Levo Gen 4 Specialized Gen 4 Levo - Official Thread

[B-man]

I had the new updated battery cradle cut out on me for the first time yesterday. I took the battery out and reinstalled and no problems the rest of the day. I hope this doesn't happen again. Im on my 8th levo and this new gen has caused me more problems than all the other 7 Levos combined. I still love it but it scares me when Im way back in the woods.

 

[Ndanger]

I had the new updated battery cradle cut out on me for the first time yesterday. I took the battery out and reinstalled and no problems the rest of the day. I hope this doesn't happen again. Im on my 8th levo and this new gen has caused me more problems than all the other 7 Levos combined. I still love it but it scares me when Im way back in the woods.

View attachment 168039

Wow, there is so much magic on mountain tops! What a stunning photo! And what a chilling moment having a battery cut out, can you imagine if you were at a location where it was a long hard climb to get back, the sun setting, overnight temps dropping at high elevation... been there done that not with a battery problem but definitely calls in a level of challenge that can be an eye opener

 

[Gropec]

Hey all,

Who use the RE, range extender?

I am thinking of buying one but i have few questions:

If the main battery has 20% left for exemple( without the RE on the bike) and if i put the RE on the bike( 100% charged).
What will be happen?
What is the discharge sequence?

I plan tu use the RE only during climb only and then put it on the backpack for the Downhill.

I don't want to be in the situation where the bike lost half of the power because the RE take the hand over the battery.

For exemple, what is the lowest main battery % i can run before but the RE on the bike and still have the full power of motor.

I hope it is clear for you, i am french, so be gentle with me!!

Thanks guys!!!

 

[PaulH2B]

If the main battery has 20% left for exemple( without the RE on the bike) and if i put the RE on the bike( 100% charged).
What will be happen?
What is the discharge sequence?

Hi there,
in your exapmle, the display will show you both charge levels, so 20 for the Battery and 100 for the RE. First the RE extender will be depleted till it will be at 20%, during this time you will have limited Power, around 380W but full torque from the Motor. As soon as both are on the same lavel of charge, you will have the full power available while using both batteries at same time.

There is generally no reduction in Power output in lower charge status of the battery, the system will give you all the Power up to 1% of charge, like the Bosche Race Motor.

So, when you will put your RE, is up to you. If you want to have full power all the time, it is better to have it connected from the beginning of the ride, starting with 100%/100%, both will be discharged simultaneously.
Connecting the RE when the main battery is empty, will give you reduced power output for the time while using it.

 

[Gropec]

Hi there,
in your exapmle, the display will show you both charge levels, so 20 for the Battery and 100 for the RE. First the RE extender will be depleted till it will be at 20%, during this time you will have limited Power, around 380W but full torque from the Motor. As soon as both are on the same lavel of charge, you will have the full power available while using both batteries at same time.

There is generally no reduction in Power output in lower charge status of the battery, the system will give you all the Power up to 1% of charge, like the Bosche Race Motor.

So, when you will put your RE, is up to you. If you want to have full power all the time, it is better to have it connected from the beginning of the ride, starting with 100%/100%, both will be discharged simultaneously.
Connecting the RE when the main battery is empty, will give you reduced power output for the time while using it.

Many thanks for your reply Paul!!!
it's more clear now
if the main battery has less % than the RE, and RE are on the bike, i will have limited power till RE match the % of the main battery?

 

[PaulH2B]

if the main battery has less % than the RE, and RE are on the bike, i will have limited power till RE match the % of the main battery?

Yes, exactly, this is how it works.

 

[linkqwd]

Today I finally got to test ride the Gen4.
I drew some interesting conclusions for myself. My main concern was the increased weight, but in reality, it turned out to be no issue at all — even when lifting the bike by hand it was hard to tell the difference from the Gen3. I tested the Expert model.

I’ve been riding a Gen3 for 2 years now, so here are my comparison notes:

Pros:
+ Removable battery – really well implemented and very convenient.
+ Extra weight is not noticeable at all on descents. (its weird to be as a plus but considering it results in "stronger" components i think it is plus thats having that its not noticeable)
+ More powerful motor.
+ While I couldn’t fully confirm this during the test, in the long term it seems useful to have so many adjustment options on the bike, including the Genie shock.

