Anyone Ridden Both an Levo SL and Orbea Rise? Looking for Power Comparison

Jcolborn48

Jcolborn48

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Hey guys, seen some posts about SL vs Rise Range, I want to know how much more powerful does the Rise feel vs the SL? I'm looking for someone who has ridden both. My background is that I had a 2020 Levo FF, the frame cracked and the only option Specialized had for me was to get a Levo SL. Upon riding the SL, I immediately missed the power, but LOVED the lighter feel. When the Rise came out I ordered one, loving the idea of lighter weight and more power......but don't expect to see it until May, maybe. Since then, I've become very comfortable with the SL and the lack of power vs the FF. So for anyone that has ridden the Levo SL and a Rise, is there a significantly noticeable power increase in the Rise vs the SL, cuz that's what I'm hoping for. Thanks!
 
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I own the Rise M10 and did a full day of riding on the SL. The power difference to me is VERY noticeable. I have a friend that has the Turbo Levo and also and Levo SL. We took them out for the day and switched between riding both bikes. At the end of the day I was set on getting an SL, then I discovered that with the Rise I could have a lighter bike with a more powerful motor than the SL.

There is a technical uphill that I use to measure my fitness. On the Turbo Levo on (turbo Mode) my time was about 2:57, with the SL my time (again on Turbo) was 3:57. I did the same hill on the Rise on Turbo again got the same time of 2:57. Glad I own the Rise.
 
The fact the rise is just a toned down FF motor it’s always going to have more power, a friends got one and the range is pretty impressive but he is quite fit, a lot depends on rider weight, style of riding, do u need more power to make it up hills ?
 
i have an SL and i rode a rise, but it was in the lower power profile , but i liked the steeper seat angle of the rise . With my SL the seat is slammed forward. If it was as easy as trading in a car i would have gone for it
 
Rich the gasman said:
The fact the rise is just a toned down FF motor it’s always going to have more power, a friends got one and the range is pretty impressive but he is quite fit, a lot depends on rider weight, style of riding, do u need more power to make it up hills ?
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I don’t “need” more power to get up the hills, it’s more of a want. And range hasn’t been an issue on any of my emtb’s. I guess I just want to be confident that the $8k is going to be a significant power increase over my SL and not just a marginal increase.
 
I own both bikes. Just to be clear both bikes are awesome, and both are incredibly good trail bikes. But hands down the the rise is more powerful. That being the case, I find I can ride either bike on any day and be completely satisfied. I don't feel one is "better" than the other.
 
I probably should wait to post here because as yet, my Rise has not arrived, but I am expecting it soon. However, I am keenly interested in this topic for the very reason that I purchased a Levo SL in September '20 because it was all I could get. I have been waiting on a Mondraker Crafty RR SL since June '20. I should explain that I am an elder boomer (75 yo) who is lucky enough to still be able to ride, but decided that in order to enjoy myself in the coming years, I needed to switch to ebikes. My conclusions on the S-Works Levo SL are that Specialized limited the power to 35nm in order to appeal to younger riders that didn't want to give in to the "cheater" mindset prevalent in the MTB community. They could rightly claim that it only has minimal support, and is not like a full-on ebike. But I wonder about the market for these bikes. How many riders are willing to plunk down 15K for an ebike that they may discover doesn't whisk them effortlessly up any climb, no matter how steep? Younger riders, who would benefit most from the Levo SL, and would turn over such an amount are fewer in number, I suspect. That said, yes, the Levo SL is a great bike, the range is great, you also get a range extender, and every bell and whistle (AXS, 4 piston brakes, carbon rims) but it does weigh in about 5-6 lbs. heavier than the Rise M-LTD, I understand, and is about 4K pricier. But the Rise M-LTD has 60nm of torque, which may eliminate some hike-a-bike moments. Even with a push switch, I would hate to have to walk a 15K ride up a grade that it, or I couldn't handle. Anyway, thanks for reading and I promise more when the Rise M-LTD arrives.
 
