An all out effort on an ebike is kind of like an all out sprint up an escalator. It’s the same effort, but you gain more distance in the same time. The advantage of an ebike is the ability to get in as many laps as possible in a limited time. The advantage of an analog bike is the ability to hit the backcountry, disconnect from technology, and ride all day exploring without thinking about battery life, apps, heart rate, strava profiles, etc.
I totally agree. I have so much household and life style crap I live in fear of running out of battery. The last thing I need is my bike to worry about
Yep. The answer to the BIG question at the end of the vid .... is cost. If money was no object I'd love to buy the e-bike. Unfortunately, money is an object and I cannae even afford the analogue stumpjumper. But this channel inspires me to dream. Thanks Blake and Steve (and all at GMBN & EMBN) for keeping my dreams alive.
totaly agree with you, i had to take a chunk of money out of my pension to buy the 2021 Levo SL, i would never have had an ebike if i hadn’t been able to do that…..still got an analogue hardtail though……just in case there’s a power cut 😂
Nowadays, with really good low prices for Spec Levos, you can get 700 Wh full power Levo for only 4400 eur...Average ppl don˙t need all the best specs on the bike.
Any ebike will be more expensive than the equivalent regular bike. Plus all accessories and extra maintenance that comes from the electrical parts…at some point age may take us the ebike way, but for know let’s enjoy the analog word!
@@legyvanmaster agreed - look at the alloy frame Levo in Comp spec - they are probably the best value - although if you want an SL motor/model, those are carbon.
@@jmendez73 there really isn't any maintenance of the electrical components, but you do end up eating through more chains and tyres - mainly because you tend to ride more [distance] that you would on a non-assisted bike... and to a lesser extent because of a little extra wear and tear on the [typically same spec] transmission components from putting more power though them more regularly.
I just rode that exact bike. I'm now waiting on delivery, just in another color.😂 Does exactly what it says, "2x you". Its not a motorbike, it only magnifies what effort you put in.Most fun I've had on a bike in years. Got to do multiple laps without feeling wrecked. And it handled like a dream. Expensive?? Yup. But if i can double the miles i ride, and with my age, injuries, and major health issue, its a no brainer.
I go to my local trail centre and do the black n red loop totalling 22miles. After one full loop on my analog MTB I’ve had enough. I can go and do the same 22mile loop on my eMTB, go have a cup of tea and then go and do it again. There’s the difference, a lot more time riding, a lots more miles, a lot more descents……and I can this day after day if I want to. Excellent video!
Great video guys, I am in my mid 50's and getting an e bike is becoming more appealing as I get older. These lighter weight EMTB's that don't look like a Chieftain tank on two wheels make the proposition even more attractive, but I am not quite ready to throw the towel in yet!
I’m also middle aged and am a bit of a car guy - I think of it this way. Light weight ebike = Miata Full power ebike = Challenger Hellcat Both are awesome and the right number of bikes is N+1.
I’m 52 and just bought my first eMTB, they are amazing, totally game changing, 40mile rides,lap after lap, day after day if you want. Best thing I ever bought.
the emtnbike has been a game changer for me, ride more trails for the same time and its made even the shity up trails fun….basically “no trails suck” anymore…just do it people!
Excellent to watch a fit and talented rider going hard on both bikes, can you do a full power emtb vs mid assist using Blake again this would give all levels of comparison.
For the weekend warrior who works a physical job 40-50 hrs a week over 60 and still likes to race. (Naturally aspirated.)❤bikes and after 40 years of being out there, My Husqvarna E-bike helps 18:40 keeps me motivated and my fitness levels improved significantly since I can ride faster further distances on the weekends. ❤🎉🎉🎉
Great compare video. Full power Levo with those two would be also interesting. Like Steve said, I am also a full power guy - I use as much power I feel like it in the moment. And the best thing is - you can do as much workout as on regular bike. But if you want to ride downhill more times, you use more power and there is more fun...Greetings to all.
