The Specialized Turbo Levo range of bikes are among the best two-wheelers for enduro riding on the market. They’re super versatile, fun to ride and capable of taking on some wild terrain.
The company has nearly 50 years of experience in the cycling industry and you can see that craftsmanship with these bikes. The Specialized Turbo Levo Carbon is one of the lower-spec bikes in the range.
But is it worth stepping up to some of the higher spec bikes? Or does the Turbo Levo Carbon suffice? Let’s reveal all in another Turbo Levo review…
Our Verdict
We really aren’t too far off a 5 out of 5 for the Specialized Turbo Levo Carbon.
It’s a beautifully balanced e-MTB, with brilliant electrical components which offer a big range and tonnes of power.
It’s super playful and versatile, descending and climbing well, while also coming alive in super technical twisty terrain.
There isn’t much to grumble about; however, an upgraded brake and fork setup would just elevate the overall experience.
Easy tweaks to make to create a perfect bike.
Peaks:
- Battery
- Motor
- Playfulness
- Versatility
- Display
Troughs:
- Forks slightly under gunned
- Brakes could be upgraded
Specialized Turbo Levo Carbon
Price: $7,063
Weight/Frame
The Specialized Turbo Levo carbon comes with a fully carbon frame, with a total bike weight of 23kg in the S4 size (which we rode on our review rides – comparable to a large on other ranges).
It comes with an aggressive geometry setup, like all the Turbo Levo range, and is made for taking on technical terrain. Handling is at the forefront of the bike’s design, with every aspect of its frame geometry and wheel setup (which we’ll come to later) geared up for taking on some of the most challenging routes out there.
The bike can cope with some pretty gnarly descending, but feels balanced enough to also perform well on the climbs, with a decent amount of traction. The bike’s at its best through the trees, with lots of changes of direction and although it’s fairly weighty overall, it moves like a much lighter bike.
It’s also super adjustable, particularly in the bottom bracket, which can be moved up/down by 7mm – useful for really creating a bespoke feel to your Turbo Levo Carbon.
You can buy the bike in 6 different frame sizes, in the company’s S1-S6 framing models, so there are a lot of options to try; most have similar geometry settings, but the smaller sizes are much more playful, with their size making them more nimble
ℹ️ If you feel the bike is too heavy, don’t fear. There are a number of super light versions of the Specialized Tubo Levo, which have smaller batteries, but feel more like a conventional MTB. These weigh feather-light as a result.
Battery
The Specialized Turbo Levo Carbon comes with the company's custom made M3-700, which is a 700Wh battery. This is a sizable beast to have at your disposal out on the trails and it gives you a decent overall range.
Specialized claim the M3-700 can give you up to 5 hours of riding time on one charge – there are certainly a lot of variables in that claim and we didn’t find we could quite push 5 hours out. However, we still managed around 80km on our review rides, on varied routes and we still had a little left in the tank.
We’re impressed with the battery’s relationship with the motor; it releases the power conservatively, which means it doesn’t empty the tank quite as quickly as you find on some e-MTBs of a similar size.
The charge time takes around 4 hours to go from empty to full, which is on the speedier side of things in the e-MTB battery market. A decent product, overall, which is nicely secured into the downtube.
Motor
The Specialized Turbo Levo Carbon comes with the company’s custom 2.2 RX Trail Tuned motor. The custom motor can emit a monster 90Nm of torque and when you combine that with the bike’s sporty layout and reasonable weight, it makes light work of any climb you put in its way.
Sometimes that amount of power in a motor can feel very unnatural out on the trails, but fortunately the power is emitted in a very intelligent way and you never feel out of control on the bike.
That really helps on the super technical terrain – you have full trust in the motor to die off when you need it to and come into life modestly, so it really feels at one with the pedals. It’s a very smooth riding experience, which adds to the bike’s playfulness and it manages to operate without making any nasty noises.
The motor has three modes – Eco, Trail and Turbo – and you can switch between them using a neatly placed controller on the handlebars. A triumph from Specialized in the motor department.
Motor Display
The Specialized Turbo Levo Carbon is fitted with the company’s Mastermind Turbo Control Unit (TCU), which is the same across the full Turbo Levo range. We’ve sung its praises before and will again – it’s a well-thought-out motor display which offers many different layers of customisation.
You want a motor display to elevate a riding experience and the TCU certainly does that – you get 10 different LED lights, which highlight 10% of battery life – we would have preferred an exact figure, but it’s more reliable than some displays.
You can flick between lots of different data points, such as the amount of ascent you’ve ridden, your speed, distance, cadence and much more. It also provides prompts on when to change up or down the modes of assist, so you get the most out of your e-MTB and it can be linked to a heart rate monitor.
All of this can be fed through the company’s smartphone app, so you can reflect on your performance.
