Levo's negative forum reviews are a concern?? Reliability succses rate??

[Mathias Levo]

So my levo is ready for collection and I have been buzzing to get my hands on it. Over the weekend it seems that others on the forum have got theirs and all I've seen apart from two posts of positive thoughts is negative reviews.. not to good really as these bikes are expensive and you hope when your parting with hard earned your buying a well developed and reliable product.

Out of everyone who owns the 2019 levo what's the general succses rate of reliability? It seems based on comments it's about 2 good ones out of 10 at the moment??

Regards!

 

[slowbrain]

You always hear more about the problems. If there is none, people go out and ride instead posting their frustration on forums. Every problem is usually blown out of proportion online.

I was bit anctious myself too. I've just got mine last week and did so far 100 km on it. I just love it. Mine is not the "noisy" one and I've mounted "ass guard" in front of the motor housing gap not to collect any dirt there. In general, quite noticeable step up compare 2018 Levo.

 

[Jezzer]

I have to be honest, I normally research loads before I buy things but I didn’t really do too much this time. I have had Trek in the past and so went and ordered a FS7!but the ship couldn’t sort it so I looked around and bought the Levo. All bikes have small issues/design flaws and you can’t please all people. Overall I think the Levo is probably a large volume of sales in the Market so it will get the comments I guess. I love it and it has a warranty so if there is an issue I’ll deal with it then!

 

[slowbrain]

I guess once these initial problems get sorted out we'll see real reliability and long term usage issues. Yes warranty should have us covered though.

Happy riding!

 

[Mad Mark]

So my levo is ready for collection and I have been buzzing to get my hands on it. Over the weekend it seems that others on the forum have got theirs and all I've seen apart from two posts of positive thoughts is negative reviews.. not to good really as these bikes are expensive and you hope when your parting with hard earned your buying a well developed and reliable product.

Out of everyone who owns the 2019 levo what's the general succses rate of reliability? It seems based on comments it's about 2 good ones out of 10 at the moment??

Regards!

All new bikes have little problems, just go and get it, I'm sure you will it.......there's always the warranty if it's needed?

 

[R120]

If you look through many of the treads on here you will find issues people have had with various bikes, the Levo has the most owners on here so that is somewhat amplified.

I also get the impression that a fair few issues on not just Levos, but E-MTBS in general come about if a shop has assembled the bike quickly (things like loose parts and misaligned sensors) so would just emphasise buying a bike for a reputable dealer.

A good example of this is that i think there are 4 or 5 members with Shimano motors, and similar with Bosch, who have had to have replacement motors or other major parts like batteries. However these are motors on various different brands of bike, so the post/info about it is spread out amongst the forum, whereas with the Levo its all in one section.

 

[MattyB]

I think the increased noise regarding the issues is down to a few things...

• Initial launch campaign - Specialized made a huge song and dance about how much research had gone into the bike and had glossy ads and infomercials all over Youtube at launch praising it's every bolt, all of which set expectations sky high. As a result the issues that have come to light are probably seen more negatively by buyers than they would have been if the launch had been humbler and lower key.
• High price vs the competition - There is no doubt that there is a fairly substantial premium to being a Levo owner vs. most of the competition. I won't get into whether that is worth paying or not - that's a matter of personal choice and circumstances - but like the glossy advertising campaign it does help to set the expectation this is a premium product where issues will be few and far between and support exemplary. Unfortunately some owners of early 2019s are finding out that is not the case, at least at this point in the product's lifecycle.
• Relative ubiquity compared to other brands/models - Talked about already above; there are more of them being sold than any other ebike, so more problems will be seen on forums like this purely because of the numbers sold.

 

[MattyB]

...I also get the impression that a fair few issues on not just Levos, but E-MTBS in general come about if a shop has assembled the bike quickly (things like loose parts and misaligned sensors) so would just emphasise buying a bike for a reputable dealer.

Definitely agree that these things are way more complex than a normal bike, and the knowledge needed to support them is not on average at the same level in most bike shops as it is for conventional analog machines. Crikey, not even the manufacturers themselves are experts in everything needed - it is pretty clear that their software development and support skills is lacking at most of them, as the number of issues with the apps and bluetooth upgrades across brands imakes clear.

