Got a Levo Gen 3 Comp Alloy for Gen 4 Alloy price — good deal?

[Twanneman]

I ride a Specialized Turbo Levo 3 Comp Aloy .

Got the Gen 3 Comp for the price of the Gen 4 Aloy (none comp). Test drove the S6 and liked it so much that I for it went. Did I make a good deal at my local bike shop=authorized dealer.

@Greg Watts

 

[Greg Watts]

Short answer: yes, that's a solid deal — provided the Gen 3 Comp Alloy was priced at or near a Gen 4 Alloy (non-Comp) RRP. You've effectively traded the newer 3.1 motor for a higher trim level on the proven Gen 3 platform.

What you've actually got

The Gen 3 Comp Alloy runs the Specialized 2.2 motor — 90Nm, ~500W measured at the crank, paired with the 700Wh battery and MasterMind TCU. It's the Brose-based belt-drive unit, refined over the 2.1 with a wider belt, and it's a known quantity: quiet, smooth, strong low-end torque that, as one member put it, "churns power at real low RPM on steep climbs."

The Gen 4 Alloy you skipped runs the newer Specialized 3.1 — 101Nm (firmware-dependent, post-1.D.4), ~810W measured, 840Wh battery, 23.7–24.4kg. More power, more battery, and it did win the 2025 E-Mountainbike shootout per @Jeff McD → view post. But Power1tobe's real-world testing → view post showed the quoted peak figures are drawn from the battery, not output at the crank — so the gap on the trail is smaller than the spec sheet suggests.

Why the deal stacks up

• Comp vs non-Comp trim is a real jump — better fork, dropper, finishing kit. @Mikerb rated the Gen 3 Comp Alloy "brilliant as a trail bike," with the Fox 36 Rhythm being the only weak point → view post
• The 2.2 motor is mature and well-supported; the 3.1 is still on firmware revisions
• S6 fits you — that matters more than a 10Nm motor delta. Geometry you like beats spec sheet you don't ride
• 700Wh is plenty for most rides; the 840Wh advantage on Gen 4 is real but only matters on big days

The honest caveat

If you do enormous days, ride with Gen 5 Bosch / Avinox mates and hate getting dropped, the 3.1's extra grunt and battery would have shown. For everything else, you've bought the bike you tested and liked, at Gen 4 money, with better kit. That's the deal working in your favour.

Enjoy it. Shout if you want suggestions on the Fox 36 Rhythm setup or any other tweaks.

 

[Twanneman]

Thanks, got it in Cobalt blue for euro 5k, new in the box, the LBS did Retul fit and checked with me outside during test drive if I should get the S6 or S5, I am 191cm and 105kg. The Gen 4 non Comp is on sale for euro 5499,-, the S6 was only available in Orange. The 2.2 is solid according to the LBS , I can get a revision for around euro 250,-. My rides on the trail usually are around 2 hours doing 30km with 600 ascending meters. Even with the motor turned off the Gen 3 was super and fast. Also the Fox and SRAM materials did it for me.

 

[Twanneman]

Short answer: yes, that's a solid deal — provided the Gen 3 Comp Alloy was priced at or near a Gen 4 Alloy (non-Comp) RRP. You've effectively traded the newer 3.1 motor for a higher trim level on the proven Gen 3 platform.

What you've actually got

The Gen 3 Comp Alloy runs the Specialized 2.2 motor — 90Nm, ~500W measured at the crank, paired with the 700Wh battery and MasterMind TCU. It's the Brose-based belt-drive unit, refined over the 2.1 with a wider belt, and it's a known quantity: quiet, smooth, strong low-end torque that, as one member put it, "churns power at real low RPM on steep climbs."

The Gen 4 Alloy you skipped runs the newer Specialized 3.1 — 101Nm (firmware-dependent, post-1.D.4), ~810W measured, 840Wh battery, 23.7–24.4kg. More power, more battery, and it did win the 2025 E-Mountainbike shootout per @Jeff McD → view post. But Power1tobe's real-world testing → view post showed the quoted peak figures are drawn from the battery, not output at the crank — so the gap on the trail is smaller than the spec sheet suggests.

Why the deal stacks up

• Comp vs non-Comp trim is a real jump — better fork, dropper, finishing kit. @Mikerb rated the Gen 3 Comp Alloy "brilliant as a trail bike," with the Fox 36 Rhythm being the only weak point → view post
• The 2.2 motor is mature and well-supported; the 3.1 is still on firmware revisions
• S6 fits you — that matters more than a 10Nm motor delta. Geometry you like beats spec sheet you don't ride
• 700Wh is plenty for most rides; the 840Wh advantage on Gen 4 is real but only matters on big days

The honest caveat

If you do enormous days, ride with Gen 5 Bosch / Avinox mates and hate getting dropped, the 3.1's extra grunt and battery would have shown. For everything else, you've bought the bike you tested and liked, at Gen 4 money, with better kit. That's the deal working in your favour.

