Longterm Rides

Team bikes ridden hard for a year

RUSSELL’S SPECIALIZED TURBO LEVO SL EXPERT CARBON £8,500

The Levo SL has carried Russ far and wide without complaint

I’ve been riding e-bikes since their nascence. My work – doing photoshoots carrying heavy kit – made me a willing early adopter. As such, I’ve followed their evolution closely and have been lucky enough to ride some outstanding bikes, welcoming the advantages and accepting the tradeoffs of increased weight and unusual handling. I’ve always accepted, too, that at some point the motor or battery will fail, or need some TLC from a person more qualified than me – not so much a disadvantage as just part of the maintenance deal that comes with electrically-assisted machines.

Out of the box, the smaller-than-most 320Wh battery of the Levo SL caused me some concern regarding its range and power, but the bike has turned out to have a close to perfect power-to-weight ratio. You get out what you put in, which translates to the best riding version of yourself on any given day. As reported last month, the range has barely troubled me enough to use the battery extender, either.