# Specialized Ebike problems



## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 1996)

Most of the folks around here in Norcal are getting Specialized Levo bikes when getting into ebikes. 

But I'm seeing a lot of motor problems on Version 1 and 2. 

Anyone have any experience good or bad on the motor/electronics?

fc


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## levity (Oct 31, 2011)

Seven Specialized ebikes including five Levos (2018 and 2019 models) in the extended family with no issues. 

This may have something to do with the set up and service quality at our LBS.


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 1996)

levity said:


> Seven Specialized ebikes including five Levos (2018 and 2019 models) in the extended family with no issues.
> 
> This may have something to do with the set up and service quality at our LBS.


Seven? Do tell. What's the story?

I heard it's typical for ebike buyers to come back to the store and buy more.

I had a friend I used to ride with 20 years ago try an ebike in my garage, a Mondraker. He then went and bought a Kenevo. Then a month later he bought two more for family members. Loves them. Two of the motors had issues but bike shop took care of them.


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## levity (Oct 31, 2011)

fc said:


> Seven? Do tell. What's the story?...


Mrs levity and I wanted to give them a try and went all in the Fall of '17 buying two 2018 Levos and two Vados. Loved them. Also enjoy our regular mtbs, but sold our road bikes. I bought a 2019 Levo to accept a 700Wh battery and passed the '18 on to my son. My brother and his wife rode our Levos and had to get their own! So that's 7 in all.

Yes, we were apprehensive at the outset, but it turns out that they're easier to work on than first anticipated. Problems will likely occur, but serviceability and warranty support should take care of things. Even a new motor out of warranty would cost less than a nice wheel set. We're happy, they add a new dimension to our regular mtbs.


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

what motor?


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## AC/BC (Jun 22, 2006)

You might see lots of Levo issues online, but it might be due to way more people having them than any other ebike. Like, there must be 100 Levos sold for every 1 of another brand eBike


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## ruthabagah (Jun 4, 2018)

2 Levo owner here. 2017 and 2018. The 2017 has been rock solid, been ridden mostly by my riding buddies and family, and regularly abused on the trails. The 2018 has had it's share of issues recently, including a new motor and cassette. But everything was changed under warranty at no cost to me. I love both bikes but my third Ebike is a 2017 Haibike with the Yamaha motor and it is just a beautiful, strong, reliable piece of equipment. I will most likely keep this one but renew the levos in the next 12-18 month.


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## KrisRayner (Apr 3, 2007)

The biggest issue I’ve seen is having a dealer that’s not up to speed on the Levo’s. If the shop guys don’t take an interest in learning about them, or are borderline against ebikes, your just not going to get good service. I try to support my local shops, but keep getting let down. My view could be skewed though, from working in auto repair shops for the past 20 years and working with talented, customer service oriented guys.
I don’t want to be “that guy”, telling them how to to their job. But after 2 times of trying to get the newest firmware updates and getting blank stares or waiting 2 days to find out they didn’t do it, I’m ready to go out of the area for good service.


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## NEPMTBA (Apr 7, 2007)

Brose motors?

I have personally ridden these and no problems, And I do mean flogged them through thick and thin...


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Has anyone ever seen Ned Overend on a Levo? Dudes a stud.


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## knobs (Oct 13, 2005)

fc said:


> Most of the folks around here in Norcal are getting Specialized Levo bikes when getting into ebikes.
> 
> But I'm seeing a lot of motor problems on Version 1 and 2.
> 
> ...


I've had an expert 2019 since Feb with 535 miles so far. Here are my issues:

1) One of the battery charging LED lights does not illuminate. When charging, it does not blink in the 50-75% range. When full charge, only 3 of four lights show up. This has not been a problem for use.

2) Occasionally on a long ride I take a break and turn it off. On four occasions, restarting has resulted in an alternating blue/red LED on the TCU, and motor does not engage. Cycling off/on fixes the problem (thankfully).

3) Once after charging to 100% and reattaching the Rosenberger plug, the power would not come on - TCU did not illuminate. Let it sit and somehow it started working after a few hours.

4) I can't figure out the walk mode. This might be my fault, I haven't really looked at it much.

I've mentioned 1, 2, and 3 to the bikeshop mechanics (THC). They don't seem to motivated to do much about it. 2 and 3 were not reproducible, and 1 is not causing a significant problem.


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## hikerdave (Mar 8, 2006)

knobs said:


> I've had an expert 2019 since Feb with 535 miles so far. Here are my issues:
> 
> 1) One of the battery charging LED lights does not illuminate. When charging, it does not blink in the 50-75% range. When full charge, only 3 of four lights show up. This has not been a problem for use.
> 
> ...