Check out this report. Francis does a great job at reviewing them in real world riding situations.
www.mtbr.com

Orbea Rise vs. Specialized Levo SL - Battle of the 36...

One of the most intriguing segments of e-mtbs today is the Lightweight E-MTB (aka sub-40 lbs.). The first round of e-mtbs with dozens of options today is the 45-55lb bike with a lot of power and a big battery. These bikes will be the majority of the e-mtb market as riders experience the full...
www.mtbr.com www.mtbr.com
 
jka said:
Check out this report. Francis does a great job at reviewing them in real world riding situations.
Click to expand...
It's an interesting video. It would be nice to see more similar comparisons.

For me, just on how he analysis things and presents things, it appears that he's bias through the whole video, from his body language, how he presents things and what he says.

I don't have either and probably will never own either, so I'm commentating from someone who's not passionately connected to either bike.

Despite trying to sound "objective" at about 17:55 he points at the Orbea and says "This is the better bike" .. which is an odd thing to say when you're summing up all the positives and negatives where the different bikes will excel over each other in different areas.

Around the 10 minute area he discussed geometry. Where he feels the Orbea is better this is pointed out as being better or more modern. Where the SL is better, he ignores it and brushes it under the carpet.

Frame design and geometry is a compromise. It's balancing these compromises one way or the other .

Ultimately, a missed opportunity for a decent comparison video.

And whilst he does explain some of the positives of the SL and does mention some of the negatives of the Orbea .. In the end he admits that you can buy the Orbea through their PARTNER Jenson.

For me .. a ? Still hoping for that objective and informative comparison.
 
GizmoSL said:
That said, yes, the Levo SL is a great bike, the range is great, you also get a range extender, and every bell and whistle (AXS, 4 piston brakes, carbon rims) but it does weigh in about 5-6 lbs. heavier than the Rise M-LTD,
Click to expand...
How much does your Levo SL weigh?
 
Zimmerframe said:
It's an interesting video. It would be nice to see more similar comparisons.

For me, just on how he analysis things and presents things, it appears that he's bias through the whole video, from his body language, how he presents things and what he says.

I don't have either and probably will never own either, so I'm commentating from someone who's not passionately connected to either bike.

Despite trying to sound "objective" at about 17:55 he points at the Orbea and says "This is the better bike" .. which is an odd thing to say when you're summing up all the positives and negatives where the different bikes will excel over each other in different areas.

Around the 10 minute area he discussed geometry. Where he feels the Orbea is better this is pointed out as being better or more modern. Where the SL is better, he ignores it and brushes it under the carpet.

Frame design and geometry is a compromise. It's balancing these compromises one way or the other .

Ultimately, a missed opportunity for a decent comparison video.

And whilst he does explain some of the positives of the SL and does mention some of the negatives of the Orbea .. In the end he admits that you can buy the Orbea through their PARTNER Jenson.

For me .. a ? Still hoping for that objective and informative comparison.
Click to expand...


Good comments on the video. I didn't really notice too much bias, but that could be because I found myself agreeing with most of what he said. I rented and rode an SL for a couple of days and the most significant thing for me was the minimal power assist that it had. I was seriously looking at buying one, but FOR ME, it was a good choice not to. I own a Rise now, and for me I think it's a better all around bike than the SL. The power is much more what I wanted, the geometry, handling and suspension are all great. I do wish it had a better display for battery status, but I solved that with finally getting my Garmin watch to work with it. I eventually ended up buying a Garmin Edge 520 plus to use on the bike. Sure, I with I didn't have to spend another $200 for that, but for the bike and component mix, I feel I saved about $2000 or more over a comparable spec SL.
My final assessment is that they are both great bikes, but with a little different purpose and certainly design. I really like the power assist on the Rise. For me it hit the sweet spot between not enough assist on the SL and too much on some other FP bikes while still being very light weight. The Rise was the best choice for me, someone else may find the SL better for them, more power to em. I won't argue. Life is full of choices.....thank goodness.
 
jka said:
Check out this report. Francis does a great job at reviewing them in real world riding situations.
www.mtbr.com

Orbea Rise vs. Specialized Levo SL - Battle of the 36...

