# Noticeable change in handling between 500 & 700w battery, 2019 Levo?



## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

I know there is a 1.7 # difference in the two. Anyone that has ridden both, is it significant enough to warrant purchasing?


----------



## nilswalk (Nov 26, 2014)

I have both. Don't really notice any difference. I justified the 500 as a way to re-coup the weight added by switching to a coil shock (but I ran the 500 for awhile with the original shock too).


----------



## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Interesting. I’m purchasing a barely used one as we speak. Be interesting to see how much range difference there is.


----------



## dodger (Feb 10, 2004)

Gutch said:


> Interesting. I'm purchasing a barely used one as we speak. Be interesting to see how much range difference there is.


Exactly 40% difference


----------



## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Gotcha.


----------



## Forest Rider (Oct 29, 2018)

dodger said:


> exactly 40% difference


lol - good one


----------



## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

nilswalk said:


> I have both. Don't really notice any difference. I justified the 500 as a way to re-coup the weight added by switching to a coil shock (but I ran the 500 for awhile with the original shock too).


Can you obtain 25 miles with say 3000' of climbing in ECO on the 500w battery? (Roughly)


----------



## Cody01 (Jul 23, 2014)

Mines not a Levo but I love my 700wh battery. I can do long single track adventures and not worry about running out. The bike is heavy but so am I and I dont find it to be a burden.


----------



## JillRide45 (Dec 11, 2015)

Gutch said:


> Can you obtain 25 miles with say 3000' of climbing in ECO on the 500w battery? (Roughly)


I just finished a 25 mile 2000' climbing with 56% battery remaining (500wh). I used trail 45% about 95% of the time and turbo 65% the remaining 5%. I weigh 115 lbs so I can go all day on the Levo. Husband at 160 lbs and slightly higher settings and a 700wh battery ends up with nearly the exact same % as I do. He has a 500wh battery and the 700wh battery but never switches back to the 500wh, just not enough difference in handling to warrant the switch. Have fun!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## hikerdave (Mar 8, 2006)

dodger said:


> Exactly 40% difference


Nope. Going from a 700 watt to 500 watt battery you'll notice a 29 percent difference. It's elementary school math.

At a profligate use of 20 wH per mile, you'll lose about ten miles of range. Expressed another way, you'll lose about a thousand feet worth of assistance in elevation gain, based on rider plus bike of around 250 pounds; more if you weigh less.


----------



## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)

JillRide45 said:


> I just finished a 25 mile 2000' climbing with 56% battery remaining (500wh). I used trail 45% about 95% of the time and turbo 65% the remaining 5%. I weigh 115 lbs so I can go all day on the Levo. Husband at 160 lbs and slightly higher settings and a 700wh battery ends up with nearly the exact same % as I do. He has a 500wh battery and the 700wh battery but never switches back to the 500wh, just not enough difference in handling to warrant the switch. Have fun!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Jill this is really helpful information. I'm thinking of getting a 750W (non-Levo) and the typical battery sizes are 13.5 Ah and 17.5 Ah. I'm at 150 lbs but let's say I'm 160 lbs above for simplicity. The 13.5 Ah x 48V is 648 Wh (right?) that's pretty close to 700 Wh as above, then in theory you can go about 50 miles total before the battery is 100% drained, correct? The other issue is that I'm not sure if 17.5 Ah will fit in my triangle, so 13.5 Ah seems like a better choice if the above numbers are correct.

Not to go off on a tangent but I've read that mid-drives are around 67% more efficient than hub drives. As in 1200 Wh of mid-drive power will go the same distance as 2000 Wh of hub drive, some test on a different site was done between the two a while ago. I currently have a hub drive. Looking back on Strava, a 20-mile, 2350 foot ride will typically drain about 70% of my current 13.5 Ah battery. Adjusting for height down to 2000 feet, let's say that would drain it 65% instead of 70%. Comparing that to your husband's ride above, him getting 50 miles from a mid-drive on a full 100% drained charge to my getting 30 miles on a hub-drive is pretty close to that other test result, a mid-drive is 60% more efficient. No need for 17.5 Ah or 700 Wh with a mid-drive.


----------



## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

I have ordered a Turbo Levo with 700Wh but have been riding a 500Wh Giant while waiting for it. I calculated my range with the 500 as 35 miles including about 2000 feet of climbing. I am 64kg.

500 is arguably enough power for me. I could have been ok with the base model 2020 Levo (but not the 2019 as it is missing dropper post and only has 32mm forks).

700Wh should be good for 50 miles of trail including some climbing, and my plan is just to not charge it every ride. Maybe every 3-5 rides.


----------



## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

Range wont be affected, a wh is a wh.

Your throttle may be different for the speed you are going, depending on the voltage. You can get the exact same watts for any voltage.
500W can go 10Vx50A or 20Vx25A. One is slower then the other. If your throttle is at 100% on 10V and say you go at 10mph, then your 20V will go faster at full throttle, but if your throttle position is moving you at 10mph, no change in distance between the two. If your terrain is exactly the same. If you go faster, of course your wh per distance is higher. The more amps is very mariginal torque difference.


----------



## Delta_kilo (Oct 30, 2006)

I rode a friends Levo a awhile back did 3400ft of climbing in 24mi the battery was 1 bar below half when finished. I did most of the ride in ECO mode maybe 10%-15% in the second mode what ever that's called? Just for fun I switched to boost to climb a short hill and the end of the ride. All in all I was impressed with the performance of the 500Wh battery, but a 700Wh sure would be nice never would have to worry about a low battery.


----------



## ziscwg (May 18, 2007)

Getting the most elevation out of your battery comes down to simple physics. 

If you run 90% eco and 10% trail, you will get a lot of range. If you weight 20 less than the next guy, you get more range. Faster rolling tires, good fitness, and climbing skill will help a bit here and there. It won't be huge, but it all adds up.

In the end, it's all about that 'fun' factor. If the 700 wh batter gets you that extra lap and more fun, then it could be worth it to you. Only you can answer that question.


----------



## portnuefpeddler (Jun 14, 2016)

Another factor not mentioned is a larger battery will experience less voltage sag under heavy load. I ride with a 6, a 11.5, and a 17 AH battery (different bikes) and have learned to deal with this. For the monster epic rides, it's the 17.


----------

