The Ultimate Battle: Specialized Levo vs Levo Sl | Power or Playful?

[@Sympatikus1]

Found your channel yesterday and clicked almost all reviews 😂 definitely the channel i was looking for. Great job

[@SamsBikes]

Thanks mate

[@bradmurphy8416]

Just watched this episode, it was pretty cool… loved all the opinions and the questions. I also bought the Levo gen 3. Haven’t had a chance to ride it yet, bad weather here in Denver. Great job , cheers

[@SamsBikes]

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the support

[@steverichardson4808]

Bikes can be expensive. But for me the most important thing doesn't cost anything. Bike fit and geometry

[@jamesballersteinfilms]

interesting thought process. i wasn't aware that that i could ride "imagination" for free in the physical world. tell me your secrets, jedi master.

[@steverichardson4808]

@@jamesballersteinfilms what I ment was no matter the cost of a bike, its going to have fit and have geometry. Bikes dont cost any extra to have one that fits and the right geo for whats intended of them

[@PabloOlea59]

I still like the SL so much!!! I'm in love with that bike 😍 and those brakes hahaha Thanks for having us mate!!!

[@KV89-b3c]

Orbea Rise 2025 ftw. :) Best of both worlds.

[@ribinrobin8925]

Good video Sam! Interesting to hear the other guys perspective. It is hard to choose between the two as the SL puts you in a no man’s land. You’re to slow to ride with full power ones unless your light and fit, even then battery management is key. You can ride with your normal bike mates but it’s to easy. I understand you can adjust tunes etc. I agree with the middle dude. If I’m still riding my normal bike, I’m sticking with the full power for a diff experience. The SL is one hell of a bike but it’s an expensive niche, and second hand sales on the SL bikes show they don’t have a large audience.

[@SamsBikes]

Thanks for the feedback it really comes down to how your riding with!

[@billderas3420]

Yes...At 6'-1" and 200 pounds, I went with a 29" wheel on the rear of my Gen 2 Levo SL Carbon for my riding in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of the western US. Do like the extended chain stays and it rolls so much better. Rear axle height is up 3/4" with a 29' wheel; so, the rear derailleur has more clearance with the ground too.

[@SamsBikes]

Right on rider, I’m definitely testing it as a 29er next month!

[@lozetchells9164]

Great video, thanks Sam. If I had to pick one, I'd go for the full-fat Gen 3 for range alone. But I don't want to pick one, I want both!

[@beatrizgasco4776]

Great video! Very interesting !

[@Riceman-o1p]

I still love my full 29er GEN 2 Levo! Blevo app with Levociraptor lets me pedal up to 32 MPH without the motor cutting out. My biggest ride was 42 miles and 5400 feet of elevation gain. Not going to do that with an SL. Regardless, something about the geometry or ? of these bikes simply makes them the best I have ever ridden. Also 5000 miles on my bike and zero problems!

[@border304]

I've got them both. Although 2020 Levo is like 24kg and pretty sure my gen 2 SL is a little over 18kg. I only lift one of them over fences.

[@SamsBikes]

They are both amazing 🤩 I think

[@mtbmike9866]

The SL can be upped to 170/170mm travel. Use a 216x63 shock with offset bushings. This turns it into a 212x63 which is a similar eye to eye as the stock 210x55. The 55 stroke is 150mm. The 63 stroke of the new shock gives you 170mm.

[@SamsBikes]

Really? Has the warranty ? My thought is these smart people at specialized know how to do the kinematics and I don’t normally mess with them but it’s a interesting idea

[@dwninetynine]

Dyou have a link to the offset bushings? Never heard of these do they work like camber bolts on old cars?

[@watchimgo]

The Gen 3 Levo works well as a 170/165 bike with a cascade link. I've been riding mine like this for a year.

[@dwninetynine]

Levo SL Gen 2 is not as good run 29/29 Sam, having moved to it from the Kenevo SL the very first thing I did was set it up 29/29 and just rode it.. I struggled to feel comfortable on it, and couldn’t place why, i gave it a good 400ks on mixed terrain.. I struggled to turn in tight runs like those at the new Gravity Eden DH trails.. I flipped it to Mullet for the next ride and took it to my local trails and was immediately more comfortable on it, it turned better and generally felt like it was “meant” to be a mullet… I tried both my Levo SL gen 1 and Kenevo SL as Mullets and funnily felt the opposite so the Gen 2 SL is definitely re engineered as a mullet bike.. I love it this way oh, and no pedal strikes at all yet, even with 170mm cranks!

[@SamsBikes]

Hey mate thanks for the feedback. I do need to try it myself but great to know.

[@SamsBikes]

Which would you pick riders?

[@Jarvis_aka_UgunnH8This]

I test road the SL comp and the gen 3 expert version and I ended up buying the gen 3 and for about $700 USD less than what the SL was at the time. The deciding factor wasn’t the price though, I am a bigger guy @ 220lbs and I felt way more supported and way less twitchy on the gen 3.

[@mustclime5311]

I got a Kenevo full fat, to bad they are gone.

[@ribinrobin8925]

I got both 😂

[@msjj000]

Nice comparison

[@SamsBikes]

Thanks mate!

[@tadge74]

I've put a deposit down on an SL with range extender but I'm still undecided if SL is the way to go. I had a full fat and liked the range and power but not the weight. The SL is lighter but not the power or range. I've ridden the SL but not off road. Will I regret getting the SL over the full fat? Thanks in advance.

[@berniecolin7]

Hey, which one did you choose at last?

