It’s not the bike brands, it’s the supply chains manufacturing the bikes and providing the components. Raw materials and components for complete bikes are ordered by the bike brand 12-24 months before the bike is produced, and then your PO just sits in line at the factory waiting for its turn...
I have a pretty big quiver of bikes and the Levo SL is currently my favorite for most situations. I still burn 700-800 calories an hour I just cover a lot more miles and get farther into the back country where I’m not constantly running into hikers, horses, and grazing cows on our shared use...
Are you a new/out of shape rider? Because that’s more what I’m referring to. I have the regular Levo as well, my wife (who’s 5’2” and not a great cyclist) is much more comfortable on the SL though.
The FF is more awkward than the SL at lower speeds due to the weight, especially for someone newer to biking. It’s also quite a bit more intimidating to ride at first for the same reason. It’s a lot easier to get comfortable with the SL and get to a point where you can be “playful” than with the...
I have a FF Levo, a Levo SL, and a Stumpjumper Evo. An SL in turbo mode will keep up with any non-pro level rider on an analog bike pretty easily, but she’d be working a moderate amount on steeper trails if you do those. If you just want her to tag along with no intention of making a real...
Everybody in the world decided they wanted a bike at the exact same time most of the worlds supply chains got shut down. At this point you’re going to need to settle in and wait for almost any legitimate bike brand. The amount of time you’ve been waiting is pretty minimal, 6-9 month waits are...
An easy fix is to get a small heating blanket for car batteries and wrap your bikes downtube (assuming that’s where your battery is) during charging. Just make sure to preheat the batteries prior plugging in the charger since the temperature inside the core of the cells is what needs to get to...
It’s based on amount of current being applied to the lithium regardless of how full it’s currently charged. I think if you charge at something like .05C it avoids the plating occurring, but e-bike chargers and BMSs aren’t that accurate and most aren’t adjustable anyways. I have about 8,400Wh of...
The metallic lithium will plate on the anode if charged in sub freezing temps. Once the lithium anode has become plated it becomes very prone to failure and it’s impossible to remove. It’s totally fine to discharge them in sub freezing temps though, or charge at an extremely low C-rate. But to...
I
In general I haven’t found cycling brands to do merino all that well, unfortunately. I own a few pieces from some of the bigger brands and not very impressed by any of them. Lifestyle and hiking companies like Icebreaker and SmartWool tend to make better merino apparel. I’ve actually found...
The comfort of Merino is very subject to the quality and size of the thread being used. Some merino is pure garbage, the best stuff feels almost exactly like high end Pima cotton or bamboo.
I have a 2021 Levo SL Expert in XL, I’m 6’4 and 225lbs and do 90% of my riding in the middle power setting. It’s still a great workout but I can go a hell of a lot farther and longer with just that 120W boost. I’ve ridden lots of full fat Levos and they are an absolute blast, but you definitely...
I’ve replaced about 90% of my clothing, from MTB riding to everyday clothes, with merino wool. If you get the good stuff there is nothing more comfortable and breathable, and it never holds any odor and is a renewable resource. It’s available in varying weights for summer (125-150 weight) to...
Very nice, it’s amazing how much the bike’s handling and ride characteristics change after the tire and seat post swap, isn’t it? It wasn’t a pig before but it feels like a proper top-tier road bike once it’s on street tires. I’ve debated changing my handlebars up but since I have very broad...