Would you buy another Levo?

Andy A

Well-known member
Patreon
Jan 13, 2019
493
283
North Yorkshire
Hi guys my wife Linda just adores the Levo and we are planning to go and see one on Saturday it's an Expert model so she wants to know is it reliable, as her Haibike over three years has been totally bombproof and never gone wrong, so is the Levo reliable or is it like a bit tetchy like a thoroughbred horse :) She is looking forward to seeing one.

Thanks
 
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MattyB

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Jul 11, 2018
1,266
1,279
Herts, UK
Back to full circle hey? Can’t say I am surprised; you (well, more your wife I suppose) seem to be looking for the unicorn of bikes - slim integration, great looks, all the kit, a 700 Wh battery, LBS support and cheap... ;)

It’s pretty clear from the posts here and elsewhere online that the 2019 Levo is far from being the most reliable of currently available bikes. It may well have slick integration and a great motor, but it also has some fundamental design flaws - that massive hole behind the motor that collects cr@p, the low battery connector and the poor routing of the power cable that has led to many getting pulsing and needing cable replacements. Some also had noisy motors that needed replacing, though I gather new bikes moving forward should be unaffected.

YMMV, but personally there is no way I would buy one at this point - for that kind of price premium they are asking I would expect this to be a perfect product not beta one, especially given the low component specs and having been trumpeted everywhere as “the most highly developed ebike ever”. Pretty it may be, but there are just too many alternatives with decent geo, great specs and (most importantly) none of these issues at far lower prices.
 

Andy A

Well-known member
Patreon
Jan 13, 2019
493
283
North Yorkshire
Back to full circle hey? Can’t say I am surprised; you (well, more your wife I suppose) seem to be looking for the unicorn of bikes - slim integration, great looks, all the kit, a 700 Wh battery, LBS support and cheap... ;)

It’s pretty clear from the posts here and elsewhere online that the 2019 Levo is far from being the most reliable of currently available bikes. It may well have slick integration and a great motor, but it also has some fundamental design flaws - that massive hole behind the motor that collects cr@p, the low battery connector and the poor routing of the power cable that has led to many getting pulsing and needing cable replacements. Some also had noisy motors that needed replacing, though I gather new bikes moving forward should be unaffected.

YMMV, but personally there is no way I would buy one at this point - for that kind of price premium they are asking I would expect this to be a perfect product not beta one, especially given the low component specs and having been trumpeted everywhere as “the most highly developed ebike ever”. Pretty it may be, but there are just too many alternatives with decent geo, great specs and (most importantly) none of these issues at far lower prices.

Great points as always :) it is Linda who loves the bike for the reasons you stated, I pick up my first ebike hopefully this weekend and it is a Giant Trance E + 2 which is costing me £3500 brand new and for my first bike I think it's a great start and I just read Linda your post and she is now realising that the bike looks great but is flawed, she also really likes her Bosch motor and she like that Kiox display.

Maybe I should find the choices that meet her criteria that have the Bosch motor!
 

davarello

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2018
305
360
New Zealand
I've got a Levo Comp and it is certainly the best riding bike I've had in nearly 30 years of mtb - the fit, geo and handling are great and the motor is smooth and unobtrusive. It has had some issues with a noisy motor and a charger that stopped working, but both of these were resolved by my LBS immediately. I also made a cover for the gap over the motor which took five minutes and works fine - it's not ideal, but if it actually became in issue down the track the LBS would help out. See how you go with a test ride.
 

Andy A

Well-known member
Patreon
Jan 13, 2019
493
283
North Yorkshire
I have an sworks Levo absolutely love it. 900km and not one problem.The things I like about it best is the 700wh battery 84 km 1244m climb and 15% left [Timber Trail NZ).The motor is nice and quiet and the handing is spot on would buy again.

WOW that's over 4000feet of climbing and 52 miles! That battery is one of the main reasons she wants one although she thinks the styling is great as well, shame the spec on the Expert isn't as good as some cheaper bikes and I am not sure about those Specialized tyres which means they would need changing at an extra cost!

