All New 2019 Specialized Turbo Levo launched

[jonathan horticulturist]

This has probably been mentioned before, but if I ever saved up enough to afford a £7k Ebike, I wouldn’t pick a Levo: I don’t think I can carry an extra battery, which means the range is worse than the 2018 Levo. And seeming as they are £1000 a piece, no chance. What’s the warranty on the new batteries? 2 years? Battery manufacturers should focus on reliability, not range: we have enough if we carry extra batteries.

 

[R120]

Lets get real for the Vitus -
According to MBR "Vitus claims that rear wheel travel on the E-Sommet is 160mm but we measured it closer to 150mm"
According to Pinkbike "Weight: 22.39kg (XL, tubeless, DDown tyres, w/o pedals, actual.) "

Gary has a size small, and different tyre which shave a lot of weight off - MBR also gave it 10/10 in its test, and most reviews rate is as about the best EMTB out there

My size L sommett comes in at bang on 22kg with Pedals, renthal cockpit and fabric saddle, shorter cranks and some other smaller changes.

The sommett is more of a Kenevo rival though in terms of capability. Levo a different kind of bike.

Pivot shuttle prob a more valid comparison to the S-Works.

The Vitus is a purely functional bike, with aesthetics a secondary consideration. I could easily justify to myself paying more for a Specialised if the spec/geo was right and i loved the looks.

 

[Gary]

Mine's a small. it doesn't have DD tyres and weighs 21.6 (weighed with bike specific scales) If I removed the front mudguard it'd be 21.46
I woudn't take anything MBR say too seriously.
Did they explain how they went about measuring the travel? #doubtful

this isn't about the Vitus, i was just using it as an example. they're massively different bikes.

 

[michaeldorian]

Is it possible to get a Turbo Levo Comp 2019 and in the future recelling the stock 500W battery with new cells to get a 700W battery?

Yes is what I’m told from a few folks.

 

[Levo2018]

21 KG bang on for the XL Comp Carbon.

That’s 1.5 KG lighter than my 2018 Expert.

View attachment 5278

I wish you will do as fast as you can a battery range check ! Would be interesting if the 29er and smaller Tires will take effect on the range.......

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

You even removed the pedals in line with manufacturers FAKE weight figures?


let's call it 21.4 eh?

Where the manufacturers quoted figures?

 

[Gary]

@Scoobaru & @R120
Ok. I was curious about the MBR ("R" standing for "retard" I asume) quote.
Now to measure rear wheel travel it has to be measured at the axle. There are a number of ways to do this, using measurements from all bars of the suspansion and plotting the wheel curvature being most acurate. I honestly CBA measuring all that or firing up a program to do it so I'll use the moar basic/easiest way to measure. This is to remove all air (or the spring) from the shock, turn the bike upside down and measure the difference between the axle height from the floor at full compression and full extension. (You need the bike to be at an angle where the axle path is closest to vertical and this will not take into account the arc of the wheel's travel but will be close enough for a pointless internet PS4 Vs XB1 argument .
I've seen a number of (I'll refrain from using the "R" word again) people measure the height from the saddle to the tyre to try and determine the rear wheel travel. (out of morbid curiosity) I measured using this incorrect method too

Guess what the measurement from tyre to saddle gave? 150mm Hmm...

Now guess what the actual wheel travel at the rear axle is? Yes. 160mm...

Good to see MBR still being consistent(ly shit) for all these years
Got a link to the review? if only to save for a game of bullshit bingo at a later date

 

[Gary]

Where the manufacturers quoted figures?

Nah... Sorry, Rob. You missed my point. it was a gripe at almost every bike manufactuer quoting their bike weights WITHOUT pedals. I have only ever weighed my bikes with pedals fitted

#Pedalsareimportanttoo

 

[Halcon]

Oio

 

[Surge]

Just checked the US pricing for the S-Works... a WHOPPING 20% more expensive than the 2018 S-Works! (Not 44%, was looking at the wrong site)

For bigger wheels (which have disadvantages) and more range. No BLEvo. Less expensive front fork. Similar weight (larger battery offsets 800g of gains due to smaller motor)
NO Thanks.
I have been out all day and never ran out of battery, with the 500 KWH cell.

Never thought my discounted new 2018 would ever be considered a bargain... but it sure is.

 

[Surge]

I have to disagree.
An aluminum bike will not crack as easily as a carbon bike.
So where a carbon bike may crack if you fall; an aluminum bike may only have its paint scratched or chipped.

Ah, no. Check the science brother. Simply false.

 

[vannibombonato]

Just checked the US pricing for the S-Works... a WHOPPING 44% more expensive than the 2018 S-Works!

