Common fail in climbing with the Levo is to climb with seat fully up and in turbo. Drop seat by a couple of inches, 1st to 4th gear, trail mode, sit down (mostly), keep cadence up and be patient. Try to avoid fully loaded gear changes, it slams the chain, soften your pedalling when changing up/down. The Levo makes uphill technical fun.
Glad you make videos like this man. I have a 21 Turbo Levo Comp and have always been curious how an SL would hang on climbs. Met a guy out at my local trails last weekend with one. We were cruising together no problem. But I'll bet if we started doing gnarly climbs I would be the victor
Great video and honest comparison of climbing. Great thing about Specialized is the ability to change the assist. I run my Levo at 70% assist in turbo for loose Az. trails.
Great comparison. I have a Levo Comp. I'm 185 lbs, 72 y/o. Just got a Levo SL Comp for my wife. She's 120 lbs 66 y/o. It's a perfect match. And she can load the bike herself.
Hey marshall, that was a great comparison. I was struggling to find someone showing differences in real world performance, thanks. Others were all flapping gums compared to you.
Good to see a side by side comparison. Sure, the Levo SL was never going to keep up but it fared really well. Light bike with big torque is where it's at - c'mon Specialized, give the new SL an 85Nm motor!
Then you’ll need ebike specific drive train to deal with the torque, adds weight, then bigger battery to offset said weight, that adds more weight, oops better upgrade the brakes, there’s some more weight, shit now we need stronger rubber, more weight and voila you have a standard Levo
Really good vid ! I'm just about to get the Turbo Levo gen 3 Carbon Comp ; I'm upgrading the Rythm to Rockshox Zeb select 160mm 29 ' better fork ; specialized shop local to me are giving me some free upgrades ; muck- off Red Anodized valves, Thicker casing rear Butcher tyre for the rear & better casing on the front, also setting wheels up tubeless ! Upgrading stem to Deity copperhead! Hope F20 flat Pedals in raw silver ! Stem & pedals I'm paying for them + possibly upgrading to scram GX Axis. Love what you do ! Look forward to some more vids !! 👍
Great video, riding, and trail. I noticed you went over all the specs in the beginning but failed to list the differences in weight which is the main reason why someone might want the SL. You did mention the superior nimbleness of it toward the end though I would have liked more comments on the weight difference.
What about fire road climbing between 8-12% average? How much faster would the same rider get to the top? How much more can I climb/ Downs could I get on in day a three hour time frame?
All the videos comparing the SL to the full power Levo fail to consider the weight of the rider. As you all know, when going up a hill, riding gets much tougher due to - - well gravity. It's pretty clear anyone weighing less than 150 pounds will do fine on either bike. But when you are a heavier person like me at 210 pounds, you just will have more fun on the full power Levo. The other, unrelated factor about mountain ebikes, is the ability to ride on those days when you just don't feel 100%. You know that you've got some help if your body fades and so you go on the ride that you might skip on a manual bike. Same thing if you get hit with a sugar crash. And at the age of 77, having that backup is a key factor.
great info Marshall!!! Thank you, one question Ive been asking myself is how long will the battery last in terms of years or cycles.. Ive seen 300 cycles but that seems low? they are a pretty hefty price form what Ive seen
300 is for full to empty, and 300 means that the battery should stay in high health during that period. The battery will have less capacity after that time. Probably about 80% capacity or more. It won't die for years. Just like a phone battery.
@@MrBrumbrum73 Thanks man!! that is re-assuring.. Ive got a 22 Kenevo SL on order.. Excited but the battery thing is def giving me some concern. Guess we'll see :)
I am not sure exactly what you mean, but I think you are talking about the fork angle? I typically have it set in the middle setting, and the rear end on low.
@@MarshallMullen1 thanks for the reply. I mean how do you set the rotation of the handlebar (forward or backwards)? when you look at the bike from the side, what is your reference points versus the fork or any other reference you have. I hope its clear 🙂. Than you again. Best
Looks like that there is not so much difference in the noise of both motors isn’t it? I had a much more louder SL motor in mind. did they change something with the new SL models (21)??
Sorry but I dont see much sense in comparing two bikes with that much of a power difference. What kind of result did you expect??? Apart from this you can clearly see that shear power is not all - to transfer this to the ground and convert into forward momentum is something utterly different.
Agree, I have both. Almost an apples to oranges comparison. Levo with twice the power and in this comparison vid, Marshall has the fatter tires on the Levo, which contributes to the apples to oranges scenario. I have 2.6's on both. For me, I get a better workout on the SL, while I barely break a sweat on the Levo. It depends what kind of a ride I want to do. Levo - Just cruise, go fast and have fun or SL - get my heart pumping, break a sweat and get some exercise. 90% of the time I'm on the SL. Everyone's different, right! Both bikes are fun!
Common fail in climbing with the Levo is to climb with seat fully up and in turbo. Drop seat by a couple of inches, 1st to 4th gear, trail mode, sit down (mostly), keep cadence up and be patient. Try to avoid fully loaded gear changes, it slams the chain, soften your pedalling when changing up/down. The Levo makes uphill technical fun.
Glad you make videos like this man. I have a 21 Turbo Levo Comp and have always been curious how an SL would hang on climbs. Met a guy out at my local trails last weekend with one. We were cruising together no problem. But I'll bet if we started doing gnarly climbs I would be the victor
Great video and honest comparison of climbing. Great thing about Specialized is the ability to change the assist. I run my Levo at 70% assist in turbo for loose Az. trails.
