FIRST RIDE ON AN EBIKE! Specialized Turbo Levo Review | Ride Kanuga

First ride on an E-Bike (on an actual trail)! I used to work at a shop in Charlotte and sold many of these but the owner would not let employees demo bikes so I sold a bunch of them, but never actual rode one for what it was made for... until today!
First off, Kanugas rental fleet gets TONS of use so just know that the bike is probably going to be clapped out of the gate. The one I rode had Code R brakes that needed a bleed about last year. Also the chain was super worn so the bike would skip and was unridable even with no pedal assist. Took the bike back into the shop and they got it fixed in like 5 minutes so no big issue. The rear tire though had absolutely ZERO braking knobs. I was slick in the middle with some fine cornering knobs. A bit upset about that but not a giant issue.
THE BIKE:
So, the first thing I want to say is that the pedal assist is SICK. The Turbo Levo puts out 4x your power in Turbo and less for each lesser modes. We ended up getting about 2.5x laps as we do on normal bikes.
Since were on the motor, Ill lead with saying there is a slight delay before the assist kicks in and when the assist stops. This was a tad uncomfortable going into turns and jumps. There is also a large amount of drag from the motor when you stop pedaling. This made jumping very difficult for me as my timing had to be adjusted quite a bit. The only two modes I used where Trail and Turbo, the Eco mode was unusable and made the bike harder to pedal than a regular bike so kind of pointless. Last thing on the motor/battery is that the bike even in mostly trail mode, ran completely dry during the day while David on the Pivot and Shimano system still had 45% battery at the end of the day when our bikes where drained. Something to consider.
This Levo actually rode pretty well despite the lackluster spec. It was super comfortable out of the gate and pretty easy to get used to the way the bike rides. This is pretty typical of specialized bikes. They're just good. The extra sprung weight made the suspension platform feel pretty decent for the rhythm level stuff. The bikes strong point was the way it tracked over small bump and chunk. It held a like very well and took out a lot of the chatter you would normally feel.
The bike definitely would ride way better with good suspension, brakes, and tires and the setup can change via geometry adjustments but the way this bike was set up, I really didnt like two things. The bike was not super confidence inspiring in the steeps. The combo of slick rear tire, bad brakes, and weight, made the bike feel kicky in the steeps and I felt like my weight was too far over the front of the bike with no ability to slow down. Didn't feel great. So if you ride a lot of steep chunk and tech, maybe put this bike in the slack and low setting or get a bigger (slacker and longer) E-Bike. I also really didnt like the way the bike jumped but that may just be something to get used to. The drag from the motor on the face of the jump did not feel great and I think caused body position to change ever so slightly. It also feels like a ton more effort to jump this bike.
All in all, if you're not going to test ride any E-Bikes but want to buy one, I would suggest this one. Its easy to ride and should be easy to get used to the motor. Plus I know Specialized warranty is great for their eebs so you should never have a problem with that. Pretty fun bike but I don't think it is for me but only because I am very picky with how my bikes preform. Jeff, is not picky and doesn't ride a bunch of different bikes and he loved it so this bike may be perfect for you. Plus Jeff is a huge Eeb hater so if he loves it, you may love it too.
Supported by The Cycle Path www.thecyclepath.net

[@lesgoff]

e-bikes are awesome once you get use to the additional weight. Once you make the adjustment the weight can be beneficial.

[@hollenbeck2nowhere]

Great video! The contrast colors look great. The riding looks good on an e-bike.at Kanuga. I haven't been to Kanuga in a few years. I have a Specialized Levo now. I rode the upper east coast and Canada on my e-bike. It is an absolute beast on all the terrain. Your video will help many riders understand what is capable on an e-bike. Keep up the great videos and commentary

[@peterlang5047]

Deadwood seems fun. Looks like there’s tons of big supportive berms. Gotta make it out there one of these days

[@CarolinaMTB]

It’s a ripper for sure. Can’t wait to get out there on my Yeti to giver a real go

[@jimbo4203]

Uphill is the new down 👇 hill !

[@CarolinaMTB]

I have to disagree with that! EBikes are a useful tool to get up the hill and better enjoy going down the hill. Though, there will always be that small group of folks who prefer going up over down! To each their own!