@TheBikePilot and I used almost exactly the same battery. He was on the Regular Levo with 700Wh battery, I was on the SL with the range extender so 480Wh.I remain a bit skeptical about the claims that a Levo SL can go as far as a Turbo Levo...
Agreed - the reduction in bike weight is obviously impactful to how it feels for the rider, but in terms of the AUW (bike+rider+kit) is pretty small - I guess around 5% for an average 80kg rider? To me that means it wouldn't go as far on <50% of the battery unless significantly lower support levels are used i.e. you are going to have to be a fair bit fitter. Nothing wrong with that, but it is certainly not going to suit a lot of current riders who enjoy the feel of higher power bikes.I remain a bit skeptical about the claims that a Levo SL can go as far as a Turbo Levo...
The Fox 34 factory seemed fine to me on the trails in South Africa. They were not chunky though. More like long flowy rolling berms with some 6 foot gaps etc. Might not be still enough for some, I couldn't tell you that I found it flex though... But often, its not until you compare forks back to back you notice.Hows the fox 34 handle @Rob Hancill ? feel like you need something burlier? Given that 38 lbs is still heavy compared to most enduro bikes where a 34 would be laughed at.. curious that Spesh went this way even though it's obvious to shave as much weight as possible
Agreed - the reduction in bike weight is obviously impactful to how it feels for the rider, but in terms of the AUW (bike+rider+kit) is pretty small - I guess around 5% for an average 80kg rider? To me that means it wouldn't go as far on <50% of the battery unless significantly lower support levels are used i.e. you are going to have to be a fair bit fitter. Nothing wrong with that, but it is certainly not going to suit a lot of current riders who enjoy the feel of higher power bikes.
Naturally the SL has been compared to the Levo FSR/Brose in reviews etc. That’s understandable but can anyone who’s ridden plenty of Shimano E8000 bikes (@Rob Hancill ? 24kg like the YT DEcoy maybe) tell me how the SL might compare there?
I spend most time in Trail mode as it adapts to the effort put in. Boost mode really hoists you up a hill (which I expect the SL doesn’t) but is, say, an SL in Turbo mode like Trail mode on the e8000?
I expect there’ll be quite a few thinking this way too.
I am absolutely stunned that all these resources have been spent to develop a new bike yet no news about permanent fixes regarding motors and electrical parts . When are we going to be informed that Specialized has redesigned these parts and that they will be available for their clients ? Whats the point in changing bad broken pieces for bad new pieces ! Please , give us a permanent fix to the known problems . Thank you .nice bike and some very good engineering ideas, IP rated motor, waterproof plugs constant battery connection. All sounds like the problems we have been having have been addressed.
Well it doesn't make me very happy, while the spesh engineers have been beavering away on the sl it looks like all the levo and kenevo owners have been a bit "overlooked" what about fixing our crappy power cables, what about fixing our TCU's that fill up with water if you sneeze on them, what about some quality control on the motors that have to get replaced, some guys have had up to five motor replacements in a bike thats not even a year old WTF!!
between my wife and I we have spent around £30k on spesh ebikes, how about a bit of reengineering to fix our problems!!
So went into EBC today to size up the SL bike as geometry against my current bike placed me somewhere in the middle of a M and L.
Do they have all the sizes? I’d love to try and XL to satisfy my curiousity!
Do they have all the sizes? I’d love to try and XL to satisfy my curiousity!
The Fox 34 factory seemed fine to me on the trails in South Africa. They were not chunky though. More like long flowy rolling berms with some 6 foot gaps etc. Might not be still enough for some, I couldn't tell you that I found it flex though... But often, its not until you compare forks back to back you notice.
I think Spesh are selling this as a trail ripper... and if an Enduro version comes out no doubt it'll have a 36 on it...
On a 23 mile ride we both returned with about 50%. Approx 3000ft of vertical.
Rob how tall you areand wichsize the sl on test,ty
If you ride in trail. This is not the bike for youNaturally the SL has been compared to the Levo FSR/Brose in reviews etc. That’s understandable but can anyone who’s ridden plenty of Shimano E8000 bikes (@Rob Hancill ? 24kg like the YT DEcoy maybe) tell me how the SL might compare there?
I spend most time in Trail mode as it adapts to the effort put in. Boost mode really hoists you up a hill (which I expect the SL doesn’t) but is, say, an SL in Turbo mode like Trail mode on the e8000?
I expect there’ll be quite a few thinking this way too.
Two types of rider that need wider tyres.Surprised that no one has commented on the Levo SL tires. There is absolutely no way I will ever go back to 2.3 inch tires ever again with our frequently wet greasy off-camber roots. 2.8 was too cumbersome but 2.5/2.6 is the sweet spot for me with a Hillbilly front and rear presently. Can run lower pressure which softens the trail chatter considerably and the new hillbilly sidewalls are quite stiff with good support.
Problem is they're heavier than 2.3 inch tires, and then you need a 200 mm rotor on that rear brake for our long, high speed downhill runs and most of my rides would need the second battery, all of which is going to push the weight up to where is maybe only 4-5 pounds lighter than my present 2020 Levo Sworks. Yawn. And only time will tell whether our frequent top of the mountain six hr rides would possibly need a second booster battery in a pack as well. Yikes 2-3 lbs lighter.
Our mountains are steep and I repeatedly need every single one of those 90 Newton meters in Turbo to make it up the section even being one of the strongest climbers in our area. In fact we have run out of juice on the early rides with even the 700 Wh hour battery and I have had to boost trail mode up to maxing out at 75% to try to stay out of turbo mode more in order to make the battery last the whole ride. The problem with the smart function is it won't even let you access turbo mode on steep climbs for that length of a ride, and so it's not very useful for us.
No way this bike would work for me, which is really nice because I just bought the sucker this year ha ha. So really nice bike to drool over but it's just not for me and I'll bet that'll turn out to be pretty common actually among aggressive ebike riders. I'll be watching to see how many others say the same. Seen a few comments already.
ÑNow that the dust has settled... I think it’s not for me.
Let’s face it, some of the weight savings on the SL comes from:
- 2.3 light casing tyres
- fox 34 fork
- dps shock
- smaller battery
For my weight and riding style, I want a 36 fork, a X2 shock and 2.5-2.6 tyres. Theoretically, if I took the Levo SL base aluminium model (the only one I’m willing to afford) and switched for those heavier components and I add the range extender, I bet I’ll be roughly at the same weight as a Decoy Pro Race (23 kg), which is about the same price but it has a real motor.
Different strokes for different folks.
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