Is an S-Works bike a show pony, or do the upgrades and carbonification add up to a bike that performs significantly better than a lower-priced model? The obvious answer is that it depends on the lower model. Some bike manufacturers are willing to spend your component money where it matters most for performance (brakes, suspension, wheels primarily) rather than dumping cash into fancier derailleurs, saddles, seatposts and cranks. So it’s possible to build a bike that performs very well and saves a boatload of money, but very few companies are willing to do so because it makes the top-end models less attractive. It’s parallel to a bundling practice, like a cable provider only allowing you to order Sportscentre with Home and Garden TV.
A significant proviso here is that Specialized recently discounted several of the TL 4 models, including the S-Works, which went from 19,000 CAD or 15,400 USD to 16,000 CAD or 11,500 USD recently. Obviously, these are still very expensive bikes, but they are now much more competitive with others on the market. If you mortgaged your house to purchase one before the discounts, this must hurt.
Lots of Kashima coating, a top-of-the-line drivetrain, electronic seatpost, carbon wheels with DT Swiss 240 hubs and a 3D-printed saddle – S-Works brings the component bling to go along with the full carbon frame – including the yoke for the shock.
The Fox Transfer Neo Factory post works great. It’s fast and reliable, but up here in Canadia it costs 1150 bucks. You can get a BikeYoke Revive Max, the nicest mechanical post around, that never needs to be recharged, for 560 or an excellent OneUp V3 for 270 CAD. All the little choices like the post, the XX drivetrain (including very light carbon cranks), and the 3D-printed saddle, add up to an expensive bike. Luckily, the model down spends your money more tactically, cutting costs while impacting performance very little, with one exception.
*For a look at the geo and spec a little more closely, check my first impressions piece
The Turbo Levo 4 Pro has the same frame*, rims and suspension components as the S-Works for significantly less. The biggest performance difference between the bikes might be the software. It sells for 14,000 CAD or 10,000 USD. Still enough for a pretty nice used car.
*minus the carbon yoke
That version, the TL Pro, will put 2000 CAD / 1500 USD back in your pocket, but the bike still has carbon wheels, top-end Fox suspension and SRAM Maven brakes. And actually, it has an SRAM XO drivetrain, which is a worthy step up from the GX, I must admit, at least in terms of cassette and chain performance and longevity. What you lose is 40 watts of power and 6 N·m of torque, which may be significant for you. The motors are actually identical, but the Pro and all other lower models are limited to 105 N·m and 800 watts. If you want it all, it’ll have to be the S-Works model.
If you’d like to figure all of this out for yourself, or you already have a big box of parts, Specialized is unique in that they will sell you a frame only. The S-Works version is the only one you can order for 8500 CAD or 6500 USD. The Turbo Levo (TL) Alloy complete costs less, at 6800 CAD or 5000 USD. The frame-only price includes a fast charger, XX carbon cranks, the Fox Float X Genie Factory shock, a SWAT bag for internal storage and even a bottle cage.
Finding a bike manufacturer that will sell you an eMTB frame, rather than a complete build, is a challenge. Very few of the bigger brands do it, but Specialized does. You can have any frame you want as long as it’s S-Works and any colour as long as it’s Taupe/Gun Metal Strata.
The Specialized 3.1 Motor
The most recent Specialized drive unit, manufactured by Brose, has changed quite significantly. Notably, it is no longer driven by a belt that can fail over time. Like Bosch and most of the others, it is now a geared system. Another development is the new 50 v operating voltage and 59 v charging. This allows for better thermal management, efficiency under load and improved steep climbing. Bosch, Shimano and Yamaha are 36 v, and DJI is 48. The charging voltage of 59 v helps the 3.1 fast charger stay cool while it charges the bike’s 840 Wh battery to 80% in under 60 minutes.
There are three charger settings: Eco, Standard and Fast/Turbo, which can be selected in the app once the bike is plugged in. Eco charges slowly, producing less heat for more efficiency. Standard charges at 5 A, and Fast turns it up to 12 A, which is where that 80% in 60 minutes comes in. There is also a setting that lets you limit your charging to 80% if you know you aren’t going very far, preserving your battery’s health. The system is smart enough to charge it to full every 10th cycle, so it doesn’t develop a memory for 80%.
The Turbo Levo 4 is a beastly climber. It competes well on the way up with the Yeti LTe’supdated Bosch Gen. 5 motor with 120 N·m torque and 750 W of power (9 N·m more torque but 90 W less power).
