Drag on first ride 2019 Levo

[jimmyjam]

Hi, first ride on a Levo today. Noticed a lot of drag when I got over 15mph like the brakes where being applied! Do I need to turn motor off at that point?

 

[Lee Dove]

When it goes over 15mph you are pedaling a heavy bike (21kg + ) so it just feels like drag

 

[Gary]

add big fat draggy tyres to that feeling.

try riding big fat draggy tyres at 17mph on the flat on a regular bike. it's the same.feling

 

[jimmyjam]

I have a regular mountain bike and it doesn’t feel like that on the road. It was on the road that this happened. It was worse than the Cube eMTB with a Bosch that I had. Probably just getting used to the difference

 

[Gary]

hopefully.

it's dead eas to check for drag though.
just turn the bike upside down with the motor off and turn the cranks and any drag should show up

 

[jimmyjam]

Fat tyres have less rolling resistance on tarmac so should be more efficient that thinner tyres but then you have to factor in the wind resistance. I’ll turn the bike upside down and turn the cranks and see - cheers for the help everyone

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

I really noticed this yesterday. Flat fire road section. I could've sworn the brakes were being applied. There was definite forces slowing the bike down. I'm fit and could pedal a 22kg bike.

The harder I pedaled the more it slowed down, horrible feeling.

 

[jimmyjam]

So after I did a bit more riding, there doesn’t seem to be drag when you are not peddling, but certainly seems to slow down the more you peddle. Very odd. Like riding in porridge. Not what I was expecting. I had a Cube with a Bosch the same weight so I am comparing one with the other. Worse than the Cube

 

[RickW]

deliberate speed limiter rather than decoupling at the speed limit and rest is your own effort?

 

[mikie711]

I experience this same phenomenon with my 2018 Comp carbon. Once you reach a certian speed it feels as if you have a binding caliper. Very startnge sensation and only really happens on level (ish) ground.

 

[Casey]

I test road at 2019 Comp for about 1hr and didn't notice any drag. In US its limited to 20mph but i road along at 20-25mph with no resistance while pedaling or drag while costing. Also road a bit with the motor off and it felt just like a normal bike. Maybe its different programming depending on the local laws???

 

[Barryjm]

Only been out once and was keen to test this, I definitely felt resistance at 15 mph on fire roads. Will play some more when I get out again!

 

[R120]

Try riding it with the motor fully turned off as a comparison - it should feel no different above the limiter to riding it with the motor off

 

[Jeff McD]

Definitely same problem on my 2018 levo carbon comp with noticeable drag that intermittently kicks in and out initially at the 15 mph limit, which was extended to 20 mph by my bike shop with the patch from specialized. Very annoying on level terrain but it does not seem to engage when pedaling downhill. There must be a sensor that shuts it down for downhill. I commute on my bike many days of the week in addition to off-road riding twice a week and I just hate this feature. There is no question in my mind that this is not simply down to the weight of the bike and fat tires. The way it kicks in and out rapidly negates that completely 100%.
I don't believe specialized's touted motor freewheel that decouples the motor works very reliably at least for my bike. This is the only reason that I may eventually delimit the speed restrictions on this bike. In fact the only reason I haven't done it so far are the forum posts regarding early wearing out of the belt drive in the motor probably caused by higher speeds in delimited bikes.

 

[Simon_t]

Definitely same problem on my 2018 levo carbon comp with noticeable drag that intermittently kicks in and out initially at the 15 mph limit, which was extended to 20 mph by my bike shop with the patch from specialized. Very annoying on level terrain but it does not seem to engage when pedaling downhill. There must be a sensor that shuts it down for downhill. I commute on my bike many days of the week in addition to off-road riding twice a week and I just hate this feature. There is no question in my mind that this is not simply down to the weight of the bike and fat tires. The way it kicks in and out rapidly negates that completely 100%.
I don't believe specialized's touted motor freewheel that decouples the motor works very reliably at least for my bike. This is the only reason that I may eventually delimit the speed restrictions on this bike. In fact the only reason I haven't done it so far are the forum posts regarding early wearing out of the belt drive in the motor probably caused by higher speeds in delimited bikes.

Just sounds like the difference between assistance and hitting the 15mph limit to me. The 2019 Levo is a smoother transition than my old 2017 Levo at the cut-off point. Having said that, it is not unknown for the Sprague one-way bearing to stick, although it is normally in older bikes. As others have said - try riding the bike with the motor switched off. Also the comment about wearing out the belt due to higher speeds could only be true if you pedal faster - that is the only thing that makes the motor run faster, not the speed of the bike. But the belt may get higher wear if the motor is producing power more of the time.

Simon

 

[craig landau]

what tyre pressure you running