Turbo Levo: Base, Comp or Comp Carbon? Which one to buy between these 3?

Cyclone

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May 10, 2018
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Hi all,

I'm about to take the plunge and buy my first e-bike. I have decided on the Specialized Turbo Levo, however I am torn between the following 3 options.

Base
Comp
Comp Carbon

Of course some will say buy the comp carbon if you can afford it, but i think that's a little to simplistic.

For example, I could buy the base model and upgrade parts separately. I could save the £1500 and put that toward a few holidays and long biking weekends away etc.

I'm leaning toward toward the comp carbon personally, however it leaves me zero budget for anything else.

Do you think the comp carbon is worth the extra £1500 over the base model? Is the comp worth the extra £750 over the base model, is the comp carbon worth £750 over the comp?

Does the carbon frame make much of a difference in handling, performance etc and is it really worth the extra cost over the comp?

Anyone with direct experience over the 3 models would be great to know, I genuinely can't go any higher than £5000 so the comp carbon is the limit for me as the experts are way above my top limit price range.

My issue here is that's I don't want to spend 5k on the comp carbon if the comp or base model would be almost identical with a saving of £1500 that I could put toward added features, options, upgrades or even a holiday.

If anyone with direct experience cares to help me out with some information on the differences in feel, look and overall performance etc. I would be very grateful.

Thanks in advance :)
 
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ccrdave

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I would (did) buy the comp, main problem for me on the base model is the smaller battery.
Carbon frame! Well i have never been a fan of carbon anyway but on an ebike i really dont see the point and bearing in mind on the levo they use the frame as a heat sync i dont reckon carbon will be very good at that.
But its just my opinion
 

Rob Rides EMTB

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Hey @Cyclone

I would also buy the Comp.

I own the 2018 Comp Carbon and 2018 Expert. Best value for money is the Comp. Not worth the carbon, unless for bling factor. Weight saving at this class of weight is worthless!
 

Cyclone

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Thanks for the reply,

So you think the comp £4250 is the overall best option for price/performance etc. Is there any other difference between the comp carbon and comp other than the frame?

Here's a few questions if you ever feel like a night on mastermind :)
Are all the other parts identical on the comp vs the comp carbon except the top frame.
Is it strictly £750 just for part of the frame to be carbon?
How do you like find your comp overall?
Is it easy to maintain?
Have you a 2017/2018 model?
Have you removed the 15mph limiter and was it easy?
Have you done tubeless conversion and was it worth it?
At 100% how long roughly do you get from your battery under constant load?
Do you think your bike is good value at its current £4250 price tag?

Don't feel like you need to answer any of them, just getting all this questioning out of my head and onto the page for future reference for my self to justify which one I go for :)

Hey Rob, thanks for that post, very informative.
So that's 2 votes for comp and a link to some discounts! Nice!

Any other feedback you have is very helpful, anytnhng you wish you knew going in, things you hadn't prepared for or looking no back decisions you could have made etc..
 

Rob Rides EMTB

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Are all the other parts identical on the comp vs the comp carbon except the top frame.
Yes

Is it strictly £750 just for part of the frame to be carbon?
Yes

How do you like find your comp overall?
I have the Comp Carbon & Expert, but they are brilliant bikes

Is it easy to maintain?
Yes

Have you a 2017/2018 model?
2018

Have you removed the 15mph limiter and was it easy?


Have you done tubeless conversion and was it worth it?
Yes, Yes

At 100% how long roughly do you get from your battery under constant load?
Not tested that exactly, but see here: Article - Range Check - How far can you go?

Do you think your bike is good value at its current £4250 price tag?
Not really. But if you can follow the link above where you might be able to get it at 15% off. That's a good deal.
 

