[honkinunit]

https://www.velonews.com/2019/07/bikes-and-tech/first-ride-specialized-turbo-creo-sl_497261

This bike is significant for a few reasons. First, Specialized apparently have developed their own proprietary motor, not adapted the Brose unit. Second, the bike weighs only 27lb, with a 28mph top end and a claimed 80 mile range from a 320wH battery. Obviously, that would be on flat ground with a tailwind. Third, there is also an optional range extender battery that fits in the seat tube water bottle cage. I believe this concept of having smaller, lighter batteries as the standard configuration and allowing for range extenders as desired is the future of eMTB as well.

From the ride reviews I have read, it does not deliver a lot of torque, instead, it delivers speed on the top end. Makes sense on a road bike. BTW, the Bosch "S" motor also sacrifices torque for speed.

Two major downsides I see: the downtube battery does not look to be removable, and neither is the motor. Fazua for the win in these two areas.

There are a couple of versions, but the "cheapest" is $9000. These are high end builds with carbon frame, Di2 and carbon wheels. I'm pretty sure there will be aluminum frame versions with lower end specs for a lot less money within a year or two.

The anti-eBike crowd is going to poop their pants. The Velonews reviewer had to make sure at the end of the review to throw in his comment that the bike isn't for HIM, oh no, he is too good for that. But others will like it. But not him. No. He is too cool.

BTW, I LMAO about the "Future Shock" headtube suspension for two reasons: Specialized made their own, absolutely terrible suspension forks back in the 90's and called them "Future Shock", so why resurrect that name? They absolutely sucked. The other is that Specialized have stolen Cannondale's "Headshok" design that they so roundly criticized around the same time they made their own crap forks.

 

[honkinunit]

I just found out a fourth pretty groundbreaking advancements in the TC: Specialized designed the range extenders to be small enough to take on an airplane, and the bike can run on just the range extender batteries. Unfortunately, the main downtube battery apparently must be removed by a Specialized dealer. Huh?

Well, we are getting a little closer to nirvana. Which is a bike powered by an array of easily removable batteries rather than just one big one, so that you can fine tune the battery weight to your actual requirements. Once we get to that point, plus have a removable motor, ebikes will be the standard.

"The range extender plugs in to a port in the seat tube, allowing for battery swapping in less than 30 seconds. The added bonus is that the Range Extender battery solves a huge issue for e-bikes – the fact that you can’t fly with them due to battery size limitations. The Range Extender is small enough to comply with the flight regulations, so all you need to do is remove the downtube battery (at a Specialized dealer) and pack a couple Extenders for your trip.

Note: You can carry two extenders on the bike at one time, but only one may be plugged in at a time. Also – the new motor system is 48 volt vs 36 volt for previous Specialized e-bikes, meaning that the Range Extender is not backwards-compatible."

 

[Cody01]

Pricing themselves right outta the game.

 

[Bigwheel]

I've had a couple of e-road bikes for a few years now and this type of bike is not appealing at all to me. Low watt/wh bikes are light because they don't have much power or available wh's of battery. I guess it is just there for a crutch when you feel you need it but does it really mask it's additional weight over the long run?

I use my road bikes dependent on my ride goals. Want to go far? Hold the wattage to 250w and pedal in the appropriate gear and you'll burn about 10wh/mi in variable terrain averaging speeds greater than able to manually. Up it to 500w and average 15wh/mi but at a faster average speed/less miles. Just going to the store for a few items or feeling sporty and want to dog cars? Wick it up to 750w and average more like 20wh/mi @20mph+. Late for a very important date and open ground to cover fast? Select 1000w and jam on. Or choose any variety of the former.

 

[honkinunit]

Pricing themselves right outta the game.

The non-ebike version of the Creo Expert($9000) is the Roubaix Expert and it has almost an identical build at $6000, so it looks like Specialized is pricing the electric technology at $3000.

Rest assured there will be a less expensive version at some point. The non-ebike Roubaix Comp is $3400, no carbon wheels, no suspension fork, and no Di2. I'm guessing next year there will be a similar Creo Comp at around $6000.

The real question is whether any of the dozens of Fazua motor eRoad bikes sold in Europe will be sold here any time soon. They are not any less expensive, but at least they would be competition. I don't think there will be a 27lb eRoad bike sold in the US in 2020 other than this one, so Specialized has a monopoly for a year.

And the real REAL question is whether we will see Specialized port the new motor/battery system to a new version of the Levo. How about a 38lb eMTB with 150mm of travel? That would be sweet. It would also be at *least* $9000.

 

[honkinunit]

I've had a couple of e-road bikes for a few years now and this type of bike is not appealing at all to me. Low watt/wh bikes are light because they don't have much power or available wh's of battery. I guess it is just there for a crutch when you feel you need it but does it really mask it's additional weight over the long run?

I use my road bikes dependent on my ride goals. Want to go far? Hold the wattage to 250w and pedal in the appropriate gear and you'll burn about 10wh/mi in variable terrain averaging speeds greater than able to manually. Up it to 500w and average 15wh/mi but at a faster average speed/less miles. Just going to the store for a few items or feeling sporty and want to dog cars? Wick it up to 750w and average more like 20wh/mi @20mph+. Late for a very important date and open ground to cover fast? Select 1000w and jam on. Or choose any variety of the former.

This bike is not going to be making many grocery runs. It is aimed at aging former racers who want to be able to do the group ride without getting dropped on every hill, or CEOs who are too busy to stay in shape for the local charity ride, but who want to do them anyway. There is no reason for this demographic to have any more power than necessary to keep them from getting dropped.

