Levo SL Gen 1 Real world feedback on range and power assistance levels for Levo SL

[Dave_B]

I ride a Heckler, as do all my riding buddies.
My son rides with us but he does not yet have an ebike, he is kind of against them, but we proved to him in Wales just how much fun they are and how you need to be on one to keep up with other emtb riders.

He rented a Levo at C-y-B, so that is his only reference point. He did like it.

I’m trying to temp him into a Levo SL. He is super fit, loves riding, is a confident rider and loves to jump where he can and he has no worries getting down any trail. (Lol, he rides better than me and my mates!!)

he weighs 65kg.

In the real world, is a Levo SL going to allow him to keep up and cover the distance? We average 3000ft and 20 miles on our longer rides (think Wales, Afan, Surrey Hills, Coed y Brenin etc)

cheers.

 

[KeithR]

Range won't be an issue, but realistically nobody here is going to be able to tell you whether an SL is going to work out for your lad.

I'm sure they'll do it anyway, of course: always easy to spend someone else's money for them...

 

[Dave_B]

Maybe I should simplify my question to

What range are you getting from the SL?
Does it keep up with full fats?

 

[levity]

@db3266 - my thoughts after two years on Levos and a year on an SL (at 72kg I'm about your son's weight):

Range - For most riding the main battery of the SL gives about the same range as a Levo with a 500Wh battery. With the Range Extender the SL has about the same range as the Levo with a 700Wh battery. At 65kg you son should easily be able to ride 30+ miles with 3000+ ft climbing on an SL at mid-power settings using just the main battery. Even in max power Turbo mode the SL should handle 20miles with 3k climbing.

Will it keep up - The Levo is faster as the grade increases, accelerates quicker out of corners, and has more low cadence torque for short punches. When trail conditions dictate speed the SL is similar or usually faster. The Levo is more like a motorcycle, the SL more like a bicycle. On the SL you need to anticipate climbs, shift down, spin more. and focus on technique rather than brute power.

After two month with a 2019 Levo and a 2020 SL I sold the Levo. Coming from motorcycles I loved the power of the Levo, but I prefer the ride experience of the SL (According the BLevo my Levo could return up to ~780W and my SL up to ~290W, and I find the latter boost to be plenty.) My feeling is that riders under about 80kg don't "need" the extra power larger motors offer unless they are doing a lot of climbing on non-technical roads/trails. On longer technical rides the SL will actually be less tiring. It's up to your son whether he prefers all-out power or bicycle-like handling.

 

[MSH]

I'm 88kg naked, all geared up should be closed to 95kg.

First ride I did 74km with 1500m and came back with 2 bars (less than 20%)

 

[Mcharza]

One more thing. SL's motor seems durable

 

[MSH]

I'm 88kg naked, all geared up should be closed to 95kg.

First ride I did 74km with 1500m and came back with 2 bars (less than 20%)

Goddamn.. This was for the levo sl.. I have the normal LEVO, sorry bro.

 

[MSH]

Hey man. I know this is weird but @Zimmerframe asked me to ask you for some pictures of you at 88kg.... send directly to his inbox of course.

I'm gonna start my own Only Fan