Levo SL Gen 1 Levo SL killed by Orbea?

R120

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Apr 13, 2018
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Well with any EMTB you have a noise, in fact on one of the forum group rides I seem to recall us being referred to as a Heard of Dysons but some witty passer buy!

All I care about with a bike is how it rides, dont care if the battery is inside or out, if the paint job looks like something by a 5 year old, or if the motor clunks, clangs, whines or sounds like its about to spit the dummy, if it rides well I am down for it.

The Orbea doesn't change that the SL is a great bike, its just another option, and no doubt Specilized have something or things en route soon to expand the SL line, and equally I would expect to see a lot more other lightweight bikes hitting the market from other brands soon.

Really the ace in the hole so to speak with the SL is its range, which in the real world is genuinely impressive for such a system, and until we get some real world feedback on that front with the Orbea I think its hard to do any sort of comparison between the two.

IIRC Specilized only has a limited period of exclusivity with the Mahle motor anyway?
 

R120

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True, but the noise of the EP8 has been declared a deal-breaker by quite a few on here.

Yes but who on here has ridden one, two I can think of? Rest is what Forums are best at - conjecture!

No different to the people who said the Mahle being noiseier the Brose was a deal breaker with the SL, when in the real world who gives a toss.
 

R120

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And actually in my mind the biggest reason to go for an SL is the reliability to date - the Mahle motor system is by far and away the system on here that we hear the least problems about - combine that with specilizeds customer service and thats a hard plus to ignore, especially as we have Eno idea if the ep8 is a warranty nightmare in waiting, or a much more bulletproof system that the e8000.
 

aklemm

New Member
Jul 23, 2020
40
23
Atascadero, CA
I love my SL. I don't see the need for any additional assistance. I haven't found a section of trail this bike can't climb. I think 150/160mm travel is the sweet spot over the Rise's 140mm frame. Without riding the Rise, I'd argue that the Levo SL is a little more fun and forgiving when pointed downhill. The range is exceptional and the motor's reliability seems to be one of the best. I also have a Specialized dealer 1.5mi from my house and 4mi from my work, both shops are awesome.
 

MLX John

Active member
Jun 20, 2020
88
111
albuquerque, nm
Also love my SL. Was a bit unsure of the somewhat conservative geo (coming from a Hightower 2), but works just fine for me. More than enough power, I am a fit rider, so YMMV. The 2020 expert SL is overpriced though for the kit that it comes with. swapped just about everything out (Pike, DPX2. XT 12spd, cascade link). Right at 39#/ 17.7kg with XT trail pedals, tubeless.
Despite what Spez says, 2.6 Purgatory Grid fits with plenty of clearance out back. The range is impressive and the motor has been flawless. The Mission Control app and Blevo are also big plusses.

The RIse looks like a great bike. I'm a big fan of competition driving innovation. Definitely a better bang for the buck; however, due to my slight bike OCD nature (partly from being a professional bike mechanic), a rattling motor would drive me insane.
 

Harold

Member
Oct 30, 2020
42
56
Brussels
In a few months time this forum will be over run with people complainig about the ep8 motor on the rise
It sounds like a bag of bolts
Not sure about bag of bolts ;)
However, I’m not convinced the ep8 (even detuned) fits the analog like light ebike concept. At least not as I see it! Rattle noise, drag (yes still there) and more importantly reliability might become issues, to a greater extend than for sl 1.1! :)
 

MSH

New Member
Nov 8, 2020
99
55
Spain
Well with any EMTB you have a noise, in fact on one of the forum group rides I seem to recall us being referred to as a Heard of Dysons but some witty passer buy!

All I care about with a bike is how it rides, dont care if the battery is inside or out, if the paint job looks like something by a 5 year old, or if the motor clunks, clangs, whines or sounds like its about to spit the dummy, if it rides well I am down for it.

The Orbea doesn't change that the SL is a great bike, its just another option, and no doubt Specilized have something or things en route soon to expand the SL line, and equally I would expect to see a lot more other lightweight bikes hitting the market from other brands soon.

Really the ace in the hole so to speak with the SL is its range, which in the real world is genuinely impressive for such a system, and until we get some real world feedback on that front with the Orbea I think its hard to do any sort of comparison between the two.

