Which SL Ebike for enduro riding ?

[Plummet]

Well it seems to me that you want a trail bike not an enduro bike.
I'm in the opposite camp to you. I hate under biking and roll with more travel rather than less.

So I am of little help. My advice would be buy an actual enduro e bike if you want to go enduro riding.

 

[arTNC]

Yes but @sethimus mentioned the Kenevo SL, not the full powered Kenevo. It's about the same weight as the EXe and Trance but has more travel. While the Levo SL is a long travel trail bike the Kenvo SL is more of an Enduro bike.

To be honest, any of the bikes you have listed would be fine for Enduro riding.

I have a first gen Levo SL and I've raced it in several Enduros, but I do find that it is very hard to beat a full powered bike unless the descent is pure gravity, with the only pedalling above the speed cut. As soon as there are some slow corners, or an uphill section, you will struggle to compete against a full powered bike. Still good fun to try and I still do beat a lot of riders on full powered bikes and the lighter bike is much more poppy and playful to ride.

Your take is the same as mine. While I don't race MTB/EMTB enduros on my Gen II Trek Rail 7, I do ride where we have state circuit dirt motorcycle enduros. I don't find the weight or power...used exclusively on Turbo...to be difficult to manage at all even in tight terrain. This is my first full 29'er bike, and I thought it would be sluggish handling and slow turning. It ain't. My last bikes were a 2003 Santa Cruz Bullit and a 2008 SC Nomad...both 26" wheels but with the front eventually being modified to accept a 27.5 wheel.

I've been amazed at how flickable and agile this bike is. Maybe because I also ride dirt motorcycles, I don't find the Rail to be hard to handle at all. Plus, I'll add something else. I kind of hate really light weight MTB's/EMTB's even when I was pedal-only. I find them to get deflected too easily and somewhat skittish. My Bullit and Nomad were awesome pedal-only bikes, and they were still flickable but very stable. I find the same to be true with my Rail, and maybe even a little better because there seems to be no penalty for the weight when you have pedal assist.

Hey...people are different, and I get that. However, I see little to no penalty with these full power, longer travel emtb's like the Rail and many others in that category.

 

[OZ-E]

I spent a day demoing a Shuttle SL, ELyte 140, ELyte 150, Repeater and e150 with some mates, doing back to back comparisons of the Bosch and Fazua. Unfortunately Transition hadn’t bothered to bring any spare batteries for the Relays and they were all flat by 11am, so we didn’t get to test one. With hindsight I should have taken one without a battery.

We all noticed the drag on the Fazua and were impressed how the Bosch SX wasn’t far enough behind the full fats to care about. I’ve got about 1000km on my KSL now, so reasonably familiar with that motor too.

The pivot was definitely the nicest frame, was just fantastic to ride, but was let down by the motor, lack of AXS and the price tag. Roughly £3k more than the elyte 150 was a lot of money given the compromises. Since then I’ve done a few more miles on the elyte and remain impressed, it was happy towing a mates kids up a hill the other day, but it’s also a nice descender. I prefer the ksl for the riding I do, but would be hard to turn down that Bosch motor if I was buying today.

I can only imagine there was something wrong with the Pivot you tested. Pivot looks to be out of his budget anyway so he should look at the Jam2 SL in the slack setting or even the Heckler SL.

The Fazua I rode and couldn't feel any drag. Less drag and noise than the Specialised. Also fealt twice as torquey than the Spec SL.

I know the Bosch is good but it's also bulkier, noisier with rattle and as mentioned only makes decent power when peddling hard.

 

[Zippidy]

The Levo SL has a ton of great reviews and could probably pick a second gen up used.

 

[Dax]

I can only imagine there was something wrong with the Pivot you tested. Pivot looks to be out of his budget anyway so he should look at the Jam2 SL in the slack setting or even the Heckler SL.

The Fazua I rode and couldn't feel any drag. Less drag and noise than the Specialised. Also fealt twice as torquey than the Spec SL.

I know the Bosch is good but it's also bulkier, noisier with rattle and as mentioned only makes decent power when peddling hard.

It might have been broken, but asking around here shows Fazua have drag when pedalling with no assist. I’m not convinced it’s much more torquey than Specilized SL. Maybe a little but not as much as the marketing suggests.

Didn’t notice any rattle from the Bosch motors (lightweight or full fat). Bosch gets a bit noisy at high cadence under load, but still nowhere near as bad as Specilized SL1.

 

[Suns_PSD]

I was disappointed with the drag on the Fazua with the motor turned off when I tested a Shuttle SL, it was way worse than the Bosch or SX or Specilized SL which you can happily pedal with the motor off. With the Fazua you could always feel the drag.

Bosch SX blows away Fazua for power too, it’s obviously a generation on from the rest of the SL motors.