Great to see the cross-channel content, Blake and Steve are the best presenters from each IMO. And Levo any day of the week, miles more smiles, make the up as much fun as the down.
Great concept for this video 🙏🏽. In my own experience, to add to your conclusions, my number of rides has also drastically increased since I bought my first e-mtb 2 years ago. I was once a young, fit rider, but over the years, my job and family came first. Now newly retired and not quite as young or fit 😉, I went from a few hundred km per year to 2600 km, and I am reliving the rush of my youth 😄. I still push myself, but it's pure pleasure with minimal pain. I always treat myself to turbo once I'm off the trail and on my way home.
Great comparison! Pretty rare to find such a closely aligned bike-to-bike matchup for a traditional vs. e-bike test. I don't think 'preferring' a traditional bike makes anyone a 'hater'. It's okay to like what we like. The hugely obvious hard sell on e-bikes at the very end wasn't totally necessary, but it's a retail world out here after all.😊
Love the idea of the Levo. Mostly a normal trail bike, but just a little bit of extra oomph to make the climbs a bit easier. To be honest I don't ride bikes to get in crazy good shape. It's a nice byproduct of riding, but I just ride to have fun. If I can be a bit less gassed at the top of a climb so I can give the downhill my all, then that sounds perfect to me.
Nice sales pitch. Ridden both. Ebikes do feel amazing up hill but prefer the "naturally aspirated". No charging. No e waste in a couple years. No software glitches. Easier to maintain.
+ cheaper to maintain We heave already expensive suspension that has to be checked once a month. 😅 but yeah when we get to a point where we have some standards regarding the motor software interface and mount… maybe it worth it.
One great thing about the Stumpy is that by just swapping out the rear shock link, the shock, and fork cartridge you can go from long travel to short travel. Basically two bikes in one. My 2020 Stumpy can run 27.5 but came with 29 inch. I know this is off subject but it does add more to these specific rigs. Interesting comparison!
Levo sl 2 can run mullet or 29. Steep or slack, has 6 way geometry adjustment same as the latest version of the stumpy evo. Its pretty much the exact same bike with a motor and battery
So I used to have a Scott Aspect hardtail. Then I had heart surgery @49 years old & to help me along bought a Turbo Levo. & let me say this, there is no way I would now go back to an analogue bike 😂
I don't blow up on an emtb, I push just as hard and end up just riding further (probably for longer than I would on a mtb, without the risk of over excursion due from stubbornness). I found I need to pro-actively remember to get off my emtb loosen up. It's easy to overlook and stay on bike/in riding position all session and end up with aches/pinched muscles. Besides I've done my turn riding DH bikes around the UK before up lifts and emtb is better than I ever dreamed.
Great points. I have a levo and will never go back. I can work as hard or as little as I want to on a down day; I can also go further, faster, steeper. If your like me you have a natural pace you keep up with exercise wise, on a levo you will just be going further faster steeper once again. 👍 haters, well are worthless and just don’t get it. These ebikes are life changing like nothing else I have ever purchased.
Had my first experience riding emtb in Bentonville. I gotta say, it was fun, fun, fun! So many laps, so many smiles. 💯 If there were trail access here in Michigan, I wouldn't flinch to buy an Orbea Wild or Ibis Oso
I ride as hard on my E as I do on my unplugged but can cover far more miles. Its about the going downhill bit, its made me a better rider in a shorter span of time.
I suspect its not necessarily representative of how most people would ride an emtb from the fitness (heart rate) aspect. Most people wouldn't ride over the limiter on climbs, I suspect you decided to do that to give the results you got. Not against emtbs just interesting how you decided to do the test.
We cover as much distance as possible, shooting up the climbs and using the ebikes to maximise the descending. Some of the best trails are not chair/uplift serviced; those trails tend to be more natural too and less 'built'. I'm converted.
Remember he was in turbo which on the SL you can't ride in all the time. If he was in eco it would have felt much more natural. Trail gives you some added help and turbo drains the battery quick.
