Specialized Turbo Levo or Canyon Spectral:ON ?

[rzr]

Hello !
I'm thinking about emtb, style of riding - enduro - I climb only to do descents. Currently for that I use Transition Sentinel'18 (HTA=64, reach=475, 150/160mm, 29")
So my main expectations are, reach=460-470 (Am i right thinking that a bit shorter reach will make bike more maneuverable, and stability comes from weight anyway?), short chainstay for playfulness, slack HTA - like in my current bike.

I was thinking about new Canyon Spectral:On - big battery 700 or 900Wh (good for half/full day riding), good price, geo not so aggressive - long, but not so slack, HTA=65.5*, but by putting 160mm fork I could get 65*.
But know i'm a bit concerned after reading posts of broken Canyons (and no recognition of the warranty). At the end, maybe the bike was not designed for such riding? but then, Fabien Barrel is using them for racing... (I don't think about Torquen, too much travel, it'll make everything too smooth? and only 500Wh)

Other option: Specialized Turbo Levo (2022). More expensive, but geometry looks soo aggro, like mine Sentinel. re=477, HA=63.5-65*, CS=440mm - finally ebike with PROPER geo ! 700Wh batt, And i didn't see too many posts with snapped frames or problems with that,
but then....what about the motor? are these issues solved? I read a lot of problems on this forum, and also 2 of my friends had Levos and had 3 or 4 motors ....

any thoughts ? most of other bikes have long chainstay 455-460mm, HA=65 or small battery (like Overvolt GLP ).
I didn't think about tanks - heavy and with a lot of travel, like Commencal Meta AM Power, I'm worried that it'll make everything too easy and not exciting :/
BTW, I have Canyon Sender for bikeparks.

 

[maynard]

Just test ride a few different bike . Hire overnight better . Take it where you normally ride . Then you will know . Everything else is irrelevant. All eebs are awesome . And they brake too . Who cares . Fix it . Get riding again .

 

[rzr]

well...easy to say, i don't have possiblitiles to test them or rent

 

[B1rdie]

People who are in doubt should always buy specialized…

 

[rzr]

My friend has Trek Rail (however he lives in other country, i can't test it). I started considering this bike as well.
Bosch, 630Wh, looks pretty aggressive? CS=447 (A bit longer than i wanted), HA=64.5-64.9

 

[Winger]

People who are in doubt should always buy specialized…

Never a truer word, my wife and I are bikers as in motorcycles, Covid changed the game in 2018 so we changed our normal mountain bikes to electric, what a nightmare deciding on which bike, my wife went Whyte and I went Specialized, she then changed that to a Cube, she collects her new Turbo Levo next week.

 

[NMK]

I have the Turbo Levo Expert absolutely love it. They say the v2.2 motor resolved all the earlier version's problems. So far, smooth sailing.

Aside from cleaning and doing the small things, local service is really important and I'm lucky I have a LBS that sells only Specialized bikes less than 2km away.

My system weight is about 97kg, backpack and all, and since I'm not an aggressive rider, I will never come close to the limits of the frame. But if you're heavy and go hard on big jumps... I think potentially any frame can have issues.

The Levo's geometry can be adjusted both front and back. I left it the way it came out of the box and from the reviews and comments from others, it seems this is probably the best all-round set up. I especially like the mullet set up but you should test ride if you can.

As for power... plenty to let me climb crazy hills which I did not think were possible. That said, I think I have only used the Turbo mode for maybe 1% of all my rides. I prefer Off, Eco & Trail where I put in some work, but Trail can get up to 100% output. This makes me think about a Levo SL trade in next year... but that loud motor is not my favorite because I prefer to ride in higher cadence. I use my Wahoo Roam and ride to power and cadence.

I did do a few upgrades... new grips, Magura MT7 brakes and TRP rotors. But the most important upgrades were the SQLab 16 degree back sweep bars and the SRAM GX AXS.

 

[Canmore TLCC 29]

Never a truer word, my wife and I are bikers as in motorcycles, Covid changed the game in 2018 so we changed our normal mountain bikes to electric, what a nightmare deciding on which bike, my wife went Whyte and I went Specialized, she then changed that to a Cube, she collects her new Turbo Levo next week.