Cyclone

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How to I get the 15% off it says returning customers etc? As a new customer getting 15% off a comp carbon is a garunteed sale first thing tomorrow morning if I can get that discount! :)
 

ccrdave

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I got 10% of mine at evans for being a BC member
Rob answered but just to add battery life depends a lot on
Rider weight
Tyres
Terrain
Temperature
Is it worth the money... Damm YES!!
Is it good value.... Damm NO! but who cares
Spesh bikes are really good but you need to understand how to tune the motor to get the best from them and I dont mean derestricting
They have in my opinion an achilles heel, all the electrical connections are down low on the bike and routine maintenece needs to bear that in mind.
Personally I wouldnt buy a 2017 bike however much discount you are offered
 

Cyclone

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If they can offer 15% off a 2018 comp carbon I will genuinely throw my money at their face so hard and so fast they will won't know what hit em!

Evans will give me £350 scrappage discount which is not too bad as that gives me local support etc too. But 15% is a no brainier, that's a done deal if they offer it.

I notice Rob never answered the deresrticting question, I'm not going to be road riding, the bike will be exclusively for trails. But even now I ride way over 15 on occasion on the flats and with the weight of this bike I'd like (when on private tracks off road etc) to not have this ridiculous restriction (which I understand is for road legal / safety reasons)

Does the Blevo app derestrict 2018 models on iOS, and what other tuning tips can you suggest for getting the best out of the motor?
 

Rob Rides EMTB

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If they can offer 15% off a 2018 comp carbon I will genuinely throw my money at their face so hard and so fast they will won't know what hit em!
:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

But even now I ride way over 15 on occasion on the flats and with the weight of this bike I'd like (when on private tracks off road etc) to not have this ridiculous restriction (which I understand is for road legal / safety reasons)
Please refrain any talk of derestricting unless in the correct section (y) And take a look at the UK law UK Pedelec Law
 
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ccrdave

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@Cyclone if you start a thread in the derestricting section you will get some answers as you are new here you probably dont know but some of our members are sensative to talk of derestricting so we had a vote and it was decided we could discuss it but only in the derestricting forum
 

Cyclone

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Ok, sorry I didn't think / know it was not allowed, I'll check the other threads and discuss that there. I think it makes sense to allow users to talk about it for sure, they are going to do it anyway, it makes sense to keep them users here (rather than another site) and keeping the information curated to ensure that users are doing these things safely.

Rather that, that someone tried to do it with little to no knowledge and hurt themselves or the bike etc.

A dedicated thread makes sense, I'll keep all talk to "tuning" there :)

Thank for the clarification and sorry if I broke a rule, I accept my punishment of making the mrs a cup of tea :)
 

ccrdave

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I think it should also be clear that talk of tuning is not the same as derestricting, for the levo there are a few third party apps that allow you to tune the motor, this is not illegal and as long as you set it back to “factory” before any specialised repairs it will not affect your warrenty
 

Cyclone

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Yea I've been looking at apps like Blevo and Zworks etc. For me it's no different from overclocking MY PC or tuning my car to be more Efficient etc.

With that said, do you have a base line set of tried and tested tunes that you have tested that are better than the OOTB experience?

A thread on the best settings for certain scenarios would be very useful indeed. For example I'm a I.T Project Manager and one of the processs we recently added to our rollout policy, was to have a dedicated optimum image manager added. It's essentially a 3rd line guy who is in charge of optimising all images for specific purposes (as well as our generic images)

These optimised images have OS and Hardware based performance and stability tweaks based on which server each the image is to be used. Images that are Tailored to specific scenarios not just a generic so install image / build.

For the Levo it would be similar, perhaps a thread with the best Zworks settings based on a sample 12mile run with 8% hills and 60/40 incline / decent etc.

THis could be incredibly useful for those who wants good baseline for when they go to a similar site.

Let's say you run trials X weekly. And you have discovered that on this site, running settings XYZ give you the absolute best performance / battery life and assist vs the default. By having an curated online repository where you can post those settings, And share them with users around the world (who are dissatisfied with their current default tunes and looking for something better) they can come to a trusted source, take your baseline tune and tweak from there.

