FULL POWER, LESS CASH

Specialized’s Turbo Levo Alloy brings pedal-assistance to the metal

Specialized have successfully translated carbon fibre bikes into aluminium before, with the Stumpjumper EVO Alloy. This time, the Californian brand have trickled the key ingredients of their Turbo Levo e-bike down to a lower price range in the form of the £5,250 Turbo Levo Alloy and the £6,750 Turbo Levo Comp Alloy.

Both rock a mixed-size ‘mullet’ wheel set-up (29in front, 650b rear) and share the same ‘M5 premium alloy’ frame. This is said to be 816g heavier than the carbon version, but has the same geometry and six reach-based sizes. A flip-chip at the chainstay pivot lets you slacken the head angle by half a degree (64.5-64°), and on the Levo Comp Alloy, an offset headset cup gives an extra degree of adjustment both ways (or can be swapped for a neutral cup) and alters the BB height by 7mm. There’s 150mm of rear travel, paired with a 160mm fork (150mm on the S1 size).

The base model houses a 500Wh battery in its down tube, while the Levo Comp Alloy gets a 700Wh version, offering a claimed five hours of ride time. Both use the same Specialized Turbo Full Power 2.2 motor as the carbon bikes, with upgraded drive belt and 90Nm of max torque. However, they don’t get the brand’s latest MasterMind Turbo Control Unit, and are instead equipped with the previousgeneration TCU, which still offers the same ANT+ and Bluetooth connectivity.

On the Levo Comp Alloy you get a Fox Rhythm 36 fork and DPS Performance shock, SRAM GX Eagle-based shifting and Code R brakes, and own-brand finishing kit. Downgrades on the Levo Alloy include NX/ SX gearing and a RockShox 35 fork.