Luckily, I bought a 2020 Turbo Levo new, and my wife ordered a 2022 Turbo Levo. She loves it, and we are both satisfied with these bikes. Her bike has better components as it is the Comp Alloy, mine is a Comp Carbon which has a lighter frame but is two years older. My Levo has never disappointed. My wife's had an issue last week that I thought was a missing pin on the motor wiring harness. Turns out the bottom pin on the connector was meant to be vacant. The issue was the software was not updated in time. Our LBS is fantastic and took care of it and makes sure her bike is in top conditions. Shout out the The Bike Shop South on MacLeod Trail, Calgary, AB Canada. Keep your bike up to date is my only advice with Specialized Turbos.

 

[TKB]

I was facing the same choice this spring. Ended up choosing the SpectralON CF7, here's why:
- no lbs that can let you try one
+ all parts can be serviced by any shimano lbs
+ range anxiety is gone!
+ live in a very mountainous region where a big battery is needed
+ A lot of bang for the buck.
+ Light carbon frame with decent shimano spec
+ 155mm rear suspension and frame works well with 160 or even 170mm forks (if you want to upgrade)
- The display only shows battery level in 5 increments, but then again with 900Wh one doesn't worry about range

However, I'm sure you'd be happy with both!

 

[bazxa]

Who has the better customer support? Thats the one

 

[emtber]

My 2022 Levo Expert is almost 1 yr old and has 1900 trouble free miles. No motor issues except that the charge port door broke off when I went over a 10" log and smacked the bottom. Waiting for the new style door, replaced under warranty. Great bike! Tried the 65.5 headset cup to make it turn quicker but that was too quick. Went back to stock 64.5 and now I like it there. My arms and shoulders were just too tight riding a new bike, lol. As I relaxed, I found it was me. 64.5 is just fine. Tried the low setting at the rear cuz reviewers seemed to prefer it, but I got more pedal strikes so I raised it back up. The stock settings really are a good performance balance for most rides. The only adjustment I kept was putting all the shims under the bars to max out the bar height. It's easier on my neck and back and feels a little safer going downhill. I just have to lean over a bit more on steep climbs. My wrists were aching after 2 hrs, but changing to a OneUp carbon ebike bar and relaxing my arms helped a lot. Need adequate pressure on the front wheel to keep it tracking tho. Also, the Sram RS brakes stop well but squeal a lot when wet or cold -low 50s, and the lever reach is too far for my smallish hands. Just got some RSC levers and ceramic pads but haven't installed then yet. The stock tires were very good, especially the Butcher. Very damp ride, great grip and road feel. Just replaced with an Assegai-2.5 Maxxgrip, which has marginally better grip, but less road feel and much more rolling resistance. More psi-26, helped to roll easier but lost traction and too much vibration came thru. Lowering to 24 and opening compression has smoothed out the ride without losing control. If I buy this tire again, it will be a Maxxterra. Might just go back to the Butcher tho, really good. The good thing about the Assegai issue is that it made me play with the suspension. Reviewers said the recommended Fox settings might be stiff for lighter riders. I weigh 162 lbs, almost 170 kitted up, and stayed with the Fox settings all year. Playing with the settings have made the ride much more plush with no loss in handling, but I'm don't push the bike that hard, yet, lol. Customer service has been good at a local Specialized store. Not cheap, but good.

 

[rzr]

do you think that 1.5-2kg in a weight is really noticable?
it's a difference between Levo Carbon or SpectalON CF (or Trek Rail 9.7) and Levo alloy

 

[bazxa]

I can easily vary 1.5kg day to day. Used to check the weight of everything but now don't bother. EMTB are heavier but are also assisted, yes weight changes riding dynamics at the extremes of performance.
Al Fong chose well, no issues over 12 months.

 

[rzr]

yes, i'm talking about MTB (not gravel riding ) and i can feel that now bike slows down a bit slower, and handling is a bit different (Trek Rail - 22.5kg) - comparing to my analog Sentinel (16.5kg?)
people say that bigger battery (+1kg) in a downtube can change feeling a bit as well. (like Canyon 700Wh vs 900Wh)


For now I guess I'll stay with Rail, there are reviews saying it's a really good bike (and sometimes better than levo :O )

 

[iamxitd]

Hello, I have a similar dilemma, I am looking at the Canyon 2023 Strive:ON, but read horror stories dealing with customer service and denied warranty claims on frames. In the US, the BBB score for this company is an F! I have also looked at the Orbea Wild E bike and Orbea has the same posts about horrible customer service. I just demoed a 2022 Specialized Turbo Levo Alloy this past weekend and loved it! After some research, I found that the Brose 2.2 motors still have all the same issues as the 2.0 motor. Why can't these companies get sh*t together and make a good bike and provide adequate customer service?

