Levo Gen 2 I love my turbo Levo, However!!

[Denpot29]

Hi All,

Firstly, I wanted to say how much I adore my turbo Levo, I purchased it in September last year and I’m still often saying “these bikes are amazing” whilst out on the trails. I’m currently riding at least 4 times a week and it never fails to make me smile. I mainly ride with my brother who also has a Levo which he bought at the end of I think 2019.

However, a day ago my brother just had his 4th motor fitted after another fail whilst out together this week, I’m currently now on my 3rd motor, the inconvenience of these fails isn’t good, at what point does the terrible reliability and inconvenience overtake the love for the bike?

We can’t keep returning the bikes to the bike shops at this rate for new motors surely! What is the answer?

Do you think Specialized will get on top of this issue within the next couple of years? If not I’ll need to get rid of the bike prematurely with some warranty remaining so it still has some value.

Thankfully we have the 4 year warranty, without that I couldn’t afford to run/use the bike with these failures occurring so regularly, and the worry about failure/expenditure would ruin my enjoyment anyway, but at what point should compensation or even an allowance to reject the bike be considered by Specialized?

I suppose the purpose of this post is to say come on Specialized, sort this motor, these bikes are amazing!!

 

[salko]

With these same motors still being used in latest Gen3 Levos I am now much more confident that they will solve the problem if they hadn't it already. Specialized said they fixed the motors in 2021 Gen2 models, but since we don't know exact date or month when they started to install fixed motors and as many reported they still get MY2019 motors in 2021 Levos we just can't be sure if problems were really fixed in all 2021 models ...

You bought 2021 Levo 6 months back and you're already on your 3rd motor?? Wow. What mileage each motor had before it failed? Do you maybe have data of each production date of the motor from you and your brother which has failed? If we see lot of motors produced after lets say 06/2020 still failing in the same way as before, then the problem is still unfixed ...

 

[Denpot29]

I’d say unfixed, I had the latest motor with the improved clutch/belt fitted just a few weeks ago prior to my latest recent failure, That’s what the bike shop told me anyway!!!

 

[EebStrider]

When buying my new bike a couple of months ago, I seriously considered a spesh, but all these motor issues put me off. I really wanted to see how good the Levo is, but just didn’t want the potential headache, especially if spending so much money.

Yes, I know that some people haven’t had issues, but I didn’t want to run the risk, especially as the closest dealer is a car journey for me, which would involve dismantling the bike to fit it in my car.

If they’ve sorted the motor issues in the 22 models, I’d possibly consider one, but will first need to get a new car, towbar and bike rack just in case!

 

[fenwick458]

how heavy are you, what sort of terrain do you ride, how often and how do you wash the bike, and how much assistance do you use on average per ride?

 

[Denpot29]

I’m 85kg, (brothers definitely a few more KG’s than me ?) we ride over tilgate just south of Gatwick, trail rides mainly just through the forest, nothing major at all. Switch between turbo mode or trail mode at 60% with occasional eco 30% on flats. Clean the bike when required so not after every ride, very cautious around the TCU and motor with water and make sure the bike doesn’t go upside down after a wash.

 

[Dod Colony]

I only bought our 2021 Levos after reading the management's assurances that the 'bugs' with earlier models had been fixed.

Well my wife's is now refusing to charge or switch on (well it does switch itself on randomly but not when I want it to, having to store it unplugged). Waiting for 2 weeks before I can even get it looked at is not great either, it's only done 260 easy miles, she's usually in Eco and we keep a high cadence. Cleaned as per guidance. Motor build date is 24/1/2020 but I was assured that it was the improved version.

I've been into MTBing for about 30 years and every bike bar my first couple has been a Specialized, mainly Stumpies.

Hopefully it's just a battery issue but confidence in both bikes has been knocked. I'm obviously a big Specialized fan (and hopefully a valued customer) but if I could turn the clock back....................

 

[Zimmerframe]

Well my wife's is now refusing to charge or switch on (well it does switch itself on randomly but not when I want it to, having to store it unplugged). Waiting for 2 weeks before I can even get it looked at is not great either, it's only done 260 easy miles, she's usually in Eco and we keep a high cadence. Cleaned as per guidance. Motor build date is 24/1/2020 but I was assured that it was the improved version.

This sounds more like a short circuit or similar with the TCU - though it could be other things. Try taking it out and leaving it somewhere warm to dry off for 24 hours. Could also be a faulty TCU.

If you have two, you can try putting your TCU on her bike to see what happens then.

 

[Dod Colony]

This sounds more like a short circuit or similar with the TCU - though it could be other things. Try taking it out and leaving it somewhere warm to dry off for 24 hours. Could also be a faulty TCU.

If you have two, you can try putting your TCU on her bike to see what happens then.

Thought about that but decided I don't want to risk Fxxking up both bikes, I'll let the warranty handle it. I've built a few bikes from scratch so am not totally clueless but admittedly know heehaw about EMTBS - apart from they are fun, way overpriced and apparently not very reliable?

PS, in 30 years, never before had a bike go to the 'shop' ever, I did all my own work, so this doesn't sit well with me.

