THE OUTLIER
SPECIALIZED TURBO LEVO SL COMP
This is such an exciting bike.
The concept alone is a winner – a lighter e-bike with a less powerful motor that handles more like a regular trail bike, but with enough extra oomph for a hero ride every weekend. There’s no other bike like it available in South Africa.
The top-line Levo SL weighs only 17.3 kg, but it costs more than R200k. The Comp model is half that price, with an alloy frame and less bling-y components. Still, it clocks in at a svelte 18.8 kg.
In profile it looks like a regular Stumpjumper, with no giveaway bulge to betray the presence of the motor. Suspension travel is 150mm front and rear, and the head angle is a downhill hammering 66°. The drivetrain is 12-speed NX Eagle; the fork is a Fox Rhythm 34, and there’s a Fox Float DPS shock at the back.
Everything else is on point: 30mm internal rims, 29x2.3” tyres, dropper post, and a 780mmwide handlebar on a super-short stem. There are two colours: dusty turquoise (our fave) or rocket red, which should come with a brightness warning.
All well and good. But the Levo SL’s secret weapon is that down tube, and all the electronic wizardry going on inside. The SL 1.1 motor weighs just under 2 kg – about a kilogram less than the 2.1 motor in the standard Levo. It delivers 35Nm of torque and provides a max power output of 240 watts. In comparison, the bigger 2.1 motor pumps out 90Nm of torque at 565 watts max power. (The law limits the nominal power of an eMTB motor to 250W. However, depending on torque and cadence, all motors reach much higher power output peaks in the short term.)
The 320Wh battery in the SL is also lighter, but because the motor uses significantly less power, a charge should last as long as the 500Wh battery in a standard Levo – about five hours of riding. If you’re going longer than that, you can get an optional 160Wh range-extender battery that fits into the bottle cage and takes the total capacity to 480Wh.
Smaller motor, lighter battery… what this does is make the bike feel more sprightly and nimble.
You have to work harder, obviously, but you don’t get the feeling that you’re ‘hitting the wall’ when you top out at 25km/h, and power delivery is far more nuanced and natural than it is on a heavier, more powerful e-bike. You can approach a rock garden without having to worry about a sudden kick from the motor, for example, or you can launch off jumps and berms. You can even pedal with the motor turned off, and it feels, well… normal.
Then there’s Specialized’s peerless Mission Control app, which lets you infinitely customise the three power modes, check the health of the system, or set ride parameters to make sure you don’t run out of juice. You can even set your maximum heart rate, and the bike will automatically adjust the support to prevent you exceeding it.
The Levo SL is not for everyone. Heavier, older, less fit riders will be better off on a bike with more power; but if ride quality is everything, and you’re happy to sweat a bit more up the hills – and if you have R100k lying around – then welcome to the future.
R105 000 specialized.com