It will sell like hotcakes. The bike is not targeted to struggling bike shop employees or average Joes, it is for those who have room to put this in the garage next to their Panamera for commuting, a Cayenne Turbo for weekend trips, and a 911 for fun.

They already have a funny commercial on YouTube with Phil Liggett passing Julian Alaphilippe. I'm sure it will roll on the Tour de France coverage this week just like the ones last year with the old lady beating Peter Sagan up a hill.

 

[Cody01]

I don't think many in the US would even want this bile anyway. I was unaware they were working on something new for the Levo as the S and M are pretty new anyway.

 

[honkinunit]

I don't think many in the US would even want this bile anyway. I was unaware they were working on something new for the Levo as the S and M are pretty new anyway.

The Brose motor in the Levo is fine for a first effort, but now that Bosch and Yamaha have stepped up their game, Specialized is going to have to respond. It would make no sense for them to create an entirely new, custom, and power system and use it only on road bikes. I'm guessing that the Creo is going to sell out, and that the Levo (or a new eMTB model) will be using this power system on 2021 bikes.

 

[honkinunit]

I've been saying all along that ebikes will be adopted by pro riders as a training tool. Enduro and DH riders use them, and now pro road riders are using them on their rest day at the Tour de France:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tou...s-new-specialized-e-bike-on-rest-day-gallery/

It could have been an advertising thing, for sure, since the bikes were just announced and both teams using them are sponsored by Specialized. Time will tell. It is another load of bikes that have to be hauled around, and each team already has dozens. Could be more headache than it is worth.

With that said, if a rider needs to do course recon the day before a race, an ebike would be a great way to do it.

 

[Cody01]

Well I sure like my Brose S. Its ultra quiet.

 

[honkinunit]

Well I sure like my Brose S. Its ultra quiet.

The Brose motors are the quietest around because they use a belt for power transfer from the motor to the output, rather than gears.

I saw a cutaway of the new Specialized system and it is all gears. The first thing I thought was that it was going to disappoint current Specialized fans because it will probably be noisier. We will have to wait to see if they directly adopt the new system to MTB or they modify it somehow. The noise doesn't really matter on a road bike, but on an eMTB motor noise is annoying. I have Bosch-powered eMTBs and the noise is my number one issue with them. I usually shut my power off completely when approaching hikers.

 

[Lsx408ci]

https://www.velonews.com/2019/07/bikes-and-tech/first-ride-specialized-turbo-creo-sl_497261

This bike is significant for a few reasons. First, Specialized apparently have developed their own proprietary motor, not adapted the Brose unit. Second, the bike weighs only 27lb, with a 28mph top end and a claimed 80 mile range from a 320wH battery. Obviously, that would be on flat ground with a tailwind. Third, there is also an optional range extender battery that fits in the seat tube water bottle cage. I believe this concept of having smaller, lighter batteries as the standard configuration and allowing for range extenders as desired is the future of eMTB as well.

From the ride reviews I have read, it does not deliver a lot of torque, instead, it delivers speed on the top end. Makes sense on a road bike. BTW, the Bosch "S" motor also sacrifices torque for speed.

Two major downsides I see: the downtube battery does not look to be removable, and neither is the motor. Fazua for the win in these two areas.

There are a couple of versions, but the "cheapest" is $9000. These are high end builds with carbon frame, Di2 and carbon wheels. I'm pretty sure there will be aluminum frame versions with lower end specs for a lot less money within a year or two.

The anti-eBike crowd is going to poop their pants. The Velonews reviewer had to make sure at the end of the review to throw in his comment that the bike isn't for HIM, oh no, he is too good for that. But others will like it. But not him. No. He is too cool.

BTW, I LMAO about the "Future Shock" headtube suspension for two reasons: Specialized made their own, absolutely terrible suspension forks back in the 90's and called them "Future Shock", so why resurrect that name? They absolutely sucked. The other is that Specialized have stolen Cannondale's "Headshok" design that they so roundly criticized around the same time they made their own crap forks.

nice input/feedback, this bike isnt for everyone, but its right for me, i am short $8,000 though !

 

[Gemini2k05]

I don't think many in the US would even want this bile anyway. I was unaware they were working on something new for the Levo as the S and M are pretty new anyway.

A road bike that goes further and faster with less effort? Ya...I've never heard of anyone who wants something like that. 🙄

 

[dundundata]

Battery is everything, the more the better

 

[Radium]

OP: what do you expect from roadies? Although, I must say that mtbr's are catching up in the snobbery dept.

 

[J.B. Weld]

OP: what do you expect from roadies? Although, I must say that mtbr's are catching up in the snobbery dept.

Snobbery? The author didn't say he was too good for the bike, only that it wasn't his thing. I thought he gave a good review.

 

[Radium]

As to this new Spec. Ed road ebike, it's amazing. And that's as light as my steel 853 road bike, well, maybe 2-3 lb.s heavier. But still, easy to lift!

 

[Radium]

Snobbery? The author didn't say he was too good for the bike, only that it wasn't his thing. I thought he gave a good review.

Your'e absolutely right. That's what I get for initially just looking at the pics! It was a well- written review and the authors' preference in no way came across as prejudicial.

Guess I'ma start buying me them lotto tickets....that's the only way I could afford one of these.

 

[Gutch]

Sweet bikes, I’d love to buy one. Not big on the colors though.

 

[stiksandstones]

The Brose motor in the Levo is fine for a first effort, but now that Bosch and Yamaha have stepped up their game, Specialized is going to have to respond. It would make no sense for them to create an entirely new, custom, and power system and use it only on road bikes. I'm guessing that the Creo is going to sell out, and that the Levo (or a new eMTB model) will be using this power system on 2021 bikes.

The brose motor in my levo is second effort, and pretty damn perfect-whats more to respond?