PPS anyone interested in a 2021 Expert (M) cobalt with new battery (I'm assuming) or a 2021 expert (L) gunmetal - like new- PM

 

[EebStrider]

Thought about that but decided I don't want to risk Fxxking up both bikes, I'll let the warranty handle it. I've built a few bikes from scratch so am not totally clueless but admittedly know heehaw about EMTBS - apart from they are fun, way overpriced and apparently not very reliable?

PS, in 30 years, never before had a bike go to the 'shop' ever, I did all my own work, so this doesn't sit well with me.

PPS anyone interested in a 2021 Expert (M) cobalt with new battery (I'm assuming) or a 2021 expert (L) gunmetal - like new- PM

I’ll do you a favour and take them off your hands for £1000 each! ?

 

[Zimmerframe]

Thought about that but decided I don't want to risk Fxxking up both bikes, I'll let the warranty handle it. I've built a few bikes from scratch so am not totally clueless but admittedly know heehaw about EMTBS - apart from they are fun, way overpriced and apparently not very reliable?

It's a blending of old technologies with new technologies. So you've added more things which could go wrong. I wouldn't say they're unreliable. If they were unreliable, they'd all break and they don't. I'd agree they have reliability issues though. Hopefully this will improve over time as they learn more and these lessons are applied to each new generation of products. Battery wise, these generally have been reliable, though lately there seems to have been an unreliable batch. Presumably, due to shortages, a supplier lowered the testing requirements, or they were just really unlucky with a manufacturing problem.

Your situation isn't helped by the huge uptake of bikes through lockdown, so bike shops are rushed off their feet fixing old bikes and new bikes, leading to delays to "Get an appointment with the bike doctor" ..

Obviously that's only my opinion and others will feel differently. Either way, I hope you get your bikes sorted and get to enjoy them. As you said, they are fun !

 

[Dod Colony]

It's a blending of old technologies with new technologies. So you've added more things which could go wrong. I wouldn't say they're unreliable. If they were unreliable, they'd all break and they don't. I'd agree they have reliability issues though. Hopefully this will improve over time as they learn more and these lessons are applied to each new generation of products. Battery wise, these generally have been reliable, though lately there seems to have been an unreliable batch. Presumably, due to shortages, a supplier lowered the testing requirements, or they were just really unlucky with a manufacturing problem.

Your situation isn't helped by the huge uptake of bikes through lockdown, so bike shops are rushed off their feet fixing old bikes and new bikes, leading to delays to "Get an appointment with the bike doctor" ..

Obviously that's only my opinion and others will feel differently. Either way, I hope you get your bikes sorted and get to enjoy them. As you said, they are fun !

Hoping its just a dodgy battery - and that they have a new one in stock!!

 

[Utah Rider]

I have a 17 comp, 18 carbon expert, 21 Kenevo for the wife. Her previous bike was a 17'comp. I think the first version motors lasted longer and were more quiet. The second version motor has more power and is more efficient but is louder. I haven't had the Kenevo long enough to judge it. I really like the fact that they kept the same charger through the years. I consider my riding extreme duty in the winter. Because of the support to my LBS from Spesh I wouldn't consider another brand. My winter riding weight with spare battery and cold weather gear is 220lbs. Averaged 40,000 feet a month all winter with studded tires. GO SPESH!

 

[The voz]

I’ve got a kenevo 2020 840 km with no issues I was told if you rely on motor when climbing and not use gears as well this can have negative effects on motor I hope it’s just a few of these motors out of thousands but seems odd you’ve been through so many

 

[Utah Rider]

The word I got from the LBS was that it is caused by low cadence. I've had three motors on the 17', two on the 18'. It was always the belt that broke.

 

[mks568]

I purchased a 2020 Turbo Levo Comp in March of 2020 and have sold it and replaced it with a Commencal Meta Power TR Race and WOW what an improvement. My Turbo Levo was always in the shop. The dropper post failed twice, had spokes break on two different occasions and the ultra cheap in house branded wheels were wobbly and the shop could not fix them. If you grab a Turbo Levo on the showroom floor and shake it back and forth it is amazing how loose the wheels are. I have owned many brands of MTBs over the last 25 years but have never owned a Specialized and never will again.

The geometry on the Turbo Levo's is also horrible. The Commencal is such a better bike in every single way. The geometry is spot on and the bike is all high quality parts.

 

[Zimmerframe]

I purchased a 2020 Turbo Levo Comp in March of 2020 and have sold it and replaced it with a Commencal Meta Power TR Race and WOW what an improvement. My Turbo Levo was always in the shop. The dropper post failed twice, had spokes break on two different occasions and the ultra cheap in house branded wheels were wobbly and the shop could not fix them. If you grab a Turbo Levo on the showroom floor and shake it back and forth it is amazing how loose the wheels are. I have owned many brands of MTBs over the last 25 years but have never owned a Specialized and never will again.

The geometry on the Turbo Levo's is also horrible. The Commencal is such a better bike in every single way. The geometry is spot on and the bike is all high quality parts.

Without disagreeing with anything you're saying, but you also said :

I would question the integrity of any company that sells a product online as mostly assembled but does not put the effort into assembling that product correctly. If Commencal is assembling the bike almost fully, why would they not torque the parts that they assembled correctly.

I believe that@ azzwethinkweiz is correct and that the specs that E 13 has posted are too light. Anyway, I will probably just switch to a better brand of cranks to eliminate any further issues.