Cons:
- The motor noise is very annoying, the pitch is higher than on the Gen3 and it’s louder too. It reminded me somewhat of the first generation levo SL sound.
- The motor rattles on descents, similar to the Bosch Gen4.
- Even with the shuttle mode set to zero, the motor “pushes” while in turbo. It feels like the software tuning is unbalanced; the power delivery on the Gen3 is much smoother while being 100/100. Once again, it really reminded me of the Bosch Gen4 motor.
- No physical button on the TCU. If for any reason the wired handlebar remote fails, you’re screwed — the bike cannot be turned on in any way whatsoever. At that point it’s just a 24 kg pedal bike with some motor drag. UPD: there is solution for that
- Aesthetically I don’t like it. The oversized downtube is a problem for me since we(riding group) use roof racks, and finding a rack that fits such a wide tube will likely be impossible.

Overall impression:
My experience with the Gen4 was negative. To me, the only real and valuable improvement is the removable battery, which is indeed practical. Everything else feels better on the Gen3. I even grabbed a rental Gen3 Alloy model from the test area (the lowest spec with an RS Deluxe shock) to compare with the Gen4 side by side as they were both test bikes, and the result was basically the same. I didn’t feel any next-level improvement on the descents, while the Gen3 motor’s power delivery was much more pleasant, and the lack of rattling on descents made the bike much nicer to ride.

I really wanted to like the Gen4 since I love the idea of the easily removable battery, but unfortunately this bike is definitely not for me. I’ll keep looking into the Trek Rail with the Bosch Gen5 motor.

 

[B-man]

CKKONE, You laughed at my post. Why?

I ride huge rides in the backcountry and when your ebike turns off it's a little unnerving. Id hate to push and pedal a dead ebike out of the places I ride. Most people don't even ride the remote trails I ride. It would take a long time to get back to the car with a dead ebike.

Ive had a lot of small problems with my gen 4. Ive had more problems with it than all my other 7 Levos. I keep my Levos for a year and get a new one almost every year.

 

[westcoastmtbr]

Today I finally got to test ride the Gen4.
I drew some interesting conclusions for myself. My main concern was the increased weight, but in reality, it turned out to be no issue at all — even when lifting the bike by hand it was hard to tell the difference from the Gen3. I tested the Expert model.

I’ve been riding a Gen3 for 2 years now, so here are my comparison notes:

Pros:
+ Removable battery – really well implemented and very convenient.
+ Extra weight is not noticeable at all on descents. (its weird to be as a plus but considering it results in "stronger" components i think it is plus thats having that its not noticeable)
+ More powerful motor.
+ While I couldn’t fully confirm this during the test, in the long term it seems useful to have so many adjustment options on the bike, including the Genie shock.

Cons:
- The motor noise is very annoying, the pitch is higher than on the Gen3 and it’s louder too. It reminded me somewhat of the first generation levo SL sound.
- The motor rattles on descents, similar to the Bosch Gen4.
- Even with the shuttle mode set to zero, the motor “pushes” while in turbo. It feels like the software tuning is unbalanced; the power delivery on the Gen3 is much smoother while being 100/100. Once again, it really reminded me of the Bosch Gen4 motor.
- No physical button on the TCU. If for any reason the wired handlebar remote fails, you’re screwed — the bike cannot be turned on in any way whatsoever. At that point it’s just a 24 kg pedal bike with some motor drag.
- Aesthetically I don’t like it. The oversized downtube is a problem for me since we(riding group) use roof racks, and finding a rack that fits such a wide tube will likely be impossible.

Overall impression:
My experience with the Gen4 was negative. To me, the only real and valuable improvement is the removable battery, which is indeed practical. Everything else feels better on the Gen3. I even grabbed a rental Gen3 Alloy model from the test area (the lowest spec with an RS Deluxe shock) to compare with the Gen4 side by side as they were both test bikes, and the result was basically the same. I didn’t feel any next-level improvement on the descents, while the Gen3 motor’s power delivery was much more pleasant, and the lack of rattling on descents made the bike much nicer to ride.

I really wanted to like the Gen4 since I love the idea of the easily removable battery, but unfortunately this bike is definitely not for me. I’ll keep looking into the Trek Rail with the Bosch Gen5 motor.

That’s funny, not one professional reviewer has noted this

Today I finally got to test ride the Gen4.
I drew some interesting conclusions for myself. My main concern was the increased weight, but in reality, it turned out to be no issue at all — even when lifting the bike by hand it was hard to tell the difference from the Gen3. I tested the Expert model.

