With its latest generation e-MTB, Specialized has the likes of Amflow and Bosch set well within its sights as the S-Works Turbo Levo 4 boasts big power and serious integration. With that, it provides an approachable and easy to get on with ride that’ll please a serious range of riders, new and experienced. However, you’ll have to pay for the privilege, the GENIE tech may be an acquired taste, and it’s not quite as light as I would expect for the rather serious outlay.
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Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo 4 – Technical details
Right then, let’s start off with that motor. This S-Works level Levo 4 benefits from its own motor that does things a little differently. Rather than the 101Nm and 666W that the regular 3.1 motor outputs, this S-Works build ups the game, knocking out 111Nm and 720W. So really, that extra power is put behind something of a paywall. Despite that, the numbers on the regular motor are certainly nothing to sniff at.
That motor is powered by an 820Wh battery as standard, which is the same found on the whole of the Levo 4 range, but thanks to the brand’s excellently named ‘Wattage Cottage’, it’s a modular system. If you wanted to reduce the bike’s overall weight, you can opt for the 600Wh battery or even run the 280Wh Range Extender by itself. Though the Wattage Cottage has a neat trick up its sleeve as it provides space for storage that grows or shrinks, depending on the battery you’re running. The battery is accessible from the side of the downtube, and it’s a doddle to remove and replace.
As always, the motor’s output and power delivery are adjustable via Specialized’s app, and the bike’s software supports a whole bunch of modes, from Eco to Turbo and Dynamic Micro Tune, which allows the rider to set a ‘base’ support in 10% increments. So if the mode is set to 10/100, you get minimal assistance, but if you were to properly smash on the pedals, it’ll jump to 100% support. That’s all accessible by the rather sleek MasterMind display.
Moving onto the bike itself, it’s built around Specialized’s fancy FACT 11m carbon frame and provides 150mm of travel at the rear wheel. While the bike can accommodate up to 180mm travel forks, there’s a 160mm front bouncer as standard. Of course, the bike boasts internal cable routing, but not through the headset (woo!).
That rear suspension is damped thanks to Specialized’s collaboration with Fox – GENIE. It’s a cool rear shock that utilises two positive air chambers. Both remain open until the shock compresses to 70% of its travel. After which, the secondary chamber is closed. The result is a linear and very active start to mid stroke, while that final 20% gets very progressive, to avoid harsh bottom outs. It sounds a bit mental, and perhaps a bit convoluted, but it works.
Wrapping up the tech specs with the geometry, it’s all rather middle of the road with this S4 (large equivalent) frame benefiting from a 480mm reach, a 64.5-degree head angle, and a 77-degree seat tube angle. There’s then a 444mm chainstay. However, a lot of that is adjustable with headset cups offering +/- one degree of adjustment, a flip chip at the chainstay offering the ability to lengthen that figure by 9mm, and another flip chip at the shock yoke that lowers the bottom bracket by 6mm. Oh, and the bike runs a mullet wheelset too, on an e-MTB of this weight, that’s not a bad move at all.
Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo 4 – Componentry
With a £12,500 price tag, you wouldn’t be wrong to expect a rather posh build kit, and thankfully, Spesh has delivered. Fox provides its 38 Factory fork with the latest GRIP X2 damper, and there’s that Kashima-coated GENIE shock. There’s also a Fox Transfer Neo – the brand’s posh wireless and very pricy dropper post.
SRAM sorts shifting with its wired-in XX drivetrain, complete with carbon cranks. The brand also lends its Maven Ultimate stoppers, with a 220mm rotor up front and 200mm disc at the rear.
The S-Works Levo 4 benefits from Roval’s Traverse carbon rims, which are wrapped with a pair of the brand’s Butcher GRID GRAVITY tyres. A Race Face Era bar finishes off the cockpit, as well as an Industry 9 Mountain stem.
On top of all of that, Specialized throws its smart charger in the box, which is a pretty smart bit of kit, to be fair. It provides options to charge the bike to full as quickly as possible, or to trickle charge and save on energy bills with its eco mode. The charger can also charge the battery up to 80% in the name of battery health. That’s only included with this S-Works build, but it can be picked up after market.
Spesh claims that this build in this size tips the scale at 23.68kg, but I’ve weighed it to be around 24.5kg. For a bike of this price, I expected it to be a kilo or two lighter, and it’s a bit of a shame that it’s not. That said, it’s not too far away from key rivals like Trek, for example.
Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo 4 – Performance
Despite coming with more of an enduro-flavoured build, the Levo 4 has proven to be something of a well-rounded machine as it doesn’t stray too far from what Specialized has set with its trail-type geometry. However, that burlier build opens up opportunities for the bike to be ridden fairly hard, which is where it felt most at home.
And let’s face it, geometry-wise, the Levo 4 isn’t setting geo sheets alight. It’s pretty on the money for a trail e-mountain bike, and for a bike of this weight, I’m pleased to see that the brand hasn’t gone crazy with the shape. Of course, you could adjust the head angle to be fairly slack, but in its standard configuration, the Levo 4 manages to blend a level of maneuverability with a confident aggro ride that doesn’t feel unwieldy when it’s not being ridden as fast as physically possible.
Of course, there’s a lot of adjustability on offer, and mostly, I played with the chainstay length adjustment. 9mm to fettle with is quite a bit, so on faster bike park trails, I lengthened the chainstay, which rewarded me with a hint of extra stability, but for natural trails, I kept it in its shorter position for greater maneuverability. However, even in its long chainstay setting, the chainstay isn’t massively lengthy at 444mm.
