review) Specialized 2.1 90 Nm/700 Wh: € 11,499: 20.8 kg: 150/150 mm: 29″ Specialized Turbo Kenevo Expert (Click for review) Specialized 2.1 90 Nm/700 Wh: € 6,899: 23.6 kg: 180/180 mm: 27.5″ Trek Rail 9.9 (Click for review… Price: $9025.00 | Model Year: 2020 | One of the most satisfying lightweight full suspension electric mountain bikes available... just 38.8lbs total! Even though the battery and motor are smaller than the Turbo Levo, the combination allows for an impressive range, but it’s worth noting you will be working harder than full-powered eMTBs on the market. It could be, for some. Shock: Rock Shox Deluxe RT3, POWERPLANT Price: $9,025 eMTB Ultimately we think minor geometry differences and Bosch’s new CX motor were the deciding factors for our crew. This isn't the bike if you want to soft-pedal and have the bike to allof the uphill work for you. Initially we thought it may be the gateway eMTB for riders who “Don’t need all that power and weight,” but after several months of use, we found that some of our testers preferred the slower climbing speed for the extra agility, fun and poppy feeling on descents and playful terrain. We had reliability and tuning issues with the drivetrain frequently, the brakes were mediocre and we punctured the tires more than once before switching to our Schwalbe Eddy Current rubber. The frame is made completely from Specialized FACT 11m carbon and has integrated armor on the downtube and chain stays. Bars are 780mm wide with a 27mm rise and the stem is 40mm with a 5mm rise. COMPONENT REVIEWS The Smart Control setting allows the rider to set their remaining elevation to climb, or estimated length of ride and how much battery they would like left at the end of the ride. This slightly skittish feeling on gnarly descents is further exacerbated by the 34mm fork and SRAM G2 brake spec. Charge times on the main battery were consistently around the 2-2.5-hour mark. Is the Specialized Turbo Levo SL the Goldilocks of eMTBs? ... Sean Leicht 2020 … This allows me to keep up momentum and snap up switchbacks that would normally require a huge amount of effort. Specialized Turbo Kenevo Expert (2020) review Specialized Turbo Kenevo Expert isn't just slapping on a 180mm-travel RockShox Boxxer fork and calling it a day though. Reviews, ratings, specifications, weight, price and more for the 2020 Specialized Turbo Levo Expert Carbon E-Bike Rims: Roval Traverse 29 Leave a comment and vote up the most thoughtful comments and each month we’ll pick a winner. Shifter: SRAM GX Eagle 12 speed trigger Shock: Fox Float DPS Performance 210×52.5 RX trail tune, ELECTRONICS On the steepest climbs, I’m able to climb non-powered bikes at 3-4MPH but on the Levo SL, I average 5-6mph. Specifically, in terms of drivetrain, tires, and suspension. Cassette: SRAM XG-1175; 10-42t COMPONENT REVIEWS Stem: Specialized Trail alloy 5mm rise 40mm The Specialized Turbo Levo Expert was one of those bikes. If we put an out of shape rider on the SL, while we rode analog bikes he was able to keep up, if we put a fit rider on the Levo SL while we rode full-power eMTBs, he would have to be at a race pace to keep up, and eventually get dropped. When using the Smart Control app, I was able to squeeze out a few 40-mile rides in the 3,500K of climbing range, but I also put out significantly more effort than a normal trail mode eMTB. Click here for an overview of the best light eMTB of 2020 – 3 super lightweight e-bikes in review. Specialized Turbo Levo Comp eBike Review 2020 March 24, 2020 By eBike Guru Leave a Comment The Specialized Turbo Levo Comp 2020 is an aggressive eMTB that builds on the advanced … The FACT 9m carbon frame is stiff and responds well to rider input. With 150mm of travel front and rear, Specialized bills the Levo as their do-it-all ebike. Specialized Turbo Levo SL Expert | Specialized SL 1.1/320 Wh | 150/150 mm (f/r) 17.7 kg in … Rider power is amplified up to 410% thanks to this 250W unit. Website: Specializedbikes.com, CHASSIS 2020 Specialized Kenevo frame geometry. Battery: Specialized SL1-320 integrated with 160Wh range extender RETURNS & REFUNDS, Copyright 2017-2020 The Loam Wolf | All Rights Reserved |. We also would have preferred Code brakes as this bike is a blast to ride in all sort of terrain and the extra weight quickly overrides the G2 brakes for our riding terrain. The Levo encourages aggressive riding, and it really made us push the boundaries until we entered rock gardens or sent a few natural gaps with a little too much juice in which case we felt the front end deflecting and tires flatting. Of course, the controls work just fine and function as intended, but