# I tried an Easy Motion Lynx 4.8 and Turbo Levo Comp today...



## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

I normally ride a Giant Trance 29er, and I am 5'8, 145 lbs. My past e-bike experience was a demo on a Stromer ST2, and I built a hub-motor MTB. I sold off the hub motor system as it was not trail capable - too much weight and the battery was 1000 ah and too heavy and high center of mass. It was a good electric moped in the end, but not what I have come to want.



First I rode the Easy Motion Lynx 4.8 Pro. The Brose motor was very quiet, and it had what I would consider enough power. At around 20 mph when it cuts out, it did so in a fairly soft way. Still, 20 is too slow for road use. I think 28 mph/45 kph is needed for street use. This is especially true because when the motor cuts out, it leaves you in too tall a gear to crank - so in that way, it is actually harder to ride an e-bike over 20 mph than if the motor were just totally shut off as then you would be in the correct gear at 20. 


The forks and suspension seemed ok. The wheels and tires were crap - 2.35" $14 tires on a $4000 bike. It even had Schrader valves as if it were a Walmart bike. Maybe they figure everyone will throw the factory tires away anyway so they just use cheap ones? Personally I would not want to take this on any kind of technical trail. I left the demo knowing that I would never buy this bike, for what I want. But, it was a nice bike for riding around a city or any other non-technical use. They make a Lynx 6 27.5+ Pro with 160mm suspension travel and plus tires, so that one may be good.

Then I tried the Turbo Levo Comp. It was a size large, and I normally take a medium. It seemed surprisingly small. I measured the reach compared to my 18" medium Giant, and it was only about an inch more. The size didn't bother me when riding it. Just lifting the Levo seemed a lot heavier than the Lynx. I weighed it with SPD pedals at 52 lbs. I did not have a chance to weigh the Lynx, but the specs say it is also 52 lbs - felt lighter though. I also like how it has no display, and you can use an app to set the three default power levels.


But seeing the Levo got me excited, as it looked much better and more serious to me in person. The wheels/tires were appropriate to what I was expecting. On the street, it was not as good as the Lynx though - the 650B+ tires were loud. The Levo did seem good on a trail though, but not used to the weight yet as for lifting front over obstacles.


The Brose motors on each felt about the same. They sensed torque to some degree - but not sure it was proportional. I got the feeling they just sensed the presence of torque and then went by RPM. Some more work needs to be done to make the feel more natural.


So... Lynx 4.8 good for street use/city/commuting, and would need to try an AtomX 6 27.5+ if used for trails. The Levo seemed good for trails, and it was an interesting product, but I would want to try a BULLS E-CORE AM with E8000 STEPS before making a purchase decision.


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## motocatfish (Mar 12, 2016)

Thanks for your reviews.

The Broses I demoed seemed like cadence-proportional, if above minimum torque. My Bosch Performance CX is definitely cadence-proportional PLUS torque-proportional, if above minimum torque.

ControlAlgoGeeksRUs, ;-)


Catfish ...


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

You can customize the feel and response of the Levo using their phone app. You should test ride it again but download the app first and use it to adjust the parameters. 

Ride a Yamaha and a Bosch system to compare. If you ride a Bosch, be sure it is a newer one with eMTB mode. It feels very natural. I found Yamaha to feel very natural as well.

Some Haibike and Trek models use Bosch, Haibike also has Yamaha. Giant uses Yamaha but they brand it with their own name. 

I have not yet ridden Shimano E8000 but be aware that they had a non-MTB version that was not very good. Make sure you are riding the E8000 version.


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## BeeZee1 (Jul 24, 2017)

Nice review !


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

I just did two range tests.... I sent battery power levels to the cadence channel, so I could see the graph in Garmin Connect. Love this feature. Also love how the bike comes with free power meter! Wow. I can see how many watts I averaged and how many calories I burned.

I am 145 lbs. 2017 Turbo Levo Comp. I think that means 460 wh battery. 10 psi front, 12 rear. Trails with 377 feet elevation gain over 9.5 miles. 50% power. 3.6 firmware. Race accel. 35F temp.
Worked out to 21.1 miles max range.

At 20% power and 745 foot elevation in 12 miles, and accel on normal, worked out to 40.4 mile range. 

My impression of 20% power is that it is almost like riding a normal MTB except significant help on hills. I could imagine riding as low as 15% power. I also rode at 0% power for 1.5 miles, and it felt like riding a fat bike - which is to say, I don't understand having range anxiety on this bike. If you do run out of power, it just becomes a not unreasonable bike. Motor has no drag.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

honkinunit said:


> You can customize the feel and response of the Levo using their phone app. You should test ride it again but download the app first and use it to adjust the parameters.
> 
> Ride a Yamaha and a Bosch system to compare. If you ride a Bosch, be sure it is a newer one with eMTB mode. It feels very natural. I found Yamaha to feel very natural as well.
> 
> ...


I can't picture getting Bosch because they don't have integrated batteries, but I would like to experience the feel. Yeah. I used the app today - it is great! The bike in general was great. The weight didn't bother me when riding. I had no issues riding my rock gardens, roots, and other technical stuff. But my friends are not accepting it. Doesn't seem like they would even want to ride with me if I am on it.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

Road range test as to how someone might use it for commuting:

11 mile road test at 100% power. I put in 96 watts of my own power (so great the bike has a power meter for the rider). Average speed 17.8 mph. Time 36:54. 505 feet elevation gain. Battery went from 99 to 55. So that is a 25 mile street range with 145 lb rider. I used ~202 wh in 37 minutes. That is 328 wh in an hour, or the motor averaged ~328 watts.


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