This all sounds pretty bad; like a circuit board that went through a misbehaving wave solder machine and is full of intermittent connections or it was made in Germany on Friday afternoon. Since the bike shop won't help you escalate and go directly to Specialized; they'll want to get this fixed and have you post a glowing report about your great experience.


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## Giant Warp (Jun 11, 2009)

My motor just went out at 3400 miles on my 17' Levo. The electric part of the motor was still fine but the gear and belt are slipping. This bike has been ridden hard and put away wet many times. My wife has the same bike and it is at about 1000 miles. I put a fair amount of miles on her bike. My wife doesn't ride in the winter so I kept studded tires mounted on her bike for my use. That way I was always ready to ride anywhere no matter what the weather or where I went. I've noticed that some people reported poor range and performance in the winter on other ebike brands. I didn't have that problem with the Levo. I keep the battery in the car when driving to the trail head during freezing temps. The battery is tucked inside the bike frame and generates heat as does the motor during use and stays warm the entire ride. That is contrary to what you would think from battery usage in the cold. 

Anyway I was told that no motors were available by my LBS and I am waiting on the Specialized bike rep to tell me what to do. It is out of warranty. The new Levos have a more skinny 29" tire. I think I like the older 27.5 plus tires better. It's nice to have some extra rubber and volume when you come blasting through a rock garden.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

Giant Warp said:


> My motor just went out at 3400 miles on my 17' Levo.
> 
> Anyway I was told that no motors were available by my LBS and I am waiting on the Specialized bike rep to tell me what to do. It is out of warranty.


Bummer. I hope you get it fixed. Is there a secondary market of those bikes yet? Folks parting out bikes that were killed in action. Maybe you can get a used motor that way.

I assume these are proprietary parts otherwise there would be an aftermarket option for a new motor.


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## Moe Ped (Aug 24, 2009)

My buddy Larry from Henry W Coe State Park has this to say about his high-mileage Levo:

_"I have 5,500 miles on my Levo, all in Coe Park. About a month or so after buying it, I purchased a second battery and always ride with two - two batteries = twice the fun. I really love the bike.

I haven't kept a detailed maintenance log, but here's what I recall off the top of my head:

The cable that connects the motor to the battery has been replaced twice. The first time, it was not seating properly on the battery connector. Next time, the connection became intermittent.

The motor failed and was replaced under warranty at about 5,000 miles.

The freehub failed at about 2,500 miles and was replaced with a non-OEM part. Specialized reimbursed my bike shop for time and materials.

I have terrible luck with Rovals, and the Levo has been no exception. After multiple spoke breakages, front and back, I replaced both wheels with DT Swiss rims and more robust spokes.

I've replaced all of the wear items, probably more frequently than most. That's due in part to where I ride, I think, and my size - 6'6" and 230lb

One curious anomaly - the motor sometimes engages without turning the pedals. That can be a little disconcerting, particularly when it happens in a precarious location.

Performance-wise, since I have two batteries, I always run in Turbo mode. When the batteries were new, I would average 10 to 12 miles and around 2,600 feet of climbing per battery. That's dropped a bit over time. Now, it's around 9 or 10 miles and perhaps 2,200 feet of elevation. I guess that's to be expected with the lithium ion batteries.

Someone up above mentioned struggling to get the walk-along feature working. Pro-tip: while pressing the button, roll the bike backwards a foot or two until the pedals engage. They will turn slowly for about two spins and then kick in at about 1.9 miles an hour. This is a real life-saver with such a heavy bike.

My LBS, Bike Therapy in Morgan Hill, CA, has been great, and Specialized has generally been responsive and reasonable." _









Larry is a fellow member of the park's Mountain Bike Patrol.

PS; he just messaged me that he broke a seat rail this afternoon and is heading to the bike shop as I write this.


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## Giant Warp (Jun 11, 2009)

vikb said:


> Bummer. I hope you get it fixed. Is there a secondary market of those bikes yet? Folks parting out bikes that were killed in action. Maybe you can get a used motor that way.
> 
> I assume these are proprietary parts otherwise there would be an aftermarket option for a new motor.


I would assume that when it they say no motor is available they are talking about the original motor. Don't quote me but I'm pretty sure it is mandatory to update to the newer motor.

I've only had one broken spoke but that could happen to any bike and the replacement took mere minutes to install. I've beat the hell out of my Roval rims and I think they are satisfactory. I also perform maintenance on the hubs, which if not done, can cause problems on any bike. 6'6 and 230 pounds? Sounds like that Levo is quite the bike to hold up to that kind of beating at over 5000 miles.

I looked up my elevation gain on my 3400 mile motor failure and it was around 320,000 ft. The electrical part of the motor is sound, my failure was one of the plastic gears or belt. Completely satisfied with the bike sans problems with Avid. Even the dropper post has held up great despite massive usage and no maintenance.


