Specialized Turbo Levo SL Comp Carbon — Review
Today we’re taking a look at the Specialized Turbo Levo SL Comp Carbon. What appears to be a normal trail bike from the outside, inside of the frame is a battery and motor giving you pedal assisted power so you can easily climb hills, ride for longer and go on further rides.
The Turbo Levo is part of Specialized’s latest lineup of Turbo electric bikes, and the Levo SL is lightweight and designed similar to their regular Stumpjumper, so it rides like a traditional mountain bike. However this is a pedal assist only E-bike and the motor only operates while you pedal, giving you an extra boost of power.
Specialized offers a variety of models of the Turbo Levo. The least expensive is the Turbo Levo at $5,000, with an aluminum frame, rock shox suspension, a 250w motor and a 500wh battery. The Levo Comp is priced at $6000 and comes with the same components and motor but a bigger 700wh battery. The S-works Turbo Levo has a carbon frame and comes in at right under 13 Grand with no upgrades to the electric drivetrain. We’re reviewing the Turbo Levo SL Comp Carbon that’s a good value and middle of the pack at $7,500.
We met up with a local rider, Joe, who’s been riding mountain bikes for decades and recently bought a Specialized Turbo Levo SL Comp Carbon. He bought the Turbo Levo SL because he’s looking to ride further and longer, and like many riders he’s been intrigued by electric mountain bikes since they started to come to market from established brands like Giant, Trek, Specialized and others. But he couldn’t get past the overall weight penalty of the 50+ lbs of what was available. But once he found out about the Levo SL he pulled the trigger. Joe also rides weekly at a local mountain bike park and is able to cruise past other riders on the uphill, and get way more rides in a day. He also wanted a bike that was light enough to go on group rides with non electric bikes and just ride it “Analog” with no power, which he’s done several times. It really does ride like an awesome trail bike without the motor on.
Design & Components
The reason the Turbo SL is so light is due to its full carbon frame. The bike comes in at 38 lbs, which is over 12 lbs lighter compared to the full power Turbo lineup. A comparable Stumpjumper carbon comes right in around 32lbs.
Some nice features of this frame are internal cables, with the battery integrated in the down tube which allows the Levo to be very nimble in the trails. It handled every drop, jump and stump easily with 150mm of travel with the Fox Rhythm 34 and a rear Fox float DPS with 150mm of Travel. If Fox suspension is new to you, it’s the best you can buy!
Having Sram hydraulic disc brakes makes this bike stop on a dime. All of the 12 Sram components made riding this bike super comfortable.
Controlling the bike: Button and Controls
Turning on the Levo SL is simple, you can turn on the motor using the button on the top tube by pressing it. The display lights indicate how much battery with 10 blue LED bars, while the riding mode is displayed using a ring of LEDs at the top. There’s 3 modes for the bike- Eco, Trail and Turbo. The + and — minus buttons on the shifter allow you to change from the different riding modes. There’s also a Turbo button that puts it directly into Turbo mode. On the bottom of the shifter is a walk mode button which gives the bike a small amount of assistance, which is useful when pushing the bike up a steep grade.
Battery
The Levo SL has a 320Wh (watt hour) battery that’s integrated in the downtube of the frame. You can also buy a Range Extender Battery for $450 which adds an extra 160 watt hours of battery, and it fits in the bottle cage. The charge port of the bike is located near the bottom of the seat tube and has a cover that closes securely to keep dirt out, which is the same port to plug in the Range Extender. The default setting of the bike is to drain the internal and Range Extender at the same time, but you can change the setting in the app to prioritize one battery over the other.
Power output
For the motor, the Turbo SL features a smaller and lighter motor, called the SL 1.1 which has 35 Nm (neuton meters) of torque and a maximum power output of 240 watts. It’s half the power than the larger motors found in the regular Levo models, but it also weighs a lot less. The Turbo SL is made to be more lightweight so it handles more like a regular trail bike. It does not have a throttle or the ability to power without pedaling. But the delivery of the power is smooth and comes on as soon as the pedals start turning. In Eco and Trail mode, the power cuts off as soon as you stop pedaling. On Turbo mode, the power extends for just a short second after you stop pedaling.
When pedaling over 20mph, it feels easy and very natural, and you can barely notice when the pedal assist turns off when going fast.
Uphill and Climbing Performance
For climbing hills, the Turbo SL isn’t as powerful as Specialized Turbo bikes. This bike is made for riders who still want to pedal uphill while having a little help to go faster and further. Unlike other ebikes that are twice as powerful, climbing hills with the Levo SL still requires effort, but that’s the whole point of the SL models — to provide a little boost in power and speed while still giving you a workout.
The geometry of the bike feels great on hill climbs. It’s very similar to the Stumpjumper, with 455mm reach and a 74.5 degree seat tube angle. With the shorter chainstays and wheelbase, along with a 66 degree head tube angle it makes the bike easy to maneuver and control.
The rear features an FSR rear suspension platform which is supportive, but you can also use the climb switch for longer climbs. The bike features a SRAM NX Eagle drivetrain, which has plenty of range if you run out of battery and need to pedal back to the trailhead.
For tires, it comes with 29x2.3 inch Specialized Butcher and Eliminator tires which have aggressive tread and give plenty of traction on all surfaces. We loved how well they road a mountain trail
Specialized Turbo Levo SL — Range Test
The range for the bike is difficult to quantify because it will vary significantly based on rider weight, fitness level and terrain. Joe has done a 30+ mile ride before the battery was empty. But he has also drained the battery quicker when ascending over 3,000 feet on one ride. His overall feedback on the range is that the battery will usually outlast him. However, he does intend on getting the range extender before going on a super epic electric assisted ride.
Downhill performance
For downhill performance, we were impressed with the performance that feels on par with a regular trail bike due to the lower weight and carbon frame. It weighs almost 10 lbs less than most other electric mountain bikes, making it a lot more nimble and responsive. The weight of the motor and battery is super low by the bottom bracket, so it feels stable and hugs the ground at speed, while still giving you confidence when the trails get rougher or steep.
The Levo SL features chainstays at 437mm, and the shorter stays help to give a more playful and more maneuverability in technical sections of the descents. The wheelbase comes in at 1218mm long enough to be stable even at high speeds.
Specialized Mission Control App
The Turbo SL also has a free app, which isn’t necessary to use but does offer added functionality. The app can be used to fine tune pedal assist percentage, peak power levels and acceleration response. There’s a feature called Smart Control that allows you to enter your route and it will adjust the pedal assist for the terrain. The app even has a function called Heart Rate Control, and when paired with a heart rate sensor it will adjust the pedal assist in order to keep you at a specific heart rate threshold. Another nice feature in the app is Stealth mode, which will turn off all the LEDs even when the bike is on.
Conclusion — Value and Overall Thoughts
Overall, Joe is very happy with the performance, handling, and overall ride performance. He is planning on upgrading a few components in the hopes to drop some additional weight and gain more agility. On his shortlist are Carbon wheelset and handle bar and setting up tubeless tires. He will probably upgrade the front fork since he feels there is more potential performance to be added when the riding gets more aggressive.
The only con so far, is that while the look of the Cast Berry paint is really awesome, the matte finish seems difficult to keep clean after muddy rides.
