Levo SL Gen 1 SL Comp Owners Thoughts?

[Chicane]

Ok, good, was the power on ? LOL.

I weigh 185-190 geared up and demoed an SL Expert 21, and did a 25.5/2633' 2:21 moving time on my normal trails and I was down to the last red bar with about 4 miles flat back to the car. All the climbing was done back to the car and it was my first ever Ebike ride, so I didn't know what to expect. I did the steepest climbs in Turbo to see what the bike would do and for me the SL is more than enough bike. I'm in pretty good shape, but nursing a leg/muscle issue, so trying to take my pedaling a bit easy and I was impressed by this bike on the ups, but also the tech/tight switchbacks. Now I have SL fever.

 

[Ntinos]

Hi, my SL comp is finally (almost*) ready.
Except the cranks I changed everything.

- Ohlins m.2 coil fork (@ 160mm)
- 77 designz stem & carbon bars
- DMR DeathGrips
- Magura 1983 brakes
- Shimano XTR 12sp cassete & trigger
- Shimano XT Derailleur & chain
- BikeYoke revive 185mm dropper
- Garbaruk Chain ring
- Specialized s-works power ark saddle
- one up pedals
- Maxxis DHF 2.4WT & DHR II 2.4WT
- Carbon rims with sapim CX rays with i9 Hydra hubs

(* I Have already the cascade link, and I am waiting to receive an ohlins coil shock for rear)

FWIW, stock wheels (with tubes) are 5.74 KG !! (Front 2.44kg / 3.30 rear), while the set I made is 4.710.
(Maxxis pair is ~ 350gr heavier than the stock Specialized...)

 

[Ntinos]

^^ my first ride was 25km in 1:50 hrs, with 775m elevation, only in eco mode, and spend ~30% battery (7 bars left)

 

[ChrisBrand]

Hi, my SL comp is finally (almost*) ready.
Except the cranks I changed everything.

- Ohlins m.2 coil fork (@ 160mm)
- 77 designz stem & carbon bars
- DMR DeathGrips
- Magura 1983 brakes
- Shimano XTR 12sp cassete & trigger
- Shimano XT Derailleur & chain
- BikeYoke revive 185mm dropper
- Garbaruk Chain ring
- Specialized s-works power ark saddle
- one up pedals
- Maxxis DHF 2.4WT & DHR II 2.4WT
- Carbon rims with sapim CX rays with i9 Hydra hubs

(* I Have already the cascade link, and I am waiting to receive an ohlins coil shock for rear)

FWIW, stock wheels (with tubes) are 5.74 KG !! (Front 2.44kg / 3.30 rear), while the set I made is 4.710.
(Maxxis pair is ~ 350gr heavier than the stock Specialized...) View attachment 45280 View attachment 45281 View attachment 45282 View attachment 45283 View attachment 45284

 

[ChrisBrand]

On your new wheels what diameter spokes did you use and did you go to 160 mm rotors?

 

[Ntinos]

I cannot understand the question. What is spoke diameter ?
(my - brake - rotors are 203 / 180)

 

[ChrisBrand]

I cannot understand the question. What is spoke diameter ?
(my - brake - rotors are 203 / 180)

Thank you, the SL Ali Comp comes with 2 mm diameter spokes ie. the thickness of them, my previous wheels that I have built I’ve Used 1.8 mm Diameter ( thickness). I just wondered if you had gone to thinner spokes and 160 mm rotors to lose all that weight, thanks

 

[Pan]

My wife bought an Sl. I have a ff with bosh 75 nm tuned motor. Would like to ajust the power setting of the trail level of the Sl to roughly correspond with my mtb lite mode ( 40 to 240 % assistance). Considering the difference in max assistance 4x vs 2x, the diff in torque 75 vs 35) and the difference in rider+bike weight ( me 252 pounds & wife 179 ) has anybody have insight in the calculation / translation ?

sl has half the torque, halff the max support but wife has more than half my weight (71 %)

 

[Pan]

My wife bought an Sl. I have a ff with bosh 75 nm tuned motor. Would like to ajust the power setting of the trail level of the Sl to roughly correspond with my mtb lite mode ( 40 to 240 % assistance). Considering the difference in max assistance 4x vs 2x, the diff in torque 75 vs 35) and the difference in rider+bike weight ( me 252 pounds & wife 179 ) has anybody have insight in the calculation / translation ?

sl has half the torque, halff the max support but wife has more than half my weight (71 %)

For starter do i use 240% x .71 as her max support (170 % ) and use 170/200= 85 % for the max mission control support setting ( with power at 100) ? Does weight ( difference ) roughly corrolate with power required ?

same for the coresponding 40 % assistance of my ff would give .71x 40 = 28% assistance witch translates to 14% in the mission control setting.