Average speed is faster despite the limiter due to a higher lowest speed (when climbing) raising the average. Average heart rate is higher because riding up hill is more fun on an eeb so you push it more. I'd like to think max heart rate is the same because Blake is an athlete who knows his body and the limit of what he can push it to.
if both bikes give you the same physical workout then i think to answer steve's question is the cost factor. as the analog stumpjumper would cost lest then the SL e bike for the buyer.
This is quite like the fight between IOS lovers and Android lovers… I don’t mind the e-bikes, but even if I could choose (now I don’t want to talk about the costs) I would always choose „analog” bike because of the two reasons: analog is always ready to go (e-bike need to be recharged), if I get myself on the top of the hill on the „analog” bike, I know It is my achievment - nobody and nothing helped me to do this (maybe I am strange - but it is important for me). But if I had less strength, if I was older or had any kind of health issue - I would always choose an ebike to maintain possibility to ride the bike into the woods and riding the trails up and down. Of course it doesn’t mean that for me ebike is some kind of the wheelchair - simply I am getting as much satisfaction on technical climbs as on descents. All discussion which bike is better is absolutely pointless, because it is all about personal preference. Everyone should ride the bike whichever gives him fun and happiness.
My ebike vs regular bike comparison is switching off days between my 43lb freeride bike and a 32lb enduro bike. One is much more efficient of a climber, and not only due to the weight. I can't say I prefer one over the other, especially when based on climbing ability alone or amount of laps I am able to achieve. It is simply nice to switch it up sometimes and have a different experience on the trail. I can see the draw of ebikes but currently simply doesn't check off any of the important boxes for me.
Some of us ride to get away from the everyday way of life. To get away from technology. From all the electronic distractions. To become one with nature and the trail. To forego all the complexities surrounding us. Once I gave up suspension and gears and went to a rigid single speed the game changed for me. Everything feels faster and more exhilarating. For me no amount of technology can offer this experience.
Cool video and Blake looks like he is having fun!!! 🙂 Personally my answer to Steve Jones is A I can't afford an E-Bike in a Spec that I'd like and B (this is only a small point) when I ride my dads bike (E-Spark) the noise of the motor is kind of annoying to me...
The new ones are almost completely quiet. The 2023 levo sl (the one in this video) has a new motor that doesn't wine like the old ones... What I did to start was just get a comp version and move over some other parts to it, then upgrade as I went. That's just me though!
If you're the type to push hard on a regular bike you are more likely to push hard on the Eeb. I think that E bikes make it easy to not work as hard, so for many it can start a decline in their fitness. Like everything else, it's all about what you put into it.
Since I got my Orbea Rise my fitness has gone up, it allows me to ride much more, even on "off-days" I hit the trails where I would hit the couch before.
@@mcspiffington on a day i’m tired, have a hangover, … now I force myself to go out and ride because i have no excuses as there is always a motor to save me if i need it ;)
ye I got a ebike hardtail one but still a very good one, used to do dh racing as kid but I got pretty fat last couple of years, now I've started to ride my ebike and that has def increased my fitness and i have lost 21kg so far with it, noway in hell I'd be riding a normal bike nearly as often just because of how tired i would be after just one climb. but I could see how for fit people it would decrease their fitness, tbh if I never got fat and kept riding i'd likely just have a analog full suspension bike rather than hardtail ebike.
You absolutely can put a 27.5 rear wheel on the Stunpy Evo. You do have to get a linkage from specialized to do it. I love GMBN, but please make sure you have specs down when reviewing bikes.
Some day we will all ride e-bikes. I don’t have one, but I am certain that one is in my future. Of course, first they have to be allowed on my local trails.
i hate going to the training day for an enduro and everyone is sitting there with emtb, and the next day to race they show up on a regular mtb to compete, fully rested. been happening for years, no way to stop it. I have formed my opinion of emtb from that.