One of the most intriguing segments of e-mtbs today is the Lightweight E-MTB (aka sub-40 lbs.). The first round of e-mtbs with dozens of options today is the 45-55lb bike with a lot of power and a big battery. These bikes will be the majority of the e-mtb market as riders experience the full...
www.mtbr.com www.mtbr.com
Click to expand...
nice vid
hard to argue with anything he said
 
Zimmerframe said:
It's an interesting video. It would be nice to see more similar comparisons.

For me, just on how he analysis things and presents things, it appears that he's bias through the whole video, from his body language, how he presents things and what he says.

I don't have either and probably will never own either, so I'm commentating from someone who's not passionately connected to either bike.

Despite trying to sound "objective" at about 17:55 he points at the Orbea and says "This is the better bike" .. which is an odd thing to say when you're summing up all the positives and negatives where the different bikes will excel over each other in different areas.

Around the 10 minute area he discussed geometry. Where he feels the Orbea is better this is pointed out as being better or more modern. Where the SL is better, he ignores it and brushes it under the carpet.

Frame design and geometry is a compromise. It's balancing these compromises one way or the other .

Ultimately, a missed opportunity for a decent comparison video.

And whilst he does explain some of the positives of the SL and does mention some of the negatives of the Orbea .. In the end he admits that you can buy the Orbea through their PARTNER Jenson.

For me .. a ? Still hoping for that objective and informative comparison.
Click to expand...
Francis has been a big fan of the Turbo Levo and the Levo SL for years. He has not just reviewed both, but owned both as his personal bikes. I guess that's why he can be so definitive.
 
Norcalsl said:
How much does your Levo SL weigh?
Click to expand...
It is a large, and with Light Chester pedals and no extender battery, is 43 lbs. (about 20kg?) Whereas, the Orbea's claimed weight is 15.6 Kg or thereabouts. I suspect is a little heavier than that, but even so, that's a huge difference. Can't really see where the savings is, AXS adds a few grams and the Magura MT-7 Pro 4 piston brakes (Specialized has now switched to Shimano) are a little heavy, but that doesn't account for the big difference. Orbea has XTR manual shifting, which is no big deal, and Shimano XTR 2 piston brakes with 180mm rotors which could be a very big deal, I'll have to see.
 
Jilleride45 said:
My small comp carbon with 45id carbon wheels and 29x2.8 rear 29 x3.0 front tire weighs, SL 11 speed garbaruk, weighs 36 lbs with pedals. I think he got the 2 weights mixed up. The Shimano motor alone is 1000 grams more than the specialized.
Click to expand...
It could be a matter of scale accuracy I guess, although I used the Park Tool Bike Scale and did a few times. And I'm only quoting second hand numbers from the techs at the bike shop and things I've gleaned from the web. Could there be that big a weight difference between a small and a large Specialized frame?
 
GizmoSL said:
It is a large, and with Light Chester pedals and no extender battery, is 43 lbs. (about 20kg?) Whereas, the Orbea's claimed weight is 15.6 Kg or thereabouts. I suspect is a little heavier than that, but even so, that's a huge difference. Can't really see where the savings is, AXS adds a few grams and the Magura MT-7 Pro 4 piston brakes (Specialized has now switched to Shimano) are a little heavy, but that doesn't account for the big difference. Orbea has XTR manual shifting, which is no big deal, and Shimano XTR 2 piston brakes with 180mm rotors which could be a very big deal, I'll have to see.
Click to expand...
You do understand that the SL frame (carbon) is lighter than the Rise, right? This is mainly due to the fact that the SL motor is lighter and the battery is smaller. So with the same components, the SL will be lighter than the Rise, and it will always beat the Rise in a weight weenie contest. My SL weighs 36 lbs. with SPD pedals. Carbon rims, bars, stem, lighter tires etc. Yours is a tank at 43 lbs.
 
