Levo Gen 2 Turbo Levo for road/gravel duties? Any guidance..

[Martinintirol]

Hi everyone,
After a relatively low accumulation of km with the TL last year, I'm back with a bang. Out pretty much every day off road. Because of where I live in the Alps I was considering maybe looking at a Creo Evo to enjoy the mountain roads. But it's not a small investment... So, I have started trying some mixed asphalt offload rides with the TL. Got me thinking, it has the power I like, I love the full suspension comfort and the position is great though not particularly aero. Anyone bought a second set of wheels with gravel/touring tyres mounted to make a true all rounder? Thinking further, I was wondering what if I stuck a Surly Corner Bar on too? Now that's something else.. three times the power of a Creo, less rolling rolling resistance than a TL with std tyres, a relatively easy bar swap, high comfort levels, a perfect one machine all rounder for a fraction of the investment of a new bike... or am I just mad in the head... anyone like to share any similar experiences, negative or positive? Thanks

 

[boBE]

I have a spare set of 29" wheels (after changing my Levo SL to 27.5") and thought about making a set of road wheels. I didn't find many suitable tires that would fit on the wide MTB rims. Road/gravel tires open up more choices and may be a good compromise. For now I ride on Continental RaceKings, they work ok on paved/gravel and just the word "race" on the sidewall adds 2 mph.

Specialized claims 3x the torque but not power, the Levo motor is still rated for 250 W sustained although it does have 90 n*m at who knows what rpm (probably low).
Mad in the head? Are mountain bikers mad? Does the mad hatter wear a big hat?

 

[Martinintirol]

I have a spare set of 29" wheels (after changing my Levo SL to 27.5") and thought about making a set of road wheels. I didn't find many suitable tires that would fit on the wide MTB rims. Road/gravel tires open up more choices and may be a good compromise. For now I ride on Continental RaceKings, they work ok on paved/gravel and just the word "race" on the sidewall adds 2 mph.

Specialized claims 3x the torque but not power, the Levo motor is still rated for 250 W sustained although it does have 90 n*m at who knows what rpm (probably low).
Mad in the head? Are mountain bikers mad? Does the mad hatter wear a big hat?

How are the RaceKings working out for you? Are they okay with the significant TL weight?
Yes, 'power' was the wrong word, should of used Torque . I have been messing with the tuning in Mission Control, the 25/100 setting is remarkably frugal on road duty climbing. Thinking a smoother set of rubber would help and also that maybe down to 15% support maybe more easily achieved. Bearing in mind nothing is in anyway remotely flat where i live.
Thanks for the reply.

 

[boBE]

I have put many miles on RaceKings, they are a good dual purpose tire but not much use in the wet. This set has about 2000 miles on them and hardly any wear. My SL is about 40 lb, maybe 45 with water/spares/tools/food and I am about 165 lb so it is not an issue with the 2.1 width tires.

My other bike has Maxxis CrossMark tires (Contis were out of stock) and they are similar but maybe a bit noisier on asphalt. Around here it is Florida flat, the only hill is the bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway. My riding is 90+% at 35% assist which on a SL is not a lot.

 

[Pyr0]

Not really gravel style, but I bought a second set of wheels and fitted them with maxxis hookworm tires for low rolling resistance.

 

[NoPro]

About a year ago I bought a set of Maxxis Grifter in 29x2.5 on discount for the sole purpuse of getting the 100 Mile Badge on Garmin Connect, it was a fun day but never put them on since...

 

[jemi11]

A few Levo SL owners I know rave about their vehicles. I really understand the concept. I've had a quick ride on an Orbea Rise, which was fantastic even though it wasn't as thoroughly integrated as I would have liked (plus the rear tyre clearance was, in my opinion, subpar, and I never require 60Nm). However, even though people who purchase the lightweight eBikes like these genuinely enjoy them, they appear to lie on store floors for a very long time and are the one type of eBike that store managers tell me they find it particularly difficult to get rid of.
Has anyone actually regretted their purchase of one?

 

[SquireRides]

I do a lot of day long epics on lanes, light gravel. UK, no mountains! Currently my Levo SL is sporting a XC/gravel build, defined by my insistence on keeping the Fox 34s and running very light Terravail Ehline tyres.

On my previous eeeb (Cube hardtail) I did a few day rides on Conti SpeedKing tyres. Very slick but great on lanes and dry gravel.

 

[boBE]

A few Levo SL owners I know rave about their vehicles. I really understand the concept. I've had a quick ride on an Orbea Rise, which was fantastic even though it wasn't as thoroughly integrated as I would have liked (plus the rear tyre clearance was, in my opinion, subpar, and I never require 60Nm). However, even though people who purchase the lightweight eBikes like these genuinely enjoy them, they appear to lie on store floors for a very long time and are the one type of eBike that store managers tell me they find it particularly difficult to get rid of.
Has anyone actually regretted their purchase of one?

Regrets for my SL? None, the SL is just great on the Florida flat (but sometimes bumpy) trails I ride. Except when we finish the dirt/gravel part with a short paved uphill section and the people I ride with hammer their 28 mph Vados and my SL quits at 20 mph.

 

[Jagged]

A few Levo SL owners I know rave about their vehicles. I really understand the concept. I've had a quick ride on an Orbea Rise, which was fantastic even though it wasn't as thoroughly integrated as I would have liked (plus the rear tyre clearance was, in my opinion, subpar, and I never require 60Nm). However, even though people who purchase the lightweight eBikes like these genuinely enjoy them, they appear to lie on store floors for a very long time and are the one type of eBike that store managers tell me they find it particularly difficult to get rid of.
Has anyone actually regretted their purchase of one?

I have both full power and SL Levo’s and i quite get it why it has been difficult for shops to sell them…. From a customer’s perspective, like why pay the same for less and some of these Levo’s cost as much as a nice motorcycle.

I’ve been interested in an SL for some time but only bought one after the store offered huge discounts on it and cost almost like a normal analog bike.

But after having the SL for a while now, I realize that it can be a true replacement for my analog mtb’s as its much more agile, has decent power assist, yet still gived me a good workout in eco mode unlike my full power Levos.