These are nascent products developing at a very fast rate, and I suspect we are going to see launch issues like the Levo has experienced across other brands too in the future.

 

[Jubz]

Picked up my 2019 T-Levo base model (medium frame, hyper green) about 4-weeks ago. Been riding singletracks and fire roads and the Levo rides great. I've added a BikeYoke dropper post (125 mmm travel) and Shimano Deore XT pedals. Took it back to the shop for them to check motor noise, and it's relatively quiet until you're in Turbo (100/100 %) and climbing, and then it's just motor noise relative to the climb. In Eco (35/35) and Trail (35/100) modes you can hear the motor but no noise of concern (noise spikes or grinding). This Levo from Rock N Road Cyclery in Mission Viejo, CA is a keeper!

 

[Mathias Levo]

Thanks for all your responses. I've purchased the bike from kewsick bikes in the Lake District as they seemed like a real nice bunch of professional guys that couldn't do enough to help you so I hope they have the knowledge to assemble it correctly, plus I was happy with the deal. However, I hope I won't have lots of warranty issues as they're a good 5/6 hours from where I live! Suddenly a local store seems the obvious place to buy from but all the bike shops local me seem to have chips on their shoulders and will not even entertain a deal.

 

[MattyB]

Thanks for all your responses. I've purchased the bike from kewsick bikes in the Lake District as they seemed like a real nice bunch of professional guys that couldn't do enough to help you so I hope they have the knowledge to assemble it correctly, plus I was happy with the deal. However, I hope I won't have lots of warranty issues as they're a good 5/6 hours from where I live! Suddenly a local store seems the obvious place to buy from but all the bike shops local me seem to have chips on their shoulders and will not even entertain a deal.

Specialized they have just released a brand new bike and created a marketing campaign to create demand, so deals will always be very thin on the ground at this stage. However I do wonder sometimes whether that negative attitude to selling ebikes is because some shops don't know a huge amount about them and worry they won't have the skills and expertise to handle tricky ebike specific issues.

Certainly I have been in a few shops where they were keen to talk me out of an ebike because "you don't need one of them round here" or "you're too young to need an ebike" - I kid you not!

 

[Jezzer]

Thanks for all your responses. I've purchased the bike from kewsick bikes in the Lake District as they seemed like a real nice bunch of professional guys that couldn't do enough to help you so I hope they have the knowledge to assemble it correctly, plus I was happy with the deal. However, I hope I won't have lots of warranty issues as they're a good 5/6 hours from where I live! Suddenly a local store seems the obvious place to buy from but all the bike shops local me seem to have chips on their shoulders and will not even entertain a deal.

Keswick bikes are great! I live in Hampshire but have used them when we go up there! Nice guys!

 

[Jas]

Thanks for all your responses. I've purchased the bike from kewsick bikes in the Lake District as they seemed like a real nice bunch of professional guys that couldn't do enough to help you so I hope they have the knowledge to assemble it correctly, plus I was happy with the deal. However, I hope I won't have lots of warranty issues as they're a good 5/6 hours from where I live! Suddenly a local store seems the obvious place to buy from but all the bike shops local me seem to have chips on their shoulders and will not even entertain a deal.

Are you based in Scotland?

 

[sirshan]

So my levo is ready for collection and I have been buzzing to get my hands on it. Over the weekend it seems that others on the forum have got theirs and all I've seen apart from two posts of positive thoughts is negative reviews.. not to good really as these bikes are expensive and you hope when your parting with hard earned your buying a well developed and reliable product.

Out of everyone who owns the 2019 levo what's the general succses rate of reliability? It seems based on comments it's about 2 good ones out of 10 at the moment??

Regards!

I have about 55 miles and roughly 19000 ft of climbing on this 2019 of mine. No issues other than possiblye debris collection issue you read about. I havent seen mine build up since Im on some trails without much leaves...but have seen pine needs and some leaves collect.

Love it till something happens. Ha

 

[Mountie]

Each year the product is getting more and more refined. As long as Specialized don’t start cutting corners the bike should be more reliable each year. I have owned 2 2017 levos and one expert 18, the 18 has had less issues than the 2 17s by far. I’m going to give it a year before looking into another ebike, this year I’m thinking about buying a gravel bike.
I feel we are pushing the limits of normal bike components with ebikes and a good % of failures come from these components when these parts are designed for ebikes failure rates will drop even further.