[@tadge74]

@@berniecolin7 hi, I tried the bike and while it was nice it was too much effort and battery finished at 22 miles. I went for full fat levo Pro in the end

[@peterthomson6161]

Reupload?

[@SamsBikes]

No mate it’s different

[@Blazemon9999]

Hey Sam, I'm curring a Levo gen3 myself with the AXS GX and I'm wondering if you think it's worth upgrading to the new T type system. They have the GX groupo sets now and I'm wondering if it's worth it, or will I regret spending the money

[@SamsBikes]

Hey mate if it was me I would replace to the new T type only when you need to replace your set up not really worth it when your original GX is working

[@Blazemon9999]

Thanks Sam, appreciate the advice and I'll definitely take it. Atleast this way if I blow my derailleur up on a rock there will be a silver lining T type upgrade waiting for me lol

[@SamsBikes]

Also after 3 years of use of the original AXS it still working fine on my KSL and Levo

[@Blazemon9999]

Ya mine has been going strong for 2 seaaons now. Like you mentioned in the video I was worried about destroying it but it really can take a beating. The aluminum shroud on mine definitely has some war wounds. The AXS is super sensitive to even the slightest derailleur hanger mis alignment but other than that it's been a gem

[@sdtrailrider8070]

Great comparison! For solo riding, do yo think the SL will get you 3+ hours of ride time if you don't use boost too much in mixed terrain riding, without a range extender?

[@ribinrobin8925]

Depends on weight. I get 2 hours out of mine about 15/17 miles eco mostly and micro tune. 90kg 👍 imagine lighter riders would get more out it.

[@sdtrailrider8070]

@@ribinrobin8925 Hey thanks! about 78kg here.

[@wss327]

It all depends on many factors such as your weight, your FTP and how many vertical meters you’re climbing. When I ride my SL a good part of my ride is with motor off.

[@sdtrailrider8070]

@@wss327 Have you detuned the power and support in the app?

[@wss327]

@@sdtrailrider8070 This season I left it all on factory default which works fine for me. Next spring I will start playing around with the power settings. For example, I am 70kg, 90kg system weight, 3.2w/kg FTP (60 years old), I can get on one charge (down to 10% for the ride home), 55km, 1,200 meters of vertical and 3h 20m of actual ride time. But this is with a lot of riding with motor OFF on the flats and lower incline hills. This is what's great about the SL, you can ride it like an analog bike. I had the Turbo Levo before and it was no fun riding with the motor in OFF mode. With the SL, I am the rider and with the Levo, I am the passenger.

[@iannorris8891]

I have a levo sl v1 & just can't bring myself to upgrade to the v2 but it is darn sexy ! I'd like a full fat & the brosse is a great motor but the levo is like the big fat cousin :-) !

[@SamsBikes]

Hahaha 😝 the big fat cousin hahaha 😝 I love the fattie

[@iannorris8891]

@@SamsBikes D'ya think a new Kenevo will be out next year (they have non left in stock at all now)? I'm figuring the Kenevo would be better suited to my terrain (French Alpes, Chamonix) than the levo ? Looking for a full fat mx bosch/brosse/sram longish chainstay enduro (160/170-180). .... or the Propain cf Ekano ?

[@LesterLin]

GREAT video, but you asked the question about RANGE but nobody answered the question. That is a pretty important consideration for me. If you rode both of these bikes together in the same terrain and same speed, about how many hours of riding would each bike get? How many % battery do you think the Levo would have left when the SL battery is dead?

[@SamsBikes]

Thanks for the comment Rider, range is a very hard thing to talk about because there are so my variables but with both my Levo with 700wh And Levo SL and range extender im getting very similar vertical meters climb but my rider input is clearly more on the Levo SL. Maybe check out my range tests on both.

[@LesterLin]

@@SamsBikes Thanks. I have always appreciated your fantastic tests on battery capability, and the excellent format that you present it with. You do a way better job than EMBN does in this area. If you included your Strava data, it would make it even more meaningful.

[@federaldelii]

Waowww 🤩🤩😍😍 best bikes in the world 💯💯👏🏻👏🏻

[@siriosstar4789]

Personally i feel there is no appreciable weight advantage to a carbon frame as opposed to alu.on e MTBs A full power motor easily compensates for the extra weight of aluminum. if these were analog bikes then the difference would be very noticeable especially for pro and strong sport riders . Go for the full power bike, it's cheaper and faster uphill.

[@SamsBikes]

Good point but on Ebikes anything over 23kg is really noticeable in my opinion

[@siriosstar4789]

yes i failed to mention that 👍

[@JoseCastillo-cn4dc]

do you know the weight of the bikes? great video, thanks

[@SamsBikes]

17,4kg on the Levo SL and 22,4kg on the Levo

[@Domestos99percent]

when Levo Gen 4?!

[@josedavalos1223]

I would buy a dh, normal enduro bike or turbo levo G3 or kenevo g3. Not the version SL because only 350wh battery life and not a strong motor

[@thim8009]

My levo is a 160/170. Thanks to a cascade link and a new performance elite.

[@SamsBikes]

Nice one bro

[@mustclime5311]

The big problem with the levo sl is if you live someplace where it gets cold, you run out of battery quick. 30-40f degrees knocks about 20% off your battery charge. My buddy ran out of battery after 10 miles( 1400 ft climbing) last weekend( not turbo). Not a good choice. Get the full fat bike.

[@SamsBikes]

Really I haven’t notice that

[@speedybox1288]

meh video only because of the guy on the right not being good at reviewing

[@SamsBikes]

Sorry you didn’t like it we will try harder next time