There is something strange with engagement going on with the Fazua 60 motor. When I try and shut the motor off and pedal it's a total bear, lots of drag.

But if the bike is turned off AND stopped, maybe even reversing the cranks for a moment, it has about 5 watts of drag, basically nothing. Feels just like a normal bike really.

 

[Suns_PSD]

The Levo SL has absurdly short chainstays and a slack STA in the larger sizes. I think Spesh really missed the mark on this one.

Watching my riding buddy try and climb on his was painful. He's a big guy on the S5 and his butt seemed to be behind the rear axle. Although he is a great rider, on a moderately steep pitch, he just couldn't keep the front end on the ground going where he wanted it to.

That bike needs another 10-15mm CS length and probably 2' steeper STA.

 

[Suns_PSD]

I haven't ridden the Bosch SX but it's wider, louder, smaller battery, a bit weaker & can be spotted easily from outside the bike.

Because of these traits I think the F60 pips it pretty easily.

The Relay isn't as heavy as one might think once you normalize for the spec sheet. It's getting some penalty for the cheap spec, the extra long dropper, the bash guard & really big geo. I doubt a L Relay frame weighs more than .5# than an S5 Levo SL frame for example. It's just the geo and the other parts on it that can add up.

My XL Relay with dual inserts, dual coil suspension & tools and pedals on board weighs 44.4#s btw, but it was a cautious build.

I really love that bike.

 

[Dax]

I haven't ridden the Bosch SX but it's wider, louder, smaller battery, a bit weaker

Based on what? From riding the two side by side, the Bosch is a decent bit more powerful and similar noise, maybe a bit quieter.

can be spotted easily from outside the bike.

I hadn’t really taken onboard how subtle the pivot is, until I sent the photo to a bunch of mates and they all asked why I was riding a non e-bike.

Because of these traits I think the F60 pips it pretty easily.

Riding the two side by side, the Bosch blows the F60 away. It feels like it’s a generation newer than the competition. The F60 feels closer to the Specilized SL in power terms than the Bosch, which would be a tougher one to call and I’d put down to how much I like the frame…which in the case of pivot is a LOT.

 

[Suns_PSD]

I've never ridden the Bosch SX (or even seen one) but am going off of reviews that I have read from people that have ridden both. I do see upon rereading that the Bosch can offer more peak power, at higher cadences. For me, with a 400 watt battery, I don't consider that an important distinction. I do see at least one review that says the Bosch SX has class leading low noise. This does matter to me, a great deal in fact. Fortunately, I don't even hear my F60 while riding.

That said, if I found the ideal bike that was Bosch equipped I would not mind.

Bosch's new Performance SX e-bike motor brings full-fat power in a lightweight package - MBR

Is 2023 the year of the ‘diet’ emtb? With Specialized dropping the new Levo SL and multiple brands joining the fold with new models there have been plenty of strong signs already, but if you’re still not convinced Bosch’s new Performance SX system is surely the 100ft tall, giant, wacky, waving...

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Pivot Shuttle SL 29 Team XTR eMTB review - MBR

Lightweight, mid-power e-bikes are the hot ticket right now, and none are coming in hotter than the new Shuttle SL from Pivot. Based on a 29er trail bike platform that delivers 132mm of travel, the Shuttle SL isn’t just another self-service uplift e-bike… but is it one of the best electric...

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FAZUA Ride 60 - in our big e-mountainbike motor comparison test

We tested the FAZUA Ride 60 Light eMTB motor, both in the lab and on the trail. It sounds promising, but how does it fare in real life?

ebike-mtb.com

 

[MVC]

I have about 15 rides on my Relay 29" front and rear. At first I struggled in the corners. For me this bike likes allot of front end pressure once I figured that out tight corners became fun but I still struggled with confidence. I now have 4 rides with a Vorsprung Smashpot spring kit and this gave me confidence along with getting the bike balanced front and rear. I can now rail tight corners but I have to be on it. The relay generates allot of speed and doesn't get hung up on rocks and roots. Still adjusting to the speed it carries. I have damn near ate Sh$t a couple of times. Old Bike Intense Carbine set up heavy for down hill fun.

This is my first ebike and have been blown up on how light but heavy it rides. Light as I can hit jumps and move it around heavy as in how it wants to carry speed into corners. Motor I read all the horror stories so far its working great and if if breaks I can buy a new for for $600.00 sounds like a motor swap is easy.

 

[shakazulu12]

This is my first ebike and have been blown up on how light but heavy it rides. Light as I can hit jumps and move it around heavy as in how it wants to carry speed into corners. Motor I read all the horror stories so far its working great and if if breaks I can buy a new for for $600.00 sounds like a motor swap is easy.

Bolded has been the biggest surprise to me, albeit on a Canyon Strive. I had to go back and mess with the cockpit on my regular bike to try and find the agility the Canyon has. I was not expecting it to be so nimble as far as turning.

