Levo Gen 4 What do you dislike about the 2026 Gen4 Levo

[JP-NZ]

I’ve just checked the pricing in NZ after getting up.

Wow!

$14kNZD for a Comp.
Gen 3 Comps were previously $10.9k full price (often on sale for $6k)

I don’t like it.

Don't fear, they will drop to meet the market after the intial adopters pay through the nose for them.

There is so much competition around that $10-$11k mark.

 

[WatermanJim]

I like everything but was hoping for the auto/freeshift feature. Rode the bike today and yes the downtube is large but it looks ok. The black pro is very good looking and the green looks fresh.

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

If I am honest, the only two things I don't like about it are the price here in NZ and the fact that it looks like you're stuck with SRAM AXS Transmission - I can't see cable routing for a different option, although I am only going by pictures and videos, so I could be completely wrong.
Otherwise I think it's a great looking bike visually (I don't mind a bit of girth) and if the hype is to be believed, the power and torque increases are a solid upgrade.
It's just very, very expensive - even at base model spec.

 

[westcoastmtbr]

Test rode one today, non SWorks. As I was tooling around my two biggest impressions where, it feels very similar to my current Gen 3 S-Works., and how did we get to here with 10k bikes with a $800 frame, $300 battery, and $400 motor, etc, etc. at cost. I think the customer is finally saying, enough.

 

[MTB-WALES]

Test rode one today, non SWorks. As I was tooling around my two biggest impressions where, it feels very similar to my current Gen 3 S-Works., and how did we get to here with 10k bikes with a $800 frame, $300 battery, and $400 motor, etc, etc. at cost. I think the customer is finally saying, enough.

I agree but in its defence other bikes are similarly priced at the same spec. I can get amflow pro. Bullit xo or the pro gen 4 for the same price within £500. Hopefully this will mean over time they will all come down? They won’t be replicating their past sales/launches with this bike and I can see them offering deals sooner than later especially when the raft of dji bikes start coming. That could be a turning point for prices across all brands. I doubt financially they are in a position where they can sit back and wait for sales if they aren’t forthcoming.

 

[Doomanic]

Test rode one today, non SWorks.

Oh you poor, poor boy. How did you cope with only 101Nm...

 

[RustyMTB]

For me, it's a bit too much evolution, not enough revolution iyswim? I get that the original was a landmark bike but I look at my humble old banger & see that I have everything I want, slack head angle, plentiful power, plush suspension and so on. This isn't a dig at the Levo at all, more that to get me to move on, mine will either have to snap in half or it will take something that is a genuine leap forward, mgu, 1000w battery the size of a fag packet etc. This ain't that but they are coming I reckon.

 

[DylanJM]

The more I of it the more I can't believe they have gone with a downtube that large. It's almost in Giant Reign E+ territory. Has anyone seen an S2 yet. I imagine it looks absurd on the smaller models.

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

The more I of it the more I can't believe they have gone with a downtube that large. It's almost in Giant Reign E+ territory. Has anyone seen an S2 yet. I imagine it looks absurd on the smaller models.

I don’t mind a girthy downtube, but do mind a girthy price tag and I think for an evolutionary bike, it’s just too expensive. In every model.

 

[v950]

I couldn't find anywhere how much the 3.1 smart charger weighs.

 

[TonTonUB]

when i watch this new ebike 'hold-up', il really wonder what would cost a bike made of :
- levo gen 3 geo / frame OR even Kenevo (SL?) frame / geo (cro-mo instead of carbon)
- Dji avinox ecosystem
- Shimano linkglide
- LT option

What i like about gen4 'S' launch ? Overpriced bikes, released by lazy brands : this joke has to end.

 

[TorAtle]

Saw the red S-Works today. Looked heavy, felt heavy. Pricier than the last gen here. No bikes in my size available until end of month.

Must say I'm disappointed. It's not the bike I wanted it to be.

 

[TheSnowShark]

I would add to the list, the obligation to have an Apple to follow the bike ... it's quite redibitory for me, but it will surely please dentists and prosthetists...

 

[Polar]

I saw S-Works today and I don't like the Fox dropper battery Reverb looks much better, the door is ok, the red color changing in the sun is cool but price is to high so hopefully many other brands will hit the market this year so Specialized has no other option than to cut the price 20-30% even though it's the best bike.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Everyone's seen it in the Flesh now and still :

I think we have a name for it anyway .. LEVOBESE ! Far better than Levo Gen4 or that thing with the massive downtube.

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

With all the DJI-powered bikes hitting the market in the last 24 hours and the talk of the Bosch Gen 5 motor getting a firmware update to deliver 100Nm or thereabouts, I have a feeling that Specialized will have to do something about their pricing or this will end up a big-brand failure at launch.
As good as this bike might be, it doesn't look as good as some and the pricing is crazy for the specs.

 

[TorAtle]

That UNNO bike sure highlighted the Levo weight/girth issue...

 

[ckkone]

Just not right.

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

Just not right.

View attachment 158307


View attachment 158306

Yeah that looks very girthy from those angles.

In saying that, people would say the same about me. From every angle.