I’ve been riding a Gen3 for 2 years now, so here are my comparison notes:

Pros:
+ Removable battery – really well implemented and very convenient.
+ Extra weight is not noticeable at all on descents. (its weird to be as a plus but considering it results in "stronger" components i think it is plus thats having that its not noticeable)
+ More powerful motor.
+ While I couldn’t fully confirm this during the test, in the long term it seems useful to have so many adjustment options on the bike, including the Genie shock.

Cons:
- The motor noise is very annoying, the pitch is higher than on the Gen3 and it’s louder too. It reminded me somewhat of the first generation levo SL sound.
- The motor rattles on descents, similar to the Bosch Gen4.
- Even with the shuttle mode set to zero, the motor “pushes” while in turbo. It feels like the software tuning is unbalanced; the power delivery on the Gen3 is much smoother while being 100/100. Once again, it really reminded me of the Bosch Gen4 motor.
- No physical button on the TCU. If for any reason the wired handlebar remote fails, you’re screwed — the bike cannot be turned on in any way whatsoever. At that point it’s just a 24 kg pedal bike with some motor drag.
- Aesthetically I don’t like it. The oversized downtube is a problem for me since we(riding group) use roof racks, and finding a rack that fits such a wide tube will likely be impossible.

Overall impression:
My experience with the Gen4 was negative. To me, the only real and valuable improvement is the removable battery, which is indeed practical. Everything else feels better on the Gen3. I even grabbed a rental Gen3 Alloy model from the test area (the lowest spec with an RS Deluxe shock) to compare with the Gen4 side by side as they were both test bikes, and the result was basically the same. I didn’t feel any next-level improvement on the descents, while the Gen3 motor’s power delivery was much more pleasant, and the lack of rattling on descents made the bike much nicer to ride.

I really wanted to like the Gen4 since I love the idea of the easily removable battery, but unfortunately this bike is definitely not for me. I’ll keep looking into the Trek Rail with the Bosch Gen5 motor.

that’s interesting, not a single professional reviewer noted any motor clunking at all and Enduro MTB magazine made the Levo 4 bike of the year plus Loam Wolf and Sam’s bikes praise the Gen 4. Sounds like your bike may have had issues.

 

[Ndanger]

I find it interesting to hear from individual riders who have not financial interest or agenda. Nice to have a contrast.

 

[linkqwd]

That’s funny, not one professional reviewer has noted this

that’s interesting, not a single professional reviewer noted any motor clunking at all and Enduro MTB magazine made the Levo 4 bike of the year plus Loam Wolf and Sam’s bikes praise the Gen 4. Sounds like your bike may have had issues.

Maybe it was a bad demo unit, and it has probably seen a lot of use already, but it was definitely rattling. I’ve already seen similar reports here on the forum, for example: Levo Gen 4 - Specialized launch Generation 4 Levo - Official Thread or Levo Gen 4 - Specialized launch Generation 4 Levo - Official Thread

I think different units can sound with some difference, and with more riding the rattle may become more noticeable, gen3 motors with a time became more noisier too but on uphills. Some people don’t care about it or don’t even notice and then we get mixed reports, but I’m very sensitive to this kind of thing and could never ride a Shimano motor. The only rattle I can tolerate is the chain.

 

[luna87824]

Picked up a demo Expert at a great price. Took a quick test run; and really looking forward to a real ride tomorrow now that I got it setup for myself.
View attachment 167925

Who did you buy it from?

 

[Polar]

No physical button on the TCU. If for any reason the wired handlebar remote fails, you’re screwed — the bike cannot be turned on in any way whatsoever

I never turn it on with the remote I use the app, it's also the possibilities to set it auto lock/unlock.
"Even with the shuttle mode set to zero, the motor “pushes” while in turbo"
Don't understand what you mean or you talking about overrun?

 

[Purple parznip]

Lovely,but its a mullet

 

[linkqwd]

I never turn it on with the remote I use the app, it's also the possibilities to set it auto lock/unlock.

so bluetooth is constantly on and ready to paring even when you turn off the bike?

 

[salko]

I never turn it on with the remote I use the app, it's also the possibilities to set it auto lock/unlock.