 

[rzr]

Now I have Spesh Carbon Levo 2023, great geo, great bike ! (after adding Cascade long link and changing fork, which actually added another 1200e to a bike? )
I clocked around 2300km in 6 months, and I'm not riding lightly ...
However, never tried KSL or new Levo SL...

 

[paquo]

Hello, I have a similar dilemma, I am looking at the Canyon 2023 Strive:ON, but read horror stories dealing with customer service and denied warranty claims on frames. In the US, the BBB score for this company is an F! I have also looked at the Orbea Wild E bike and Orbea has the same posts about horrible customer service. I just demoed a 2022 Specialized Turbo Levo Alloy this past weekend and loved it! After some research, I found that the Brose 2.2 motors still have all the same issues as the 2.0 motor. Why can't these companies get sh*t together and make a good bike and provide adequate customer service?

go with the wild, at least it has a good motor in the bosch

 

[Jay E]

I see a lot of people complaining about range. Are you all on restricted levos? My 2021 turbo levo comp is amazing when it comes to range. I have done some amazing fire road rides like santiago peak in OC cali but I mainly bought my bike to road ride because of my fat gut and needing to get in shape since riding my road bike was impossible.
I do a 40 mile ride with a hill directly in the middle of it and the second half I'm using a lot of assist and regularly come home with 30-40% battery left. I could get 60 miles in if I rode like a normal person. (not 25-30mph) Blevo app helps tremendously. I realize the new bikes don't work with Blevo but the new gen 3 Levociraptor unlocks it and allows blevo to work again or so I've heard. If you really want to go slow and you want to keep your bike limited, I'd still get the Levociraptor so you can use blevo. That app is great. Totally useful.
A month or so ago I met a friend who I regularly would "motorpace" on this "PCH" ride. I am maintaining 25-30 mph and again almost everytime I ride for him I come back with as much as 40% battery. A month ago I forgot my phonecase that goes on my bars so my phone was in my pocket and when I got back I almost had zero battery left.
Blevo.... Stop worrying.

 

[brentonb]

I see a lot of people complaining about range. Are you all on restricted levos? My 2021 turbo levo comp is amazing when it comes to range. I have done some amazing fire road rides like santiago peak in OC cali but I mainly bought my bike to road ride because of my fat gut and needing to get in shape since riding my road bike was impossible.
I do a 40 mile ride with a hill directly in the middle of it and the second half I'm using a lot of assist and regularly come home with 30-40% battery left. I could get 60 miles in if I rode like a normal person. (not 25-30mph) Blevo app helps tremendously. I realize the new bikes don't work with Blevo but the new gen 3 Levociraptor unlocks it and allows blevo to work again or so I've heard. If you really want to go slow and you want to keep your bike limited, I'd still get the Levociraptor so you can use blevo. That app is great. Totally useful.
A month or so ago I met a friend who I regularly would "motorpace" on this "PCH" ride. I am maintaining 25-30 mph and again almost everytime I ride for him I come back with as much as 40% battery. A month ago I forgot my phonecase that goes on my bars so my phone was in my pocket and when I got back I almost had zero battery left.
Blevo.... Stop worrying.

how does blevo increase your range??

 

[Jay E]

how does blevo increase your range??

When you are able to real time tweak your battery usage, its huge. It records pretty much any metric you want as well. doesn't matter what % you are using, you can up it or lower it by 2% or 5 % . Looking at your phone you can see what HR you are at as well and use or not use battery accordingly. Its like a video game you are actually in.

 

[MrSimmo]

Levo for the trails and enduro daily riding, Canyon Sender for the rougher stuff!

Levo service for me has been second to none. If it were me (and i’ll be doing this again when the new kenevo sl 60nm arrives) I’d go Specialized. Purely for the aftercare when the motor blows, which it will!