In the early days of ENDURO, people asking what we would do when there’s no more internet seemed absurd to us. But here we are, asking ourselves: what are mountain bikers going to do when there are no more non-motorised mountain bikes? It sounds just as absurd, but that’s probably what Kodak, Nokia and AOL thought before everything changed.
The first day that I genuinely worried about the future of my professional career was the 24th of January, 2019. It was a sunny day, I was on a bike ride and just cruising down a super flowy trail in Tuscany when I realised that in the next few years, mountain biking as we know it would change forever.
By that time, I had already ridden and reviewed countless eMTBs. No matter how good and how expensive the bikes were, it was always a completely different experience compared to a conventional mountain bike. Not necessarily worse, just different. They’d push you up the climbs so quickly that you’d have to brake before the corners, and on the descents, the bike’s weight required a different approach to riding. Just to be clear: eMTBing is awesome and fun as hell, but it’s not mountain biking. So, I was convinced that non-motorised MTBs and eMTBs could coexist. We ride road bikes, we ride mountain bikes and we also ride eMTBs.
But then one day in January, I was to ride the bike that would shake my world view: the brand new Lapierre eZesty. Weighing just over 18 kg thanks to the light FAZUA motor and featuring up-to-date geometry, the Lapierre eZesty was as agile on the descents as a modern enduro bike. However, the bike wasn’t perfect: both the motor, its integration and the suspension still offered room for improvement. Nevertheless, as we established in an exclusive review for our sister magazine, E-MOUNTAINBIKE, it was the beginning of a new generation of eMTBs.
We were back in Massa Vecchia almost exactly one year later, this time to compare the 15 most exciting trail bikes of 2020. As with our enduro bike group test, we included an eMTB in the test field. We did so because of the growing interest in eMTBs we had observed in our most recent reader survey: of 18,930 survey participants, almost 47% indicated an interest in eMTBs. 40% of our readers stated an indifference toward eMTBs and only 13% consider them a no-go. We’re hearing riders ask frequently whether their next bike should be an eMTB. So, the inclusion of eMTBs in our group tests seemed like the logical thing to do. After all, a direct comparison is the perfect way to work out the differences between the individual types of bikes and analysing their respective pros and cons. Anyone who knows us knows that we don’t think in terms of categories, rigidly comparing bikes of the same category come hell or high water. Instead, we’re out to find the best solution for a specific type of riding or rider, and we’re prepared to think outside of categories to do so.
The Specialized Turbo Kenevo was considered a complete outsider when we included it in our 2019 group test of the 17 hottest enduro bikes of 2020. We could clearly recognise the advantages of the motor and the possibilities it opened up, but none of our test riders would have dreamed of buying an eMTB instead of a classic enduro rig. On the one hand, there were significant differences in downhill handling due to the weight, and on the other hand, you simply couldn’t ride with your buddies if they weren’t on an eMTB. Even in Eco mode, you’d still have far more power than them. Also, a bike with that much power simply rides differently: eMTBing just feels different compared to riding a classic mountain bike.
All of that was about to change with this year’s trail bike group test. At 17.7 kg, the new Specialized Levo SL Expert Carbon wasn’t only much closer to the other bikes on test in terms of weight, but the deliberate reduction in power and the trail bike geometry of the Levo SL also equalised the playing field. At the end of our first day of testing, the first member of our crew climbed onto the bike. By then we’d already done five runs on our test track and had developed a good feeling for how the different bikes performed. The big surprise: it wasn’t the climbing capabilities that convinced Fred, for him the Levo SL was by far the best descending bike that day! “Plush, agile, playful and just a ton of fun,” those were his words. Over the course of the following days, the rest of our crew discovered what makes this bike so special. On further testing, we quickly found out that the possibilities of the Levo SL are seemingly endless.
You don’t ride the Specialized Levo SL like an eMTB, you ride it like a trail bike. That much becomes clear from the very first turn of the cranks. Instead of flying up the trail at max speed, the bike still requires a lot of input from the rider. The assistance of the motor feels very natural, fading out imperceptibly at the 25 km/h threshold and easy to modulate on technical climbs. If you didn’t hear it, you could forget it’s there. Having said that, the additional assistance makes you feel a bit like superman. Just imagine that you’re in the best shape of your life and you’ve got a noticeable tailwind! The Levo SL can take the horror out of those nasty climbs if you want it to. But it also allows you to just ride a little longer without having to think too much about going for another run. It is for these reasons that we awarded it the Best Buy of our big trail bike group test. Though admittedly very expensive, the bike didn’t receive the award for its components but for the possibilities that it opens up. If we had to choose a single bike for our garage right now, the Levo SL would be it!
To find out more about the Levo SL’s handling you’ll have to read the group test. You will also find an exclusive comparison with the Stumpjumper and the standard Levo, and we’ve published an in depth review of the bike by itself with a detailed explanation of the entire concept.
While the Lapierre eZesty ushered in a new category of eMTBs a year ago, the Specialized Levo SL marks the beginning of a new era in mountain biking. After two months of intensive testing, we at ENDURO see this bike and its motor as the next big revolution after suspension forks, disc brakes and dropper seat posts.
We’re confident that bikes like the Levo SL or the eZesty will fundamentally change the face of mountain biking as we know it. The electrification of mountain bikes is in full swing: from the suspension to the drivetrain and now the motor. As usual, instead of resisting the new, we will deal intensively with these topics, explore their potential and always keep you on the bleeding edge of all the latest developments. But don’t worry, ENDURO will not become an ebike magazine. That’s what our sister magazine, E-MOUNTAINBIKE is for. We’ve got three top priorities at ENDURO: aggressive trail riding, relevant reviews and tests for the core mountain bike scene and simply having a damn good time on the bike. That is what will continue to determine the direction of our magazine in the future – whether with or without a motor! We’re looking forward to it!
Christoph
Of course, we’re aware that this topic is extremely polarising, and we want to know how you feel about it! Please, feel free to let me know what you think: christoph@enduro-mtb.com
Here you can find more about the Specialized Levo SL and eMTB light:
- Exclusive first ride review: Specialized S-Works Levo SL 2020 (Click for review)
- Specialized Levo SL vs. Stumpjumper vs. Levo in test (Click for review)
- Specialized Levo SL Expert Carbon on test (Click for the ENDURO group test)
- Exclusive Review: Lapierre eZesty AM LTD Ultimate (Click for the E-MTB review)
- NOX HeLIUM 5.9 ALL-MOUNTAIN Pro on test (Click for the E-MTB review)
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Words: Photos: ENDURO team