GizmoSL said:
It could be a matter of scale accuracy I guess, although I used the Park Tool Bike Scale and did a few times. And I'm only quoting second hand numbers from the techs at the bike shop and things I've gleaned from the web. Could there be that big a weight difference between a small and a large Specialized frame?
Click to expand...

Nope! My husbands large carbon is 37 lbs, bigger frame and heavier bars. We use a hanging Park Tool scale. Do you have an aluminum SL with stock wheels, handlebars, tubes, stock dropper, and NX cassette. With those components you save 6 pounds
 
Jilleride45 said:
Nope! My husbands large carbon is 37 lbs, bigger frame and heavier bars. We use a hanging Park Tool scale. Do you have an aluminum SL with stock wheels, handlebars, tubes, stock dropper, and NX cassette. With those components you save 6 pounds
Click to expand...
No, it's the S-Works and is supposed to be the lightest offering from Specialized, and I'm using a Park Tool hanging scale also. I thought the claimed weight for the S-Works was 20 Kg, but, I'm not sure. I've been watching so many You Tube videos the mind reels. And I misquoted the claimed weight of the Orbea, which is 18 Kg. So, the weight difference is probably not that great, but I'm gonna shut up till I get my Orbea and can do meaningful comparisons. That said, certainly nothing wrong with the S-Works, and I've not had any problems climbing around here, I was just musing that some folks might be disillusioned thinking they are more fit than they are, or the bike will carry them over any grade. But enjoying the conversations and good luck to you. Take care.
 
Zimmerframe said:
It's an interesting video. It would be nice to see more similar comparisons.

For me, just on how he analysis things and presents things, it appears that he's bias through the whole video, from his body language, how he presents things and what he says.

I don't have either and probably will never own either, so I'm commentating from someone who's not passionately connected to either bike.

Despite trying to sound "objective" at about 17:55 he points at the Orbea and says "This is the better bike" .. which is an odd thing to say when you're summing up all the positives and negatives where the different bikes will excel over each other in different areas.

Around the 10 minute area he discussed geometry. Where he feels the Orbea is better this is pointed out as being better or more modern. Where the SL is better, he ignores it and brushes it under the carpet.

Frame design and geometry is a compromise. It's balancing these compromises one way or the other .

Ultimately, a missed opportunity for a decent comparison video.

And whilst he does explain some of the positives of the SL and does mention some of the negatives of the Orbea .. In the end he admits that you can buy the Orbea through their PARTNER Jenson.

For me .. a ? Still hoping for that objective and informative comparison.
Click to expand...

Agree, seemed a biased review. No mention that the Rise to get the weight down is fitted with lighter weight tyres and wheels. No mention of the SL’s 48v system efficiency benefits over the 36v EP8. And their test seems to be straight up and down on green fireroads ?‍♂️
 
Loamranger said:
Agree, seemed a biased review. No mention that the Rise to get the weight down is fitted with lighter weight tyres and wheels. No mention of the SL’s 48v system efficiency benefits over the 36v EP8. And their test seems to be straight up and down on green fireroads ?‍♂️
Click to expand...
All valid points.
 
Simple answer is that the Rise is a step up power wise no doubt about that. I do think though that the SL has a slight range advantage. Handling wise some people prefer the SL citing more linear suspension response and better stability but that’s a more nuanced thing and down to rider preference and local terrain
 
Zimmerframe said:
It's an interesting video. It would be nice to see more similar comparisons.

For me, just on how he analysis things and presents things, it appears that he's bias through the whole video, from his body language, how he presents things and what he says.

I don't have either and probably will never own either, so I'm commentating from someone who's not passionately connected to either bike.

Despite trying to sound "objective" at about 17:55 he points at the Orbea and says "This is the better bike" .. which is an odd thing to say when you're summing up all the positives and negatives where the different bikes will excel over each other in different areas.

Around the 10 minute area he discussed geometry. Where he feels the Orbea is better this is pointed out as being better or more modern. Where the SL is better, he ignores it and brushes it under the carpet.

Frame design and geometry is a compromise. It's balancing these compromises one way or the other .