I think ebikes are excellent, I love bikes of all kinds, but the battery life would stress me too much on an activity that is meant to make me happy and relaxed. And price, of course, is also a big problem. My friends have ebikes, I ride with them all the time; some barely get through a ride, meanwhile I can carry a few gels and keep going all day long 😁 .
Pretty sure the motor and battery don't add up to another £2500, the turbo levo doesn't seem like good value when you look at it like that. Blake is an absolute powerhouse!
Arghh. Such a massive topic of debate. Personally, I've got back to an acoustic bike. My fitness level has made my ebike (trek rail) feel too easy and not rewarding enough from a cardio perspective. My peak BPM was hardly getting above 160 on the ebike. On my acoustic Orange Crush Pro I'm hitting 190. Used to hate ebikes, definitely don't now and I'll get another one day. Just feel like I'm not needing one yet.
hy, quanto dislivello pensi si possa fare con la SL?( so che ci sono tante variabili ma credi che un medio allenato 90 kg di persona si possa arrivare a 1600 senza extender?) motore più potente e stessa batteria consumerà molto di più....
Support is expressed as a percentage (20%, 50%, etc). My question is: percentage of what? Of the total motor power, limited by the peak power? Or of the rider power applied to pedals? Thanks and congrats on the good work.
There is a distinct difference in the workout on an e-bike vs a regular bike. You might be able to achieve the same max HR but your muscle contractions are not as pronounced I.e. the cardio workout might be the same but the muscular workout is not. I’m not an e-bike hater, I have been riding e-bikes for 3.5 years and I love my full power Mondraker Crafty BUT I have noticed in that time that my strength has declined even though I ride as much or more than I used to. It is most noticeable in my quads. I used to have huge muscular quads and now they are kinda skinny. I still send it on the climbs and get my HR up to 175-180 regularly but I am spinning my legs fast instead of grinding with strong muscular pushes. Because I have noticed this decline in strength I decided to buy a normal bike (I’m still keeping my e-bike) so that I can work on my strength. The first ride on the regular bike at my local trail network was VERY hard and my legs were like jelly at the end of it. It goes to show that you might get a good cardio workout on an e-bike but it is most certainly not the same level of strength workout. Just my 2 cents from my personal experience.
Racing bike against bike is completely different than your regular hobby/exercise ride. I ride with emtbers and on a normal ride on their analogs, they are slower than they used to be. Jmo.
Blake putting in the effort but let's just face it he would be just as happy on a 16 inch kids BMX having fun. Loved Steve's commentary. The statistics are surprising but I wonder if people buy e-bikes then try to outride their motor's performance capability, especially someone as fit as Blake, he would really only use the motor's true capability on a steep climb.
What I miss with all this music overlay on the climbs with the Levo is the question of noise. I find the howling of the Levo-motor on climbs really annoying. I really love my Levo SL otherwise but the noise makes me wanna sell it everytime I am on a long climb…
One point of your argument that seems to be missed a lot of times is access. I live in a town that does not allow e-bikes on the trails. So there is that.
Love the idea of EBikes. They're a bit like a sport car. They cost more, go faster, needs fuel more often and like a sport car, your local bike shop has no idea how to fix the engine/battery. It's why I don't have one. I can't afford it and I can't do all the work myself on it.
Why would one go for the natural bike over the e-bike? The elephant in the room is cost! Mountain bikes already cost a small fortune; e-bikes just bump it up way over the top. I will also add that there are quite a few out there who think that having an e-bike will somehow make mountain biking "easier". They forget there's still still involved. I often see these people walking their e-bikes around all the technical parts of the trails.
You wanna know why that is? Keep it quiet, it's because most of the people who can afford to buy ebikes can't actually ride properly. They think that a motor makes them good.
Just build your own with either a Bafang BBS02/BBSHD, Tongsheng TDSZ2 or CYC motor kit and have an Ebike with much more power, lower cost and no limiter. I built mine with the BBS02 and it destroys the other ebikes up hill. Just make sure that the frame will allow the battery to fit.
