# SC Bullet vs. Meta Power 27 vs Levo vs Kenevo



## 89hawk (Nov 21, 2007)

I am new to this E bike thing and trying to figure out what I need. The bike I ride most is a 2004 Santa Cruz Bullet with lots of upgrades. I love downhill, Pacifica, UCSC, Carlmont and up around Tahoe. 

One of the main reasons for the E bike is my special needs son. He loves riding but does not have the ability to ride long distances. The E-bike would allow me to tow him up hills so we could ride longer distances and not just short loops.

I am trying to figure which of the E-bikes comes closest to the Bullet specs. I am 52 so my downhill skills are not great. A good bike would help make up for the lack of skills.

Do you need more travel to make up for the extra weight?
Would 160mm travel soak up 3' drops with a 230lb guy on it?
Could you take the bike to Northstar and ride? Not hitting anything bike.
What is battery life when towing someone?

As for my son, he rides a Giant Lust exrtra small.


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## MadPainterGrafx (Oct 3, 2014)

Well first off you're going to need to look at how much a bike puts out power wise as that will help the most for your situation. I would also look for the ability to fully lock out the rear suspension. 

I think I would also look into converting to a 10spd system to have a stronger drive line. I would worry about a 12spd chain breaking but maybe that's just me. 

The only way to see what would be closer to your current bike would be checking the geometry charts but idk how close you will get because it changed so much over time. 

I would also look into the Rocky Mtn Altitude Powerplay. It's sweet bike that has what they call the Ride 9 system that allows you to setup the geometry from steep to very slack. A 160mm bike should handle what you're looking to do easily. I've ridden one setup in the neutral position and liked it a lot but the only gripe I had was the seat.felt like I was sitting on a brick. 

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk


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## nilswalk (Nov 26, 2014)

You don't need * more * travel because of the extra weight - you need * better * travel. i.e. the heavier bike (and rider) will more quickly expose the limitations of mediocre suspension. Dunno about the other two but I think the Levo in its stock form is not what you are looking for - it's more of a balanced all-rounder. Even the top-of-the-line S-works version doesn't have the most capable suspension.


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## Hikers Only (Oct 18, 2010)

You will be limited on the Meta with a 500wh battery, especially towing. You should check out the Giant Reign E pro 2, it also comes with a 500wh battery but giant also sell a range extender and now also a 625wh battery, 80NM of torque and is a very capable DH bike. I'd be wary of current shimano steps motors especially the 7000 as they only have 60NM and the 8000 has 70NM. Also Spacialized are having motor issues with belts blowing out especially when run in turbo mode!

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/reign-eplus-2-pro

They are also having a sale on the extender when you buy a new bike!


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## Jack7782 (Jan 1, 2009)

89hawk said:


> I am new to this E bike thing and trying to figure out what I need. The bike I ride most is a 2004 Santa Cruz Bullet with lots of upgrades. I love downhill, Pacifica, UCSC, Carlmont and up around Tahoe.
> 
> One of the main reasons for the E bike is my special needs son. He loves riding but does not have the ability to ride long distances. The E-bike would allow me to tow him up hills so we could ride longer distances and not just short loops.
> 
> ...


Yamaha power (bulletproof) with an extra battery that one of you will carry in your pack. For example, Haibike NDURO bike (this is a situation where an external battery makes sense)

https://www.americasbikecompany.com...ric-Mountain-Bik-p/haibike-2020-nduro-2.0.htm


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## 89hawk (Nov 21, 2007)

Thanks for help. I will look more at the other options.


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## mtbbiker (Apr 8, 2004)

Honestly, all those ebikes are way more bike than the Bullet is. The Bullet and I had two, was great for its time, but is pretty much out dated. Since you want to tow and you are 230lbs, get the biggest battery ebike you can get. Out of the list you have that would mean Levo or Kenvo. I've heard Specialized has a new belt for their motor, so hopefully that would help with their reliability. 630wh batteries are in a lot of ebikes as well and would be great to: Trek, Norco, and more.


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## mtbmac (Dec 24, 2007)

mtbbiker said:


> Honestly, all those ebikes are way more bike than the Bullet is. The Bullet and I had two, was great for its time, but is pretty much out dated. Since you want to tow and you are 230lbs, get the biggest battery ebike you can get. Out of the list you have that would mean Levo or Kenvo. I've heard Specialized has a new belt for their motor, so hopefully that would help with their reliability. 630wh batteries are in a lot of ebikes as well and would be great to: Trek, Norco, and more.


I think you are confused. The Bullet that we are talking about in this post is basically a Nomad with a motor. Not the old acoustic Bullet.


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

I’d go Levo with the 700w battery. Not all belts have failed and they have a 4yr warranty for piece of mind. Also the strongest motor.


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## Whiterabbitt (May 16, 2020)

10 month old post, i assume OP made a choice LONG ago....


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## natrat (Mar 20, 2008)

the bullet would be great, steeper seat tube puts you more to the front, more reach 64 degree head angle and it's not disrespectfully expensive-backordered through next january
orbea wild would be nice too with modern geometry-backorderd throgh next spring
I couldn't by another levo because of reliability issues my bike has had and they are not worth it but i bet this new gen will ride really well


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