Levo SL Gen 1 Official Levo SL Thread

Fivetones

E*POWAH Master
Patreon
Feb 11, 2019
898
904
Cheshire
can you ride the SL without main battery, only with the charger? 15.5kg bike with charger, need only assist in the uphill ;-)

For quick weekday evening blasts on the trails this would be the best configuration :)

Marco Sonderegger from Specialized describes how to quickly drop the front bolts of the motor to pull the internal battery in Rob’s interview with him at 8:30 onwards.

Specialized Levo SL - Is the motor tough enough? - EMTB Forums
 

HGmtb

Active member
Patreon
Jan 16, 2019
142
115
Sydney
can you ride the SL without main battery, only with the charger? 15.5kg bike with charger, need only assist in the uphill ;-)

Yes, I think you can ride with just the 160Wh range extender battery
 

Kiwi in Wales

Short cranks rule!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 24, 2018
1,240
1,588
Carmarthen, Wales
I got my 2018 comp carbon levo down to 20.7 kilos, i dont understand how they can ask the same money for a bike that has less battery, frame and motor weight, and really only saving +2kilos. Full fat levo all day :)
If you got your 2018 down to 20.7kg what was it’s original weight?
 

Fivetones

E*POWAH Master
Patreon
Feb 11, 2019
898
904
Cheshire
This question is a little off the topic but in terms of lightweighting the Levo FSR/SL, is removal of the Swat tool the low hanging fruit it appears to be? The tool and housing is quoted weight around 213g, surely taking this out and replacing with a Hope Head Doctor would save 170g?

Can anyone done this on a Levo comment if this is correct?
 

Rob Rides EMTB

Administrator
Staff member
Subscriber
Jan 14, 2018
6,158
13,281
Surrey, UK
Can’t bast it as that leaves a rough surface, fine for a key if you paint or powder afterward, but if you want smooth finish that you can then ‘brush’ , it needs to be smooth.
I chemically dip the frame to remove paint then hand finish.....only way to do it.

I’ll put some progress pics up but maybe in different thread to save bunging this one up for those not interested?
If you fancy doing 2 let me know ??
 

jemen

E*POWAH Master
Jun 1, 2018
317
379
Austria
Is it possible to mount a 32 narrow wide chainwheel on the SL Expert? Anyone tried already?
 

p3eps

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
Dec 14, 2019
1,859
2,221
Scotland
I got my 2018 comp carbon levo down to 20.7 kilos, i dont understand how they can ask the same money for a bike that has less battery, frame and motor weight, and really only saving +2kilos. Full fat levo all day :)

A few have already asked how?... but I’m more interested in how much it cost?
 

Zimmerframe

MUPPET
Subscriber
Jun 12, 2019
13,791
20,481
Brittany, France
Is it possible to mount a 32 narrow wide chainwheel on the SL Expert? Anyone tried already?

SRAM X-Sync Eagle, 94 BCD, 30T .. is the standard .

If you did go larger, you might need a guard as you don't have that nice chunky FF motor and battery guard to protect the ring...

Looks to be space on the chainguide adjustment :

sl chainguide.jpeg
 
Last edited:

hbakken

Member
Nov 27, 2018
68
48
Norway
1. Anyone know the difference in weigth on Comp ALU SL comparred to comp carbon sl??
Interessed in the difference on frameweigth alu vs carbon.
Size Large if it matters.

2. I've a comp carbon Levo today. Consider an Levo SL as additional bike instead of my Santa Cruz Hightower. Would the Comp alu sl (with upgrades of course....) just be a stupid change without enough savings on weigth??
Having difficult to see if the alu sl would be a good combination with my current Levo.

Any input @Rob Hancill ? :)
 

mitch1808

Member
Jun 30, 2019
99
100
italy
Guys, I am a bit confused as acoustic bikes that weight around 14kg all have lyrik and FOX 36 as well as other burlier components (stumpjumper included) as lower components wouldn't be up for the job. too much flex etc.

Now Levo SL comes out, avg of 18+ Kg with lower-end components that wouldn't even be ok with a normal acoustic trail/enduro bike.

I understand the initial "wow" effeect, but is it really worth it to pay that much money to have a slightly lighter bike with parts that are not up to the task and will need to be replaced anyways?
 
Last edited:

miPbiP

E*POWAH Master
Jul 8, 2019
754
805
Surrey Hills.
Guys, I am a bit confused as acoustic bikes that weight around 14kg all have lyric and FOX 36 as well as other burlier components (stumpjumper included) as lower components wouldn't be up for the job. too much flex etc.

