Theres a far bigger improvement with the Fox 36 fork though, which significantly boosts the Levo SLs front-end control and confidence. The e-bike's extra weight and low distribution of that weight, provides a similar on-trail feel to a bike with updated angles like the new Stumpjumper. After my wrist improved, I wanted to transfer this knowledge and these workouts to the trails. Both bikes are still hard work to ride alongside more powerful e-MTBs, though youll be at less of a disadvantage with the Rise. Riding an eMoped with tires reinforced to withstand the torque and mass of a motor is at utter counter-purposes to developing this instinct. Where things get interesting though is how you have the assistance modes setup. Keeping within that easy effort range on a mountain bike would result in a fraction of the descending and skill-building time. 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I can upload workouts from TrainerRoad onto the display of the Wahoo Element Bolt computer. However, I found when pushing the Levo SL on the descents, the back end was too spongy and willing to hit full travel. Anyone know for certain? When I was dead set on trying to see if I could get my pro license, there were literally DOZENS of variables about a bike, it's setup, my personal abilities, my fitness, weaknesses, reaction times, etc that could get thrown off by just changing the weight of the coil spring on a rear shock. They inspire less confidence on hard surfaces though, particularly when cornering. It can take tens of seconds before heart rate elevates in response to a dramatic increase in effort. Yup, the initial response of an e-bike has been an issue.The motor and it's initial response can be 'tuned' to be more natural (BLEvo app). The charge port door is simple but effective, and I like that it takes just 2.5 hours to fully charge the battery. If youre looking for battery and motor assistance when you head for the hills then the lightweight but powerful Levo will hit the spot. If i was explosive every day, then I will quickly over train. Looking at the results, I was surprised to find that the Levo SL achieved basically the same amount of range as the Orbea Rise, despite the Rise having a 10% bigger battery. no. Central to the appeal for many will be the capability of the 150mm suspension front and rear, which is made all the more effective courtesy of Foxs 36 Performance Elite fork and DPX2 shock combination. Product: Specialized Turbo Levo SL Expert C electric mountain bike review But with all the hype having died down since then, were glad to see this bike adopt a more performance-oriented spec to take advantage of its true capabilities. If you're staying aerobic, you're 32x51 and nursing it which sucks because you actually descend very little within a given ride. The SL 1.1 motor impresses with its smooth, consistent and low-drag performance, and the new MasterMind software means its more effective at filtering out messy pedalling inputs from the rider. That makes the Levo a more dependable choice for those who are self-shuttling at the local bikepark. Polarized training spends most of the time, 70-80%, at low intensity, and then 20-30% at higher intensity. Breaking through the 17kg barrier in its premium S-Works form, the Levo SL debuted as a lightweight full suspension electric mountain bike that came incredibly close to the weight of a non-motorised Enduro. The geometry of the Levo SL and the Stumpjumper look very different on paper. I steadily bumped up the pressure until I was up at 220psi with just 25% sag. All of that adds up to a raucous e-MTB that is insanely planted at speed, with the Kenevo SLs gooey suspension performance delivering endless amounts of grip and control. This makes climbing without assistance far easier than most e-bikes, which usually sport big chainrings and smaller cassettes (as well as more weight). I could see that in some places. From a practical standpoint, its just easier to deal with. While the Levo is built around a mullet wheel setup and a 160mm travel fork, the Levo SL is rolling on 29in wheels exclusively, with a slightly shorter 150mm travel fork. While it's easy enough stick to a specified wattage effort by manually altering the motors output through the bar-mounted control, I decided that I would prefer to reduce mental energy and just ride. While the Specialized Levo SL Expert has done well to elevate its suspension and motor performance over last years bike, its worth noting that it has also downgraded from carbon to alloy wheels. Youd rather stick with a cheap and cheerful electric mountain bike. They do however really give your core and upper body a workout if ridden fast due to their weight being thrown around, and pace carried means less time upper body is relaxed and resting like you get doing laps with a standard or Light Ebike. Theres also been a change from SRAM G2 brakes to the bigger Codes, which are a little heavier but significantly more powerful. Alternatively, you can just push the on button on the top tube and go. | E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine. IT'S YOU JUST GOING FASTERAND FURTHER The Turbo Levo SL is effectively a . I will be riding the lightest bike I can for the race. A trainer? The Turbo Levo SL is a new, lightweight breed of eMTB that harnesses the quick and lively ride of our Stumpjumper.and adds just enough power to introduce a whole new dimension of kick ass. It also helps that the Levo SL is one of the lightest e-bikes available. In an effort to eliminate that flaw, and to get the