 

[GunnyAmp]

My wife and I could not be happier with our T-Levos

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

That purple is gorgeous. I'll definitely show the other half that pic.

 

[davefromdurbs]

So my levo is ready for collection and I have been buzzing to get my hands on it. Over the weekend it seems that others on the forum have got theirs and all I've seen apart from two posts of positive thoughts is negative reviews.. not to good really as these bikes are expensive and you hope when your parting with hard earned your buying a well developed and reliable product.

Out of everyone who owns the 2019 levo what's the general succses rate of reliability? It seems based on comments it's about 2 good ones out of 10 at the moment??

Regards!

I have had my 2019 levo for 2 months i am coming up for 1800klms my bike is absolutely perfect. I ride a mix of pavement and off road.. battery gives me aprox 80klms with 1000m assent. i think i could stretch it to 90 ks with 1100 m assent..Totally amazing bike.!

 

[Al Boneta]

I am sure there are plenty of legitimate complaints as unfounded ones.
But it seems in any enthusiast sport there will always be detractors towards brands that are perceived to be the biggest fish in the pond

When I got into Snowboarding, Burton was the board to have. The boards were well made and easy to get hold of. They quickly went on to be the biggest player in the Snowboard industry. Then it wasn’t cool to ride a Burton anymore. So called enthusiast “core” Riders started railing against Burton. A douche nozzle named Shawn Palmer led the charge. He was the cool “ bad boy” of snowboarding. Just like he was when he brought his douche baggery to mountain biking.
Burton didn’t all of a sudden start making crappy snowboards, it just wasn’t cool to ride one because almost everyone else did.

It’s pretty hard to buy a bad Emtb these days. Three years ago, everyone was about bikes having to have a Bosch motor. In the last year it’s all about Shimano. Next year it will be something else

 

[R120]

I lived and breathed snowboarding for 2 decades of my life, and there are a lot of parallels between Burton and Specilized - good comparison @Al Boneta

I can sum up my thoughts on both companies like this:

They have done great things for their respective industries, and consistently make some of the best product out there, as well as at times coming out with innovations that move the industry as a whole forward, whilst also at time coming up with proprietary systems that go a step to far. If you are stuck on making a choice, going with one of their products is quite often the safe choice in the sense that you know it will be good.

On the flip side their ubiquity and dominance of respective industries can lead to the frustration of other products being ignored or looked over because people assume a Specilized or Burton product is going to be the best, simply because of the brand. The adoption of both brands as the go to product by weekend warriors/millionaire dentists etc also riles up the core crowd, meaning that when the brands come up with game changing products, they often get sneered at and not appreciated for what they are.

The reality is that both companies have given huge amount to the development of their respective sports (and them being sports or not is a whole other argument), love or hate the Levo it has pushed forward the level of EMTB development, because irrespective of if they are good to ride or not, the Levo shows what can be done with an EMTB.

They are also not afraid to go against prevailing thought and trends - e.g Burton have resurrected the step in binding in snowboarding, long thought of as the most uncool product ever, and the preserve of the rental board. They acknowledged that strapping yourself onto your board may work, but its not the ideal solution, and having another look at viable step-in systems, and putting a lot of money into it despite seeming an unmarketable product, was worth doing as they thought they could come up with something that is a game changer, and although its early days their new system is that.

Same could be said of Specialized with the Levo, where they have taken a product derided by the core, not seen as cool, taken a risk, and changed peoples perceptions of what an emtb is. The kenevo and levo are "cool bikes" and you wouldn't have said that about any emtb a few years back.

You could easily argue that a lot of people (me included) only really started looking at emtb's after the introduction of the Levo, and although many end up buying other bikes, the Levo is the poster boy for the industry.

With snowboarding i always remember these decals that Libtech did years back, amazed there isnt a MTB equivalent out there

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

I always rode Burton (custom) because they were the best and never give a shit what people said or thought, still don't. Be it bikes, boards, clothes, life.