Now Levo SL comes out, avg of 18+ Kg with lower-end components that wouldn't even be ok with a normal acoustic trail/enduro bike.

I understand the initial "wow" effeect, but is it really worth it to pay that much money to have a slightly lighter bike with parts that are not up to the task and will need to be replaced anyways?

fair point Mitch.

that's not to sat everyone who has the heavy duty components actually gets best use from them.

also there's much more variance in rider weight than bike weight.
 

mitch1808

Member
Jun 30, 2019
99
100
italy
fair point Mitch.

that's not to sat everyone who has the heavy duty components actually gets best use from them.

also there's much more variance in rider weight than bike weight.
Agreed.

I just found it funny that on acoustic bikes people are willing to take weight penalties to have the best and burlier parts even if they dont really need them.

On Levo SL, as for any other ebike, where you should get more robust components such as better brakes, fork etc for the higher overall weight, people are now trying to save 200g with lightweight tires, brakes that are barely enough for a normal 13kg MTB.

Don't get me wrong tho, I fully support a development towards lighter overall ebikes, i just dont think it should come at the expense of brakes etc while keeping a super steep price tag like specialized does.
 

Slowroller

Well-known member
Founding Member
Jan 15, 2018
494
496
Wyoming
Guys, I am a bit confused as acoustic bikes that weight around 14kg all have lyric and FOX 36 as well as other burlier components (stumpjumper included) as lower components wouldn't be up for the job. too much flex etc.

Now Levo SL comes out, avg of 18+ Kg with lower-end components that wouldn't even be ok with a normal acoustic trail/enduro bike.

I understand the initial "wow" effeect, but is it really worth it to pay that much money to have a slightly lighter bike with parts that are not up to the task and will need to be replaced anyways?

I’m with you. It reminds me of the companies that build the lightest road bikes ever that cost a bazillion dollars and no one over a hundred pounds can ride. Makes for good marketing but I long ago gave up weighing bikes and fit them out for ride quality only. When I want to ride a bike that feels like a acoustic mtb I do, if I want to rail around on an ebike, I want power. I’d rather see more options in the future in battery packs. Small ones you can daisy chain to suit your ride length. Plus backpack ones if you want to move the weight off your bike.
 

73Steff

E*POWAH Master
Sep 11, 2018
98
421
Haslemere Surrey
I’m going to put my 2pence worth in here on the weight issue.
For some background I have a 2019 S-work Levo and 2020 Ali version with ‘up spec’ in components (XX1/Carbon wheels etc) and from a seat of your pants view point there is no noticeable difference in riding experience or battery usage. Have yet to accurately weigh them (will do out of interest, both large, both very similar spec with exception battery 700 on S-works, and Fox on one verses Ohlins on the other.
The SL carbon I’ve tested the last three days is a completely different animal, most certainly lighter in weight than my S-Works Levo but ‘feels’ very light, it’s never going to climb on turbo like a Levo but if your a lighter weight rider and like to pedal you can could (fitness level permitting) keep up with a Levo as you can pedal through the limiter and still gain pace both up & particularly down hill.
That was always my limiting factor on the Levos (in stock form of obvs?)
Add to this the fact it changes direction like a ‘normal’ bike so on technical trails it is much faster without a doubt.
I raced a much quicker rider on a Levo yesterday on the SL and there was a noticeable difference in SL’s favour, never keep up with him normally and I was pulling away (that did disappear on the climb??‍♂️)

Imo it’s a totally different ebike, not for everyone, not better or worse than the Levo, just different.....I love it but not selling my Levo.
 
Last edited:

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,185
Surrey
The sensation/postioning of weight in an EMTB is the single most critical design factor over what you would allow for when designing a normal bike - irrespective of weight differences the fact that the Levo SL does not have a battery stuffed all the way up its downtube, and that the motor sits lower in the frame than the regular Levo, will mean it rides a lot lighter.

This is one of the main reasons I am still a fan of external batteries, as the majority of internal ones mean that weight is positioned higher up the downtube, exactly where you dont want it.

The packaging of the Levo SL will be as significant as the weight discrepancy in terms of how it feels to ride, in that an S-Works Levo weighing in at nearly the same as an alloy Levo SL will still ride very differently in terms of perception of weight.
 