Did you have the assistance turned off :)
 
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R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,185
Surrey
My view on the Levo, as a non owner but having friends with them and the feedback on here, is that its pretty important you buy one from a dealer who knows the bikes and what they are doing. A lot of members on here, despite living no where near them, use Berkshire Cycles for example, because they know all the issues, and put the bikes together to mitigate them.

I suspect that on bikes bought at this point the noisy motor issue has been resolved. There are now solutions for the gap that lets crap into the motor housing, which a good dealer should install at point of purchase, and the more recent issue of tight cable routing causing problems with the TCU is something I would have thought a good dealer would check as part of a PDI.
 
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Stephen

Member
Jan 10, 2019
34
52
Mallorca , Spain
I also have the s-works Levo ( xl )and I am very happy with the handling / geometry of the bike . I am 1.96 meter tall and 80 kg and it is just like riding my Stumpjumper , plus assistance from the motor :) With the 700wH battery , I don't have to worry about running out of juice during rides . My only two concerns are , firstly the never ending saga of when Specialized is going to give us real information and a solution regarding the fix for the crud entering into the motor area , the second concerning the battery / motor cable which , in my bike does not like getting in contact with any water .When wet , the bike will just not turn on .
 

Stephen

Member
Jan 10, 2019
34
52
Mallorca , Spain
My view on the Levo, as a non owner but having friends with them and the feedback on here, is that its pretty important you buy one from a dealer who knows the bikes and what they are doing. A lot of members on here, despite living no where near them, use Berkshire Cycles for example, because they know all the issues, and put the bikes together to mitigate them.

I suspect that on bike bought at this point the noisy motor issue has been resolved. There are now solutions for the gap that lets crap into the motor housing, which a good dealer should install at point of purchase, and the more recent issue of tight cable routing causing problems with the TCU is something I would have thought a good dealer would check as part of a PDI.
Hallo R120 ,
I agree absolutely with your comment that , with a good dealer these known problems can be and should be sorted out without any discusiones . In the cases where the dealers have no interest or are just too lazy to get things sorted out , the owners are going to get frustrated .
 

Scoobaru

Active member
Sep 6, 2018
82
61
Scotland
To answer the title question - its too early to say...
I wouldn't say yes until after I have had the bike for a least a year and had no problems.

As for reliability, I am not aware of anyone having an issue that stopped the 2019 bike working on the trail. Having to deal with noisy motors and holes is a hassle for sure but later bikes have solved both problems.
 

Andy A

Well-known member
Patreon
Jan 13, 2019
493
283
North Yorkshire
WOW that's over 4000feet of climbing and 52 miles! That battery is one of the main reasons she wants one although she thinks the styling is great as well, shame the spec on the Expert isn't as good as some cheaper bikes and I am not sure about those Specialized tyres which means they would need changing at an extra cost!

Did you have the assistance turned off :)
No not at all I was in trail mode all the way (35 100 )which is the Specialized trail setting.
My bike shop changed the tyres saddle and set it up tubeless for free.
1548314572700.jpeg
 

albort1

Member
Jan 19, 2019
24
19
Sydney NSW
I owned a 2018 Specialized Turbo Levo FSR Fattie for 14 months, bought brand new. Would I buy another Levo? Simple answer-no. Why?
1. Walk assist mode was problematic.Let me down 90% of the time.
2. Battery showed 93% health brand new. Bike shop and Specialized showed no interest and said it was normal. Funny after releasing the latest app 8 months later it magically went to 100%!
3. Power surges when pedalling although that improved with the latest firmware.
4 When the firmware was updated I lost the acceleration mode and wheel circumference settings. So I paid for a bike with these settings but Specialized decided to remove them.
So simply I would not trust any software on their new bikes, they can change it at their whim.
They are my reasons why I would not and did not buy another Levo.
 