 

[Raisaac123]

Yes but @sethimus mentioned the Kenevo SL, not the full powered Kenevo. It's about the same weight as the EXe and Trance but has more travel. While the Levo SL is a long travel trail bike the Kenvo SL is more of an Enduro bike.

To be honest, any of the bikes you have listed would be fine for Enduro riding.

I have a first gen Levo SL and I've raced it in several Enduros, but I do find that it is very hard to beat a full powered bike unless the descent is pure gravity, with the only pedalling above the speed cut. As soon as there are some slow corners, or an uphill section, you will struggle to compete against a full powered bike. Still good fun to try and I still do beat a lot of riders on full powered bikes and the lighter bike is much more poppy and playful to ride.

Hi. I am looking into an ebike and here in Colombia Specialized is very popular. They have the SL 1 and 2. The SL1 is at a discount at $5250. Do you think it is still worth getting? seems this industry is converting to something similar to electrical cars and cellphones which grow in technology pretty fast and obsolescence plays a big role at the time of buying... I am unsure in buying something at 5K that is already 2 years old... Is it still a good bike for 2024" (your personal opinion)

 

[Streddaz]

Hi. I am looking into an ebike and here in Colombia Specialized is very popular. They have the SL 1 and 2. The SL1 is at a discount at $5250. Do you think it is still worth getting? seems this industry is converting to something similar to electrical cars and cellphones which grow in technology pretty fast and obsolescence plays a big role at the time of buying... I am unsure in buying something at 5K that is already 2 years old... Is it still a good bike for 2024" (your personal opinion)

I think the SL 1 is still a great bike, it is a noisy motor compared to most and it has less power than the others. If you are planning to keep it for a long time, I don't think it will give you much trouble and the motor can be serviced. Resale value wouldn't be that great though, as there are more powerful and quieter bikes out there now. I have no issues with keeping up in singletrack with other Ebikes and it's only on the open fire roads that I struggle.
If you are getting a really good deal on an old SL1 and you are not fazed about no having the latest and greatest the SL1 will be fine. It really doesn't matter what bike you get; it will be out of date in a couple of years anyway, just that some people like to keep replacing their bike with the latest model and in that case, you would want to buy the newest model and sell it before it loses to much value. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Raisaac123]

I think the SL 1 is still a great bike, it is a noisy motor compared to most and it has less power than the others. If you are planning to keep it for a long time, I don't think it will give you much trouble and the motor can be serviced. Resale value wouldn't be that great though, as there are more powerful and quieter bikes out there now. I have no issues with keeping up in singletrack with other Ebikes and it's only on the open fire roads that I struggle.
If you are getting a really good deal on an old SL1 and you are not fazed about no having the latest and greatest the SL1 will be fine. It really doesn't matter what bike you get; it will be out of date in a couple of years anyway, just that some people like to keep replacing their bike with the latest model and in that case, you would want to buy the newest model and sell it before it loses to much value. Hope that makes sense.

I just bought the Enduro Comp last year and paid a good amount for that bike ($3600). I am thinking of replacing but there are so many sales on these bikes that the price of my bike just went down a bunch. From the financial point, it doesn't make much sense to change right now. I should keep mine and make it worth, it while I have it. But the SL 1 keeps smiling at me... I need it to come down in price a bunch more before I purchase it. I think the store is not selling these old models and the price must come down even more... I might make the jump if that happens... thanks for your insight. I think one of the fears is that it is 35Nw and I was afraid of not keeping up with full-powered ebikes...

 

[Julie_X1]

I think one of the fears is that it is 35Nw and I was afraid of not keeping up with full-powered ebikes...

It won’t be able to keep up.

None of the newer 50-60Nw mid-power e-mtb’s can keep up.

I had a Specialized e-bike with the same SL1 motor (Turbo Vado SL). It was an amazing motor, very innovative for its time and it is still is a great motor if you don’t need a powerful one. For someone like me (who currently has a not-so-powerful 50Nw Trek Fuel EXe), it would be just fine. But it would be way too weak to keep up with a full powered e-MTB.

There’s currently only 3 lighter weight e-MTBs with full power motors I’m aware of:
- Giant Trance Advanced Elite
- Cannondale Moterra SL 2024
- Orbea Rise EDITED to specify 2025+ models (only the newest generation Rise)

 

[squeegee]

There’s currently only 3 lighter weight e-MTBs with full power motors I’m aware of:
- Giant Trance Advanced Elite
- Cannondale Moterra SL 2024
- Orbea Rise EDITED to specify 2025+ models (only the newest generation Rise)

Gen1 and Gen2 Orbea Rise can be made full power using aftermarket software easily...Rotwild has a full power SL model as well.