In either setting, the Levo 4 is an accomplished climber. It doesn’t require much management to keep the bike grounded, which allows for the easy dispatching of the bike’s 111Nm to launch me up a hill. Rear wheel traction is plentiful too, which comes thanks to Spesh’s interesting GENIE technology.
It is a bit of an acquired taste, however, and while it works to rustle up heaps of traction and comfort, whether you’re going up or downhill, it’s rather liberal with the initial 70% of travel. This leads to exemplary small bump sensitivity, but the bike is much more of a ‘plow through techy stuff’ machine than it is lively. That does make sense, though, as it matches the kind of personality of its burly fork and brakes. Push it through tech and the Levo 4 rewards with heaps of composure as both wheels effortlessly track the ground without transmitting all that much negative feedback to the rider. Personally, I prefer a livelier and more feedback-rich ride, so if I were to own a GENIE-equipped bike, I’d be loading the shock with volume spacers.
Although the Levo 4 is quite the monster truck, it doesn’t feel too much when the trail gets tight, twisty, and technical. That’s thanks to Specialized’s reservation in the geometry, where the bike isn’t super long. In fact, I had a fantastic time threading myself and the bike through tight and steep corners where it showed little compromise in terms of maneuverability.
On easier going trails, the bike’s GENIE tech and enduro-ready build do affect the ride. It doesn’t feel particularly sharp as the shock is fairly linear for the majority of its stroke, and the Levo 4 is still a weighty thing. It’s not one of those bikes that manages to eke every inch of fun out of every trail; rather, it finds its element riding faster and rougher descents. However, the adjustability in the geometry can make for a more responsive machine that’ll better suit the kinds of trails that aren’t always full of technical features.
As for the S-Works 3.1 motor, it’s a rather impressive bit of kit. Now, I wouldn’t say that the 111Nm and 720W are numbers I couldn’t live without, but it’s more in the way that the motor delivers the torque and power, which will likely be similar to the regular motor on the non-S-Works bikes. In Turbo mode, it outputs the bulk of its power when pedalling at a low cadence, which makes sense as that’s when you’ll likely need it the most. It then tapers off as the cadence speeds up, as that’s not really where all of the power is needed. This helps massively with more technical climbs and in sections where you need a short boost in order to get over punchy obstacles.
However, I spent most of my time in the Eco and Trail modes, where in the latter I eked out 30.6km and 1,326m of climbing, that’s with the odd blast in Turbo. Trail mode then tapers the motor’s output to match the power I was putting in through the pedals, so if I calmed down, so would the motor, but if I were to put the power down, the motor would give me more assistance. As expected of a Specialized e-MTB, there’s also the app that allows for a ridiculous level of adjustment, which is something I explored, but mostly left alone.
Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo 4 – Verdict
When riding this bike, its price has been at the forefront of my mind, and with the S-Works build costing nearly a couple of grand more than the Levo 4 Pro, I’ve been struggling to decide whether it’s worth the extra step up. Against that Pro model, you get 10 more Nm, more peak power as well as a wireless dropper, carbon cranks, and Ultimate-level brakes. Whether that’s a £1,700 bump in performance, I’m not sure – to the layman, probably not, but Specialized is flexing what S-Works is all about – all of the tech and an unarguable build.
But if we were to compare the S-Works Levo 4 with bikes of a similar price, Pivot’s Shuttle LT Team XX comes in at £13,400, while the XO is £11,400 (we’ve ridden the Shuttle LT XO, and quite liked it). Neither get carbon wheels nor batteries as large as the Levo’s, but the XO build is lighter at a hair over 22kg.
Where the competition really gets close is when comparing the Spesh to Trek’s Rail+ 9.9 XX AXS T-Type Gen 5. This is a Bosch powered bike, so the level of integration isn’t quite as sophisticated, but it grants you a similar build with RockShox’s ZEB and Super Deluxe Ultimate suspension and the old-spec Reverb AXS dropper post. It boasts the same brakes and carbon wheels from Bontrager. However, the Fox 38 GRIP X2 fork on the Spesh is a bit of a belter. The S-Works Levo 4 provides more power, of course, too, and with all that considered, I reckon that the Specialized pips the Trek for all-out value. For just a little more money, you’re getting a fair chunk more bike. This bike is claimed to weigh 23.98kg.
It sounds mad to say that a £12,500 bike is good value, but compared to bikes of a similar price… it is. With it, Specialized is simply offering more in specifications and power. However, I reckon you can find better bang for your buck if you look at some of the more affordable bikes in the Levo 4 range. For example, you could go for the Comp model, and upgrade the fork with some change left over.
Specialized’s Levo e-mountain bike platform has always been one that’s managed to please the masses, and although this S-Works build will certainly be out of reach for many, the Levo 4 range will certainly do so again. Its ride is one that many will gel with, especially so thanks to its heft of adjustability, but few bikes match the level of integration, power delivery, and the plushness of the Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo 4. It would just be made better if Specialized managed to shave a kilo or two off the total weight, given the asking price.
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About the bike
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Fact 11 carbon frame, Fox 38 Factory Fork, Fox Float X GENIE, SRAM XX drivetrain, Maven brakes, Roval carbon wheels, Specialized Butcher tyres, Fox Transfer Neo dropper, Deity/I9 finishing kit.
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