Specialized might have not been first to the electric mountain bike party but boy, was it's fashionably late appearance worth the wait! The first Levo Electric Specialized Mountain Bike was introduced in 2016 and set the bar high for all e-mtb makers. 2024 marks a step forward for the Levo and Levo SL models so we will take a look at the 2024 Specialized Levo range. In this article, we will give a brief overview and then take both the Levo and Levo SL electric bike in turn talking about the e-bike specifics such as motor and battery and then talk about mountain bike specifics such as travel and specs. Check out the Specilalized shop section of our Bruntsfield Store.
Specialized electric bikes are full suspension electric Specialized mountain bikes available in aluminium or carbon versions that use the Brose motor and battery system in their Turbo levo and Turbo levo SL models. All of the Turbo Levo models use a powerful motor capable of up to 90Nm of torque to ride more trails while the Turbo Levo SL models use a motor that is capable of a maximum of 50Nm torque and a smaller battery in order to keep the weight down - the Levo SL (super-light) version weighs in the region of 16kg.
The Specialized Turbo Levo is the 'full power' electric bike that offers the maximum power up hills and a large battery for extended range. Next, we will have a look at motor, battery, travel, adjustability and connectivity.
The Levo uses a Brose motor that is capable of a massive 90Nm of usable power for getting you up the steepest hills and Specialized list this as having a '4 x you' feel meaning whatever you put in power-wise, the Levo will give you a boost of four times this.
The Levo comes in various different models but they all come with a whopping 700Wh battery that will give you a significant number of loops of your favourite trails or a good long istance on cross country mountain biking.
The Levo mountain bikes comes with 150mm of rear shock travel while the suspension forks are size specific - the S1 size comes with 150mm of front travel while all other sizes (S2 to S6) come with 160mm of front suspension. This travel is perfect for a wide range of mountain biking from trail centre mountain biking to cross country riding.
Levo offers six distinct geometry settings, allowing you to easily dial-in its performance for any riding style and any terrain. Head tube angle can be adjusted between 63- and 65.5-degrees. Bottom bracket height can be fine-tuned up or down by 7mm to be able to tune the bike to your individual preferences and riding style.
All Levo models can be connected to the Specialized app so you can tune the motor and battery settings to your ideal set up. You can adjust everything from motor input power to keeping some battery in reserve to get you home after a ride.
The Levo SL is the super light version of the Levo that gives improved handling on the downhills but not offering quite as much oompf on the uphill sections and a smaller battery to keep the weight as low as possible. Again, we will have a look at motor, battery, travel, adjustability and connectivity
To keep the weight down, the motor on the Levo SL is a 50Nm maximum torque motor which still offers an excellent boost on the uphills but improves handling on the downhills due to the lower weight.
Everything about the SL is about keeping the weight down so, here, SPecialized fit the Levo SL models with the 320Wh battery which significantly reduces weight while still offering decent range. All of the SL models have the ability to accept the Specialized range extender that increases range by 50%.
Same as the Levo above.
Hopefully this quick guide has given you a glimpse into the world of Specialized electric bikes. As always please get in touch with us if there are further questions.