closest match to my preferred race platform for Downieville, the 2021 Specialized Stumpjumper S-Works, I chose the 2021 Specialized Turbo Levo SL Expert Carbon. Seems like a fun tool to have in the quiver if you have the coin for it, but maybe not necessarily the most cost effective. While it's primarily designed for taking on mountain bike trails and all that comes with off-road fun, this is a bike that also works for the road too. The integrated SWAT tool in the fork steerer tube is also a nice touch. I am fairly fit and prefer the SL as it has the most natural feel while still taking the edge off if you are on a recovery day(or for me just lucky enough to be on my 2nd ride of the day) or not wanting to max your heart rate. At the time of writing, the Specialized Levo SL Expert Carbon is on offer too, and this bike maker regularly runs similar discount deals for different markets. I had a downloaded workout that included a series of nine intervals with corresponding rest periouds. Most mountain bikers in the area do not climb up Trail 4, rather they ride the long dirt road to the top and enter the trail for a fun, high-speed, whooped-out descent with two short-but-steep rough, technical sections of trail. Seb has also been a regular contributor to the BikeRadar Podcast and BikeRadar YouTube channel, and written for MBUK magazine and Pinkbike.com. What that means is that the e-bike will automatically provide more assistance in steeper gradients than on sections that are more gradual. Along with the trainer, I signed up to TrainerRoad for workouts. My goal with this project was to mitigate my weaknesses in skill and progress my riding. Specialized combine a lightweight Roval Traverse SL carbon wheelset with thin Eliminator GRID Trail tires. 2022 Specialized Levo Expert. The Turbo SL clearly draws its DNA from the Stumpjumper family of trail bikes, with the sidearm FSR frame design giving 150mm of travel to the rear-end of the bike. Seb Stott is a former technical writer for BikeRadar. Understanding that the Levo SL can essentially flatten out the climbs, keeping me in a preferred training zone, it was time to put the experiment into action. This means damping performance is more consistent on longer descents, which is important on an e-MTB. On easy days, I just set the parameters, put my phone in my pocket, and carry on. The Turbo Levo SL Expert Carbon features a full carbon frame paired to full FOX suspension and a SRAM Eagle X01 drivetrain. Its also a significantly longer and slacker bike, and its equipped as such with a bigger Fox 38 fork, a Float X2 shock, stickier rubber and even bigger brake rotors. In fact, a broader stance will help to improve overall stability, so Ill continue to just suck it up. The design is striking but practical. We take a deep dive into how an e-bike could get you race-ready. Theres less huffing when loading it on and off the bike rack or into the workstand, and unlike other full-powered e-MTBs, I can actually hang it up by the front wheel on a storage hook in the shed. This is an electric mountain bike that is lightweight but strong. I'm claiming mission accomplished. Turbo levo fsr short travel ce 29; You can also tell the app how far and how high you want to ride, and it will automatically adjust the assistance to get you to the end without running out. From the rest to interval portions of the work, I can use the Levo SL's motor, as well as its built in power meter. The Downieville AM is an exercise in riding the most efficient, lightest setup you can still ride downhill at race speed without blowing it up. The grips are fab on your hands, while the Bridge Comp saddle is deceptively comfy even if you don't spend much time sitting on it. I was initially concerned that the range extender might fall out of the bottle cage, like so many water bottles, but this wasnt an issue, even after rattling the bike down some rough terrain. This comes as standard on the S-Works model, but costs 300 /$450 as an aftermarket option, and weighs about a kilo. In comparison, the Levo SL sits right in the trail bike camp. The 780mm wide riserbar has a great profile, and even the ergonomics for the dropper post and shift levers were appreciated. In the rare moments he's not working he's usually out and about on one of numerous e-bikes in his collection. This involves climbing up a tarmac road with a 10% average grade, in order to access a variety of descending trails for the way back down. There's a new Fox Float X shock, a 36 Rhythm fork, SRAM GX Eagle shifting and Code RS stoppers. NY 10036. All bikes use a Fox 34 fork and Fox DPS shock, SRAM G2 or Guide trail brakes, and SRAM Eagle 12-speed drivetrains. No more manually increasing or decreasing motor power with my finger via the bar-mounted control. This provides well-balanced weight distribution, and along with the active suspension performance and the chunky cornering blocks on the Butcher and Eliminator tyres, there is excellent cornering grip available. But for a trail bike, the handling is well-balanced and easy to get used to when riding mellower terrain. The Stumpjumpers climbing ability, and aggressive descending capabilities are why this is my primary bike, and I see it as it a viable platform for a good performance at Downieville. For more skilled riders, its brilliantly adept on twisty singletrack. The riding skills are obviously similar, like with a moto, but they are not analogous. The 2020 Specialized Turbo Levo SL Expert Carbon is a E-Mountain and Trail mountain bike. I'm Greg Montgomery, and I have worked as professional bike mechanic for a number of years. