Levo SL Gen 1 reviews from larger riders

[chris f]

hi guys i have just been to look at a lovely levo sl really impressed with how light it was but the thing that worries me is the batterie life . im a 15st rider who isnt really fit at the moment so dont really want to get caught out would love to be riding 30+ miles with a good amout of hills as really want to imrpove fitness and reduce weight . i currently have a hardtail Norco hardtail and can manage 20ish miles as long as the hills iant to steep . have also looked at the hiabike allmountain 4 cheeper better spec but very very heavy would appriciate your opinion guys thanks

 

[Konanige]

I'm 16 and a half stone, wouldn't say I'm unfit, and I find that the SL is perfect. Tried a few FF Eebs and came to the conclusion I would get Lazy on one, plus I didnt like the handling of a bike with its own gravity! 30 mile ride should be no issue on the internal battery if you use stock trail setting or eco. You will have to put in some effort on the hills and you Will Sweat, not like those FF riders in full face helmets and jackets.

 

[Jeff McD]

You should be very careful in this decision and should try one first. I say this because it depends on what type of hills you want to ride this bike up. Our group has a very hard top of the mountain ride that lasts 4 to 5 hours with prolonged ultra steep climbs periodically. Every once in a while a fit rider who is considering buying one tries the rental Levo SL from the shop to see how it does on this ride and every single one hates it by the end of the ride. I have noticed that they are breathing harder and off the bike walking more often than when they do this ride on their analog bike, for example specialized Enduro for the last extremely fit rider. The bike shop owner is the strongest rider especially on the climbs in our group and he reports that there have been very few sales of the SL to fit riders for this very reason. He gets a new bike every year for himself but has always passed on the SL. If your hills are more moderate obviously it would be a possible choice but you really won't know unless you try it, eh? If there was ever a bike that you must try before you buy, this is probably it.

 

[apac]

You have to be more patient with the SL when climbing as you will be going at a much slower pace than with a full fat levo . cadence will have to be fast if you don't want to use much muscle for the motor to carry you up, but it will be slow at doing it.

 

[levity]

All models of the SL that I've seen come with a cassette on the rear wheel. Just shift down and ride it like a bike rather than a motorcycle and you'll be fine.

@jbodnar here is 16+ stone and owns both SL and FF Levos. Maybe Jeff can chime in a compare the experiences.

 

[jbodnar]

My opinion:

If you want more exercise and prefer a lighter bike and you don’t need to ride a lot with other FF ebikes or steep long climbs, get the SL.

I'm not fit and almost all my rides are less than 3 hours.

I don’t ride any really long steep climbs…if I did, I’d prefer the FF.

I run 10-50 Eagle 12 speed on both with the standard front ring that came on each, I’ve never tried a newer 52 in back.

If I only had my SL Carbon Comp…I might want a 52 if I had to do really long steep climbs.

(My 2020 Levo Comp came with an 11 speed).

Sometimes it is fun to blast up climbs…I can’t do that on the SL.

 

[CjP]

I have noticed that they are breathing harder and off the bike walking more often than when they do this ride on their analog bike, for example specialized Enduro for the last extremely fit rider.

Did they realise it was an ebike and switched it on?
The SLs are pretty stealth like that, otherwise your comment makes no sense at all.

 

[Rich the gasman]

16.5 stone here and I’d pretty fit, had both. Just sold my SL ( took a huge loss in a short time) .

so a FF doesn’t make you lazy as such, in the same amount of time having a Ff levo and SL levo I did Nearly double the mileage with the FF. I was out more for sure on the FF and in hindsight now I would of just kept the FF but at the time it had 1 year warranty left so I sold it but then I got shafted as spesh announced 4 year warranty.
I was always more tired on the SL and the same route the SL used more battery which tag you should expect. 99% of my riding mates all have FF and once the SL honeymoon wore off I was always grafting to keep up. Racing was tough on the SL, that extra power out of corners and pick up speed make a huge difference on a track.

went of track a bit there but, I was defo fitter when I had the FF than the SL ..

 

[Bike Rider 007]

hi guys i have just been to look at a lovely levo sl really impressed with how light it was but the thing that worries me is the batterie life . im a 15st rider who isnt really fit at the moment so dont really want to get caught out would love to be riding 30+ miles with a good amout of hills as really want to imrpove fitness and reduce weight . i currently have a hardtail Norco hardtail and can manage 20ish miles as long as the hills iant to steep . have also looked at the hiabike allmountain 4 cheeper better spec but very very heavy would appriciate your opinion guys thanks

I am 16.5st and ride both a SL and a full powered Levo, I can easily ride my SL 30 miles with some elevation gain without a battery extender and still have left over battery power with riding mostly in Trail mode and some Eco on the downs and flatter terrain. You will not improve fitness if you ride a full powered ebike unless you are essentially sprinting the whole time.