 

[grantini]

My wife bought an Sl. I have a ff with bosh 75 nm tuned motor. Would like to ajust the power setting of the trail level of the Sl to roughly correspond with my mtb lite mode ( 40 to 240 % assistance). Considering the difference in max assistance 4x vs 2x, the diff in torque 75 vs 35) and the difference in rider+bike weight ( me 252 pounds & wife 179 ) has anybody have insight in the calculation / translation ?

sl has half the torque, halff the max support but wife has more than half my weight (71 %)

Just fool around with it until you get to a place where you and she are both comfortable climbing a hill in that setting... the missing variable is rider fitness, which is going to be virtually impossible to quantify.

 

[chrismechmaster]

I actually brought a SL On the pure fact it was so close to my full suspension trail bike and when I ran out of power I could ride it like a normal bike home

then it occurred to me spending £5000 plus on a bike very similar to my normal bike wouldn’t be worth justifying £5000 plus so I cancelled the order and changed it to the full fat turbo Levo

the best thing about this is I now have two very different bike so to me worth the £5000

however if this is going to be your only bike I would consider the SL

 

[WorkNPlay]

Hey Aaron, picked up my comp carbon levo SL in March right before COVID hit which was a lifesaver. I rode a Devinci FF last season a couple of times when I borrowed it from a friend to see what e-bikes are all about. The thing was 52lb and you definitely felt the weight. If you tipped over on something, it's a bitch to right it up. It was easy so easy to climb but not worth the "non-mountain bike feel" in my opinion. Since owning the SL, I found that not only is it VERY pedalable with the motor turned off, at the end of a few laps on the shore (North Vancouver BC), I usually still had 85-90% battery left. That's how little i used it if i turned it on at all. There were many rides where i didn't even bother turning it on and I was still keeping up with groups on 32lb enduros. So much so that last week, i took the downtube battery out to save the 4lbs. I bought a range extender and now i have a instantly convertible "acoustic bike" (I hate that term) or ebike if i'm feeling sluggish or needing to a quick lap. The SL is an absolute game changer. My neighbor designs bikes for another reputable bike company and he told me they bought an SL to try to reverse engineer it to see how they did everything. Their conclusion: specialized has an unlimited R&D budget and paid very close attention to detail on this bike =). That made me feel really good about dropping the amount of money on this bike as I did. I'm 42 this year, pretty fit, and I TRULY believe that this is the last bike I'm going to buy (at least that's what I've told my wife LOL). I'm excited for you and in the next 2-3 years, i'm 100% positive that you'll see a couple other sub 40lb ebikes. It's an e-bike for mountain bikers.

Hello, where were you able to find a range extender battery for the sl for sale? I have been looking here in the states and they are all out of stock?

 

[MLX John]

Hello, where were you able to find a range extender battery for the sl for sale? I have been looking here in the states and they are all out of stock?

Have you tried bike shops? I know Spez restricts buying bikes over the phone and having them shipped to you, but not sure if this applies to components like tires, batteries, etc.
I know Sport Systems in Albuquerque had at least one in stock a couple of weeks ago (and the connecting cable).
Look them up on google. Cool people.

 

[WorkNPlay]

Have you tried bike shops? I know Spez restricts buying bikes over the phone and having them shipped to you, but not sure if this applies to components like tires, batteries, etc.
I know Sport Systems in Albuquerque had at least one in stock a couple of weeks ago (and the connecting cable).
Look them up on google. Cool people.

I will try those shops. Thank you!

 

[Waldolo]

Hello, where were you able to find a range extender battery for the sl for sale? I have been looking here in the states and they are all out of stock?

I bought it from the LBS where i bought my bike. Luckily I bought it back in the summer while inventory was less of an issue than it is now from what i understand. I still had to wait a week or two I recall though.