Levo Gen 2 Moving away from Specialized.

[Binhill1]

Specialized have authorised a new motor for my 2019 carbon comp which is 3 years old, It will be its first replacement motor, taking it in tomorrow.

Good to hear.

 

[phlodge]

Issue for me turned out to be a duff battery
Unfortunately not covered by warranty so now out of pocket by £550. I did get a 700 kwh battery for that so not too disappointed

It is quite appalling that bike manufacturers continue to churn out their goods with quality control issues, especially when some people are on their 3rd or more motors

Are they testing in all climates, such as the boggy, loamy Peak District in the UK. If they are testing why the repeated issues

Hard to think of another industry where poor quality control dominates so many social media threads.

Nobody should have to spend large amounts of money on items where evidence from many suggests they are not fit for purpose.

Great that they now offer 4 years on the motor, but that was out of necessity

 

[Binhill1]

I hope I get a battery for that price. Mine still giving same mileage after 3 years and just over 6000 miles . Its the only thing that is original on the bike when I think about it and the Handelbars too. Seemingly most motor failures in UK are in Wales and Scotland .

 

[phlodge]

Ergo my suggestion that testing needs to be done in all climates not just the sunny hills of California.
it’s not like the UK is short of talent and people that would be prepared to test bikes and I mean testing that commensurate with all skills and ages in all conditions.
Maybe they are scared to know what vulnerabilities the UK would reveal
My LBS said the only bike manufacturers to test in the UK is Whyte !!!!

 

[Kimmoi]

I have tested mine here in Finland.
Rain, mud, dust, snow, sun, wet sand, you name it.
Temperature range +31celsius to -27celsius.

No problems.

 

[phlodge]

I have tested mine here in Finland.
Rain, mud, dust, snow, sun, wet sand, you name it.
Temperature range +31celsius to -27celsius.

No problems.

Thats great news, unfortunately not everyone's experience seems to be as good as yours.
Hope it continues for you

 

[SteveRS]

I just learned my Commencal DH bike is already out of warranty. 2 years! WTH. My buddy had to buy his own brakes on his 2022 Santa Cruz cause the dealer said he needed to contact SRAM about the defect. I have seen guys fighting Fox on suspension issues as the dealer said they only cover the frame.

With specialized I just call the dealer. They have replaced a shock I blew up, a wheel I bashed in on rocks and 2 motors on my Levo wothout batting an eye. I would prob ONLY buy specialized from here on out. The buy in is expensive though.

I dented a rim and my LBS said that’s not covered. So I hammered it out and I’m still riding it. Glad your LBS went the extra mile.

 

[kombos]

I dented a rim and my LBS said that’s not covered. So I hammered it out and I’m still riding it. Glad your LBS went the extra mile.

I bashed a stock Roval rim and my dealer got approval to lace a new rim using my hub and spokes.
They did a so-so build job but there was no cost with the Roval warrantee.

 

[SteveRS]

I bashed a stock Roval rim and my dealer got approval to lace a new rim using my hub and spokes.
They did a so-so build job but there was no cost with the Roval warrantee.

I was just happy they didn’t throw me out

 

[Grannyjones]

Since owning my Turbo Levo in 2020 I have had FAR more mechanical problems than electrical.
Had a couple of motors replaced but it has been the crappy standard mountain bike parts that have let me down by far!

 

[Clustertoad]

New Trek EX is intriguing. Time will tell.

 

[emtbeast]

I don't understand these issues that people have with Spesh.
Original motor, nearly 7000km now. No issues.

Before i had Cube with Bosch, and must say that Brose is much better motor. Dunno about other motor's are they any better though.

maybe your motor lasts so long because there are not a lot of serious hills in Finland...what are your average climbs?

 

[Dirkieuys1]

I have a 2019 Levo, during this time its had a new motor, 2 replacement power harness's and a replacement TCU.
Now looking like another new motor is required, thankfully still under warranty. (Just)

That lack of reliability has begun to put me off Specialized, I am on my 5th Spesh bike and my brand loyalty has been stretched.
I am now wondering whether to jump ship and move to another brand with a different motor, the fear of a fault occuring while in the depths of the Peak District scares me.

On the basis that I cant be the only one who has had such issues, what have others done.

Stuck with it, grin and bear it. ​

Moved to another brand and if so what brand and any regrets.​

Would be curious to hear what Specialized say about their product reliability.
Thank You.

I bought a 2018 second hand gen 1 levo in 2020, no issues for two years. During this time my mate back in SA had a gen 2 which required two motor replacements. Weird. We both just bought a gen 3. Hope it works out. At least this time i have a warranty.
I did consider the Commencal meta power.

 

[Winger]

Interesting reading the various comments, my wife is on bike number 3 with Bosch motors, 2 Whytes and a Cube non of those motors have been as good as the Brose in my Specialised, i’ve Had one glitch with a front wheel and was gobsmacked at how good and quick the Specialised warranty sorted it.

 

[Bndit]

This is my Levo, picture from last January. I have had it two summers and second winter is coming, 2000km`s on it, not a single problem. Ride it hard, every time.

Just love it.

 

[Kimmoi]

maybe your motor lasts so long because there are not a lot of serious hills in Finland...what are your average climbs?

That is the most ludicrous explanation ever what i have heard!
What is the cadence that people are using? My cadence is 80-100.

