Specialized Turbo Levo SL review
E-bike power up, light and lively down
Words: Justin Henehan
Images: Neil Kerr, Gabrielle Amodeo
I should start with a disclaimer: I’m essentially reviewing my own bike. I bought my Levo SL Comp Carbon in January 2024 and I’ve since ridden it everywhere from backcountry trails to long flowy grade 3 tracks. I even carried it up into the Craigieburn Range on my shoulders during a dusty summer mission on a minty day. So far, it’s been great. I’ve upgraded some parts and there are some things that could work for me better but those are personal preferences, so don’t factor into this review.
This test was a team effort—Spoke owner Neil Kerr spent some time on a Levo SL prior to my owning one, so we’ve been able to compare notes, and I was able to tap into his deeper knowledge of e-bike motor and battery systems.
I landed on the Levo SL after trying out a few lightweight and full power eMTBs. I was looking for something burlier than most of the SL eMTBs available and I wanted a bike that could run both full 29-inch and mullet wheels. I wasn’t fussed about blasting up fire roads at 30km/h, so top-end power was low on my priorities list.
The Levo SL’s 160/150mm travel and enduro-cusp geometry seemed like the best option for me among the more trail-oriented, lower travel, lightweight eMTBs out there. I figured that the Levo SL is essentially a motorised Stumpjumper and if Charlie Murray can put one of those on a podium, then I’d be okay bumbling about on it.
In profile, there’s little to give away the Levo SL as an e-bike, other than a little more thickness to the downtube and the bottom bracket bulge. Even without its predecessor’s side brace, the Levo SL is distinctly a Specialized. With its thin seatstays, Horst-link layout and clevis shock yoke, the Levo SL’s svelte silhouette hints strongly at how it’ll ride.
Other than the chassis, the motor and battery are the big changes for the Levo SL. The lightweight ripper’s SL1.2 powerplant now sports 50nm of torque (up from 35nm) and 320W (up from 240W) from a 320WH battery. While those numbers are modest compared with many other lightweight bikes on the market now, Specialized knows there’s more to the special sauce than just power.
Components
The Comp Carbon model we tested comes with a cable-actuated Sram GX Eagle drivetrain, Sram Code RS brakes, a Fox Rythm Grip 1 fork and Fox Float X Performance damper, as well as a host of nondescript Specialized-branded parts.
Everything worked well during our test period. I would have liked more power from the brakes, which suffered from Sram’s typically torpid lever-feel. The stock 50mm stem made the steering feel a little slow, so I swapped it for a 40mm. I really liked the Specialized saddle, but I didn’t get on with the home-brand grips—I ride without gloves and prefer a softer grip with a chunky pattern and plenty of rubber.
Another place chunkier rubber would be welcome is the rear tyre. Where the front Butcher in Grid casing with T9 rubber worked well, the rear Eliminator in the same casing and compound struggled to keep up. The increased braking force and torque eMTBs put through the back wheel demand burlier tyres, and this is even more important on a mullet set up. A Gravity-casing Butcher or Cannibal tyre would be a good upgrade for this bike.
Climbing
The Levo SL climbs well, even with the motor off. There’s a good amount of support from the linkage even when pedalling squares. Compared with high-Horst bikes, like the Forbidden Druid or my Kavenz VHP16, the classic Horst-link upward-and-forward arc isn’t quite as eager to crawl over technical obstacles. However, the supple rear suspension and moderate anti-squat makes up for some of this, reacting sensitively to smaller bumps, even under power.
I found the fit of the Levo SL slightly old school, which is often the case with bikes from larger brands which tend to be more conservative with their geometry. The relatively slack actual seat tube angle creates a large seated space, putting your hips further behind the bottom bracket than more progressive bikes. You soon get used to it, though, and it’s a comfortable place to be on undulating terrain and smooth, flatter, sustained climbs.
When it gets steep, the shorter chainstays and slack actual seat-tube angle tend to push you over the rear axle, requiring a more chin-down climbing position. A steeper seat tube and longer chainstays would help keep the back wheel gripping and the front wheel tracking in these situations.
The extra 15nm of torque over the original SL1.1 motor was an essential upgrade and the new SL1.2 motor has power to burn along flat terrain. However, Neil noticed a drop off in power on steeper inclines, regardless of cadence. The Specialized tech team said the bike’s smart sensor may still be learning the rider’s individual inputs and this may improve over time. They also explained that the motor’s ideal cadence was 80rpm—which was slower than Neil’s natural pedalling speed.
I haven’t noticed quite the same level of power drop off, possibly because I started with a new bike and 80rpm is closer to my natural cadence. Riding with Neil in Alexandra, we noticed that I pulled away on the flats while Neil, on a TQ-equipped Trek Fuel EXE, had more power when things got steeper, confirming his test-ride impressions.