It's going to happen somehere, Reddit, another forum etc.. may as well be here :)

I'm almost certain that as I tweak and tune my bike, I will find the perfect tune for my local trials. I will absolutely share that with others so they can take it and adapt it to their needs. Not only those who use my local trials, but others around the world who run a similar trial.

It's a very useful resource to have and I hope there is a section with tried and tested tunes (plus results) here soon. I suspect that will attract a lot of traffic too, as it's information that others will absolutely want and will discuss.

Even with 350+ members and 57 users currently online, it's already a hot topic, the ratio of those wanting such info is already pretty high :)

Edit:
Auto correct is killing me!
 
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Tori

Active member
Apr 1, 2018
282
423
Australia
Yea I've been looking at apps like Blevo and Zworks etc. For me it's no different from overclocking MY PC or tuning my car to be more Efficient etc.

With that said, do you have a base line set of tried and tested tunes that you have tested that are better than the OOTB experience?

A thread on the best settings for certain scenarios would be very useful indeed. For example I'm a I.T Project Manager and one of the processs we recently added to our rollout policy, was to have a dedicated optimum image manager added. It's essentially a 3rd line guy who is in charge of optimising all images for specific purposes (as well as our generic images)

These optimised images have OS and Hardware based performance and stability tweaks based on which server each the image is to be used. Images that are Tailored to specific scenarios not just a generic so install image / build.

For the Levo it would be similar, perhaps a thread with the best Zworks settings based on a sample 12mile run with 8% hills and 60/40 incline / decent etc.

THis could be incredibly useful for those who wants good baseline for when they go to a similar site.

Let's say you run trials X weekly. And you have discovered that on this site, running settings XYZ give you the absolute best performance / battery life and assist vs the default. By having an curated online repository where you can post those settings, And share them with users around the world (who are dissatisfied with their current default tunes and looking for something better) they can come to a trusted source, take your baseline tune and tweak from there.

It's going to happen somehere, Reddit, another forum etc.. may as well be here :)

I'm almost certain that as I tweak and tune my bike, I will find the perfect tune for my local trials. I will absolutely share that with others so they can take it and adapt it to their needs. Not only those who use my local trials, but others around the world who run a similar trial.

It's a very useful resource to have and I hope there is a sections with tried and tested tunes with results etc soon. I suspect that will attract a lot lf traffic too as it's information that others will absolutely want and will discuss.

Even with 57 users here, it's already a hot topic, the ratio of those wanting such info is already pretty high :)

Hi Cyclone, I have a Levo Carbon Expert, and I absolutely love the bike. My partner was considering a Levo also, but didn't want to make the spend for the carbon models, and didn't want to have a smaller capacity battery . . . so she opted for the also excellent Merida E160-800.

On the issue of software - I am very happy with the current legal limits of my Levo, and don't want to increase the speed limit at all.

However, I find Mission Control quite limited . . . the other day I went for a ride and I was unable to even start a ride log . . . you need internet connectivity to run the app!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a joke - I ride in remote parts of Australia where there is no mobile reception, and no way to initiate the app. This to me is a huge oversight . . . hence my interest in a different application for control of my bike power modes.
 

Cyclone

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May 10, 2018
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Hi Cyclone, I have a Levo Carbon Expert, and I absolutely love the bike. My partner was considering a Levo also, but didn't want to make the spend for the carbon models, and didn't want to have a smaller capacity battery . . . so she opted for the also excellent Merida E160-800.

On the issue of software - I am very happy with the current legal limits of my Levo, and don't want to increase the speed limit at all.

However, I find Mission Control quite limited . . . the other day I went for a ride and I was unable to even start a ride log . . . you need internet connectivity to run the app!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a joke - I ride in remote parts of Australia where there is no mobile reception, and no way to initiate the app. This to me is a huge oversight . . . hence my interest in a different application for control of my bike power modes.