Climbing the Turbo Levo 4
Climbing challenging lines on the TL 4 is a blast. It has all the torque and power you need, and the grip is really good. I have been on a very worn Kenda Hellkat tire, but I haven’t been having any real climbing traction issues. Grip in challenging situations is a real strength for this platform. Often, starting in these predicaments is ticky. On the TL 4, the power comes on quickly but is controllable, and there is a lot of support. The main barrier to climbing steep stuff becomes learning to get your weight further forward than you ever have before to keep the front wheel down. Steep technical climbs are one of the few situations where it makes sense to stand up while pedalling an eMTB. I’ve been very impressed with the way the TL 4 is down with getting up. Of course, it’s great on fire roads and paved roads as well, but that’s hardly noteworthy for a powerful eMTB.
The Specialized Brose 3.1 Drive Unit (manufactured by Brose) is a refined and controllable power house that goes about its business with very little noise or fuss. It also has quite a few adjustments available in the App, and some you can access from your thumb controller.
Tweaking
A big strength of this platform is out-of-the-box geometry adjustability. You can tweak the BB height, the head angle and the chainstay length. It ships with a top headset cup that will take the stock 64.5º head angle, a significant + or – 1º. Unfortunately, I misplaced that cup and, while I found it not long ago, didn’t get around to trying it. It might have mitigated some of the issues I was having in very particular descending situations (more on that below).
One adjustment you that you won’t find is a flip chip to take this from its mullet form to dual 29″ wheels, which I’m happy to sacrifice for the riding I do, particularly for a bike that corners this well. This likely relates to the short, 435 mm chainstays* or a belief that the bike rides best like this. World Cup Downhillers would agree.
*Chainstays grow to a more middle-of-the-road 447 mm in the long position.
This shows four different setups on the app screen for tuning your modes. The first is where I had my tester tuned most recently, and it’s followed (left to right) by three presets: Universal, Battery Friendly, and No Time to Waste. Interestingly, the Shuttle, Responsiveness and Overrun settings are common to the three tuning and power adjustments. To create your own tunes, you simply slide the dots to where you want them. This is very convenient and user-friendly compared to other systems I have tried.
App and Motor Adjustability
I can’t tell you how many clicks* I’ve ridden per ride on the Levo because I hadn’t initiated auto start. I assumed it would start anyway, but alas, it did not. The system handles your total mileage, and I have travelled 1121 km on the TL 4, but only recorded 64 km in the app. Turning auto start on requires the app to have permission to “always” track your location. I assumed that the “While Using the App” setting would suffice, but I didn’t always need to open the app before a ride to adjust something, so it wasn’t often on. I don’t like to futz too much with data collection on my rides, so I’m fine with this outcome, but there are times when I’d like to see where I’ve been, so having it happen automatically would be fine.
*Canuck speak for kilometres
There is a lot of flexibility within the app to adjust settings. You can choose which mode your bike will start up in – and I chose Turbo because when your bike turns off automatically after a stop on a group ride, and you want to get moving with the group, it’s always easier to go down a few settings than up.
An interesting mode option is Micro Tune, which allows you to adjust your assist (ease) and power settings in parallel from the saddle while you are riding. To engage Micro Tune, you long-press up on the joystick in the middle of your controller for a couple of seconds, and the two numbers appear side by side, shown as 80/80. From there, you can go up or down, but the numbers stay paired, while you ride. There is another mode that allows you to adjust ease and power individually, called Dynamic Micro Tune, which involves a long press down on the joystick once you are already in Micro Tune. Bosch makes you stop moving on your bike and pull out your app to change anything, while DJI allows you to adjust settings using their touchscreen, also on the fly.
Did I mention the TL 4 loves to corner? The quicker you have to swap sides the better.
Living with the Levo
I haven’t had to deal with any maintenance or repair issues over the 1121 km I have ridden the Turbo Levo 4. I was worried about the DT Swiss 240 freehub at first because it seemed to be skipping forward, but before I got around to checking for excess grease, it cleared up. The Mavens kept clamping dutifully, and the XX drivetrain kept working, although with the occasional clunk or abrupt shift, which I have experienced with every Transmission drivetrain I have used.
I didn’t like the holes in the 3D-printed saddle in the winter months, because mud would get stuck and water could spray up directly into your tainticle, but it’s great now that it’s dry out. It’s a well-ventilated and comfortable saddle. Grips were to my liking, and I have been enjoying high-rise bars lately, so the 55s were very nice.