After a few months of experimentation with the Levo SL’s adjustable power bands (peak power and delivery) via the excellent Specialized Ride app, I ended up detuning my standard power modes for more range and to better suit the kind of motor feel I wanted. This allowed me to use the Micro Tune function (adjustable in 10 per cent increments) as a kind of overdrive, giving me four distinct modes: Eco for riding with non-eMTB mates; Trail for most of my riding up and down; Turbo for quick, short rides; and Micro Tune, usually at 100 per cent, for when I need a bit extra.
My detuned Trail mode allows me to punch out a breezy 1000m of vert without having to think about the battery. Adding the bottle-cage mounted, 160Wh range extender battery ($700 RRP) gives me another 500m of climbing. Using the Ride app again, you can tell the bike to drain the range extender first and then swap it for a water bottle when spent.
Of course, there’s more range on tap if you’re willing to work harder in Eco mode.
Descending
The Levo SL feels easy to ride from the moment you drop in. There’s nothing overtly quirky or unexpected in either it’s handling or suspension performance—it just feels familiar and friendly, like a perfectly broken in pair of tramping boots.
The S4 size I chose has a moderate reach (470mm), stack (635mm) and chain stay length (432/442mm) for what’s effectively a size large. At 183cm with long legs, I’d have preferred 10mm more on each of those dimensions, but we’re all built differently so those numbers may be spot on for you.
I was between sizes and could have sized up to an S5, but the seated position would have been too stretched out for me, even with a short stem and the saddle pushed forward on the rails.
When it comes to tweaking fit and handling, the Levo SL has you covered—the range of adjustability is wide and very user friendly. I played around with a few different geometry settings, which is easy to do, even out on the trail, finally settling on the chainstays in their longest setting (442mm), the clevis-yoke flip chip in high, and the headset cup in neutral. This centred me better in the bike and felt more natural in corners with the smaller rear wheel.
This set up had the Levo SL working really well for me in most situations … typically Wellington situations. It’s a bike that excels in tight trails where speeds are lower and manoeuvrability is paramount, like Wainuiomata’s Dig This and Fade to Black, which are all about wiggling and nose-pivoting through tight, steep corners and pumping for grip across off-camber, root-riddled undulations.
“It’s a bike that excels in tight trails where speeds are lower and manoeuvrability is paramount.”
At times the Levo SL feels almost indistinguishable from an acoustic bike. At 18-19kg (40-42lb), little extra effort is needed to perform Euro-turns, bunny hops, front-wheel pops, and all those other techy manoeuvres that are so difficult on a full-power eMTB. It’s also a very natural-feeling jumper, within my modest abilities, lightly lofting off lips with an easy balance in the air. Where the extra sprung weight of the motor and battery becomes noticeable is suspension feel and in flat corners, aiding grip and sensitivity when you really need it.
Possibly the biggest surprise for me was how soft the Levo SL chassis feels. Any mountain bike frame material can be made to feel more or less compliant, but I’ve never ridden a carbon bike as smooth as this. It’s by no means a noodle—Specialized has done a great job of building compliance into the Levo SL chassis while still keeping things lively. The end result is less fatigue on big days of descending. Not being beaten up by a stiff bike is a massively underrated feature for eMTBs, which see much more descending in less time than analogue bikes.
Where Levo SL falls slightly behind is on very fast and chunky trails. In these situations, the relatively small rider pocket created by the conservative geometry can feel a little edgy as speeds pick up and obstacles try to unsettle you and the bike. This is the trade-off for manoeuvrability—the Levo SL is, after all, a 150mm-travel trail bike, not a long-legged gravity sled.
Models and pricing
The Levo SL Comp Carbon retails for $13,500, which is a solid chunk of cash. If you’re looking for better parts, there are four more carbon models ranging from $16,900 up to the eye-watering $25,900 S-Works Ltd Edition version. If you don’t mind a little extra weight, there’s also an aluminium-framed model for $11,500. I chose the Comp Carbon because I knew I’d eventually upgrade the suspension and brakes regardless of which model I bought and I don’t mind a cheaper drivetrain. However, I was impressed with the Fox Rhythm fork and Float X Performance shock, happily riding that combo for months.
“Specialized has done a great job of building compliance into the Levo SL chassis while still keeping things lively.”
Who’s it for?
The Turbo Levo SL gives you enough range and power to get in plenty of laps, even if the climbs are a marginally slower than some other e-bikes. Its relative lack of top-end power and climbing speed are more than compensated for by its intuitive feel, manoeuvrability and complaint chassis, which excels in tight and technical trails, where heavy, full-power e-bikes can feel ponderous.
The Levo SL is an eMTB for riders who prioritise handling, suspension, and chassis-feel over outright motor power and range. The Levo SL won’t fall far behind other lightweight eMTBs on the climbs, but it will be one of the most capable and fun bikes on the descents. If you love casual climbs and lapping nasty, native trail puzzles, then the Turbo Levo SL is for you.
Specialized Turbo Levo SL Comp Carbon RRP NZ$13,500