Been waiting for this review for ages too, thanks! Really tempted by the SL, but only as a second bike to my full-fat Levo, purely because of range. Re the 52t cog on the rear - I _definitely_ want this for some of the long steep mountain climbs I do, makes a huge difference over the 50t version.
Thanks for the video which mostly confirms what I've experience with my Levo Gen2. I'm wondering if you were testing the setup 29" Wheel with the FlipChip but having a 27.5" Wheel in in your S3. As I'm 1.80 m too, I like this for my S3 combined with slack head angle and low bottom bracket as most suitable condition for this bike. As I've not chosen S4 due to my kids who can benefit too, its quite short but with mention setup it's close to S4.
No, we didn't change the wheel size flipchip. I'm happy riding the bike as a mullet. Still, I wouldn't hesistate to set the chip to the long setting. Especially for someone our height. 442 mm chainstays is still quite short, and as you say, going long/low/slack results in a nice wheelbase length.
Can you elaborate on the preference of the less customizable Rithym over the Perfomance Elite grip2 (or were you mentioning the Performance grip only?)?
Yeah, it was the base Performance, especially the old one with the Fit damper,. But I don't see much of an upside of going Performance grip over the Rhythm 36, but it might be mostly down to me being a fairly lightweight rider. I definitely prefer the Performance Elite though (:
I'm not sure. We haven't looked into this for the Specialized SL motors. There is a bit of talk about it on the SL motor review video ua-cam.com/video/u39X4-l_rZA/v-deo.html&lc=Ugz3EEpMqsBvrt9d-rt4AaABAg
In some ways. Motorwise it's a very different bike when ridden with max assistance. Drop it to Eco or Trail, and it becomes much more similar to the TQ on the Fuel EXe. But the SL 1.2 doesn't seem as powerful at very high cadence. It's way more powerful at lower to normal cadence though. The Fuel EXe with the TQ motor feels more stealth and natural due to the inaudible and invisible motor, and the way it's so careful to activate and deactivate. I'm making the Fuel EXe sound much better I guess, but I very much appreciate having a motor that can be generous and offer lots of assistance at max settings. Like the SL 1.2. The Levo SL seems a better climber, and they're both very good at the rest.
Hi, you made a point about the sizing in the intro,however it didn’t seem to come up again during the review,so I’m guessing the shorter reach wasn’t an issue?
@@EMTBVideos looks then that the EXe is more focused on trail/XC since on easier terrain i feel high cadence is more used, but on technical climbs cadence is very often low.
@@timgearing5121 you're right. S3 worked on the descents too. I guess most people our height (181-184) will go S4. And I' m not gonna advice against it. But, depending on your priorities, the S3 will work too.
Been waiting for this review for ages too, thanks! Really tempted by the SL, but only as a second bike to my full-fat Levo, purely because of range.
Re the 52t cog on the rear - I _definitely_ want this for some of the long steep mountain climbs I do, makes a huge difference over the 50t version.
Thanks for the video which mostly confirms what I've experience with my Levo Gen2. I'm wondering if you were testing the setup 29" Wheel with the FlipChip but having a 27.5" Wheel in in your S3. As I'm 1.80 m too, I like this for my S3 combined with slack head angle and low bottom bracket as most suitable condition for this bike. As I've not chosen S4 due to my kids who can benefit too, its quite short but with mention setup it's close to S4.
No, we didn't change the wheel size flipchip. I'm happy riding the bike as a mullet. Still, I wouldn't hesistate to set the chip to the long setting. Especially for someone our height. 442 mm chainstays is still quite short, and as you say, going long/low/slack results in a nice wheelbase length.
Can you elaborate on the preference of the less customizable Rithym over the Perfomance Elite grip2 (or were you mentioning the Performance grip only?)?
Yeah, it was the base Performance, especially the old one with the Fit damper,. But I don't see much of an upside of going Performance grip over the Rhythm 36, but it might be mostly down to me being a fairly lightweight rider. I definitely prefer the Performance Elite though (:
Can I swap out the new 50 nm pedal assist motor with my older Levo SL motor, I know u guys played with this, I luv my older Levo SL geometry
I'm not sure. We haven't looked into this for the Specialized SL motors. There is a bit of talk about it on the SL motor review video
ua-cam.com/video/u39X4-l_rZA/v-deo.html&lc=Ugz3EEpMqsBvrt9d-rt4AaABAg
Is it comparable to the trek fuel exe?
In some ways. Motorwise it's a very different bike when ridden with max assistance. Drop it to Eco or Trail, and it becomes much more similar to the TQ on the Fuel EXe. But the SL 1.2 doesn't seem as powerful at very high cadence. It's way more powerful at lower to normal cadence though. The Fuel EXe with the TQ motor feels more stealth and natural due to the inaudible and invisible motor, and the way it's so careful to activate and deactivate. I'm making the Fuel EXe sound much better I guess, but I very much appreciate having a motor that can be generous and offer lots of assistance at max settings. Like the SL 1.2.
The Levo SL seems a better climber, and they're both very good at the rest.
Hi, you made a point about the sizing in the intro,however it didn’t seem to come up again during the review,so I’m guessing the shorter reach wasn’t an issue?
@@EMTBVideos looks then that the EXe is more focused on trail/XC since on easier terrain i feel high cadence is more used, but on technical climbs cadence is very often low.
@@atzedevries9563 Yeah, one could argue it is, but the Fuel EXe is a capable descender too.
@@timgearing5121 you're right. S3 worked on the descents too. I guess most people our height (181-184) will go S4. And I'
m not gonna advice against it. But, depending on your priorities, the S3 will work too.
what is the weight of the bike?
I weighed it to 18,6 kg without pedals.
Nice Bike, but the motor still Sounds horrible to me. Not like a premium Bike for a premium Price.