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## nilswalk (Nov 26, 2014)

Giant Warp said:


> I looked up my elevation gain on my 3400 mile motor failure and it was around 320,000 ft.


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## knobs (Oct 13, 2005)

Larry is an outlier, don’t ya think? Recently I was way out there, hadn’t seen a sole in 6 hours, and Larry zips up, says hi. A second later he was gone in a flash. He’s putting down the benchmark limits for bike reliability and should be on Specialized payroll.


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## Moe Ped (Aug 24, 2009)

knobs said:


> Larry is an outlier, don't ya think? Recently I was way out there, hadn't seen a sole in 6 hours, and Larry zips up, says hi. A second later he was gone in a flash. He's putting down the benchmark limits for bike reliability and should be on Specialized payroll.


Larry probably had 2 soles that day; I'm not sure about his soul. The Coe Mountain Bike Patrol has had more than it's share of outliers.


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## levity (Oct 31, 2011)

Giant Warp - you can just put a 2018 motor in your ‘17 Levo. It has slightly better performance and comes with the nice handlebar remote. They are available, and your lbs should be able to get one for $650 as a “crash replacement “.


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## Giant Warp (Jun 11, 2009)

levity said:


> Giant Warp - you can just put a 2018 motor in your '17 Levo. It has slightly better performance and comes with the nice handlebar remote. They are available, and your lbs should be able to get one for $650 as a "crash replacement ".


Ok, I am still waiting on the Specialized rep to contact my LBS. In the meantime I've been riding my wife's Levo and the battery suddenly lost range. At four power bars it starts beeping and shutting off. The LBS said no warranty. I wonder if I should call Specialized and see what's up. My LBS wants $1000 for a new battery.


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## Giant Warp (Jun 11, 2009)

Specialized is sending a new motor free of charge to replace my 1st gen motor that is out of warranty. That is great!


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

Giant Warp said:


> Specialized is sending a new motor free of charge to replace my 1st gen motor that is out of warranty. That is great!


Congrats on getting it resolved in your favour.


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## stiksandstones (Oct 7, 2004)

I had one of the first LEVO's when they came to america, so, that was a 2016 model? maybe 2017.
I sold it last year, it probably had 100+ hours on it....hammered it actually, not one issue with the frame, battery, motor.
I got a Focus Jam2 after that, because I wanted longer range, but I did not like the geo on the focus as much as the Levo, and the Focus linkage was not as sweet as FSR link.
I had a long term demo of a 2019 levo expert, and preordered a YT DECOY, but after a month on this new levo-i've decided to order one-will be here next week.
The new BROSE motor is smooth, quiet, powerful and the RANGE. 
SHimano motor feel was nice, reliable, but man is it loud.

So, 2019 Levo Expert owner soon, couldnt be more stoked.


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## Giant Warp (Jun 11, 2009)

Great. Can you confirm that the 19' Levo motor is as quiet as the first Levos. My LBS was trying to tell me that the new bike motors were a little more noisy do to a change in the mounting. Not a deal breaker but stealth is everything. LOL.


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## stiksandstones (Oct 7, 2004)

Giant Warp said:


> Great. Can you confirm that the 19' Levo motor is as quiet as the first Levos. My LBS was trying to tell me that the new bike motors were a little more noisy do to a change in the mounting. Not a deal breaker but stealth is everything. LOL.


It's probably the main reason I am buying one, the loaner I have been on has a lot of pro's, very few cons, if any, but the main one is that motor is soo smooth and SO QUIET. I do some riding where class 1 is not permitted, which is ridiculous, but, when I power down to eco and pass people, I want to be quiet and the other motors didnt let me do that. I read some of the first shipment 2019's had some noisy motors? but none are as noisy as the shimano, which is a shame, because that motor power delivery is fantastic.


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## 33red (Jan 5, 2016)

stiksandstones said:


> It's probably the main reason I am buying one, the loaner I have been on has a lot of pro's, very few cons, if any, but the main one is that motor is soo smooth and SO QUIET. I do some riding where class 1 is not permitted, which is ridiculous, but, when I power down to eco and pass people, I want to be quiet and the other motors didnt let me do that. I read some of the first shipment 2019's had some noisy motors? but none are as noisy as the shimano, which is a shame, because that motor power delivery is fantastic.


Noise is an important factor for me.
Can you please list them from most quiet, well the recent let s say 2017 or more recent. I read the Shimano 7000 makes less noise than the 8000. The problem is many reviewers simply hide some facts and it is not that easy to demo all brands. I am only considering main brands like Bosh, Brose, Yamaha and Shimano. To me Specialized is investing big $$ on marketing and the price is just not justified by the product. Thanks.


