Pete checks in with his opening thoughts on a bike that comes with 1Nm less than a Hyundai i10, the Specialized Turbo Levo Pro Carbon.
What happens when you put the power of a small city car into a carbon fibre ebike? Well, Pete has been finding out with the Specialized Turbo Levo Pro Carbon.
Photos by Pete Scullion.
Key features:
- Fox 38 Factory GripX2 160mm fork
- Fox Float X Factory w/ Genie
- SRAM XO AXS T-type 12-speed drive
- Specialized 3.1 motor
- Specialized 840Wh battery
- SRAM Maven Silver brakes
- Roval Traverse HD carbon wheels
- Bikeyoke Revive Max 3.0 dropper
- £10,299.00 RRP
- Specialized.com
Geometry
The Specialized Turbo Levo is available in S2, S3, S4 and S5 sizes.
Reach on the S3 455mm with a seat tube of 405mm. Head angle is 64.5 degrees with a seat tube angle of 77 degrees. Chainstays are 435mm across the sizes with the wheelbase on the S3 of 1223mm.
Launched back in April, the updated Levo came out swinging against the latest raft of ebikes and their motors. The S-Works sported the most powerful motor on the market, this lowly Pro model a mere 101Nm and a metalhead-friendly 666Wh peak power. There’s plenty more than jut brute force on offer as the SuperNatural power delivery aims to make the most of this extra grunt.
The motor has had an overhaul as well as running on direct current, all in the name of better access to that power as well as better heat management. The aim is also to be more reliable and durable, whilst being quieter too. The holy grail you might even say?
The Pro model comes with a FACT 11mm carbon fibre frame, housing the 101Nm 3.1 motor and an 840Wh battery. A brand new Mastermind TCU is shorter and wider than the previous models as well. Fox Factory is the damper order of the day, with the rear shock having Specialized’s Genie tech housed within the custom Float X body.
A wired version SRAM XO AXS T-type handles the shifting under all that power. Wheels are Roval Traverse HD carbon offerings, 29″ at the front, 27.5″ at the rear, shod with the new T9 compound Gravity casing Butchers. A mix of RaceFace, Deity, Industry 9 and Bikeyoke kit finishes this bike off.
Opening moves
Having used the Levo Pro to buzz about the woods clearing the local trails of vegetation, I hadn’t done the usual setup, but on the climbs all the power is a bit of a novelty. I climbed a long drag of a fire road just at the cut off for the motor. I was quite happy to use the juice on tap to make that particular job that much easier.
The bike’s first proper outing was a late decision to gallop up Ben Lomond for sunset. Barely above sea level to 927m with two hours before darkness. I told myself that I would go as far as was sensible, on the off chance that I was going to run out of daylight. I needn’t have worried.
I set off from the van at 20:09 with 74% battery available. I arrived at the summit an hour an twenty minutes later with 34% remaining. Ridiculous. On the way up, judicious use of the available power was required but I would often bump down to ‘Trail’ mode as ‘Turbo’ actually made going forwards quite chaotic. Keeping enough weight over the front wheel to keep it from rising was quite a task in the more technical sections. Yes, I will adjust the feel and output using the app. This wasn’t an issue in ‘Trail’.
The second I set off from the summit, an ochre sun at my back, I rued not swapping out the bars for something a little twangier. 35mm carbon RaceFace bars have no give whatsoever and the Era bars fitted are no different. Beyond that, the bike was a dream. The forks sung the same tune as the shock, the Mavens were potent and without fade for the duration, and the tyres kept their wind on a descent notorious for flats, even under a bike approaching 24kg.
A swap to a set of PNW Loam Carbon bars solved the sore hands in a single stroke. To test this, I did exactly the same ride again. I still needed to stop every now and again, but that was more out of choice than outright necessity.
My thoughts that perhaps the Roval rims are a little on the stiff side for someone of my stature melted away with the addition of new bars. They shrugged off the rocks superbly but do give off a much louder report when you do contact the rim than other wheels do.
As I ticked off more of the descent back to the van, the Levo felt ever more familiar and I was able to let the bike run a the confidence rose. There was no surprises, just a steady, quiet confidence that urged me to go faster as the sun dipped below the mountains out west. I look forward to really getting the measure of the Levo as its first outing was one for the books.