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Firstly, I ran my idea by coach Joel. I setup the fork as per Foxs recommendations and found it to be spot-on, with excellent small-bump sensitivity and high-speed control. If you used this logic for an entire off-season, the e-bike athlete would accumulate significantly more descending miles than an 'acoustic' biker. It incorporates the components of the Mission Control app, in addition to what I was wanting. Of course, there is a compromise of shrinking the motor. There are four models in the Levo SL range: the S-Works Turbo Levo SL, Turbo Levo SL Expert, Turbo Levo SL Comp Carbon and entry-level Turbo Levo SL Comp. Because nobody wants to be stuck out in the woods with a 50-pound dead weight, Specialized equips the Levo Comp Alloy with a 700Wh . Even manualing, bunny-hopping and jumping are barely harder than with a regular trail bike. The Butcher front tire and Eliminator rubber at the rear deliver substantial dollops of grip on loose ground, though fair less well on hard, wet surfaces. This descent is the closest a rider in the area can get to some prolonged DH- or enduro-level skill and speed training without heading a few hours up into the mountains. The suspension rate is quite linear, which means its very plush and comfortable, something you do appreciate during seated climbing on rough sections of trail. Would you like to receive offers, updates and events from BikeRadar and its publisher Our Media Ltd (an Immediate Group Company)? Please, It appears you're using an old version of Internet Explorer which is. The weight of an e-bike impacts performance on the trail, for better or worse, when compared to a regular mountain bike. For a better understanding of what these adjustments mean, be sure to check out our Specialized Levo tuning tips article. Its gained some weight over last years version, which clocked in at just 16.9kg for the S-Works model, and 17.6kg for the Expert. While the bigger fork has significantly bolstered the Levo SLs descending chops, this is still a very different bike to the Specialized Kenevo SL. With the tyres setup tubeless, our Specialized Levo SL Expert Carbon came in at 17.84kg, without pedals. With a 66-degree head angle and 455mm reach in size large, the Levo SL would be considered.conservative. Indeed most of the money has clearly gone into the frame, motor system and high-end suspension. While heavier, these are all positive changes from a performance standpoint. The S-WORKS Levo SL is the most premium offering in the Levo SL lineup, featuring more lightweight carbon fiber and titanium hardware (crank arms, derailleur cage plate, handlebar, saddle rails). Replies 117 Views . Specialized's Turbo Levo SL has 150mm of travel front and rear. As someone who raced pro downhill and has coached a lot of top pros I highly recommend ebikes for part of your training. Even though youve got the SL 1.1 motor and a battery on-board, the e-MTB doesnt feel at all cumbersome. Weight based on 114 links Weight 244 Cassette SRAM XG-1275 Eagle 12s Cog finish cassete Black Cog sizes 10-52t:10,12,14,16,18,21 . But if youre an existing e-MTB user that typically spends all your time riding in Eco mode, or youre e-Curious and are looking for an experience thats as close to a normal mountain bike as possible, the Levo SL remains as one of the lightest, sleekest and most well-rounded options going. There is a lot more that BLEvo app can do, but that would be an entire article in itself. Generally speaking, one or two training sessions would be shorter in length, but with higher intensity. Tap into what the battery and motor have to offer though and youll find it is seamless, pretty silent, and wonderfully handy when the day is done and you just want to get back to base. Geometry is quite conservative. In the stock Trail mode, Ive been able to rack up around 1,400-1,500m of elevation gain over a 40-50km ride. Levo Pro Details Wheel size: 29" front / 27.5" rear Carbon frame Specialized 2.2 motor 700 Wh battery Travel: 150mm (r) / 160mm fork Personally speaking, Ive also found the pedal stance to be a little too broad on Specialized e-MTBs. Size 143mm / Weight 252g Size 155mm / Weight 253g . The Specialized Levo SL Expert Carbon is ideally suited to anyone who wants to up their off-road game with an electric mountain bike. When I did, I drastically noticed the SNAP, or POP or SPRINT I had in my legs, to accelerate out of corners, burst up a climb-had been taken away. On consistent, smooth gradients and easy days this isn't much to worry about, but on a trail with undulating terrain, the lag time between each wattage reading left me floating above or below my target range on occasion. Its also not overly raked out. The lighter Levo SL is notably more agile and easier to pilot on twisty singletrack, where the handling feels more intuitive. The Levo SL requires less input to whip around, and its low weight and short chainstays means it pops up the front wheel with ease. What if an e-MTB could make you a fitter, faster mountain bike rider? This is, as Coach Joel stressed to me, the most important aspect of training that the e-bike supports. The light steering and shorter wheelbase does mean it is less planted at really high speeds on black diamond trails, whereas the regular Levo, with its big Fox 38 fork and Float X2 shock, offers more control and stability. The Levo SL is very easy to get used to and ride dynamically. 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