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## Pain Freak (Dec 31, 2003)

I got my first Levo in '17. After about 4 or 5 months I was riding and a friend grabbed a hold of me so I thought I'd give him a little bit of a tow. We had already logged about 2500' of elevation with no cooling down stops, so I was putting a real strain on the motor. Then it started to cut out and I stopped to try to figure it out. The motor was so hot I could feel the heat radiating from the area. I let it cool down and then it seemed like everything was okay but from then on it kept cutting out until it quit completely. Specialized replaced it but asked me not to tow people, lol. I never told them what had happened but I guess others had made the same mistake I had. Now I have a Kenevo and so far so good. I only have 512 miles on it though. I also lost a battery riding through deep water (the Levo) and they warrantied that too.


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 1996)

Giant Warp said:


> Great. Can you confirm that the 19' Levo motor is as quiet as the first Levos. My LBS was trying to tell me that the new bike motors were a little more noisy do to a change in the mounting. Not a deal breaker but stealth is everything. LOL.


The 19 Levo or Levo 2.0 is just as quiet as the previous generation. It is whisper quiet at lower assist levels. It gets pretty loud at full pull.

In the first month of the Levo 2.0, the initial bikes would shriek and whine at the motor. It turns out the special magnesium case that Brose built for Specialized was out of tolerance at the bearings. They were not aligned perfectly and would thus shriek and break.

Everything was recalled and fixed. That is why the Levo 2.0s were delayed and in very short supply at launch.


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## Moe Ped (Aug 24, 2009)

My buddy Larry at Coe has had 2 ride aborts recently; maybe approaching 6000 miles the Levo is just getting worn out.

I think these were wiring harness issues; also being a spare battery user he may be wearing out the connectors.


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## Giant Warp (Jun 11, 2009)

After I got the motor replaced in my 17' Levo I started getting a scratching sound during pedaling after 100 miles. It turned out to be a broken axle and the free hub was worn out. Repair was around $100. I was really glad there was nothing wrong with the new motor. I have two 17' Levos and the original batteries are getting kinda unreliable for distance. The Specialized app shows that they have hundreds and hundreds of charges left but I think that is wishful thinking. They will do 6-8 miles of climbing but when the indicators show 3 or 4 bars they basically shut off and don't do the usual low power map. They both have the latest firmware but I wonder if they can be reflashed to an older firmware version since the LEDs are not accurate at lower power. I can deal with the decrease in range but it would be nice if the LEDs were accurate. I bought a new 504Wh battery for $900 and it works great with my new motor. The original batteries were the 460Wh. I am thinking of taking the old batteries to a battery shop and see if they can put new batteries inside. Not sure if that can be done but worth a try. If they could do it for a couple of hundred dollars that would be a huge savings.


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## Giant Warp (Jun 11, 2009)

There is an interesting thread about range extenders. 
https://www.emtbforums.com/community/threads/levo-kenevo-range-extender-thread.962/page-8


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## High Rock Ruti (Dec 4, 2017)

High Rock Ruti

I have lost two motors on my 2019 Turbo Levo S works in less than 500 total miles. One motor at 263 second motor at 190. Bike have been DOA for one month, Specialized is out of S Mag motors, they are sending a new bike to have the motor removed by LBS. Same failure the belt starts slipping on the splines and loses drive in a few seconds, sensors in tact so motor spins but no assistance to chain. Shipment of new motors was due 18th to the 24th of August, LBS gets and email from Specialized "motor shipment lost"
I am doing everything I can to not go conspiracy theory on why Specialized has no motors, can you say recall?


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## seamarsh (Mar 5, 2012)

High Rock Ruti said:


> High Rock Ruti
> 
> I have lost two motors on my 2019 Turbo Levo S works in less than 500 total miles. One motor at 263 second motor at 190. Bike have been DOA for one month, Specialized is out of S Mag motors, they are sending a new bike to have the motor removed by LBS. Same failure the belt starts slipping on the splines and loses drive in a few seconds, sensors in tact so motor spins but no assistance to chain. Shipment of new motors was due 18th to the 24th of August, LBS gets and email from Specialized "motor shipment lost"
> I am doing everything I can to not go conspiracy theory on why Specialized has no motors, can you say recall?


Is this in the United States?


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

AC/BC said:


> You might see lots of Levo issues online, but it might be due to way more people having them than any other ebike. Like, there must be 100 Levos sold for every 1 of another brand eBike


Totally. There are like tens of thousands of Levos sold.


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## 33red (Jan 5, 2016)

Levos are loaded with lots of excusesssss,
just start a list
a tiny % are defective LIE
They are the best LIE
i just saw a new flavor,,, they are all having growing pains, LIE
make up your mind
are they different?
are they all the same?
why not simply refund money paid for products not ready?
OK
shoot your new excuses


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## High Rock Ruti (Dec 4, 2017)

*Brose S Mag Death(S)*



seamarsh said:


> Is this in the United States?