IIRC Specilized only has a limited period of exclusivity with the Mahle motor anyway?
Herd of dysons.. I'm not even mad ???
 

RickBullotta

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Jun 5, 2019
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USA
I was tempted by the Rise vs. my SL - most of my modifications could port over given the same shock length, 29er, etc. The Geo on the rise is a bit more modern, and could be made more aggressive (slacker) without sacrificing on the seat tube angle, reach, or BB Drop comparatively . The kinematics look better out of the box too for aggressive riding. The 60nm torque would be a "nice to have", though I get along with the 35nm on the SL without missing my old Kenevo much.

I don't like the looks of the Rise vs. SL. I think that the SL is one of the better looking bikes out there (along with the stumpys). I don't like that the rise is 140mm for more aggressive riding. Perhaps, cascade components will release a linkage that ups the travel a bit. It's probably perfect for most, but I definitely use and appreciate the 150mm on Levo SL.

I'm not trying to troll here (well, maybe a little), but "I don't like the looks of the Rise vs the SL" - here they are side-by-side, and if I took the logos off most people would, at first glance, think they're the same bike!

CompareBikes.png
 

R120

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Apr 13, 2018
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MTB design has got more homogenous, mainly due to the narrowing down of the suspension systems that are proven to work vs the Wild West of designs we saw in the early days.
 

Rosemount

E*POWAH Elite
May 23, 2020
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Qld Australia
I'm not trying to troll here (well, maybe a little), but "I don't like the looks of the Rise vs the SL" - here they are side-by-side, and if I took the logos off most people would, at first glance, think they're the same bike!

View attachment 44169

The one on the left is bent .
Now , if they were both black you might have fooled me . lol .
 

flash

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Patreon
Nov 24, 2018
1,050
986
Wamberal, NSW Australia
I'm not trying to troll here (well, maybe a little), but "I don't like the looks of the Rise vs the SL" - here they are side-by-side, and if I took the logos off most people would, at first glance, think they're the same bike!

View attachment 44169

Actually, I prefer the look of the Rise. Totally subjectively though. Would need to have my arse on both seats for a bit to see which I prefer.

Gordon
 

Ameiza

Member
Oct 8, 2019
94
68
Norway
I'm not trying to troll here (well, maybe a little), but "I don't like the looks of the Rise vs the SL" - here they are side-by-side, and if I took the logos off most people would, at first glance, think they're the same bike!

View attachment 44169
If you find pictures of the two in the same size, they would even be more similar. In the the side by side here the Orbea is L or XL and the SL is S or M. The The L/XL SL has a noticeable kink in the top tube...
 

ebikerider

Active member
Oct 1, 2019
706
484
Australia
In a few months time this forum will be over run with people complainig about the ep8 motor on the rise
It sounds like a bag of bolts
Sounds the same as every other EP8 motor....a bag of bolts lol

Pretty sure Orbea haven't retrofitted noisy software
 

boBE

Active member
Apr 12, 2020
415
363
FL
My SL has enough power for me, I rarely use Turbo and not for long. Unless Shimano has made some big gains in motor efficiency (highly unlikely) more torque takes more battery power, range will suffer. It is nice to have another choice of bikes, we all gain from that.
 

rod9301

Active member
Oct 10, 2020
169
106
US
Orbea is a bit cross country for my kind of riding, would not buy one, still prefer the SL.
SL needs more power though (more power has never hurt) for those fun steep techy climbs you can do on the big Levo and are impossible on the SL.
I have the full Levo, the SL and the non E Specialized Enduro.
Ride 5 times a week, once the SL, once the big Levo and 3 times the Enduro.
The most fun is the big Levo.... always, then the Enduro, then the SL which still it is a lot of fun and a fantastic bike that in some sections handles better than the other two.

What we need is the Ebike version of the Enduro, that would be an amazing bike :)
Yeah, that's the kenevo
 

Zimmerframe

MUPPET
Subscriber
Jun 12, 2019
14,001
20,758
Brittany, France
The engine area looks lighter in Rise
Should have put the alloy SL next to it the motor bulge is smaller!
I think the problem is as @Ameiza said, the sizes of the two bikes are different so you can't really tell what they're like in comparison. In fairness, Orbea do look like they've done a fine job of packaging around the motor though to at least make it appear compact.
 

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