Specialised spent years chasing the identical obsessive concept: that the right ebike is one that does not really feel electrical. With the brand new Turbo Levo R, the corporate argues it is lastly closed the hole – packing one of the crucial highly effective motors within the trail-bike class right into a chassis that, in its lightest configuration, ideas the scales at 18.8 kg (41.4 lb).
The “R” within the new Levo fashions stands for Rally. Specialised is leaning exhausting into that framing, positioning the Levo R because the class’s equal of a rally automobile, versus the burlier Levo 4, which the corporate likens to a Ford Raptor – constructed for all-terrain functionality relatively than outright pace. However they’re completely different instruments for various adventures. The excellence begins on the body: the Levo R’s carbon chassis is 530 g (1.17 lb) lighter than its sibling’s, with a geometry that lowers the middle of gravity and shifts the rider ahead. The consequence, on paper, is a motorcycle that climbs shortly and descends even faster.
Specialised
The headline determine is 850 watts of peak energy, however what makes Specialised’s new Turbo S-Works 3.1 system genuinely fascinating is the way it manages that output. Quite than delivering a hard and fast help curve, the motor reads cadence (how briskly your legs are spinning) and wheel pace in actual time, adjusting energy supply second to second. Decelerate for a unfastened, rocky nook and it dials again to keep up traction; open up on a quick straight and it smooths the surge to maintain the bike predictable.
In Specialised’s personal managed testing, the closest competitor failed to finish a demanding technical climb twice as usually because the Levo R did. Impartial analysis tells a barely completely different story on uncooked energy: the MAHLE M40 and the Avinox M1 reportedly edge forward in sheer output, with as much as 1,200 W and 120 Nm of torque (a measure of rotational power). The S-Works variant of the three.1 produces 111 Nm and a peak 850 W, whereas the usual model, fitted to the Knowledgeable and Comp fashions, delivers 105 Nm and 810 W.
The place Specialised does seem to guide the category is in acoustics. The three.1 is notably quiet – and for those who’ve ridden an e-MTB that hums like a small equipment, you will know why that issues. The CoreCoat encapsulation (a protecting coating across the motor’s copper windings) helps dissipate warmth and dampen mechanical noise. The metallic gears – double the dimensions of these within the earlier era and handled with a surface-hardening course of Specialised calls HardDrive – resist the thermal enlargement that makes motors noisy and sluggish on the finish of a protracted descent. The gear mechanism can also be mechanically remoted from the drivetrain-side housing to remove vibration switch.
Specialised
The rear finish is managed by a system known as GENIE, constructed right into a Fox FLOAT shock with a tuning developed particularly for rally-style using. The engineering perception here’s a variable spring charge: GENIE behaves like a standard coil spring. It’s predictable and linear by the primary 70% of the suspension’s 130 mm (5.1 in) of journey, then stiffens sharply within the ultimate 30% to withstand bottoming out on massive hits. In accordance with Specialised’s information, at 842 Newtons of power on the rear wheel, GENIE delivers 17.3% extra usable journey than a traditional Fox FLOAT – 95 mm (3.7 in) versus 81 mm (3.2 in).
Up entrance, the fork delivers 140 mm (5.5 in) of journey, and 29-inch wheels spherical out a chassis designed to maneuver effectively in each instructions – gentle sufficient on the way in which up, composed on the way in which down.
Relating to the battery, Specialised does not power a alternative between vary and weight. The usual 840-Wh pack is rated for 3.75 hours of using in Eco mode for an 80-kg (176-lb) rider on a route with important climbing. A bolt-on 280-Wh Vary Extender bumps complete capability to 1,120 Wh and roughly 5 hours of using. Weight-conscious riders can go for a 600-Wh pack as a substitute – which can also be the place the 18.8 kg (41.4 lb) minimal weight determine comes from. All three packs carry an IP67 waterproof score, that means they’re going to deal with rain, mud, and the occasional stream crossing with out grievance.
The geometry is adjustable within the area, with out instruments. The pinnacle angle (how steeply the fork meets the bottom – steeper means twitchier steering, slacker means extra stability at pace) gives three positions. The underside bracket top (the place the pedals sit relative to the bottom) adjusts between two settings, and the chainstay size (the gap from the pedal axle to the rear axle, which governs stability and dealing with really feel) adjustments through a flip chip. The sensible upshot: riders can tune the bike to their terrain in minutes relatively than adapting their using type to a hard and fast setup.
Specialised
One other robust level of the Levo R is its digital integration. The MasterMind T3 – a 4.5-cm (1.78-in) show mounted on the stem – offers a reside learn on energy output, help stage, and vary. MicroTune lets riders nudge help up or down in 10% increments on the fly, and Dynamic MicroTune robotically unlocks full energy throughout exhausting accelerations even when operating in a restricted mode. The companion app integrates with Strava and Garmin, consists of an anti-theft layer through Apple Discover My, and helps over-the-air firmware updates.
The Levo R launches in Europe solely for now, with pricing that displays the caliber of elements on supply. The S-Works tops the vary at €13,999 (which converts to US$16,500), the Knowledgeable sits at €9,999 (US$11,785), and the Comp enters at €7,999 (~US$9,430). No timeline has been introduced for a broader world rollout.
Supply: Specialized