Keeping some essentials, like a tube, a mini inflator and some tire levers inside your frame keeps things off your body and removes some friction while you are trying to get out the door. Opening the panel and removing the battery takes no time at all, so it’s as convenient as the storage holes in most pedal bikes.
Some of the features made my life easier as well. The in-frame storage made swapping from bike to bike less hassle. I kept a tube, some tire levers and a mini inflator inside the frame, and there is a multi-tool in the stem – always there when you need it. Be aware that it lacks 2 and 2.5 mm hex wrenches but it has 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, a T25 Torx and a slot screwdriver.
One feature I wasn’t able to figure out was Apple Find My. I eventually found where to engage it. In the app, it’s located in the Ownership tab in bike settings, although that instruction was nowhere to be found, not even in the excellent 80-page owner’s manual that comes with the bike. Once you are there, you get step-by-step instructions describing how to turn it on, but on my controller, the aforementioned long-hold up of the joystick initiated Micro Tune rather than Find My. Perhaps there is a new way to engage Find My after recent updates, but more investigation is required.
This was a fun section on the Levo. High speed (for the North Shore) and a little rough, but the bike felt very composed.
This is where the bike carries speed very well. Bumps are soaked up nicely unless they are both large and abrupt and in steep conditions.
The Descent
As I noted in my first impressions piece, this is a bike that loves to corner. The MX set up, and the very short chainstays (in the short position) make it swap sides like a fighter jet. When the trail is right, and I’m on my game, this is a bike that can dance through the twists. It really loves to be tossed around. I tried it in the long setting, and it was more stable, but it seemed silly to undermine the bike’s best quality. It’s really easy to find the middle of the bike and, despite its heft, toss it around a little.
Another tester in our crew spent some time on an S-Works TL, and he found the balance a bit off, like it was a little tippy up front. We went back and forth a little, and I didn’t really share this impression, but there were two situations when I didn’t feel great about the fore and aft balance. The most obvious one was encountering deep holes on a steep descent. Obviously, this is a challenging condition for any bike, but I noticed it more on the TL 4. My fork was well adjusted and feeling good, but despite the dialled geometry and overall planted feel of the bike, I was getting pitched forward more than I’m used to, and I had to prepare for this by shifting my weight back more than I wanted and pushing hard through these holes. Admittedly, this is a very North Shore condition, and one that you have to go looking for, but it exists in other areas as well. It’s possible that taking the head angle to 63.5 using the included angle cup would mitigate this, or swapping a 170 airspring into the Fox Factory 38 Fork. If you don’t chase very steep trails, particularly ones that are rough or if they aren’t in your trail network, this may be no issue for you.
A little drop into some chundery roots.
The uneven, janky terrain the Shore is famous for was great on the TL 4, until it got both steep and rough.
The kind of riding that keeps you on your toes.
I got a similar feeling on g-outs that appeared to be relatively trivial. Again, I felt like I was getting pitched forward unexpectedly and slowed down significantly compared to the same situation on other bikes. These aren’t rare situations for our terrain if you go looking for them, so it’s been noticeable. Obviously, part of this is that this bike has a little less travel than I normally ride on the Shore. I usually opt for something with 170 or even 180mm up front and 160 or 170 in the rear, but the difference felt more significant than 10 or 20mm of travel. The frame is rated for up to a 180mm fork.
Because of this, I’d classify the TL 4 as a long-legged trail bike rather than a quasi-enduro bike. On lower-angle trails, even rough and fast ones, the TL 4 eats up terrain very well, again, aside from big g-outs in my experience, but less slope, this is much less problematic.
There is a lot to like about this machine.
With the small descending exceptions noted above, I have really enjoyed my time on the TL 4. It is well-engineered, cleverly designed and built with the rider in mind. The easily removable battery gives you options, like riding it with the 240 Wh range extender only for a lighter ride, albeit with half the power. The only thing stopping you from, say, dropping into a bike park with no battery at all, is the hardwired rear derailleur. This would be a very nice option, and it is possible with versions of the bike below the Pro.
While the TL 4 was perfect for 95% of my eMTB riding, I’d say the recently-released Levo 4 EVO would be the ideal version for me, with 180/170 mm of travel.
If you are after a long-legged, adjustable and highly capable trail eMTB with excellent features and a powerful, tunable drive unit, you will be very well served by a bike from the TL 4 line, particularly now that prices have been discounted.