2026 Specialized Turbo Levo SL 2 Review

Technical Details

With this latest version of the Turbo Levo SL, Specialized updated the motor to provide 50 nm of Torque and 320 Watts of power. They also made refinements to the geometry (including the new mullet configuration), updated the components to the latest and greatest, and outfitted the new version with the Genie Shock, a proprietary shock developed between Fox and Specialized built on the Fox Float X chassis.

Construction and Features​
This bike is made in both alloy and carbon (I tested the carbon version). Aside from being exceptionally light, the feature that sets the Turbo Levo SL apart from other lightweight e-bikes is the modularity the frame has, allowing each customer to dial in the geometry to their exact specifications and riding style. The integration of the Specialized App makes for a seamless user interface, making it easy to adjust the tune of the motor and keep track of other important information. 

Suspension Design
The rear shock is a considerable change on this newest version of the the Levo SL. The genie shock with the piggyback reservoir is a noticeable improvement over the previous version with the Float X. The design of the genie provides better small bump sensitivity than comparable air shocks, all while delivering the traditional bottom out prevention that we have all come to know and love from air shocks. On the Expert, Pro, and S-works build, they also get the newest Grip X2 damper on the Fox 36, providing the newest performance advantages from fox’s most recent update to their lineup.

Geometry and Sizing​
The geometry is modern, giving this bike the chops to handle any trail you might throw at it. The Levo SL is well balanced with a 64.6 degree head tube angle, a reach of 470 mm in an S4, 348 mm bottom bracket height, and chainstay lengths of 432 mm in all sizes. You can also make adjustments to the BB height and head tube angle to tailor the bike to your riding style.

Specialized makes the Turbo Levo SL in six sizes from S1-S6. With more overlap in their size range than most brands, Specialized leans into the idea that riding style will influence size choice. If you fall within two size ranges, riders looking for a more playful feel should go to the smaller size, whereas riders looking for a more planted and stable feeling should go to the bigger size. 

Build Kits

This new Turbo Levo SL comes in Comp, Expert, Pro, and S-works builds. Both the Comp & Expert builds come equipped with Maven Bronze Brakes, with the difference between the two coming in the drivetrain (S1000 vs GX Transmission) and the fork (Rhythm vs Performance Elite). Making the step up into the Pro build gets you a Kashima-coated fork and rear shock, as well as an upgrade to Maven Silver and an XO drivetrain. 

There is an alloy option with mechanical shifting for those die-hard cable actuated folks out there. This will be the most affordable, and heaviest, build. 

The Comp carbon build will be for somebody looking to get their foot in the door of the e-bike space, desiring the light weight that carbon provides without breaking the bank.

The Expert build will be perfect for that person looking for a little bit more adjustability on their suspension and reliability out of their drivetrain.

The Pro build will be for somebody looking for the maximum adjustability out of their brakes and suspension, but who doesn’t need all the bling that S-works will provide.

And S-works, if you have the budget, would help you skip past almost any upgrade you might theoretically want to do to this bike after purchase.
 

Ride Impressions

Test Bike Setup
I tested the S4 size in the Comp Carbon build. I ran the bike in the stock 64.6 degree head tube angle configuration, and the stock 348 mm BB height. If I was looking for better front wheel tracking through rough terrain, I would use the headset cup adjustment to slacken the headtube angle. If I am looking for better climbing performance and quicker handling, I would adjust the headtube angle the other direction to the steeper setting. The stock bottom bracket height setting is almost exactly the same as my trail bike, so I ran it there and felt right at home. If you run this bike in the stock setup and are experiencing pedal strikes, using the BB adjustment will give you 5 mm more clearance.

My primary goal was to get this bike on some of the same trails that I normally ride on my trail bike at Raging River and Galbraith Mountain. I wanted to see if there was a noticeable handling difference between my bike and this lightweight eMTB, and naturally I wanted to see how long of a ride I could get out of a single charge. 

Climbing / Uphill
The climbing position felt natural, with a steep seat tube angle and a slightly shorter reach. But the biggest question mark I had on climbing performance was how far can this bike make it on a single charge. The answer was about 17 miles and 4,000 feet of vertical. This was done mostly in trail mode (I turned it to boost for the steepest service road climbs). If you are familiar with Raging River, I was able to make it to the top of Canyon Creek Downhill (CCDH) in less than an hour. Another note was this was a solo ride where I didn’t have to worry about the pace of those I was riding with. 

Descending / Downhill
This bike proved to be incredibly versatile on the descent. There is about a 20 pound difference between my trail bike and the full power Turbo Levo, and the SL here splits the difference almost perfectly. On tech trails, the bike felt right at home, staying very planted but easy to unweight over off-camber root sections and the like. While hitting jump trails, it felt much lighter and easier to flick around than the Turbo Levo 4 that I tested a few weeks prior. Both the Stumpjumper 15 and the Turbo Levo SL are very predictable bikes, kind of like a great all-mountain ski. There isn’t a lot about any aspect of this bike that will wow you on the descent, but it stays composed and just feels like it is right where you expect at each turn of the trail.

How Does it Compare?

Notable upgrades this year include a new motor delivering more torque and power, and the addition of the Fox and Specialized co-developed Genie shock. Compared to the previous version, thse updates have only made the bike more capable on steep and technical trails. Specialized also set themselves apart in their integration of their app with the bike, allowing the rider to really customize motor performance to their exact preferences.