High Rock Ruti

Seamarsh

Yes I live in Massachusetts my LBS is Goodale's Bikes in Nashua NH dropped bike for repair on July 24th. Lucky enough to have a Pivot Shuttle to ride while awaiting repairs.

Warm Regards

Ruti


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## mtbbiker (Apr 8, 2004)

You’d think by now Specialized would have this belt driven motor dialed in, but they probably sell more high end ebikes then most other companies out there. When I say high end, I mean used hard on actual mountain trails. 

Maybe this is the price Specialized pays for having such a quiet motor? But without knowing the failure rate, only speculation. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## seamarsh (Mar 5, 2012)

rsilvers said:


> Totally. There are like tens of thousands of Levos sold.


True but how many people put actual hard miles on them? Maybe 20%, just a total guess.

I'm sure majority of Levo owners are riding pretty basic trail and not riding that often. It's the people who are using them like an actual Mtb that seem to be having failures.

Obviously, make sense higher mileage and more abuse would have more failures but also good to know for a prospective buyer like myself.

Not that I wouldn't buy one yet, but wouldn't buy one used or from a direct sales brand. At this stage I'd want a brick and mortar in case it blows up.

Also they should extend warranty, 2 years is not enough. If it was 5 years I'd probably have one by now.


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## ruthabagah (Jun 4, 2018)

seamarsh said:


> True but how many people put actual hard miles on them? Maybe 20%, just a total guess.
> 
> I'm sure majority of Levo owners are riding pretty basic trail and not riding that often. It's the people who are using them like an actual Mtb that seem to be having failures.
> 
> ...


Partially correct. In my experience and based on the number of Levo owner I know and talk to every week when I ride, the mileage is pretty high on these machine... One guy in my group just passed the 6k mark (2nd motor and first battery) in less than 2 years. Most of us are anywhere between 1k to 2k (2017/2018 model). Also, at least here in Colorado, the EMTB community seems to be 50% Levo, 30 Haibike, and 20% others.... So, the Levos are seeing their fair share of hard MTB rides.

I think all the problem that we, levo owner, have experienced stem from a bad market analysis and terrible QA from Specialized.

I believe they assume that the bikes would be used to shuttle riders on top of a hill in fair weather at a leisury pace... Not ride hard uphills in 100 degree plus weather in the desert, or in muddy/wet conditions.

for the QA: I know who they used to test the bikes and they are mostly 4 inches shorter and at least 30 lbs lighter than the average Joe on a levo.... You can't test these type of consumer bikes with ballerinas when you try to sell them to an offensive lineman.


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## 33red (Jan 5, 2016)

Well it seems many agree. There are different ways to express that.
One way is product overpriced.
Product not ready.
Or blame the heavy riders.
Maybe they should be clear on user weight limit. What is it?
I ride in minus 40, we are just outdoor people, not minigolf players.
They merit the push back when they invest too much in marketing and not enough on value. I am not hoping for miracles, just decent products, reliable for decent price.


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## Harryman (Jun 14, 2011)

They're definitely selling a lot of Levos, but it appears the 2019 was not QC'd as well as previous models. There have been persistent issues since release with noisy motors (still!), harness kinking (fixed mostly), dirt ingress (fixed) water ingress (not fixed), and belts slipping (not fixed). I totally understand that new technology is going to have problems, and riders are going to do things to their emtbs that engineers didn't foresee, but the 2019s are having far more of the same problems and arguably preventable ones than the 2018s. I'd expect it to be sorted on the 2020s.

Dig around if you're interested:

https://www.emtbforums.com/community/forums/specialized.4/


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## 33red (Jan 5, 2016)

ruthabagah said:


> Partially correct. In my experience and based on the number of Levo owner I know and talk to every week when I ride, the mileage is pretty high on these machine... One guy in my group just passed the 6k mark (2nd motor and first battery) in less than 2 years. Most of us are anywhere between 1k to 2k (2017/2018 model). Also, at least here in Colorado, the EMTB community seems to be 50% Levo, 30 Haibike, and 20% others.... So, the Levos are seeing their fair share of hard MTB rides.
> 
> I think all the problem that we, levo owner, have experienced stem from a bad market analysis and terrible QA from Specialized.
> 
> ...


I recently read that Haibike with Yamaha experience less issues than the Bosh ones. What is the feedback in your area? Here in Quebec EMbikes are all new, so no one to talk to with over 1,000 miles.