I don't really understand why one would use the app to turn ON the bike ... seems to be so much steps involved (taking phone out from the pocket, unlocking it, open the app, find and press the ON button ...) vs pushing one physical button on the remote ...

 

[Polar]

.

so bluetooth is constantly on and ready to paring even when you turn off the bike?

When I move the bike out of the garage and display is dark/off firs the alarm is triggered (I would like it to be more sensitive to movement and much louder) then the display lights up then it unlocks and is ready to go.
I reckon Bluetooth is off all the time but turns on after the alarm is triggered since it recognizes the owner is close to the bike.

 

[Polar]

I don't really understand why one would use the app to turn ON the bike ... seems to be so much steps involved (taking phone out from the pocket, unlocking it, open the app, find and press the ON button ...) vs pushing one physical button on the remote ...

Just keep the phone in your pocket that's the whole point wait a couple of seconds until display light up and then until it's unlocked then ride on.

 

[salko]

Oh I see, just like a Tesla.

So I guess you can do this only when you have alarm activated. So when you move the bike, it detects your phone and unlock itself and you are ready to ride. If no phone is detected, it sounds alarm and stays locked.
But if alarm is deactivated I guess you still need to power it ON with a remote (or using app by pressing a button?)?

 

[linkqwd]

When I move the bike out of the garage and display is dark/off firs the alarm is triggered (I would like it to be more sensitive to movement and much louder) then the display lights up then it unlocks and is ready to go.
I reckon Bluetooth is off all the time but turns on after the alarm is triggered since it recognizes the owner is close to the bike.

ok, didnt know that, updated my post, thanks

 

[Polar]

Oh I see, just like a Tesla.

So I guess you can do this only when you have alarm activated. So when you move the bike, it detects your phone and unlock itself and you are ready to ride. If no phone is detected, it sounds alarm and stays locked.
But if alarm is deactivated I guess you still needs to power it ON with a remote (or using app by pressing a button?)?

I haven't tried with the alarm off but I guess the the same will happen but without the alarm triggered first (no reason not)
If you want a cleaner cockpit just remove the remote, most adjustments can be done on the display.

 

[Polar]

Oh I see, just like a Tesla.

So I guess you can do this only when you have alarm activated. So when you move the bike, it detects your phone and unlock itself and you are ready to ride. If no phone is detected, it sounds alarm and stays locked.
But if alarm is deactivated I guess you still need to power it ON with a remote (or using app by pressing a button?)?

No no it's no Tesla that's the A bike I can't remember the full name but same with or without alarm the only thing that Irritates me is the alarm sometimes keep on for a few seconds after it's unlocked.

Don't trust me but try it out or read the manual.
Imagine how clean cockpit you could have.

 

[salko]

Having a clean cockpit sacrificing remote is imho not worth it ... I really can't imagine myself changing support level without a remote, when I'm in a difficult/technical terrain, I need my hands on a handlebar and my eyes on a trail, I just can't fiddle with setting on a touch screen ... But its nice to have a backup in case if remote fails.

 

[Mikerb]

Maybe not of interest to all but clearly one large potential market for the gen 4 is current Spesh gen 3 owners. So I thought my gen 3 experience may be of interest.
My main bikes are Whyte E160 RSXs with the Bosch Gen 4 motor/750 w/h battery. Fabulous reliable fault free full enduro bikes. This year I wanted to supplement my garage with a pure trail bike for country rides. I previously owned a gen 2 levo comp back in 2019 about 2 years and despite upgrading the tyres suspension and brakes found it very limiting on more challenging terrain so partnered it with a Whyte E180 RSX.
So looking for a trail bike this year I ended up chasing a gen3 Levo Comp Ally at a really good knockdown price. I have left it completely standard both geo and component wise. So here is the punch line! It's brilliant! It is so much better than the gen 2 with evidence wherever I look of a bike being further developed and refined over years. On this fairly basic model the Fox 36 Rhythm is its weakest point.....but I found a really weird tune that works well for trail riding and the brakes are phenomenal! I became curious just how far I could push this bike so I took it to the forest where there are far more challenging gravity trails with jumps drop and tight twisty berm runs etc. OK I avoided the bigger featured but was amazed at its performance. Not as stable and planted as my Whytes.....but more manoeuvrable in the tree slalom sections. Clearly the models further up the range must be even better than the comp.
So my point is if you have a Levo expert etc be content with what you have!!