You really mean that motor gets broken by riding uphills?? C'mon!
I use lot of Turbo, no mercy when i'm riding. Conditions are -30celsius to +30 celsius, i ride all year round.

Broken by uphills...

 

[BManz]

OEM parts suppliers QC problem is the real issue (i.e. Shiman, Yamaha, Brose), not necessarily the bike manufacture although, because they chose the supplier, the manufactures are culpable to warrant the parts they chose. I own Treks and Specialized non-eBikes but will not adopt their electric offerings at the present time especially seeing what others are going through.

I detest when an assembly is so closed-off in design that you cannot get a simple shim, gasket or bearing to make a simple, cheap repair to what is otherwise a sound motor. This is why I will not buy any eBike that's not a Bafang; I can get almost any part for a Bafang motor to get it running again where I'd be forced to buy a whole new motor from Shimano, for example, when one of their plastic gears shreds.

 

[emtbeast]

That is the most ludicrous explanation ever what i have heard!
What is the cadence that people are using? My cadence is 80-100.

You really mean that motor gets broken by riding uphills?? C'mon!
I use lot of Turbo, no mercy when i'm riding. Conditions are -30celsius to +30 celsius, i ride all year round.

Broken by uphills...

Hey bro u need to chill, that was an observation post not an explanation post.

I pedal in the same range, maybe even a bit higher as you. As you are obviously pointing at, a low cadence with high power turbo could be one piece of the puzzle also.

The majority of Brose motor failures are the belt getting ripped to pieces or belt tensioner getting broken due to forces applied to them.

As an example, I can imagine that climbing a 10% slope vs a 5% slope creates approximately 100% higher forces to the motor internals.

I live just under a 1200m mountain. The average slope inclines here are moving in the 7% to 13% range, so yes I believe there is a much higher chance of a Brose belt motor damage due to serious hill climbing here than somewhere where it's much flatter.
I also believe that there is a huge difference if you ride on loose or packed terrain. On packed terrain there is more grip and so more strain on the belt than on loose terrain.
Just an example, my budy got his Levo gen3 motor to it's knees after 4 months(about 1000km) of riding here. He is not the only one here, some guys are already on their 3rd motor(gen 2 Levo).

One other observation I have on the Brose motor is the belt tension.

Just to elaborate...one of my hobby's is esk8ing and there u need to deal with optimal belt tension.

I think that if the belt tension in the Brose motor isn't set realy perfectly spot on that is a receipe for disaster. Also belts with use stretch just a bit(not much) and that stretch should be dealt with additional belt tensioning after a period of riding or the belt starts slipping(but the user can't do that the way like it's possible with an esk8).

The forces on the 16mm wide belts on an average powerful esk8 are up to m 5Nm and people rip belts apart sometimes. Interestingly the width of the belt in the Brose motor is also 16mm but forces applied are up to 90Nm...just food for thought...

But maybe you are lucky and got that Unicorn Brose unit
Happy riding

Peace✌Over and out.

 

[Kimmoi]

Hey bro u need to chill, that was an observation post not an explanation post.

I pedal in the same range, maybe even a bit higher as you. As you are obviously pointing at, a low cadence with high power turbo could be one piece of the puzzle also.

The majority of Brose motor failures are the belt getting ripped to pieces or belt tensioner getting broken due to forces applied to them.

As an example, I can imagine that climbing a 10% slope vs a 5% slope creates approximately 100% higher forces to the motor internals.

I live just under a 1200m mountain. The average slope inclines here are moving in the 7% to 13% range, so yes I believe there is a much higher chance of a Brose belt motor damage due to serious hill climbing here than somewhere where it's much flatter.
I also believe that there is a huge difference if you ride on loose or packed terrain. On packed terrain there is more grip and so more strain on the belt than on loose terrain.
Just an example, my budy got his Levo gen3 motor to it's knees after 4 months(about 1000km) of riding here. He is not the only one here, some guys are already on their 3rd motor(gen 2 Levo).

One other observation I have on the Brose motor is the belt tension.

Just to elaborate...one of my hobby's is esk8ing and there u need to deal with optimal belt tension.

I think that if the belt tension in the Brose motor isn't set realy perfectly spot on that is a receipe for disaster. Also belts with use stretch just a bit(not much) and that stretch should be dealt with additional belt tensioning after a period of riding or the belt starts slipping(but the user can't do that the way like it's possible with an esk8).

The forces on the 16mm wide belts on an average powerful esk8 are up to m 5Nm and people rip belts apart sometimes. Interestingly the width of the belt in the Brose motor is also 16mm but forces applied are up to 90Nm...just food for thought...

But maybe you are lucky and got that Unicorn Brose unit
Happy riding

Peace✌Over and out.

It is also good to remember that bad experiences get a very lot of attention on the internet, good ones not so much.
And i also wonder how much there are broken Broses that has used somekind of "Levociraptor"?

No one tells us that, and that is completely understandable.

 

[head]

It is also good to remember that bad experiences get a very lot of attention on the internet, good ones not so much.
And i also wonder how much there are broken Broses that has used somekind of "Levociraptor"?

I had two broken motors, and I never derestricted my bike. The same goes for a friend of mine.

 

[Kimmoi]

7K yesterday.