the lack of a digital display screen, like those found on most of the other models in this review, is a clear drawback to their system. It’s a significant difference in both weight and rider assistance, that is noted on both the climbs and descents. All this comes in at a price that is best described as “ouch” for a mountain bike and “not terrible” for an eMTB; the Turbo Levo SL Expert rings the register at $9,025. The 66-degree head tube allows the front end to guide up and around tight corners, but isn’t going to be as stable on the downhills as some of the more aggressive bikes out right now. The head tube angle is 66 degrees and the seat tube is 74.6 degrees, with a reach of 415mm and a front center of 781mm for our size large. The person with the smartest and most helpful replies will earn some sweet new gear. Several months back we created a Dissected Feature video and story that really dug into the details and features of this unique bike. The spokes regularly came loose on both bike’s wheels, and we eventually snapped two spokes on the Specialized Turbo Levo. We’ve always been proponents of shorter cranks on eMTBs as they help with pedaling through gnarly sections at higher speeds. The head tube and fork flex were two major factors in the bike coming in second place in our eMTB Roundup for the All Trail win. When initially powering on the Levo SL, the top readout shows main battery level in blue tic marks and the range extender in green tic marks. The carbon frame is 600-700g lighter than the alloy version so even with a 700Wh battery as standar… As much fun as we had on the Specialized Turbo Levo we felt the spec could have been a little bit better for the price. Derailleur: SRAM X1; 11s. Getting from A to B never looked this good—or fast. Take that for what it’s worth. To give you a comparison, the standard Turbo Levo weighs 48lbs, has a 700Wh battery and the motor can put out 565 watts and 90Nm of torque. The in-house Specialized tires are very impressive, and we found the Butcher to be on par with the best front tires we’ve been testing. The higher bottom bracket and lower climbing speeds may have something to do with less pedal strikes, but we still think 165mm cranks are the way to go for eMTBs. Battery: Turbo M2-700 w/rock guard; 700wH Initially that left us concerned about the 170mm cranks that come on the Turbo Levo SL, but we didn’t find that they struck very often. Instead, this is the bike for the rider who wants to push their own watts a… Rock Shox suspension handles the hits in the form of a Pike RC29 fork and Deluxe RT3 shock. The Trek has a 160mm fork with a 64.5 to 64.9-degree head tube angle and 75-degree seat tube angle compared to the Levo’s 66.04-degree head tube and 74.48-degree seat tube angle. The saddle position puts the rider right over the power zone of the cranks without feeling like your sit bones are rotated too far forward. Weighing in at just over 47 pounds and retailing for $8,250, the Turbo Levo Expert is Specialized’s upper-middle-class ebike. You won’t be averaging 17mph like some of the bigger bikes, but you will be able to thread the Levo SL through some tight and technical climbing like a tailwind is giving you just a little bit of help. The overall wheelbase on the Levo is 1,235mm and sports 455mm chainstays with a 347.5mm bottom bracket height. The Levo SL is a comfortable and capable climber, but again, it sets itself apart from the competition because of the fact that it is less powerful. Derailleur: SRAM GX Eagle 12 speed. Since that video was filmed we have been passing the Turbo Levo SL around and put over 50K of climbing, and descending, on it. The Turbo Levo is a big step forward in the electric bike world. Charged by RISE Brewing. Want to win some free schwag? In the app you can customize your bike’s data and tuning options. Specialized’s Turbo Levo SL has 150mm of travel front and rear. Weight: 47.12 lbs Fork: Fox Performance 34 Float 29, GRIP damper 51mm offset 15×110 Literally anyone that could fit on the bike took it for a lap. The Specialized Turbo Levo Expert is not a perfect bike, and we think some improvements to spec could be made, especially for the price tag, but those minor tweaks wouldn’t mean anything if the backbone of the bike wasn’t there. Lighter, quieter and more powerful than its competitors the 2020 Turbo Levo continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible on an electric mountain bike. The head tube angle, at just over 66 degrees is incredibly fun and lively on 95% of terrain, but when you get it into that 5%, it gets a bit steep. 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