Specialized Turbo Levo Review

The Turbo Levo features the same Side Arm frame arrangement as the Stumpjumper. This single-sided design joins the top and seat tubes at the point where the shock and pivots join the frame. This makes the bike stiffer, especially when the suspension is compressed. There are both carbon fibre and aluminium alloy frame option available in the range and all bikes share the same dialled geometry.

Compared to the original Turbo Levo the chainstays of the new bikes are 4mm shorter thanks to the smaller motor. This makes these new e bikes more manoeuvrable in the tight (its sibling, the Turbo Levo SL has much shorter chainstays thanks to its much smaller motor). The increased reach - 25mm in size L – give the geometry a more modern feel. The 66° head angle is ideal for a trail MTB and the overall feel is well balanced.

The battery pack is fully enclosed within the downtube of the frame which makes the lines incredibly clean. If you want to charge the battery off-the-bike it is easy to remove. Just remove one allen bolt and slide it out of the bottom of the frame. The Turbo Connect Unit control button is positioned on the top tube where it is easy to see.

While the 150mm of suspension travel remains the same as the MK2 Levo from last year, each bike now gets a beefier suspension fork up front. This helps to deal with the extra weight of the bike and helps with the confident feel by offering precise steering control. Starting with a 35 Gold on the base model moving up to the great performance of a Lyric on the Comp both the alloy framed bikes have RockShox suspension. Both the carbon framed bikes have a hard-hitting Fox 36 fork.

The FSR suspension system offers confident and efficient performance even while pedalling and braking. The custom tune on the rear shock offers more mid stroke support which makes the bike sit a little higher in its travel and stops you blowing through the travel too quickly. As with the forks the alloy framed bikes have a RockShox Deluxe while the Expert carbon and S-Works Turbo Levos have a Fox FLOAT DPS shock.

The extra weight of the motor actually helps to make the suspension work better than on regular mountain bikes. This makes the Levo’s feel incredibly planted and means that you can plough through rough sections of trail with much more confidence.

The custom tuned Brose 2.1 motor fitted to the Turbo Levo is one of the most powerful and quietest on the market. It is now 15% smaller and 11% lighter than the one series motor fitted to the previous models. Engagement is instant and power delivery is smooth. Your natural pedalling power is amplified by up to 410% and you get a maximum torque of 90Nm. Once you hit top speed the double freewheel design disengages the gear box for easier pedalling.

The Turbo Connect Unit on the top tube shows the remaining battery capacity as well as the current power mode. You can change the power modes using the TCU or the neat remote switch that sits neatly on the handlebar. This is easy to use without taking your hands off the bars and is small enough to work next to the under-bar dropper post lever. As well as the Eco, Trail and Turbo power modes there is also a new Shuttle mode. This gives you full power with minimal effort, so you can spin up to the top of the hill with ease. You can customise the performance of the motor in each of the modes using the Mission Control smart Phone app.

The battery capacity is bigger than most of the competitions on most models. 500Wh is the smallest option which matches the capacity of most other brands. This is only fitted to the base level full sus bike. The Comp, Expert and S-Works models all now get the much bigger 700Wh battery. This increases your range by about 40%, so you can ride even more trails.

All the Turbo Levos have a one-by 11-speed SRAM drivetrain, starting with NX and moving up through GX on the Comp to X1 on the Expert and XX1 on the S-Works. Most mountain bikes now have 12-speed drivetrains but Specialized has decided to stick with more durable 11-speed. With the extra power of the electric motor this is all the gears that you need. The e bike specific shifters are all limited to one click at a time which helps keep the drivetrain running sweetly when shifting under power.

Brakes are important on an ebike, so each Turbo Levo has SRAM brakes with four piston callipers and large 200mm rotors. The Specialized finishing kit is all good quality and you get an integrated trail tool that is hidden in the steerer tube of the fork on most models.

All the Turbo Levos now roll on 29” wheels, with wide 2.6” Butcher tyres. This gives you plenty of grip while still being fast rolling on rough terrain. You can still fit 650b+ wheels with 2.8” or 3” tyres, but the 29” hoops with wide tyres offer similar levels of grip without that vague feeling that plus size tyres sometimes offer.

All the bikes are fitted with Roval Traverse wheels with wide 30mm rims. These give plenty of support for the wide 2.6” tyres especially when running low tyre pressures. The S-Works bike has carbon rims while the others have alloy. All the wheels are ready taped and are supplied with valves which makes tubeless setup nice and easy.