Suspension
The Specialized Turbo Levo Carbon comes with different levels of travel depending on which frame size you go for. The smallest, S1, frame has 150mm of travel at the front and the rear, meanwhile the S2-S6 frame sizes come with 160mm of travel at the front and 150mm at the rear.
It comes with RockShox 35 Silver forks and RockShox Deluxe Select R shocks. It isn’t a bad pairing, but it’s certainly downgraded compared to some other higher spec bikes in the range – particularly in the forks.
The Turbo Levo Pro comes with FOX 38s, so the 35s seem a little under-gunned compared to the rest of the bike. It means it can’t perform quite as well on the gnarliest terrain, but it still does very admirably and feels well balanced.
It still remains playful and comes alive on technical sections and the suspension setup suits the bike’s progressive geometry.
Wheels/Tyres
The Specialized Turbo Levo Carbon has a mullet wheel setup, with a large 29in wheel at the front and a smaller 27.5in wheel at the rear. This is another aspect which adds to the bike’s playfulness – you feel well planted at the front end, with that big 29er, which provides a lot of traction.
However, the smaller back end lends itself to being thrown about and comes well with sharp changes of direction and aggressive movements. The wheels are in-house products, with Butcher Grid Trail tyres at the front and Eliminator Grid Trail tyres at the rear.
Brakes
The Specialized Turbo Levo Carbon comes with SRAM Guide RE brakes – we love SRAM products, but these aren’t at the top end of the company’s spec. Given the level of aggressive riding, we would have liked to have seen a higher spec brake for the price you’re paying overall. However, we can’t complain too much about SRAM products, it’s still a decent set of brakes.
Drivetrain
The Specialized Turbo Levo Carbon comes with a 12-speed SRAM NX Eagle drivetrain. Smooth shifting and reliability, which is exactly what you want on an aggressive setup.
Price: $7,063
We think the Specialized Turbo Levo Carbon is priced fairly.
You’re getting some truly excellent components here and a huge level of playfulness. Not only are you getting reliability throughout the bike’s components, but also a heck of a lot of fun.
Turbo Levo Carbon Facts & Figures
Size Configurations
| GEOMETRY | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 | S5 | S6 | |
| Crank Length | 160mm | 160mm | 160mm | 160mm | 160mm | 160mm |
| Seatpost Length | 100mm | 125mm | 150mm | 170mm | 170mm | 200mm |
| Handlebar Width | 780mm | 780mm | 780mm | 780mm | 780mm | 780mm |
| Stem Length | 40mm | 40mm | 40mm | 40mm | 50mm | 50mm |
| Saddle Width | 155mm | 155mm | 143mm | 143mm | 143mm | 143mm |
| Stack | 605mm | 617mm | 626mm | 635mm | 644mm | 653mm |
| Reach | 412mm | 432mm | 452mm | 477mm | 502mm | 532mm |
| Headtube Length | 105mm | 105mm | 115mm | 125mm | 135mm | 145mm |
| Headtube Angle | 64.5° | 64.5° | 64.5° | 64.5° | 64.5° | 64.5° |
| BB Height | 352mm | 350mm | 350mm | 350mm | 350mm | 350mm |
| BB Drop | 25mm | 27mm | 27mm | 27mm | 27mm | 27mm |
| Trail | 130mm | 130mm | 130mm | 130mm | 130mm | 130mm |
| Fork Length (full) | 557mm | 567mm | 567mm | 567mm | 567mm | 567mm |
| Fork Rake/Offset | 44mm | 44mm | 44mm | 44mm | 44mm | 44mm |
| Front Center | 738mm | 760mm | 784mm | 814mm | 843mm | 878mm |
| Chainstay Length | 442mm | 442mm | 442mm | 442mm | 442mm | 442mm |
| Wheelbase | 1179mm | 1200mm | 1225mm | 1255mm | 1284mm | 1318mm |
| Bike Standover Height | 752mm | 776mm | 783mm | 787mm | 788mm | 790mm |
| Seat Tube Length | 380mm | 390mm | 405mm | 425mm | 445mm | 465mm |
| Seat Tube Angle | 78° | 77.2° | 76.7° | 76.2° | 76.2° | 76.2° |
| Max Seatpost Insertion | 210mm | 220mm | 240mm | 255mm | 275mm | 295mm |
| Min Seatpost Insertion | 80mm | 80mm | 80mm | 80mm | 80mm | 80mm |
Full Specs
| FRAMESET | ||
|---|---|---|
| Frame | Seat Binder | Suspension Fork |
| FACT 11m full carbon, 29″ front wheel, 27.5″ rear wheel, full internal cable routing, 148mm spacing, fully sealed cartridge bearings, 150mm of travel, geo adjust head tube, geo adjust horst pivot | Alloy, 38.6mm | RockShox 35 Silver, 130mm Travel: 130 mm Fork steer tube diameter: 1 1/8″ – 1.5″ |
| SUSPENSION | ||
