The updated Levo SL just came out, inheriting many traits of the most popular emtb today, the Specialized Levo. The Levo SL now has a bigger sweet spot, and it opens up the question, "Which one is right for me?"
We discuss key points in the video and offer riding experiences and measured data to arm you with information to help you make a wise choice. We also open up a few questions to ask yourself when making this decision.
The Levo is more powerful than the SL, but we put some numbers behind it by putting both in an uphill time trial, keeping the rider output the same. The data is in the table below.
![Image]()
The Levo at 5:08 minutes is faster by 1:43 on the 520-foot climb, which is quite significant. A 23 lb. Santa Cruz Blur climbed that hill in 16:43 minutes with the same rider output. And extrapolating these numbers to a 2000-foot climb, the difference between the Levo and the SL will be 7 minutes.
Hopefully, these numbers will help riders relate to the wattage difference between the two bikes. These were measured using the rider at 155 lbs putting out a 200-watt average for the climb.
![Image]()
The range is even more interesting; we'll let the video tell the story. The caveat is that the Levo SL requires the rider to do more work even if the pedaling output is the same at 200 watts on average. The reason is the rider has to work 33% longer.
We hope this information helps you make a choice. What is your experience with either bike? Do you have a mid-power or full-power, and are you looking to add to the stable?
We discuss key points in the video and offer riding experiences and measured data to arm you with information to help you make a wise choice. We also open up a few questions to ask yourself when making this decision.
The Levo is more powerful than the SL, but we put some numbers behind it by putting both in an uphill time trial, keeping the rider output the same. The data is in the table below.
The Levo at 5:08 minutes is faster by 1:43 on the 520-foot climb, which is quite significant. A 23 lb. Santa Cruz Blur climbed that hill in 16:43 minutes with the same rider output. And extrapolating these numbers to a 2000-foot climb, the difference between the Levo and the SL will be 7 minutes.
Hopefully, these numbers will help riders relate to the wattage difference between the two bikes. These were measured using the rider at 155 lbs putting out a 200-watt average for the climb.
The new Levo SL on the left is a significant improvement over the first-generation Levo SL.
The range is even more interesting; we'll let the video tell the story. The caveat is that the Levo SL requires the rider to do more work even if the pedaling output is the same at 200 watts on average. The reason is the rider has to work 33% longer.
We hope this information helps you make a choice. What is your experience with either bike? Do you have a mid-power or full-power, and are you looking to add to the stable?