For bigger wheels (which have disadvantages) and more range. No BLEvo. Less expensive front fork. Similar weight (larger battery offsets 800g of gains due to smaller motor)
NO Thanks.
I have been out all day and never ran out of battery, with the 500 KWH cell.

Never thought my discounted new 2018 would ever be considered a bargain... but it sure is.

It’s basic pricing strategy.
You put on sale 3 items, one has lower cost and in reality is the better value for money, one is more expensive and a bit overpriced, the final one is outrageously overpriced.
People will skip the third thinking they’re not stupid and choose the second, which appears to be way better than the “poor” option and now magically seems to be the smart one to buy.
And the wonderful thing is that there will be people buying the outrageously overpriced one as well...

This is the basic principle, look around and you will see that it is used in virtually every industry.

 

[Adasb]

Just checked the US pricing for the S-Works... a WHOPPING 44% more expensive than the 2018 S-Works!

hmm, only ~18% more expensive here... (NZ)

 

[Halcon]

A $2000 increase on a $10,000 bike is a 20% increase (Pretty sure my math is right)

 

[Adasb]

A $2000 increase on a $10,000 bike is a 20% increase (Pretty sure my math is right)

over here it's a $2,500 premium on the $14,000 2018 bike....

 

[VaseLEVO]

I think he got a discount on the 2018 so considering discounted prices vs the 2019 as we are talking fairly recent purchase. I too decided not to wait and bought a nicely discounted 2018 expert knowing we were couple weeks to a month to new 2019s but I knew there would be no dis ousts to be had on hot new 2019s so pulled the trigger.

But also, for US 2019s, have you considered the effect of tariffs in these prices? Just curious. But yeah a discounted 2018 Levo expert not too shabby.

 

[Surge]

It’s basic pricing strategy.
You put on sale 3 items, one has lower cost and in reality is the better value for money, one is more expensive and a bit overpriced, the final one is outrageously overpriced.
People will skip the third thinking they’re not stupid and choose the second, which appears to be way better than the “poor” option and now magically seems to be the smart one to buy.
And the wonderful thing is that there will be people buying the outrageously overpriced one as well...

This is the basic principle, look around and you will see that it is used in virtually every industry.

Agree but that’s not the point. Point is there’s no justification for 20% price increase.
(Thought it was 40% but it’s 20%. Still, a lot)

 

[Al Boneta]

Which motor does the Vitus have again?

Oh yeah, the wrong one
Check out the Yamaha, glad I don’t sell Giants anymore. Shit I sell Haibikes
Haibike clearance sale until the Flyons show up

 

[Cho Cyril]

Our Expert Size M in tubeless and without pedals : 20.9 kgs / 46 pounds
Can’t wait to weight the SWORKS ? with a 500wh

 

[Al Boneta]

Agree but that’s not the point. Point is there’s no justification for 20% price increase.
(Thought it was 40% but it’s 20%. Still, a lot)

Yeah, I am not sure you understand what S-Works is for. It’s a no holds barred halo bike for dentists, lawyers and people who can find the justification to spend a metric fuck ton of money on not a motorcycle.
I used to own a S-works Mclaren Venge, a bicycle that was as much as a Ducati.
The new S-Works Levo at least has a motor.
None of the other Levo models have had a 20% price increase. Just the top of the range spare no expensive Levo. Last years Expert was $7800, the new one is $8200, which is only 5.3% more.
I won’t do the math on the others because it’s still single digit growth.
All of the bike have new frames which require new tooling.
All of the bikes have new motors and batteries which are more expensive than the previous versions.
New software and tuning that is exclusive to specialized was a huge investment.
The costs of manufacturing have increased and starting Monday will only increase more for the US market because my government thinks it’s punishing China without realizing they are just punishing their own citizens.
Probably do realize it and it was intentional. Just like my business has a margin threshold to stay solvent, Specialized knows what their margins can withstand to stay in business. It’s a bummer that prices increased but I can’t say they are not warranted or justified. Specialized is the only bicycle company I know of that invests 100% of its profit back into development.

 

[Halcon]

Yeah, I am not sure you understand what S-Works is for. It’s a no holds barred halo bike for dentists, lawyers and people who can find the justification to spend a metric fuck ton of money on not a motorcycle.
I used to own a S-works Mclaren Venge, a bicycle that was as much as a Ducati.
The new S-Works Levo at least has a motor.
None of the other Levo models have had a 20% price increase. Just the top of the range spare no expensive Levo. Last years Expert was $7800, the new one is $8200, which is only 5.3% more.
I won’t do the math on the others because it’s still single digit growth.
All of the bike have new frames which require new tooling.
All of the bikes have new motors and batteries which are more expensive than the previous versions.
New software and tuning that is exclusive to specialized was a huge investment.
The costs of manufacturing have increased and starting Monday will only increase more for the US market because my government thinks it’s punishing China without realizing they are just punishing their own citizens.
Probably do realize it and it was intentional. Just like my business has a margin threshold to stay solvent, Specialized knows what their margins can withstand to stay in business. It’s a bummer that prices increased but I can’t say they are not warranted or justified. Specialized is the only bicycle company I know of that invests 100% of its profit back into development.