| Rear Shock | Fork | |
| RockShox Deluxe Select R, rebound adjust, S1: 52.5x210mm, S2-S6: 55x210mm | Rockshox 35 Silver 29, Turnkey damper, S1: 150mm travel, S2-S6: 160mm travel | |
| DRIVETRAIN | ||
| Crankset | Cassette | Chain |
| Praxis Forged/Custom Offset/ISIS Spindle Interface, 160mm | SRAM NX Eagle, 12-speed, 11-50t | SRAM NX Eagle, 12-speed |
| Shift Levers | Rear Derailleur | Chainrings |
| SRAM SL SX Eagle, 12-speed | SRAM SX Eagle, 12-speed | SRAM X-Sync Eagle, 104 BCD, 34T, steel |
| BRAKES | ||
| Brakes | ||
| Front: SRAM Guide RE, S1-S3: 200mm, S4-S6: 220mm Rear: SRAM Guide RE, 200mm | ||
| WHEELS | ||
| Wheel | Tyre | Spokes |
| Specialized 29, hookless alloy, 30mm inner width, tubeless ready | Front: Butcher, GRID TRAIL casing, GRIPTON® T9 compound, 2Bliss Ready, 29×2.6″ Rear: Eliminator, GRID TRAIL casing, GRIPTON® T7 compound, 2Bliss Ready, 27.5×2.6″ | DT Swiss Industry |
| Hub | Inner Tubes | |
| Front: Specialized alloy front hub disc, sealed cardridge bearings, 6-bolt, 15x110mm thru-axle, 32h Rear: Alloy, sealed cartridge bearings, 12x148mm thru-axle, 32h | Standard, Presta Valve | |
| COCKPIT | ||
| Stem | Saddle | Tape |
| Alloy Trail Stem, 35mm bar bore | Body Geometry Bridge Saddle, steel rails | Specialized Trail Grips |
| Handlebars | SeatPost | |
| Specialized, 6061 alloy, 6-degree upsweep, 8-degree backsweep, 30mm rise, 780mm width | TranzX dropper, 34.9mm, S1: 100mm, S2: 125mm, S3: 150mm. S4-S5: 170mm, S6- 200mm | |
| E-BIKE | ||
| Wiring Harness | Charger | Motor |
| Custom Specialized wiring harness | Custom charger, 42V4A w/ Rosenberger plug, 100-240V | Specialized 2.2, Custom Rx Trail Tuned Motor |
| Battery | UI/Remote | |
| Specialized M3-700, Integrated battery, 700Wh | Specialized TCU, 10-LED State of charge, 3-LED Ride Mode display, ANT+/Bluetooth®, w/Handlebar remote | |
* Weights based on production painted frames as pictured. Actual weights will vary based on colourway, frame size, and component variation. Specifications are subject to change without notice.
How Does it Compare?
This is a very competitive sector of the market, with many great options out there. We’ve decided to pit the Specialized Turbo Levo Carbon up against the Canyon Spectral:ON CFR.
Firstly, the Canyon is lighter at 21.87kg, compared to 23kg on our Specilialized bike – and the Canyon has a larger 900Wh battery, which gives you a monster range.
However, the Canyon is fitted with the inferior Shimano EP8 motor, which although powerful at 85Nm of torque, is littered with issues.
Our 90Nm custom motor offers a much smoother riding experience and is a much better product, similarly the EP8 display on the Canyon isn’t good.
You get 155mm travel at the front and 150mm at the rear on the Canyon, with a comparable standard of forks to our Turbo Levo Carbon.
You get a similar mullet style wheel set-up, but the Canyon has a superior Shimano XTR brake and drivetrain setup.
You pay a price for that, though. The Canyon comes in at $8,699 – close to $1,700 more than our Specialized.
We don’t think it’s $1,700 better as an overall ride experience, so we think you should stick with our cheaper Specialized Turbo Levo Carbon.
You can read our full Canyon Spectral:ON CFR review here:
Final Thoughts
The Specialized Turbo Levo Carbon is an excellent, well balanced trail beauty.
Despite a modest price for a top e-MTB, you still get some wonderful components and it has a nigh on unbeatable playfulness.
With a beastly custom battery and motor combo, you get a big old range and enough power to take on any terrain, along with an advanced display.
You always feel control and its aggressive geometry means you can throw the bike around at ease.
The handling is beautiful, the suspension decent enough and there isn’t much to complain about in other areas.
It could have a bit more give in the forks and some upgraded brakes, but that would come at quite a cost and impact the overall price of the bike.
We’re seriously impressed with the Turbo Levo Carbon – it offers great value for money.
Don’t just sit there reading this, though, get out and give it a ride.
If you enjoyed this review then make sure to check out our other Specialized Turbo Levo e-MTBs review.
