2022 Specialized Turbo Levo Alloy

[GarethJ74]

22 minutes ago, DuncanDoughnuts said:

Crazy and scary at the same time. Hope they replace the bike and hope this does not put her off the joys of ebiking.

She doesn’t want that bike back, and I honestly don’t blame her

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, GarethJ74 said:

Yup, walk in eco, then walk in trail, then walk in turbo and then in all of then one after the other…. She had 3 fingers on back break and 2 on front and still running the down hill…brave girl 🙈then when she could stop, no ways of isolating the bike unless the battery plug was removed 

 

Would be interesting to hear the root cause ...

 

Motor ??

 

Controller ??

 

 

I know of a few cases whith the previous generation Giant ebikes where the controller "acted up" .... as soon as you pressed the start button the bike would go into walk mode and move forward.  Thankfully it would still switch off.

[ChrisF]

4 hours ago, YaseenEnos said:

 

In this scenario I can see application for Ebike and Ebike racing (Enduro and even Downhill).

 

Im just going to say it and I know there are others thinking this. BUT in my eyes Ebike are just some light weight pedal based dirt bikes – Which I have no issue with (phew).

So seeing them at my local trails doesnt phase me (I actually wish some of my buddies could get one so they can keep up – humble brag).

 

Watching them race at marathon events (and I see at the last WC XCO event) is still something I have to do mental gymnastics with to rationalise.

 

Ebikes do make sense if you want to explore long distances (provided you covered for batteries) which would make touring events with tour guide more appealing.

 

Just my 2cents.

 

With any luck I will be doing the Trans Augrabies, on my ebike.

 

"Race" .... certainly not a race.  As much as it may be interesting to race other ebikers, that would mean passing normal riders at less than optimal times and speeds ...

 

For ME it is simply a privaledge to get to ride routes I wont get access to otherwise.

 

I am mindful that there are actually racers out there who may have their strategy impacted by ebikers .... as with Eselfontein, I will start at the back and slowly make up a few spots. Making sure not to hold up anybody on the downhills.

[PhilipV]

11 hours ago, GarethJ74 said:

Hi all,

we recently did the SANI2C adventure, and my partner rode a brand new Specialized Turbo Levo Alloy. Bike was great, until it was an extremely hazardous tool. The bike just started moving on its own, and cycling through the functions off, eco, trail and turbo, unable to switch the bike off with power button either. On single track heading down into the Umko valley is where things really started, and then up to bottom of iconic. She had 3 fingers on back brake and 2 on front to stop her, but this did not stop the horrific falls she took in the last two days, she has today gone for X-rays on her chest, as the last tumble was between two single track crossing a dirt road, and the bike launched out of control, cross rutting and throwing her to the ground falling on her chest (airbags deployed  seriously took the wind out of her, and a while to get back up on her feet -. Two very competent Specialized franchises couldn’t fix the bike on the last evening. The bike is now back with the supplier.  
 My partner does not want the bike back, as she is terrified it will happen again, of which I don’t blame her. I would be very careful of this issue being a batch problem as well, guys please be very careful and aware of the hazard they can cause to a rider. I’m now waiting to hear from Specialized head office…..

Damn this sucks. What a way to spoil what was potentially a lekker trip. 

I'm curious, did you have the bikes washed at the end of day1 at the race village, and did they use pressure washers? Was there possible water incursion?

[OVERDRIVE]

I'm not the right guy to comment, am just happy your partner is not hurt. 

[dave303e]

Surely you just start the e-bikes 90 mins after the last batch. same race, just keep them apart. If they complain about heat of the day you can remind them they have a motor.

 

Regarding the bike though, surely it would have been easier to pull the battery and ask the next marshal/water table to look after it for you or pop it in a camelbak or draad it to the frame unplugged. 

[love2fly]

20 hours ago, Headshot said:

Oh dear - motorbike problems...why post here, its clearly a job for Specialized's warranty department. I'm sure once they sort it out she'll have no more issues. Spesh eBikes are among the best you can get.

Apparently cyclists were being passed on the up hills in slithery conditions by less than stellar bike pilots in full turbo mode. Must have been a nightmare, which begs the question, should eBikes not have their very own events rather than being mixed up with fit able bodied riders? 

Why post here? Really?

[Headshot]

1 hour ago, love2fly said:

Why post here? Really?

Ya, didn't come out right at all. I was questioning why you'd ask the Bikehub cognoscenti for advice when the bike is clearly under warranty and Spesh have the best after sales service in the country. I'd love to hear what Spesh say the problem was. 

[love2fly]

Ah yes, now I understand.

😃

I was riding Cradle a while back. Lady on Giant ebike said hers was getting replaced by CL as when it got wet during washing and in recent rainy ride it had problems.

I would have thought an ebike should be able to handle water.....especially when being washed!

I'm so glad I am not on an ebike yet.....I wonder what will happen when people who've financed their ebikes over 2000 month deals and when en their battery needs replacing or the motor fails and is out of warranty....

[dasilvarsa]

13 minutes ago, love2fly said:

Ah yes, now I understand.

😃

I was riding Cradle a while back. Lady on Giant ebike said hers was getting replaced by CL as when it got wet during washing and in recent rainy ride it had problems.

I would have thought an ebike should be able to handle water.....especially when being washed!

I'm so glad I am not on an ebike yet.....I wonder what will happen when people who've financed their ebikes over 2000 month deals and when en their battery needs replacing or the motor fails and is out of warranty....

Electronics and Water don't Mix Well and Waterproofing something properly is difficult and not long lasting .

 

[GarethJ74]

On 5/17/2022 at 10:02 AM, GarethJ74 said:

Hi all,

we recently did the SANI2C adventure, and my partner rode a brand new Specialized Turbo Levo Alloy. Bike was great, until it was an extremely hazardous tool. The bike just started moving on its own, and cycling through the functions off, eco, trail and turbo, unable to switch the bike off with power button either. On single track heading down into the Umko valley is where things really started, and then up to bottom of iconic. She had 3 fingers on back brake and 2 on front to stop her, but this did not stop the horrific falls she took in the last two days, she has today gone for X-rays on her chest, as the last tumble was between two single track crossing a dirt road, and the bike launched out of control, cross rutting and throwing her to the ground falling on her chest (airbags deployed  seriously took the wind out of her, and a while to get back up on her feet -. Two very competent Specialized franchises couldn’t fix the bike on the last evening. The bike is now back with the supplier.  
 My partner does not want the bike back, as she is terrified it will happen again, of which I don’t blame her. I would be very careful of this issue being a batch problem as well, guys please be very careful and aware of the hazard they can cause to a rider. I’m now waiting to hear from Specialized head office…..

Hi all, thanks for your comments, my partner is all clear, full of bruises which is part of the fun.

I would like to add, this post was not a rant or knock of the product/brand, but merely to share an experience we had, and to make other e-bike riders aware of the possibility of a runaway ebike, we have never heard of this before and was all new to us. More like a hey heads up.

Definitely not knocking the Specialized brand, which I have 4 bikes of in my garage, Specialized have made contact and we await a positive outcome.

Happy trails 🚲