My wife is not in shape, and wants to be able to keep up with me when I ride my Ibis Ripley on non-technical (but bumpy) terrain. I ride nearly every day, so I'm very much in shape.
Would the Levo SL be the right bike for my wife? She wants to be able to get a workout. The SL would make sense only if she would be able to keep up with me when she rides in the least-assist setting. (If she would need to use full assist, she would be limited in distance.)
We were in the exact same boat about 3 months ago. She demo’ed both the Specialized Turbo Levo SL (‘21 Expert w/36) and the FF Levo (‘20 Comp), in that order.
What happened was that we ended up buying a his-and-hers pair of ‘21 FF Levo Comps, mostly because 1) I was overdue for a modern bike, motor-or-not; 2)
Santa Cruz’s Heckler video opened my eyes to the possibilities that an E-bike (in particular a FF version) can open; and 3) I was disappointed in the parts spec of the ‘21 Levo SL Comp Carbon, while more-or-less satisfied by that of the ‘21 FF Levo Comp. So why did it turn out to be my choice?
She did not have a strong preference for either. She found the assistance more-than-sufficient in both versions to not only keep up with me, but drop me at a moment's notice in either depending on the assistance mode that she can call up at her fingertips. This was anticipated. However, my anticipated issue for her, the 8/10lb mass differential (between the FF Levo Comp and the Levo SL Comp/SL Comp Carbon) turned out to be a non-issue as well. I think this came down to either/the-combination-of two things: 1) she used to ride a motor scooter as her primary mode of transportation for more than a decade; and 2) on a MTB, she’s really still only a bike “steerer”, not-so-much a “handler”, not to mention a “finesser” nor “manhandler”. So the mass differential was some combination of not-a-bother relative to other 2-wheeled vehicles she's used to, and/or inconsequential for her current performance envelope . Her only (soft) preference was that the E-bike not look like an E-bike due to joking comments (“you’re cheating!”) received from a random passed rider during her demo days on our local trails. (The comments weren’t as well-received as I thought they might’ve been intended.) So she had a soft preference for the SL based on imperfect memory of the demo, and product photos. However, seeing the E-bikes again in real life made her realize that neither could pass as a manual bike, so my advice that the '21 FF Levo Comp was the better-spec’ed bike for the lower expenditure level took precedence.
At this early juncture the Levo isn’t opening new opportunities for me (no epics yet). But it is allowing her to progress quickly, as my diagnosis for how an E-bike could expand her riding envelope was more-or-less on-the-mark. The primary reason we became interested in an E-bike in the first place was my diagnosis that her trouble with small roots and mild rock patches on anything even slightly uphill was largely due to the fact that she lacked the power and momentum to roll through them, which was worsened by the fact she was trying to do it on an old-school 26’er hardtail. This is obviously not a problem for anybody who's a relative old-schooler (raises hand), and not a problem for a rider with a modicum of power... but it also was no longer a problem that needed to be overcome in purely the old school ways (i.e. get stronger and/or better technique). Because almost everything contemporary (big wheels, full-suspension, motor assistance) would help for this, making the learning curve much easier to surmount (pun unintended) or even non-existent, so it was no longer a gating issue. The '21 FF Levo Comp has been mostly successful in addressing this, which has allowed her to move onto other skills challenges such as rocky descents and switchbacks. It has greatly expanded her riding envelope, not to mention range.
So why a his-and-hers pair of '21 FF Levo Comps? Why all this backstory?
Having a RS Domain (running at a shortened 149mm of travel) on my main manual bike (a Santa Cruz Heckler 5), I wasn't going to be happy on anything less than a 35mm Rock Shox or a Fox 36 for running at 160mm. That bike also has a GX/NX Eagle drivetrain on it, which familiarized me with SRAM's cost-per-mile, and allowed me to realize the better bang-for-the-buck of the later-to-market Shimano SLX m7100 group, esp. when supplemented with choice XT m8100 bits. The '21 FF Levo Comp's drivetrain cost-per-mile was something easy to justify on purely her interests even if she herself was not aware of drivetrain consumable consumption rate of an E-bike. And the field-removeable (read: swappable) battery was an added bonus for the purpose of charge equalization in my interest of epics for two riders who were going to be riding at significantly different assistance levels.
This is all to say that if the interest was purely about acquiring one E-bike for her to ride with me on my manual bike, either the SL or the FF would have sufficed, with maybe an edge to the SL for its lower mass and greater ease for riding without assistance... at the cost of worse bang-for-the-buck drivetrain consumables, and higher single-bike sticker price (that is, we would have aimed for a '21 Levo SL Comp
Carbon; the SL is a bike that is more worthwhile to invest not-insubstantial-money into mass reduction). The Fox 34 probably won't be noticed by her for a long time, if at all. But being that the interest was for two E-bikes, the '21 FF Levo Comp would 1) better satisfy both riders, 2) open up more possibilities (i.e. battery swap/charge equalization for maximizing group range), 3) simplify tuning/maintenance (i.e. standardization of tools/consumables), and 4) mitigate total outlay, since we're now buying two E-bikes. The undiscussed advantage (that I kinda knew) is that there will be lower impediments to further expenditures/upgrades... if you just buy it for her/shared-use as well. I mean, I just blew ~$1k on a new bike rack and stocking up (shared) drivetrain consumables with nary any resistance.
Depending on your particular budgetary arrangement with your significant other, this might be a significant consideration.
So... before you recommend a path for your significant other, consider whether there might be an E-bike in your own near future as well. It could affect your optimal group setup.