73Steff

E*POWAH Master
Sep 11, 2018
98
421
Haslemere Surrey
Perception of weight is a very good term.....easy to get tied up in numbers. SL feels/rides lighter, also interesting to note both the SL and Levo ridden over our 10 mile loop in turbo came back with similar battery usage.
 

miPbiP

E*POWAH Master
Jul 8, 2019
754
805
Surrey Hills.
Perception of weight is a very good term.....easy to get tied up in numbers. SL feels/rides lighter, also interesting to note both the SL and Levo ridden over our 10 mile loop in turbo came back with similar battery usage.

same %ge or same total watts used?
 

p3eps

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
Dec 14, 2019
1,859
2,221
Scotland
88522563-1F28-4329-8B37-DCFEE54AA698.jpeg

Got my demo bike this evening... an SL Expert. Spent the last hour setting up the shocks, changing pedals, tyre pressures etc - ready for a VERY early ride tomorrow.

Supposed to be ~20mph winds up to about 11am, and then 50+mph after that. The place I’m going in the morning to compare against my Rail and Stumpjumper is pretty exposed, so even the 20mph wind will feel pretty wild at the top!!

For me, the Expert is the sweet spot of price v’s spec. If I decide to go for an SL, I’ll be getting the AXS upgrade kit and getting a Reverb AXS too. Swap the bars and stem for the ENVE carbon ones on my SJ and then see what else it needs. The brakes look pretty small, and the forks feel quite skimpy, but I’ll see how they go tomorrow.

Took it for a 5 min blast round the streets in the dark when I came home (still wearing work clothes!) and it seemed to have a reasonable amount of poke to it in Trail mode.

I was looking for my luggage scales to weigh it vs my Stumpy Expert - but I can’t find them, and my wife (who will have put them somewhere ‘safe’) is out at the moment. Hopefully can get them and weigh tomorrow before the SL has to go back.
 

Blinkie

Active member
Jan 11, 2020
112
86
aberdeen
View attachment 25610
Got my demo bike this evening... an SL Expert. Spent the last hour setting up the shocks, changing pedals, tyre pressures etc - ready for a VERY early ride tomorrow.

Supposed to be ~20mph winds up to about 11am, and then 50+mph after that. The place I’m going in the morning to compare against my Rail and Stumpjumper is pretty exposed, so even the 20mph wind will feel pretty wild at the top!!

For me, the Expert is the sweet spot of price v’s spec. If I decide to go for an SL, I’ll be getting the AXS upgrade kit and getting a Reverb AXS too. Swap the bars and stem for the ENVE carbon ones on my SJ and then see what else it needs. The brakes look pretty small, and the forks feel quite skimpy, but I’ll see how they go tomorrow.

Took it for a 5 min blast round the streets in the dark when I came home (still wearing work clothes!) and it seemed to have a reasonable amount of poke to it in Trail mode.

I was looking for my luggage scales to weigh it vs my Stumpy Expert - but I can’t find them, and my wife (who will have put them somewhere ‘safe’) is out at the moment. Hopefully can get them and weigh tomorrow before the SL has to go back.

Where are you riding tomorrow?

Take care of it.... It's mine on sunday
 

mitch1808

Member
Jun 30, 2019
99
100
italy
View attachment 25610
Got my demo bike this evening... an SL Expert. Spent the last hour setting up the shocks, changing pedals, tyre pressures etc - ready for a VERY early ride tomorrow.

Supposed to be ~20mph winds up to about 11am, and then 50+mph after that. The place I’m going in the morning to compare against my Rail and Stumpjumper is pretty exposed, so even the 20mph wind will feel pretty wild at the top!!

For me, the Expert is the sweet spot of price v’s spec. If I decide to go for an SL, I’ll be getting the AXS upgrade kit and getting a Reverb AXS too. Swap the bars and stem for the ENVE carbon ones on my SJ and then see what else it needs. The brakes look pretty small, and the forks feel quite skimpy, but I’ll see how they go tomorrow.

Took it for a 5 min blast round the streets in the dark when I came home (still wearing work clothes!) and it seemed to have a reasonable amount of poke to it in Trail mode.

I was looking for my luggage scales to weigh it vs my Stumpy Expert - but I can’t find them, and my wife (who will have put them somewhere ‘safe’) is out at the moment. Hopefully can get them and weigh tomorrow before the SL has to go back.

Exactly, whats the point of making an 18kg ebike, charge people loads of money (8k EUR?) and then they have to go back at it and start replacing brakes, forks, etc as they are obviously not meant to stop an ebike.

I say, if you charge me premium I want a premium package.
 

EMTB Forums

Since 2018

The World's largest electric mountain bike community.

521K
Messages
25,699
Members
Join Our Community

Latest articles


Top