Wait... it needs online connectivity to run the app? The forests I ride in have little to no mobile signal at best with some network providers. Having to have a 3/4g data connection to access my local bike is beyond ridiculous, I'm baffled that by that decision making process?

I absolutely agree that an alternate app that only connects to the bike locally makes sense. Having to rely on an internet connection is a terrible design flaw, and that restriction should be removed. I was completely unaware of this so thank you,for bringing this to my attention. Ill very likely forgo the Mission control application entirely and use one of the others from the get go.

The Carbon Expert is beautiful, but also out of my price range. As a husband, father and another on the way, the boss has limited my spend to 5k and has politely requested I pay up front, no finance or credit card etc as she will be going onto maternity leave soon and wants a zero outgoings :)

My budget will allow for the Carbon Comp so the choice is now between the Comp and a the Comp Carbon. What do you think of the aesthetics of the carbon frame vs the alloy frame? Why specifically did you chose the carbon frame?

For ,e personally I think the carbon just looks better, but I'm not sure if it's £750 better looking :)
 
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Cyclone

New Member
May 10, 2018
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Hi Cyclone,

I am on the same page as you! which one is best.

I called the Freeborn shop today to discuss their discount. I am looking to do the ride to work scheme on an e-bike. They except Green Commute Initiative – greencommuteinitiative.uk which is unlimited. No more £1000 limit! If you are PAYE then depending on your income you could save up to 42%. This is 42% off the RRP before the 15%!

The carbon is £4999 RRP, 42% off £2899.42. With some nice talking they offered another 8% off. Now £2667.42 and on the RTW scheme you pay it off over 1 or 1.5 years! £148.19 per month.

Pedal Heaven have just sign up for the same RTW scheme, they matched their offer. My local Specialized dealer.

I decided on the carbon at £2667.42.

I hope this helps.


That's a crazy price, I need to look into this. My work do the C2W scheme which has a £1000 limit, so I may investigate this option as that is a crazy deal. Can you get 2 and sell me one for £3000 cash XD:p
 

Tori

Active member
Apr 1, 2018
282
423
Australia
Wait... it needs online connectivity to run the app? The forests I ride in have little to no mobile signal at best with some network providers. Having to have a 3/4g data connection to access my local bike is beyond ridiculous, I'm baffled that by that decision making process?

I absolutely agree that an alternate app that only connects to the bike locally makes sense. Having to rely on an internet connection is a terrible design flaw, and that restriction should be removed. I was completely unaware of this so thank you,for bringing this to my attention. Ill very likely forgo the Isis on control application entirely and use one of the others from the get go.

The Carbon Expert is beautiful, but also out of my price range. As a husband, father and another on the way, the boss has limited my spend to 5k and has politely requested I pay up front, no finance or credit card etc as she will be going onto maternity leave soon and wants a zero outgoings :)

My budget will allow for the Carbon Comp so the choice is now between the Comp and a the Comp Carbon. What do you think of the aesthetics of the carbon frame vs the alloy frame? Why specifically did you chose the carbon frame?

For ,e personally I think the carbon just looks better, but I'm not sure if it's £750 better looking :)

You can initiate the app login while in reception - so it can function when you're out in an area without signal . . . but the app is also prone to crashing and you'd then be screwed . . . It is a very big oversight, and sent a complaint in to Specialized.

I got a great deal locally on the Expert, it was a little more than I wanted to spend, but I also wanted carbon rims, the larger battery, the Ohlins suspension . . . and well . . . I really liked the rocket red colour scheme we have on the bike here in Australia. Also, having read a bit about the Levo's - the extra stiffness on the carbon frame was welcome.
 