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## seamarsh (Mar 5, 2012)

ruthabagah said:


> Partially correct. In my experience and based on the number of Levo owner I know and talk to every week when I ride, the mileage is pretty high on these machine... One guy in my group just passed the 6k mark (2nd motor and first battery) in less than 2 years. Most of us are anywhere between 1k to 2k (2017/2018 model). Also, at least here in Colorado, the EMTB community seems to be 50% Levo, 30 Haibike, and 20% others.... So, the Levos are seeing their fair share of hard MTB rides.
> 
> I think all the problem that we, levo owner, have experienced stem from a bad market analysis and terrible QA from Specialized.
> 
> ...


Good to know.

around my area I mostly see older guys out in an ebike posse and they dont look like they are putting them under much stress compared to younger riders i see on mtb's.. I guess that was my point.

I also think they sell a lot of them to older first time riders (couples) that are not doing a lot of demanding riding or high miles.. more foot paths and such. this is just what I see when Im out on trail.

I have yet to run into a group of young people who are out shredding on their ebikes.. Im sure they are out there though!

Also judging from craigslist around here (sf bay area) I see a lot of low mile cherry 2017's for sale.. which I would jump on but afraid of being out of warranty as a second hand owner!

For the amount of people who ride them hard and actually go out of their way to post on niche forums there does seems to be a pretty high failure rate..

Again if they upped the warranty to 4-5 years it would show a little more confidence in longevity. They obviously have looked at failure rate x's average number of miles in a 2 year period and decided on that.. which on average cant be that much..

Its not surprising though and I dont think its out of line with early adaptation of new tech.. just is what it is.

I have also seen that a crash replacement motor if out of warranty is 650$? if true its pricey but not insane.


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## 33red (Jan 5, 2016)

Well when you sell 150mm and + suspension you are not selling a commuter to work or school. Over 4,000$US should last IMHO.


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## seamarsh (Mar 5, 2012)

33red said:


> Well when you sell 150mm and + suspension you are not selling a commuter to work or school. Over 4,000$US should last IMHO.


True but what is also true from an engineering perspective, you are never going to know how a product behaves until it's in the market. I really don't fault the companies who are innovating.. you just have to decide going in if reward is worth the risk.

It does seem that specialized is replacing motors from people no questions asked.. On emtbforum there was someone writing that they replaced even after 2 year warranty.. so who knows.

But I agree, should be a longer warranty for sure.


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## knobs (Oct 13, 2005)

Failure rate is hard to know. It's speculation unless Specialized releases number of bikes sold and number of motors sold. But double failures like the one above is points to a problem somewhere, and I'd expect Specialized's engineers to be laser focused on.


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## seamarsh (Mar 5, 2012)

knobs said:


> Failure rate is hard to know. It's speculation unless Specialized releases number of bikes sold and number of motors sold. But double failures like the one above is points to a problem somewhere, and I'd expect Specialized's engineers to be laser focused on.


More like Speeshulation at the moment....


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## Moe Ped (Aug 24, 2009)

My buddy Larry just needed a second motor replacement on his Levo at a bit past 6000 miles; just inside of the warranty period. A strong 240# and always in Turbo, most of his rides require 2 batteries. These miles are all at Henry W Coe SP which is all up and all down. Means that the motor is putting out 100% most of the time it's energized. Maybe the equivalent of 3K miles is just what the Levo's been designed to do? Average Joe will get past the warranty period and be thinking about the latest model before a smoke leak occurs.


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## seamarsh (Mar 5, 2012)

Moe Ped said:


> My buddy Larry just needed a second motor replacement on his Levo at a bit past 6000 miles; just inside of the warranty period. A strong 240# and always in Turbo, most of his rides require 2 batteries. These miles are all at Henry W Coe SP which is all up and all down. Means that the motor is putting out 100% most of the time it's energized. Maybe the equivalent of 3K miles is just what the Levo's been designed to do? Average Joe will get past the warranty period and be thinking about the latest model before a smoke leak occurs.


6000 miles in 2 years! all in turbo.. damn Larry is a savage..


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## nilswalk (Nov 26, 2014)

Moe Ped said:


> ...before a smoke leak occurs.


LOL. Haven't heard the "magic smoke escaped" phrase since my days of playing with RC toys


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

Wow!!!! @ someone buying 7 store bought ebikes. That is crazy. My original ebike is still going, never had a problem with anything, no not store bought. I just bought all good parts.

The biggest problem with store bought ebikes, is the proprietary part$. Something goes wrong, head off to the ebike dealer you bought it from.

I have seen some very nice store bought bikes, ultra slick looking. I can always tell when ones coming up towards me. 

So having a store bought ebike break on you, shouldnt happen, even if its user error. Stalling on a hill, should cut off power so you dont burn your motor.