Andy A

Well-known member
Patreon
Jan 13, 2019
493
283
North Yorkshire
I owned a 2018 Specialized Turbo Levo FSR Fattie for 14 months, bought brand new. Would I buy another Levo? Simple answer-no. Why?
1. Walk assist mode was problematic.Let me down 90% of the time.
2. Battery showed 93% health brand new. Bike shop and Specialized showed no interest and said it was normal. Funny after releasing the latest app 8 months later it magically went to 100%!
3. Power surges when pedalling although that improved with the latest firmware.
4 When the firmware was updated I lost the acceleration mode and wheel circumference settings. So I paid for a bike with these settings but Specialized decided to remove them.
So simply I would not trust any software on their new bikes, they can change it at their whim.
They are my reasons why I would not and did not buy another Levo.

Oh dear that's not good I was feeling really positive upto now :)
 

albort1

Member
Jan 19, 2019
24
19
Sydney NSW
Sorry Andy.I did not mean for it to sound negative.It was just my experience with that model bike.There are a lot of alternatives out there at the moment.I would suggest you take your time,ride a few demo bikes then make your decision from there.You should also factor in the pricing on these bikes-do you want to pay for better specs on other bikes for the same money.Im sure I would.If my 2018 Levo broke a motor or a battery and was fixed under warranty I probably would have bought another.But to have niggly problems and software changes during ownership was kind of a-"I had enough of this".
I considered a Giant Trance,Focus and the Norco Sight VLT.
I wound up with the Norco as I was given a 15% discount and had much better specs than the base 2019 Levo.Very happy with it, but time will tell.
Good luck in finding a bike:)
 

Andy A

Well-known member
Patreon
Jan 13, 2019
493
283
North Yorkshire
Sorry Andy.I did not mean for it to sound negative.It was just my experience with that model bike.There are a lot of alternatives out there at the moment.I would suggest you take your time,ride a few demo bikes then make your decision from there.You should also factor in the pricing on these bikes-do you want to pay for better specs on other bikes for the same money.Im sure I would.If my 2018 Levo broke a motor or a battery and was fixed under warranty I probably would have bought another.But to have niggly problems and software changes during ownership was kind of a-"I had enough of this".
I considered a Giant Trance,Focus and the Norco Sight VLT.
I wound up with the Norco as I was given a 15% discount and had much better specs than the base 2019 Levo.Very happy with it, but time will tell.
Good luck in finding a bike:)

Hi there don't worry you can only give an opinion on your experience :) I am coming round to thinking after reading the long Levo thread on here that the Levo as lovely as it is it is too expensive and the spec isn't great I was looking at the expert model but i know the tyres are crap and would need to be changed but when spending that much why doesn't it come with good tyres!

Also on that thread people were getting paint chips on the first ride and I know off road bikes get chipped but the Levo does seem a bit frail, for my first ebike I will look at something cheaper.

As for test riding different models it's nigh on impossible as nearly every bike shop in my area doesn't have anything!

I do fancy a Cube but the one I like isn't available until April but the spec is great on it.
 

Andy A

Well-known member
Patreon
Jan 13, 2019
493
283
North Yorkshire
None of what ive seen on here has put me off. Its like any product, consumers tend to create reviews based on things going wrong. How many have Specialized sold vs how many people reporting problems. I collect mine Sunday and cannot wait!!

I know and you are right :) which model are you getting :)
 

Mattwilko92

Well-known member
Aug 22, 2018
229
188
Staffordshire, UK
None of what ive seen on here has put me off. Its like any product, consumers tend to create reviews based on things going wrong. How many have Specialized sold vs how many people reporting problems. I collect mine Sunday and cannot wait!!

I know and you are right :) which model are you getting :)

Levo Comp Carbon, the comp would have done but i love the look of the Red and no welds on the frame :)
 

deanphoto

Active member
Dec 14, 2018
41
35
UK
Levo Comp Carbon, the comp would have done but i love the look of the Red and no welds on the frame :)

Be sure to have a look at one in the daylight - they're neon red, which looks pretty much orange. If I'd had the choice I would have chosen a different colour.
 

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