There is lots of talk around the subject of Ebikes, especially when it comes to mountain bikes. Whichever side of the fence you sit on, with most manufacturers releasing new Ebikes to their range it looks like they are here to stay.

Last month I was lucky enough to go test the new Specialized Levo 6fattie on a dealers test day.
The day was very overcast and with the clouds getting ready to drop a week’s worth of rain on us, we set up the bikes and hit the trails.

First of the bikes look great with the battery hidden in the frame, but still removable gives the bike a much cleaner look than most Ebikes. Specialized have built the levo to be a lot easier to ride with a smoother power delivery, I found this could be good in some cases but also a bit of a hindrance on the climbs. If you stopped pedalling up hill the power would cut out and you would have to build up your own power input before the motor would help power you up the hill.
On the flats and down hill sections it came it to its own. Over the jumps the bike felt well balanced and with the extra power the motor provides ment you could hit the jumps as well as on a normal bike. Around the berms and switch backs the bike handled well, you always have in the back of your mind that you are on a heavy bike but it rides like a normal bike.
The real advantage with an Ebikes comes to the ability to explore more. You can ride up and over most things, explore new areas. With the Specialized app you have a lot of control over the setting on the bike, more so than any other Ebike. One feature I like is the ability to set a limit on how much battery you can you, this means if you are going away for a weekend, you could limit your battery to only use 50% so you have 50% left for the 2nd day.

To sum it up it was a fun day, the bikes had their ups and downs but overall I think the levo is decently up there with the top Ebikes. I do prefer the power delivery on the Bosch systems, and I think the option of a full sus bike with 6fattie tyres is a bit over kill. If you have the chance to try one do so, but be ready to empty your bank account after.