SGH

New Member
May 8, 2018
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19
Tongham
That's a crazy price, I need to look into this. My work do the C2W scheme which has a £1000 limit, so I may investigate this option as that is a crazy deal. Can you get 2 and sell me one for £3000 cash XD:p


Speak to your employers, really easy to set up and at the end of the agreement you own the bike. All your employers have to do, is ask you to dispose of it (keep it)? and pay them a £1.

The scheme will change buying an E-bike.
 

RaniB.

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Mar 18, 2018
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Israel
Ok, sorry I didn't think / know it was not allowed, I'll check the other threads and discuss that there. I think it makes sense to allow users to talk about it for sure, they are going to do it anyway, it makes sense to keep them users here (rather than another site) and keeping the information curated to ensure that users are doing these things safely.

Rather that, that someone tried to do it with little to no knowledge and hurt themselves or the bike etc.

A dedicated thread makes sense, I'll keep all talk to "tuning" there :)

Thank for the clarification and sorry if I broke a rule, I accept my punishment of making the mrs a cup of tea :)
you're a funny dude!!! :)
 

Cyclone

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May 10, 2018
93
33
Location
Speak to your employers, really easy to set up and at the end of the agreement you own the bike. All your employers have to do, is ask you to dispose of it (keep it)? and pay them a £1.

The scheme will change buying an E-bike.

I'll check this out with Carol From HR in the morning.
That is some top tier information, sincerely appreciate your help. If I can get such discounts I'll paypal you a beer!

It's possible my work may join the scheme, if it's not to much faffing of course, as they are a real bunch of jabroni's in HR. Not even "the implication" could persuade those bozos into making decisions that would benefit the staff :p:eek:
 
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eSoCal

New Member
Apr 25, 2018
13
0
California
Hi all,

I'm about to take the plunge and buy my first e-bike. I have decided on the Specialized Turbo Levo, however I am torn between the following 3 options.

Base
Comp
Comp Carbon

Of course some will say buy the comp carbon if you can afford it, but i think that's a little to simplistic.

For example, I could buy the base model and upgrade parts separately. I could save the £1500 and put that toward a few holidays and long biking weekends away etc.

I'm leaning toward toward the comp carbon personally, however it leaves me zero budget for anything else.

Do you think the comp carbon is worth the extra £1500 over the base model? Is the comp worth the extra £750 over the base model, is the comp carbon worth £750 over the comp?

Does the carbon frame make much of a difference in handling, performance etc and is it really worth the extra cost over the comp?

Anyone with direct experience over the 3 models would be great to know, I genuinely can't go any higher than £5000 so the comp carbon is the limit for me as the experts are way above my top limit price range.

My issue here is that's I don't want to spend 5k on the comp carbon if the comp or base model would be almost identical with a saving of £1500 that I could put toward added features, options, upgrades or even a holiday.

If anyone with direct experience cares to help me out with some information on the differences in feel, look and overall performance etc. I would be very grateful.

Thanks in advance :)
Hi all,

I'm about to take the plunge and buy my first e-bike. I have decided on the Specialized Turbo Levo, however I am torn between the following 3 options.

Base
Comp
Comp Carbon

Of course some will say buy the comp carbon if you can afford it, but i think that's a little to simplistic.

For example, I could buy the base model and upgrade parts separately. I could save the £1500 and put that toward a few holidays and long biking weekends away etc.

I'm leaning toward toward the comp carbon personally, however it leaves me zero budget for anything else.

Do you think the comp carbon is worth the extra £1500 over the base model? Is the comp worth the extra £750 over the base model, is the comp carbon worth £750 over the comp?

Does the carbon frame make much of a difference in handling, performance etc and is it really worth the extra cost over the comp?

Anyone with direct experience over the 3 models would be great to know, I genuinely can't go any higher than £5000 so the comp carbon is the limit for me as the experts are way above my top limit price range.

My issue here is that's I don't want to spend 5k on the comp carbon if the comp or base model would be almost identical with a saving of £1500 that I could put toward added features, options, upgrades or even a holiday.

