Chassis/Suspension. Featuring similar 135mm travel to its 6Fattie colleague the Turbo Levo comes in with classic all-action Specialized trail geometry. A slack 66.5 degree head angle houses the impressive Yari fork on this version, although the S Works features Pike. The 342mm bottom bracket holds the shorter 165mm cranks in position whilst the 459mm rear is relatively short for a bike of this type. Bigger brake rotors and a stiffer suspension tune are there due to the added weight of the bike because of the motor fitted. It’s still under 50lbs.

In terms of the motor there is no display to distract your attention on the handlebar and all the basic functions are carried out via a simple switch on the side of the battery pack. This offers up three modes – economy, trail and turbo – which hardly needs explaining but for the record trail puts out roughly 50% less power than turbo a whilst eco is 20% less again. The key here however is the bike still requires the power from your legs to be inputted so think the more power you put in the faster you go. No change there then.

The battery pack is housed discretely in the downtube and the cam style fixing means there is no rattle from this bike like others on the market. The motor is low and the housing crazy stiff for rock impacts, so strong they didn’t add a protector and the side to side bracing is insanely tough too. Close by the chainstays are also well protected with rubber style shrouds.

In terms of battery range, well that largely depends on how many watts you can deliver through those cranks and obviously the mode you ride the bike in. If however you do have range anxiety then simply programme the battery in to the length and height of climb you are embarking on and the battery sticks to the plan. Power is 250 watts nominal.

Feeling. The first fifteen miles on the Levo left me breathless. This was partly down to the company I was keeping and the intensely technical terrain that would normally have led me to resorting to methods more on foot than pedal. Going at it for over an hour had a big impact on my arms due to charging hard on the descents. This is a physical aspect to riding these bikes that is often overlooked.

Using the Levo is slightly different to some electric bikes I’ve ridden previously in that the motor doesn’t interfere with your flow on descents. This is a good thing. Climbing takes a few runs to tune into the methods and ways of the system, but very simply you get your gear and spin out the climbs. It’s not effortless but the scale and steepness of the climbs as well as the level of technicality can be much steeper, longer and more advanced with this bike. Flow becomes an uphill way of the wheel as well.

The bike’s motor isn’t fully silent but then neither are the tyres as they hunt down grip, having said that, this is certainly the most quiet and rattle free electric bike I’ve ridden so far. Descending the Levo is beautifully stable and the grip offered by the 3.0 tyres is excellent although I understand there are even better compounds in the pipeleine. In terms of range or battery life the Levo is impressive and we did thousands of feet both up and down.