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## str8line (Apr 1, 2005)

Harryman said:


> They're definitely selling a lot of Levos, but it appears the 2019 was not QC'd as well as previous models. There have been persistent issues since release with noisy motors (still!), harness kinking (fixed mostly), dirt ingress (fixed) water ingress (not fixed), and belts slipping (not fixed). I totally understand that new technology is going to have problems, and riders are going to do things to their emtbs that engineers didn't foresee, but the 2019s are having far more of the same problems and arguably preventable ones than the 2018s. I'd expect it to be sorted on the 2020s.
> 
> Dig around if you're interested:
> 
> https://www.emtbforums.com/community/forums/specialized.4/


No problems so far with my 2019 Kenevo. Had it since April and have about 60 rides on it so far(most rides used about 3/4 of battery life). I'm out of town but I'll check exact usage and edit. Motor is dead quiet and bike has been fantastic so far.

My buddy bought a 2019 Levo Comp and had to replace his motor right away because it was loud. Another buddy just had his motor on his 2018 Levo Expert replaced under warranty but it had thousands of miles on it and he's had no other issues. Another buddy has a 2018 Levo Expert that he bought in April with probably about 60 rides on it and has had no problems. He also has a 2019 Kenevo for friends and his son and it has had no problems after probably 30 rides.

Sounds like Specialized is doing a good job of standing behind their product, which is a smart move if they want to convince people to buy them.


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## CarlosB (Aug 19, 2020)

*Specialized E-Bike. I bought a Specialized Como 4.0*

I bought a Specialized Como 4.0 back in March 2020. LOVE it. But after 4 months ( 800 miles ). The motor went out. I had to wait 2/3 weeks for Specialized to send the Bike shop a new one. After two weeks with this new one the motor Seized up. It's now back in the shop, I've been told that Specialized instructed them to look for a cracked frame. If no cracked frame is found then they are to proceed to look for an up-date to the motor. IF that does not work they will send a new motor.

In the mean time, I'm inconvenienced with going back the old style bike. ......I'm not good with that because it's like driving a Cadillac. Back down to a Yaris. WTH

Ironically. When I first bought it. The battery would not take a charge, Specialized swamped that out too.

Any more problems I'm going to look into the lemon law. Which is sad because the is my 4th Specialized bicycle, but the first e-Bike.


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## 33red (Jan 5, 2016)

CarlosB said:


> I bought a Specialized Como 4.0 back in March 2020. LOVE it. But after 4 months ( 800 miles ). The motor went out. I had to wait 2/3 weeks for Specialized to send the Bike shop a new one. After two weeks with this new one the motor Seized up. It's now back in the shop, I've been told that Specialized instructed them to look for a cracked frame. If no cracked frame is found then they are to proceed to look for an up-date to the motor. IF that does not work they will send a new motor.
> 
> In the mean time, I'm inconvenienced with going back the old style bike. ......I'm not good with that because it's like driving a Cadillac. Back down to a Yaris. WTH
> 
> ...


I love my Specialized fatbike.
It is sad to say but you should have done some reading.
These last 4 years their Ebike is never reliable. People needing 3 motors in a short time are a long list.
Just get your cash and buy a better brand.
Their list of excuses is endless.


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## brett butler (Jul 11, 2007)

July 25th I bought a 2021 Expert Carbon Levo at Wheel World, Culver City. I blew the motor in a month after 500 miles. I did ride it hard, however it should have not died so young. I had a trip to Downieville scheduled last week and ended up renting a bike from the Specialized Santa Cruz experience center. They comped me a free four days. The main guy at specialized said they know they have a problem. He claimed that in Europe when they ride the Brose motor, they hit Turbo when they hit a tough climb and then back it down once the terrain levels out. He said, they probably didn't anticipate Americans running full turbo all the time. They thought they solved the belt problem, but they needed to solve a seal issue on the brand new motors ( 2021). The guy claims, we should be able to ride full turbo, completely out of gear on full torque for hours at a time.

I love my Specialized. It's the right geometry, right linkage, right fit, and worth the downtime for Specialized to get it right. I feel good that they will get it right.


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## brett butler (Jul 11, 2007)

I'd rather push a Levo than ride a Haibike


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## Callender (Mar 25, 2014)

^^ Yep! I have about 850 miles on mine (2019 Expert bought new at the end of May). I don't think anybody in my circle of contacts has blown a motor once they got the firmware fix. And we've been riding a lot in Turbo this last month with the poor air quality around the Bay Area.


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## mlx john (Mar 22, 2010)

brett butler said:


> I'd rather push a Levo than ride a Haibike


Shots fired 

I dig my SL


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## 33red (Jan 5, 2016)

It is just funny to me that people write ridicule stuff like that.
Year after year Specialized Ebikes deliver problems and excuses.
My Giant/Yamaha will last longer than 4 belt bikes with poor engenering.