Good comparison Al/RL

 

[greenfizz]

I got my Levo 3 weeks ago. Actually I did 700 km. It's perfect. Absolutely no complaints except the TCU, which is a software issue.
Motor is super silent, compared to the Yamaha motor of my old Hibike Xduro.
Motor power is excellent, in the beginning I was a bit frustrated because of the new mission control app but after spending some time with the bike I decided to keep is as it is.
I'm not an expert but handling of that bike is excellent - I did not reach any limits (I'm living close to the palatinate forest) - Epic Comp carbon will stay in the garage for a while.
Yes, you collect some debris on a ride and of course you see some defects of stones in that area and yes, my rear axle got loose after a bumpy ride - but its a mountain bike and it it is the best e-mtb I rode so far.

 

[Colin-T-Woods]

Both my wife and I have recently purchased Levo’s, absolutely no problems with anything including Bluetooth. My wife wasn’t much of a mtber before and was considering a step through! Now, when I’m at work I check her Strava, not see ‘if’ she’s been out but ‘where’ she’s been. She loves her Levo. On a practical point, we mostly use eco, and in that mode I can’t here the motor under most conditions. Only know it’s cut out because pedalling gets harder. The transition is so smooth too. Get yourself a Levo or any emtb, you’ll love it.

 

[Sandy]

More specialized E bikes sold than any other? More active posts in the form areas.... ergo more people with warranty issues, but as a percentage owners to issues you'll probably find all ebikes the same or similar for reliability. Plus always remember, those with issues are always more vocal than those with no issues. No one ever posts whole threads about how they've never had an issue with their bike.... not until someone else posts about what a lemon they have.

 

[33red]

They have to pretend to be better to justify their price.
Some drink the coolaid.

 

[R120]

More specialized E bikes sold than any other? More active posts in the form areas.... ergo more people with warranty issues, but as a percentage owners to issues you'll probably find all ebikes the same or similar for reliability. Plus always remember, those with issues are always more vocal than those with no issues. No one ever posts whole threads about how they've never had an issue with their bike.... not until someone else posts about what a lemon they have.

Somone did a poll of the Levo owners on here to see who had had issues and 41% had electrical/motor problems

Issues on 2019 Levo USER SURVEY - EMTB Forums

 

[MattyB]

More specialized E bikes sold than any other? More active posts in the form areas.... ergo more people with warranty issues, but as a percentage owners to issues you'll probably find all ebikes the same or similar for reliability. Plus always remember, those with issues are always more vocal than those with no issues. No one ever posts whole threads about how they've never had an issue with their bike.... not until someone else posts about what a lemon they have.

I know 5 people with Brose motored Specialized bikes, 4 Levos and a Vado. All of them have had at least 1 motor replacement within the warranty period, one or two multiple replacements. Most have also had other transient electrical gremlins which required visits to the LBS and replcament parts (power cables etc).

Is 5 a representative sample? Probably not, but when combined with the significant price premium and the fact my local Spec LBS is not very knowledgeable when it comes to ebikes it's enough to cross Specialized off my personal list. YMMV.

 

[33red]

Somone did a poll of the Levo owners on here to see who had had issues and 41% had electrical/motor problems

Issues on 2019 Levo USER SURVEY - EMTB Forums

I will start one on Yamaha so we be able to compare.

 

[lumpy]

My 2019 Levo Expert was made in August, 2018 and I bought it in October. I have over 1000 miles on it - mostly very steep trails where I live. I haven't had to bring it into the shop so I even have the original firmware.
The only problem I've had is me crashing because the bike is better than I am a rider!

 

[Mikerb]

Gopro has been the market leading pov camera for years and I have regularly used a Gopro ever since the launch of their fist hd model ....quite a few years ago. I regularly viewed the gopro forum. If you read the fkrum you would never buy a gopro....so many faults. So how come I am now on my 5th gopro ( I still regularly use 3 of them) and have never experienced a single fault......and I have made over 250 videos. Forums are no place to judge the quality or reliability of a product. What they are useful for is gleaning facts about best practise and potential pitfalls.....every product has them. For example it is easy to see from this forum that trust placed in the lbs should not be automatic....some are obviously v good whilst some are not. Very few are likely to have much experience of e bike electronics or software but they assemble your bike in the first place....clearly some do it well and some do not.