Ultimately, a missed opportunity for a decent comparison video.

And whilst he does explain some of the positives of the SL and does mention some of the negatives of the Orbea .. In the end he admits that you can buy the Orbea through their PARTNER Jenson.

For me .. a ? Still hoping for that objective and informative comparison.
Click to expand...
All being said you have to say that taken in the round Specialized tends to get a lot of amplified publicity and a generally favourable bias due to their size, influence and building relationships with content providers. I’m certainly not an ‘anything but Specialized’ person but there appears to be an exaggerated burden of proof when trying to argue that a given bike might actually be better than a Spesh bike. Sometimes !
 
ReVolt said:
All being said you have to say that taken in the round Specialized tends to get a lot of amplified publicity and a generally favourable bias due to their size, influence and building relationships with content providers. I’m certainly not an ‘anything but Specialized’ person but there appears to be an exaggerated burden of proof when trying to argue that a given bike might actually be better than a Spesh bike. Sometimes !
Click to expand...
Absolutely.

It just felt like an unfortunate missed opportunity from someone with extensive Levo and Levo SL experience.

I think the SL and the Rise are both really interesting bikes and which ever you pick, if you're looking for the "lighter" option, you shouldn't be disappointed.

The SL is lighter than your average EMTB, but achieves that with a smaller less powerful motor and smaller battery. Within those constraints it still achieves good range. The downside for a lot of riders, either coming from Full fat or riding with Full fats, is it won't have the power they're used to, or like - if they're someone who rides in modes other than Eco.

The Rise uses a Full fat motor, with a torque limit so you don't empty your battery too quickly - as it also has a smaller battery than a Full Fat. It obviously has more power than the SL, which is hugely appealing to all the people who are on the Fence about the lower powered SL. Obviously having more power though, it has the ability - if ridden using the power - to flatten the battery faster.

His video basically felt like a promotional video for the Rise with some padding to make it not sound completely paid off. I just felt he missed out on a chance to actually give some real world usability comparisons on what the bikes were like for different types of rider for range and power and different types of riding.

Ultimately, these factors will all be different for each of us as we all ride in different ways and we'll all have different expectations from the bikes. Someone with that much experience could at least have presented information which helps people answer their questions, instead - for me anyway, it was fairly pointless and didn't give anything more than you'd get from just looking at the bike stats on paper.
 
I’m promised a Rise to try out against the SL which I’m testing atm. I’m enjoying the SL compared to the heavier ebikes I have used to date. Handling is much nicer although I would like it to be a bit slacker in head tube angle and I see some SL owners have fitted 170mm forks. Chain stays are very short, shorter than the Rise, which results in good handling on twisty stuff but lacks the climbing ability of a long chain stay bike and one that has a steeper seat angle. This is not to say it is bad at climbing, one needs to move off the saddle in really step situations whereas with the longer chain stays you can normally sit and the extra torque of FF helps here as well. The range is not far off the FF if you manage the levels of support, but of course YOU are making up the difference in power.
 
Loamranger said:
Agree, seemed a biased review. No mention that the Rise to get the weight down is fitted with lighter weight tyres and wheels. No mention of the SL’s 48v system efficiency benefits over the 36v EP8. And their test seems to be straight up and down on green fireroads ?‍♂️
Click to expand...
He lists the things where the weight differences are coming from being specific about tires . I don’t really see the bias which you are refering to. IMO well made comparison and as a conclusion it’s very hard for me to see why one would buy still a Levo SL. It’s few years older more expensive design and the reviewer just points this out after more than a year of experience from Levo SL. Rise is simply a newer and better design.

P.S. I’m not planning to own either one so no reason for me to favour Orbea.
 
At this very moment I can see the engineers at specialized putting together a levo "evo" sl with equal or more power and more aggressive geometry. Heck they probably have one somewhere being tested in the wild. For what its worth I can say without a doubt the levo sl charges the battery alot faster than the rise and in comparable build specs the levo sl is lighter when comparing an m10 to an carbon expert levo sl.
 
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