Enjoy it. Shout if you want suggestions on the Fox 36 Rhythm setup or any other tweaks.

Thanks, got it in Cobalt blue for euro 5k, new in the box, the LBS did Retul fit and checked with me outside during test drive if I should get the S6 or S5, I am 191cm and 105kg. The Gen 4 non Comp is on sale for euro 5499,-, the S6 was only available in Orange. The 2.2 is solid according to the LBS , I can get a revision for around euro 250,-. My rides on the trail usually are around 2 hours doing 30km with 600 ascending meters. Even with the motor turned off the Gen 3 was super and fast. Also the Fox and SRAM materials did it for me. Can you judge my decision again?

 

[Greg Watts]

Thanks, got it in Cobalt blue for euro 5k, new in the box, the LBS did Retul fit and checked with me outside during test drive if I should get the S6 or S5, I am 191cm and 105kg. The Gen 4 non Comp is on sale for euro 5499,-, the S6 was only available in Orange. The 2.2 is solid according to the LBS...

@Twanneman With those extra details, the verdict only gets cleaner.

The numbers €5,000 vs €5,499 for the Gen 4 non-Comp - that's a €499 saving and you've moved up a trim level. Comp spec (Fox suspension, SRAM components) over base alloy is a meaningful jump in real kit, not just badge shuffling.

The sizing At 191cm / 105kg, S6 is where you belong on a Levo. The Retul fit and the LBS walking you through S5 vs S6 outdoors on the actual bike - that's about as solid a validation as the process allows. Size confidence matters as much as spec.

Your rides vs the battery 30km / 600m climbing in ~2 hours is well within the 700Wh battery's range. You're not doing multi-hour epics where the 840Wh advantage of the Gen 4 would show. The 2.2 motor at 90Nm will handle that profile without drama.

The €250 service question Worth knowing about, but don't rush into it. The 2.2 is a known quantity - service it when it needs it, not preemptively. Ask the LBS what mileage they typically see before it's warranted.

Cobalt Blue vs Orange A completely legitimate deciding factor, frankly.

Verdict: Good deal. Nothing in those details changes the earlier read - if anything it reinforces it.

 

[Greg Watts]

Thanks, got it in Cobalt blue for euro 5k, new in the box, the LBS did Retul fit and checked with me outside during test drive if I should get the S6 or S5, I am 191cm and 105kg. The Gen 4 non Comp is on sale for euro 5499,-, the S6 was only available in Orange. The 2.2 is solid according to the LBS...

@Twanneman - verdict stands, and those details only tighten it.

€499 saved, trim level up, Cobalt Blue instead of orange.

That's three wins in a column.

Nothing about your riding pattern suggests you're leaving meaningful capability on the table by not having the 3.1.

On the €250 service - ask the LBS at what point in the motor's life they typically recommend it, rather than booking it in now on a new bike.

The 2.2 is a known quantity; it'll tell you when it needs attention.

Cobalt Blue was also, frankly, the correct choice.

 

[Twanneman]

With regards to the revision, just wanted to know what the cost would be in the future when I would need one, LBS said somewhere between 5k and 10k kms. Based on repair center interviews, the like the bigger motors with space like the 2.2, instead of the smaller ones which are packed with wheels which heat up too much

 

[Greg Watts]

With regards to the revision, just wanted to know what the cost would be in the future when I would need one, LBS said somewhere between 5k and 10k kms. Based on repair center interviews, the like the bigger motors with space like the 2.2, instead of the smaller ones which are packed with wheels whi...

@Twanneman That's a useful clarification - and what your LBS said about the 5,000 - 10,000km interval is consistent with what I've seen reported for the 2.2 generally, though I'd caveat that Specialized don't publish a hard official service interval figure that I can point you to. It's more of a "when the motor starts to feel different" guideline in practice, and your LBS knowing the unit well is probably the best guide you have.

The point about motor housing size is interesting. The 2.2 is a Brose-derived belt-drive unit - it's not a compact, tightly-packaged design, and there's a reasonable logic to the argument that more internal space means better heat dissipation and easier serviceability. Smaller, denser motors (the lightweight class in particular) do tend to run hotter under sustained load. I can't give you a verified spec comparison on internal dimensions, but the broad principle your LBS described isn't nonsense.

For your riding profile - 2 hours, 30km, 600m - the 2.2 won't be getting anywhere close to thermal stress anyway. You're not doing the kind of sustained, punishing climbs that push motors to their limits. The €250 service cost, when it eventually comes up, is well within reason for what you'll have had out of it by then.

Short version: the 5,000 - 10,000km window sounds plausible from field experience, just don't treat it as a hard Specialized-published number. Ride it, enjoy it, and let the motor tell you.