Al, I apologize for freaking out about the prices in Pounds and Euros before the US prices came out. I did the conversion rate and it was insane. Ordered a Carbon Comp with the 20mph speed limit and at $6950 (much less than I had thought) and only a 2.2% increase.

 

[Al Boneta]

Al, I apologize for freaking out about the prices in Pounds and Euros before the US prices came out. I did the conversion rate and it was insane. Ordered a Carbon Comp with the 20mph speed limit and at $6950 (much less than I had thought) and only a 2.2% increase.

Awesome! So envious of everyone getting their new Levos. It might be February before I get mine at this rate.

 

[Kenevo cambo]

Anyone tested shuttle mode yet? Is this a feature only available on the 2.1 motor or will or become available on earlier motors with a firmware update?

 

[Swissrob]

Which motor does the Vitus have again?
View attachment 5295
Oh yeah, the wrong one
Check out the Yamaha, glad I don’t sell Giants anymore. Shit I sell Haibikes
Haibike clearance sale until the Flyons show up

I have been looking for a chart like this to try and work out the best cadence/power efficiency. So am I correct in assuming it is still worthwhile (from a power consumption point of view) that on a hill you are better grinding away in a higher gear rather than low gear high cadence?

 

[Swissrob]

Awesome! So envious of everyone getting their new Levos. It might be February before I get mine at this rate.

You really are getting the prickly end of the pineapple! Specialized should be giving you one as a brand ambassador given the work you put in here patiently explaining some of their decisions.

 

[Al Boneta]

You really are getting the prickly end of the pineapple! Specialized should be giving you one as a brand ambassador given the work you put in here patiently explaining some of their decisions.

I am a patient guy. It also gives me time to plan out the custom paint job I will Be commissioning for my build, figure out what parts I’ll be swapping out and using my customer’s feedback to figure out any bugs or idiosyncrasies of the new bike.

 

[TorAtle]

Anyone recognize the power graph from the pinkbike article? I would be interested to see the torque and efficiency graphs too...if they exist.

 

[eFat]

I would be interested to see the torque and efficiency graphs too...if they exist.

The efficiency should be pretty similar for all motors. And for the torque, with the power and the cadence, you already have it: Torque = Power / rotational speed.

 

[Scoobaru]

Still not sure how the shuttle mode works. If the remote toggles betweeen Eco/Trail/Turbo do you have to enable shuttle with a phone ? If I then change to trail mode and do a run downhill in do I need to re-activate shuttle with the phone again ? Thats a bit tedious.
I would like to use the 'S' button for shuttle mode but I am sure I read somewhere it only changes into turbo mode.

 

[CryptoBiker]

Yeah, I am not sure you understand what S-Works is for. It’s a no holds barred halo bike for dentists, lawyers and people who can find the justification to spend a metric fuck ton of money on not a motorcycle.
I used to own a S-works Mclaren Venge, a bicycle that was as much as a Ducati.
The new S-Works Levo at least has a motor.
None of the other Levo models have had a 20% price increase. Just the top of the range spare no expensive Levo. Last years Expert was $7800, the new one is $8200, which is only 5.3% more.
I won’t do the math on the others because it’s still single digit growth.
All of the bike have new frames which require new tooling.
All of the bikes have new motors and batteries which are more expensive than the previous versions.
New software and tuning that is exclusive to specialized was a huge investment.
The costs of manufacturing have increased and starting Monday will only increase more for the US market because my government thinks it’s punishing China without realizing they are just punishing their own citizens.
Probably do realize it and it was intentional. Just like my business has a margin threshold to stay solvent, Specialized knows what their margins can withstand to stay in business. It’s a bummer that prices increased but I can’t say they are not warranted or justified. Specialized is the only bicycle company I know of that invests 100% of its profit back into development.

I'd like to genuinely know why its even 5.3% more, that's absurd year on year increase. The car industry doesn't do this, new cars are the same price each year, it really doesn't matter how you spin it, these bikes are massively overpriced for what you get spec wise.

If they are putting 100% of the profit into development, its a real slap in the face that they give you the 3 year old battery in the majority of the builds, and also include components that are worse than the 2018 model, doesn't seem like the money filters back into any of those aspects.

Great bikes, sure, but massively, massively overpriced for the spec, its purely for aesthetics/customer support, they are all about 30% too expensive, but that is the premium you often pay for "designer" brands and the like.