Over the past few months I’ve been hearing some chatter about a new Specialized e-bike rumored to tip the scales at only 38 pounds. As the brand was already leading the charge with lightweight e-bikes that didn’t come as a huge surprise, but weight aside, I knew very little about the bike until recently. Taking on a silhouette similar to the current Levo, which follows the form of the latest Stumpjumper, this new Levo SL looks familiar – on the surface anyway. However, upon closer inspection, you’ll notice that the downtube and motor area are a bit slimmer…small enough that it can make you do a double take and easily confuse it with a regular mountain bike. Mainly, it’s what’s inside that’s changed – compared to its standard Levo counterpart, which is the currently the lightest bike in the full power class, the Levo SL sheds 8.8 pounds. Arguably some of that weight loss may be due to parts spec, but the frame, motor and battery did lose a heck of a lot of weight. The size Large “Expert” spec shown here in test tipped the scales at just 38 pounds 12 ounces with a bottle cage and a fair bit of mud on it. It retails for $9,000…

If it all sounds too good to be true, perhaps it is – all of that weight loss does come with a reduction of power and a shorter battery life as well. While the Levo and Kenevo “Full Power” bikes from Specialized boast 565 watts, the Levo SL features 240 watts – in simple terms Specialized dubs the different motors as “4X you” and “2X you” respectively. That’s a reference to a cyclist putting out roughly 240 watts of their own power. Anyhow, let’s dive in to the nitty gritty of this category breaking bike …

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