Test: Specialized Turbo Levo SL vs Pyga Stage

[Johnny Lawless]

This post confirms what I suspected. If you get an eBike don't get one that is pretending to be a normal bike, rather go whole hog - 160mm travel, Fox38/Zeb and a 700w battery.

Exactly yes! They make less sense in the XC world for the normal bloke but a lot of sense in the Enduro/DH space

[Buffet]

The question at hand here is not whether e-bikes can be fun or faster. They can be. 

 

The Turbo Levo SL in question is a new 'lightweight' e-bike. It's light because the motor is about half as powerful as other full blown e-bikes and the battery is also smaller with less Watt hour. That's how they could make it lighter. So you have less range and less assistance compared to full blown e-bikes just to save weight.

 

On paper it looks good, but as I found out in the real world, it leaves much to be desired in my view. 

 

The question here is whether or not it makes sense to buy this over a more powerful and heavier e-bike.

 

Is the compromise in power and range worth the weight saving?   

[Guyleroiuk]

I am amazed by this review as completely contrary to my own experience.  I first became aware of ebikes a year or so ago when I met up at Jonkers to cycle with a mate who has completed 4 or more Epics and been a cyclist all his life.  Was surprised to find him on an ebike and of our group 6 on ebikes and only 3 of us on normal MTB's.  That day there is no way we were keeping up with the ebikes up or downhill.  My mate whos late 50s was very clear he was selling all his normal bikes and sticking to ebiking and I was surprised. - I would love to see the original poster of this forum go down Jonkers faster than those ebikes (one guy was an ex motocross champion) and they were mad!!!

At the time I didnt think too much about it but then had occasion to do a few days ebiking in Europe and was blown away how it can be completely exhausting and at the same time extremely fun covering far greater distances (and hence seeing more).  So on return here I did 5 days ebiking on a specialised turbo levo with some mates over from Europe.  Wow wow wow. I am fit as I cycle to work and back typically 3 days per week over table mountain (one hour and a quarter each way with big climbs) and a longer ride on Sundays but the great thing about the ebike is that it as exhausting as you want and you set according to how you feel.

To and from the office on the ebike (Yes I remortgaged and bought a Specialised turbo levo carbon 700Wh) is akin to being in the gym cycling hard for 2 hours and what I like most is I keep my heart rate much more constant without the peaks and lows of my old MTB, and inherent dangers.

So to me it feels healthier and I now clycle every day (which was too much before) and do longer routes eg up through the Bo kaap and along the cable car through to Constantia with the big difference that I can now come down plum pudding with little risk, something that cant be said on my normal MTB.  The larger tyres and extra weight make descents chalk and cheese and so easy on the ebike and hence far safer.

The only point I agree with on the initial post is that on the flat the speed limiter is annoying but given I usually end up in hospital once a year, this may actually be no bad thing. I an sure I will maybe get it desrestricted at some point as it can be annoying.

So I love my ebike, admitedly the Rolls Royce of ebikes and will probably also sell my old Giant at some point as I cant see myself wanting to use it.

[Thermophage]

This post confirms what I suspected. If you get an eBike don't get one that is pretending to be a normal bike, rather go whole hog - 160mm travel, Fox38/Zeb and a 700w battery. 

All I am missing is that 700W battery...I think i can run on like 250W only 

[Zebra]

I too has a completely different perspective to the original poster:

5 plus years ago, I broke my leg (motor-bike) in Tiffendal/Lesotho area; I already had a 26"er S-Works Alu that you would get pennies for (Willie Engelbrecht's old bike, to boot!), so I decided for 'rehab' purposes, to get Chilled Squirrel to electrify my 26"er with a kit...

 

R20K got me a 500 watt motor, and a SERIOUS amount of fun - used it to COMMUTE with for a while, it is unrestricted, so it is seriously fast, and it has a thumb-throttle - useful for getting away from traffic at traffic lights!

 

Out on the mountain, it acts as a 'chair lift', allowing many repeats of a run, if so wanted, or go further, or have a longer day in the great outdoors, and it feels pretty planted on the rougher stuff...

 

When commuting, switching the assistance OFF means an extra 12-odd kilo's to be moved, and likely 5% additional resistance, since a non-running motor adds resistance...so you really, really get a work out playing with the OFF function, which I do...

 

ON my commute, a 1 hour 15 minute commute is shortened by at least 20 minutes, to 55-odd minutes, quite a time saving, not to mention Kloof Nek is WAY less 'wobbly', should I choose that route home!

But usually same route - commercial harbour - coast road - Hout Bay, is a full 20 minutes quicker, so a noticeable difference, and LESS of a basin shower need when doing the reverse route to work, which has no showers!

 

When 1st purchased, the controller had 3 settings; think slow, medium and fast; they called me back to upgrade the software, and I then got 9 pre-set levels, think increments of around 11%, which suited me fine, more 'fine-tuning which assistance - if any - is needed...

 

When they installed the kit, you go from 18 speed (2x9...) down to 9 speed, since the hub-drive-motor is designed to work with big blade only, so the front derailleur is removed, etc.

 

A LOT of fun to had, for not massive money, on a quality bike to start with.

Chris