Ps. for anyone interested in how I tune the Fox 36 Rhythm........I am 70kg.......no air tokens / 60 psi/ lsc dial at 1 oclock/rebound 8 clicks from open.

 

[Ride 2d@y]

So looking for a trail bike this year I ended up chasing a gen3 Levo Comp Ally at a really good knockdown price.

I lucked out and found a new Gen3 Comp Alloy in my size and in a color that I liked - so if you want a new bike with full warranty you better act fast. But if you don't get a discount, just buy a Gen 4 etc etc

 

[Eduardoramundo]

No no it's no Tesla that's the A bike I can't remember the full name but same with or without alarm the only thing that Irritates me is the alarm sometimes keep on for a few seconds after it's unlocked.

Don't trust me but try it out or read the manual.
Imagine how clean cockpit you could have.

The bike will only turn on without the remote if you have the below option turned on.

Otherwise you have yourself a normal pedal bike.

If you break the remote and the bike goes off then you are screwed.

 

[Eduardoramundo]

Today I finally got to test ride the Gen4.
I drew some interesting conclusions for myself. My main concern was the increased weight, but in reality, it turned out to be no issue at all — even when lifting the bike by hand it was hard to tell the difference from the Gen3. I tested the Expert model.

I’ve been riding a Gen3 for 2 years now, so here are my comparison notes:

Pros:
+ Removable battery – really well implemented and very convenient.
+ Extra weight is not noticeable at all on descents. (its weird to be as a plus but considering it results in "stronger" components i think it is plus thats having that its not noticeable)
+ More powerful motor.
+ While I couldn’t fully confirm this during the test, in the long term it seems useful to have so many adjustment options on the bike, including the Genie shock.

Cons:
- The motor noise is very annoying, the pitch is higher than on the Gen3 and it’s louder too. It reminded me somewhat of the first generation levo SL sound.
- The motor rattles on descents, similar to the Bosch Gen4.
- Even with the shuttle mode set to zero, the motor “pushes” while in turbo. It feels like the software tuning is unbalanced; the power delivery on the Gen3 is much smoother while being 100/100. Once again, it really reminded me of the Bosch Gen4 motor.
- No physical button on the TCU. If for any reason the wired handlebar remote fails, you’re screwed — the bike cannot be turned on in any way whatsoever. At that point it’s just a 24 kg pedal bike with some motor drag. UPD: there is solution for that
- Aesthetically I don’t like it. The oversized downtube is a problem for me since we(riding group) use roof racks, and finding a rack that fits such a wide tube will likely be impossible.

Overall impression:
My experience with the Gen4 was negative. To me, the only real and valuable improvement is the removable battery, which is indeed practical. Everything else feels better on the Gen3. I even grabbed a rental Gen3 Alloy model from the test area (the lowest spec with an RS Deluxe shock) to compare with the Gen4 side by side as they were both test bikes, and the result was basically the same. I didn’t feel any next-level improvement on the descents, while the Gen3 motor’s power delivery was much more pleasant, and the lack of rattling on descents made the bike much nicer to ride.

I really wanted to like the Gen4 since I love the idea of the easily removable battery, but unfortunately this bike is definitely not for me. I’ll keep looking into the Trek Rail with the Bosch Gen5 motor.

Here is a way to turn on your bike if the remote is broken. You just need a USB-C cable.

Not ideal, but a good emergency workaround.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtube.com

 

[Polar]

The bike will only turn on without the remote if you have the below option turned on.

I have not tried with the alarm off since it always is on and I don't see any reason for not but I definitely will give it a try.
Actually I think the alarm function could be much better sometimes the bike can be moved far away while shaking the bike other times it trigger much easier so the sensor is not the best.

 

[Powerslider]

Who did you buy it from?

I live in Scottsdale so I just happened to find one locally for sale in my size.

https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/4069061/

 

[cream]

Some people don’t care about it or don’t even notice and then we get mixed reports, but I’m very sensitive to this kind of thing and could never ride a Shimano motor. The only rattle I can tolerate is the chain.

That must be the case because the gen4 I've tested was new and your above post described pretty well my own experience with the new motor. First I couldn't believe, I've fiddled with different settings, etc, but Brose I knew was gone. So either you'll live with it or you don't.

But the fact that the professional reviewers don't talk about these technical details that changed from previous generations(in a wrong way, if you ask me), is strange.