Great comparison. I have a Levo Comp. I'm 185 lbs, 72 y/o. Just got a Levo SL Comp for my wife. She's 120 lbs 66 y/o. It's a perfect match. And she can load the bike herself.
WOW!!!! That's quite the intro to your video. Awesome Thanks for the review
Hey marshall, that was a great comparison. I was struggling to find someone showing differences in real world performance, thanks. Others were all flapping gums compared to you.
Good to see a side by side comparison. Sure, the Levo SL was never going to keep up but it fared really well. Light bike with big torque is where it's at - c'mon Specialized, give the new SL an 85Nm motor!
would love to see some sort of upgradability at some point but not holding my breath for that
@@dirtyfreqs5911 yeah I think they'll keep any upgrades to the next model.
SL i think 65nw is the spot.
Then you’ll need ebike specific drive train to deal with the torque, adds weight, then bigger battery to offset said weight, that adds more weight, oops better upgrade the brakes, there’s some more weight, shit now we need stronger rubber, more weight and voila you have a standard Levo
@@chrishurley5711 🤣 true
Really good vid ! I'm just about to get the Turbo Levo gen 3 Carbon Comp ; I'm upgrading the Rythm to Rockshox Zeb select 160mm 29 ' better fork ; specialized shop local to me are giving me some free upgrades ; muck- off Red Anodized valves, Thicker casing rear Butcher tyre for the rear & better casing on the front, also setting wheels up tubeless ! Upgrading stem to Deity copperhead! Hope F20 flat
Pedals in raw silver ! Stem & pedals I'm paying for them + possibly upgrading to scram GX Axis. Love what you do ! Look forward to some more vids !! 👍
That bike is amazing 👏
Great video, riding, and trail. I noticed you went over all the specs in the beginning but failed to list the differences in weight which is the main reason why someone might want the SL. You did mention the superior nimbleness of it toward the end though I would have liked more comments on the weight difference.
What about fire road climbing between 8-12% average? How much faster would the same rider get to the top? How much more can I climb/ Downs could I get on in day a three hour time frame?
My new kenevo SL is in route to the states and I can wait to do a comparison….longer travel VS lighter weight
All the videos comparing the SL to the full power Levo fail to consider the weight of the rider. As you all know, when going up a hill, riding gets much tougher due to - - well gravity. It's pretty clear anyone weighing less than 150 pounds will do fine on either bike. But when you are a heavier person like me at 210 pounds, you just will have more fun on the full power Levo.
The other, unrelated factor about mountain ebikes, is the ability to ride on those days when you just don't feel 100%. You know that you've got some help if your body fades and so you go on the ride that you might skip on a manual bike. Same thing if you get hit with a sugar crash. And at the age of 77, having that backup is a key factor.
2.3 v 2.6... wonder if it would be any different if both bikes have 2.6 at the back?
great info Marshall!!! Thank you, one question Ive been asking myself is how long will the battery last in terms of years or cycles.. Ive seen 300 cycles but that seems low? they are a pretty hefty price form what Ive seen
300 is for full to empty, and 300 means that the battery should stay in high health during that period. The battery will have less capacity after that time. Probably about 80% capacity or more. It won't die for years. Just like a phone battery.
@@MrBrumbrum73 Thanks man!! that is re-assuring.. Ive got a 22 Kenevo SL on order.. Excited but the battery thing is def giving me some concern. Guess we'll see :)
@@MrBrumbrum73 exactly ! Thanks andrew
Hi Marshall, good content! Could you please tell me your setting the fore/aft angle, or how you set it the bar for Kenevo sl and levo sl? Thanks!
I am not sure exactly what you mean, but I think you are talking about the fork angle? I typically have it set in the middle setting, and the rear end on low.
@@MarshallMullen1 thanks for the reply. I mean how do you set the rotation of the handlebar (forward or backwards)? when you look at the bike from the side, what is your reference points versus the fork or any other reference you have. I hope its clear 🙂. Than you again. Best
Do you have any thoughts on going mullet on the levo sl 1st Gen
Looks like that there is not so much difference in the noise of both motors isn’t it?
I had a much more louder SL motor in mind. did they change something with the new SL models (21)??
The Sl motor is slightly louder. But its not too bad
do a new video !!!!! with new sl
This looks like AZ?
Sorry but I dont see much sense in comparing two bikes with that much of a power difference. What kind of result did you expect???
Apart from this you can clearly see that shear power is not all - to transfer this to the ground and convert into forward momentum is something utterly different.
Agree, I have both. Almost an apples to oranges comparison. Levo with twice the power and in this comparison vid, Marshall has the fatter tires on the Levo, which contributes to the apples to oranges scenario. I have 2.6's on both. For me, I get a better workout on the SL, while I barely break a sweat on the Levo. It depends what kind of a ride I want to do. Levo - Just cruise, go fast and have fun or SL - get my heart pumping, break a sweat and get some exercise. 90% of the time I'm on the SL. Everyone's different, right! Both bikes are fun!
Seat is to high
I was gonna say that 2. But I'm pretty sure he can out ride us both lol
The more I watch this it makes me want to just stick with my dirt bike. I mean really is this really riding bicycle. 🤔
Gotta try one before you judge it. Tried one at Lake Arrowhead, it was AMAZING.