 

[AKAKTM]

Specialized has built a nice bike. I am sure it will be well integrated and will ride well. I also like some of the novel features like the selectable Class III and the FindMy feature. The build kits also look solid and here in the US, the prices (at launch) aren't out of line. In fact, most models carry MSRP prices about what they've been the past several years. I'm generally a fan of Specialized these days. I've had three Levos and have helped get a lot of people riding Levos.

All that said, I am modestly disappointed with the Gen 4 Levo. Specialized spends more on R&D and should be an innovation leader in the important field of eMTBs. Leadership should have demanded the bike, be under 50lbs for most builds. It can be done and remain burly enough. That's not a huge deal, but a miss. I also don't like the side-load battery. Most people I know rarely remove the battery and the side load, as with Trek, looks ugly and seems to increase the size of the downtube. That brings me to #3--that really fat downtube. Along with being under 50lbs, this bike should have looked more like the Levo SL. The downtube should be larger than the Gen 3, but it is. I'm also hearing the display screen is not a touch-screen and that there are no power or mode select buttons adjacent to the touch screen.

It'll be a really good bike, I'm sure, but Specialized missed an opportunity to make it a GREAT bike. Drop 3- 4lbs from each model, make the battery more integrated with no visible seams in the downtube and trim the downtube to the size of the Gen 3 or smaller and it would be a no brainer. As it is, I will be seriously considering the Amflow and the new Forbidden bikes. I'm still a fan Specialized, but look still matter and this feels like you didn't reach high enough.

 

[Bluedirtz]

Yeah, I got to see and ride this today and fully agree with you said. I’ll pass this time.

 

[iXi]

It looks like a Trek. Like a snake swallowed a possum.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Slightly better image than the previous one of the UNNO laid over the Lardo.

 

[TonTonUB]

i'd suggest prego over lardo ? (and it has nothing to do with Italy, of course)

PS: with fried lardo, i prefer 2 o 3 eggs, (unno is not enough , especially when lardo is so much overpriced)

 

[Roundbadge]

Shoulda of ar least done 170/170 travel.looks like you can go longer on the fork though.
Glad I got Crestlines

 

[robikinkela]

It would have been so simple: everything on the gen. 4 on a gen. 3 frame with an integrated 700W/h battery and a RE

 

[Mike O]

I need to remove the battery in winter and don't mind the side removal if it proves reliable. And not *horribly* offended by the size of the down tube. I suspect (hope?) Specialized knows more about their customers and how they utilize batteries than I do.

But for me personally I think I would indeed preferred a smaller down tube for perhaps 600w (no SWAT) and then and extender. Would have looked better and covered all *my* rides. Not sure how that would have effected ride/center of gravity with the new motor placement though. Per the reviews it sounds like they have managed weight/balance well, and so weight while moving seems not an issue. But I run across down trees all to often, as well as use a bike pad on a pickup to get to many trails. Every kilo makes a difference in these cases.

There is quite a gap between Gen 4 and SL2. Perhaps Gen 4 is the start of a different kind of balance in the line up?

In any event, I'll be keeping and upgrading my Gen 3 as needed to match my improving skills over the next year.

I'll note that last week I did receive (and complete) an invitation from Specialized to complete a rather comprehensive survey. Lot's of preference/ratings requests. The survey made it quite clear that they are focused on being (remaining?) the "premium" brand by asking lots of questions of what contributes to that perception.

 

[ZR1]

I was expecting it to be a lot slimmer and as powerful as the avinox. I can't rememeber where I heard it but was on some podcast when the DJI came up for discussion someone from specialized was talking and praised the speed to market which I sort of took to mean they could do the same thing.

I'd probably view it a lot differently if it came out before the avinox. I was hoping heavier alu bike with avinox power for a similar ish price to the pl carbon.

Lost a bit of the buzz from watching the youtube videos (e.g embn) that harp on about the design process or all the effort put in to make it rather than outputs but I guess they are ads paid for by specialized.

 

[Bikedriver19]

ITs too heavy. ...battery is old school. I can't find the weight, does anyone know? But I can tell, just by looking at it.

111 Nm, near 800 watts peak (for how long, it doesn't specify, unless I missed it) ..OK, for real? Power is pi/30 X speed X torque. For a given power, that means this bike has less speed, that the DJI for example, at the same torque. Power is Power, at the end of the day, minus any differences in efficiency.

Price is too high. At 12k, DJI has this bike BEAT UP. IT will put out, > 1000 watts continuously (30 seconds at a time)

If they would have made it with a better and lighter battery, maybe it would compete....Maybe next year.

I agree, before Avinox, this might have been the coolest bike out there...but they are behind, like everyone else.

 

[TonTonUB]

It would have been so simple: everything on the gen. 4 on a gen. 3 frame with an integrated 700W/h battery and a RE

You are so right !

Personnaly, i was even dreaming about(for the gen4) :
- Kenevo SL or Levo SL frame (for LT or trail travel lovers)
- Dji motor (in term of size)
- Dji Battery (slim downtube)

a.k.a, like the saying goes :
" Why do it simply and efficient when you can do it dumb and unelegant ? "

And really, there is no hate. Only a MASSIVE² disappointment.