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## Flyer (Jan 25, 2004)

Indeed but what if they changed the name to Gravity?



brett butler said:


> I'd rather push a Levo than ride a Haibike


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## mlx john (Mar 22, 2010)

33red said:


> Year after year Specialized Ebikes deliver problems and excuses.


Not the SL.

At least the company has acknowledged the problems with the FF Levo and are addressing them...unlike Bosch. Clunky noises from motor, oh well, tough ****. That's just the way it is.

Btw, not disparaging Giant.


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## SLOTownLevo (Sep 19, 2020)

*Specialized Levo Power Loss - When Battery is at ~20%*

Hi, I'm having a similar issue with my 2016 Levo. When the battery gets down around 20% or so, it cuts power to the bike. I read another post that said to leave the charger on overnight after the charging has completed to balance the cells...

Does anyone else have any more information on this bummer of an experience?

Thanks,
Mark


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## mtbbiker (Apr 8, 2004)

I bought a 2021 Levo Comp. after about a month of hard riding, the motor developed a loud grinding sound. The update came about a week later after purchased, but I never got around to updating the software. 

I took it in yesterday and the LBS has requested a motor for my bike. Bummed about needing a motor so soon, but I think looking at the motor serial # it was a late 2019 motor. Hopefully and of course it should have had a 2021 motor already in it, but the new 2021 motor will have all the latest updates. This will be resolved! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Callender (Mar 25, 2014)

SLOTownLevo said:


> Hi, I'm having a similar issue with my 2016 Levo. When the battery gets down around 20% or so, it cuts power to the bike.


You don't lose all power, just most, right? I think that's normal, so that you can limp your bike home. For me (2019 Levo) it happens when I drop to one bar.


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## kneecap (Dec 20, 2003)

SLOTownLevo said:


> Hi, I'm having a similar issue with my 2016 Levo. When the battery gets down around 20% or so, it cuts power to the bike. I read another post that said to leave the charger on overnight after the charging has completed to balance the cells...
> 
> Does anyone else have any more information on this bummer of an experience?
> 
> ...


My son's 2017 levo did that maybe 5 months ago. Took it to specialized shop & they diagnosed a faulty battery. New one was provided for a very minimal amnt. Can't remember how much.


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## BootneyLee (Apr 25, 2017)

SLOTownLevo said:


> Hi, I'm having a similar issue with my 2016 Levo. When the battery gets down around 20% or so, it cuts power to the bike. I read another post that said to leave the charger on overnight after the charging has completed to balance the cells...
> 
> Does anyone else have any more information on this bummer of an experience?
> 
> ...


What's your battery's health level (percentage) as shown in the Mission Control app? I had 3.5 year old battery that went bad. Local bike shop verified that one of the cells were no good and it would cut power completely when the battery hit around 20% of power. No lights... It was like I manually turned off the battery.

Very frustrating.

Since it was out of warranty I had to buy a new battery, although Specialized offered 50%-off the regular price. So, $450 instead of $900 (which is a rip off). $450 for the new pack is still steep but I guess that's how it goes. :madmax:


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## BootneyLee (Apr 25, 2017)

kneecap said:


> My son's 2017 levo did that maybe 5 months ago. Took it to specialized shop & they diagnosed a faulty battery. New one was provided for a very minimal amnt. Can't remember how much.


Could you do us a favor and ask how much your son paid for a new battery? My replacement 504 KwH battery for my 2017 Levo (Expert) was $450 + tax.

The discounted offer was through my local bike shop (Rock N Road, Mission Viejo CA), who asked their Specialized rep.

I tried to message Specialized directly through their site - asking if they'd offer a lower price or even cover a new battery since this specific battery only had 36 charge cycles on it - *but Specialized never even responded*.

How nice of them.


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## AGarcia (Feb 20, 2012)

Well, I just blew the motor on my Levo today. It's a 2019 that I bought in April 2020. I had a little over 900 miles on the motor. Took it to the shop today. I was told wait time is currently 1 to 2 weeks.


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## Flyer (Jan 25, 2004)

That isn't bad. At least it means that they have plenty of new motors in stock. Did you have to walk back or was it rideable without the motor?


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## AGarcia (Feb 20, 2012)

Flyer said:


> That isn't bad. At least it means that they have plenty of new motors in stock. Did you have to walk back or was it rideable without the motor?


Luckily, it failed while just about reaching the summit of mountain climb. So I just turned around and it was virtually all downhill or flat. Any inclines on the way back were short and very gentle. So super lucky.


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## Flyer (Jan 25, 2004)

Very fortunate! They are enough to pedal on flat ground but an e-bike is a nightmare to climb on, without a motor.


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