The next trip was on single track from my house to Spiritual mountainDuluth Mountain Park has a lift and 24 trails ranging from easy to advanced. Lacking a full-face helmet and the landing skills to handle double black runs like the one called Calculated Risk, I went to Candyland instead. The machine-built track has some nice high, serpentine berms where the bike's massive tires kept me upright and stable. I was having so much fun riding around the bike park, climbing steep inclines like The Puker to make the final smooth descent that I had to rush home for dinner at dusk.
On the way home, I chickened out while driving over a thick, steep, long stone bridge in Trail mode and experienced the only moment of fear in my 50+ miles of testing – I had already promised to move forward, but at the last second I chickened out, so the bike lurched forward and I jumped sideways into the bushes. It was more user uncertainty than bike failure, but also a good reminder of two things: how powerful a bike is and that it is only as competent as its rider.
At home, I checked the Specialized app and found that I covered 3,451 feet (over 22 miles) in about two hours, mostly in the bike's automatic mode. I still had 44 percent battery and energy left in my legs.
Smart trip
Photo: Stephanie Pearson
After subsequent rides, what stands out most about the Turbo Levo 4 is how intuitive it is. The bike's high-performance torque sensors can instantly “feel” a rider's power and amplify it while maintaining control, traction and precision at higher speeds. This is especially noticeable in Auto mode, which is the most natural of the four Eco, Auto, Trail and Turbo modes, all of which are easy to read on the bike's Master Mind computer located on the top tube.
I was a little confused about Turbo Left's ability to jump from from class I to class III electric mountain bike. On US versions of the bike, riders can adjust the speed limit by switching through Master Mind and increasing the Class I limit of 20 mph to the Class III limit of 28 mph. It's a simple process designed for mountain bikers who ride from city streets to trails.
But it also raises the question: What ripper would want to get back on a Class I bike—the maximum limit on most U.S. trails—unless the speed police are in hot pursuit? By allowing this workaround into a higher speed limit category, Specialized puts the onus on the rider to follow the rules, which opens up a Pandora's box, especially on trails populated primarily by non-motorized mountain bikers where safety is of greater importance.
Aside from the ethical conundrum, my only complaint about the S-Works Turbo Levo 4 is that it's so much fun that it freezes time. I get so caught up in the flow of events that I forget to go home and cook dinner.