If anyone with direct experience cares to help me out with some information on the differences in feel, look and overall performance etc. I would be very grateful.

Thanks in advance :)
get a Kenevo... and a carbon frame ebike is like paying extra for Diet Coke with your mega burger?and fries ?
 

Mountie

Well-known member
Apr 29, 2018
421
254
Canada
Hi Rob,

I had the 17 Expert last year went to the 18 carbon expert in October just before the snow fell here in Canada.
The 18 feels slightly more twitchy and lighter than the 17 I much prefer the Fox rear shock on the 17 than the rock shock on the 18. It had a narrower band of adjustment but smoother in its action and held pressure better. The front Öhlins is far better than the 17 front fork end gives loads more feedback and damps everything out, gives more control in heavier hits. Brakes on the 17 felt stronger I know they are not meant to be but they felt it. Motors feel similar in power at the top end but the 18 feels punchier down low.
The biggest plus I feel the 18 carbon has is that it feels more together and much more composed if I get into a corner over my head. I’ve only had a handful of + temp rides so far and should have more info soon.
Hope that helps,
 

Cyclone

New Member
May 10, 2018
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get a Kenevo... and a carbon frame ebike is like paying extra for Diet Coke with your mega burger?and fries ?
I’ve had both aluminum and carbon expert levos and they feel totally different.

Interesting perspectives, it seems polarising. Some say not worth it, others say it's a completely different experience. I'm swaying toward to the comp carbon, however if this bike scheme comes though, I'll grab the expert carbon instead.

Great feedback in here though, and what's very interesting is that almost unanimously everyone agrees that no matter the price/discount don't buy the 17!

That's an interesting point of view. Because I could get an Expert Alloy 17 for the same price as the Comp Carbon. But the issues with the motor, heating, failures, no remote power delivery etc seem to really put people off.

I thought an expert 17 vs comp carbon 18 would be close, but it seems almost everyone would choose the 18 model.

This is exactly what I need, real advice from real users with real experience. I'm hoping I can find out today about the scheme mentioned above, if so that bike shop will have expert comp sale by this afternoon as that will fall below 5k with all discounts.
Otherwise, it's push for as much discount as possible from the comp carbon.
I'd really like the expert but the Mrs has told me straight 5k is the limit.

I watched Tori's videos last night and the bike looks fun, what was great to see was how tired she was, puffing and panting and also unable to get up some hills her friends on analog bikes managed to get up. Proof that the e-bike isn't a motorbike and does still require some serious user input on trails. Great watch and lovely bike (she has the Carbon Expert Carbon Red Carbon Carbon) version :D

Rgarding the Kenevo, everything I have seen in the Kenevo deem it to be slightly worse than the Levo for my needs. It doesn't seem to be as universally liked as the Levo. On YouTube there are Levo vs kenevo reviews and they seem to favour the Levo in many scenarios. So I think I'll stick with the Levo.

Diet Coke with a Big Mac and fries can actually be beneficial as you are saving on Sugar intake, which in a large coke is around 5 table spoons of sugar! That's a huge reduction in sugar intake with that 1 mean alone, but I get your point :p:D

The 20 rigidity and 650g lighter weight plus better looking could make difference in some instances, but I totally get your point :)
 

knut7

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Apr 10, 2018
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There are several reasons to use carbon. Some brands use it to get lower frame weight. If they manage to get it 1kg lighter than the alu frame, then you get a bike that isn't that much lighter, but it has a lower center of gravity and could feel more nimble. Throwing the bike from one side to the other, in successive turns, can be easier when weight is reduced high up on a bike.

Other manufacturers, like BMC, use carbon to create a frame that they couldn't have made with aluminium. The Trailfox Amp has a carbon main triangle, to get the frame shape they want, and an aluminium rear triangle.

And I guess some manufaturers makes a carbon ebike because it's cool, and they can charge a lot for it.
 

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