Most people that ride ebikes do not ride abywhere near as hard as blake and therefore don't get anywhere near the work out. I'm no hater, I own a 2022 orbea rise m20 and a 2021 9.7 trek slash. Both great bikes, but there is noway I'm going to believe that I'm getting the same workout on both bikes. I love them both but there's a reason I normally grab my ebike for a ride, loads of fun and nowhere near as licked by the end.
Im one of those people that ride at threshold all day because i just cant help it, but its a different workout for me, i grind and let my legs do the work on analogue but emtb for the most out of the motor you need to spin fast and that really gets my breathing and heart rate up, im also stubborn and try to ride in eco all the time for the most range. The other aspect for me is with emtb i can finish work, go and have blast afterwards and 'try' and have a chilled ride whereas i wouldnt with regular bike, so arguably id go out twice on emtb before once on analogue. I now dont even use analogue and im still cream crackered after.
I always find the comments on these videos strange. People feel they need to either A) validate owning a ebike or B) validate why they dont need one. I got a ebike and my normal bike but i dont go around saying you need to be "this and that" to ride a ebike. Just do what you want and dont project your views onto other riders.
No they do not. If you have a motor you get to use motorized trails. This should be fine for you as the motor will assist you up the loose moto stuff. E-bikes completely change the the dynamic of normal singletrack trails because they start ascending stuff that normal mountain bikers won’t go up. Therefore they ruin the downhill by getting in way. They also run up on analogs during climbs pushing them out of the way. E-bikes should be dead last in trail etiquette as well and have to give right of way to everyone else on the trail.
@@drewbiermann1009 think about what you're saying... if an eMTB is going up a dedicated 'moto' trail, then they are going to be getting in the way (and potentially at risk) of all the gas powered motos and atvs etc. aren't they? As for climbing trails which a typical non eMTB rider might struggle to climb, unless they are specifically marked one-way (downhill) only, then anyone is at liberty to climb it too - motor or not - they onus is on any rider to look out for others on two-way trails. I don't know where you ride, but I have never seen another cyclist push a slower rider 'out of the way' on a climb - you tell them you're approaching and find a safe place to pass. At the end of the day, these are public trails... everyone has a right to use them, and in turn need to show other users courtesy and respect.
@@yodapig You don't know what you're talking about. Moto trails and MTB trails are combined all over the mountain west. You need to get out of your little area. Most of the MTB trails were multi-use (including allowed motos) until very recently in the Rockies. E-bikes have no business on new singletrack dedicated to MTB and hiker only. They are motorized END OF STORY.
Until they try one and realise you can't legally go over 18mph/25kmh with it unless you want to work twice as hard as on an analogue. Biggest disappointment in my life but they never talk about that limitation on here
@@mtbzen It's not that black and white. They do advertise for products by talking positively about them, but how many of their viewers can actually afford all those high end bikes? And in the end it's on you to test the products you see in ads to see if they are best for you, and not just buy whatever someone claims is best for you.
@@2nd3rd1st the SL does much better cause of the weight. The heavy smtbs lag over the limiter but I find I don't really need to pedal past that speed going uphill and it doesn't matter going dh anyways.
@@_Jake.From.Statefarm_ Sure, for it's specific environment of the forest it's perfect, but once you leave there and need to travel on flat country roads or long fast bike lanes you will feel very vulnerable getting overtaken by cars and other bikers again and again. Delimiting saves lives there.
An all out effort on an ebike is kind of like an all out sprint up an escalator. It’s the same effort, but you gain more distance in the same time. The advantage of an ebike is the ability to get in as many laps as possible in a limited time. The advantage of an analog bike is the ability to hit the backcountry, disconnect from technology, and ride all day exploring without thinking about battery life, apps, heart rate, strava profiles, etc.
Connecting with nature is why I enjoy a single speed rigid frame
@@RayRayWasAGoodBoy square wheels are where it's at
@@wmercer7234 wheels - even square ones - are for cheaters. A real outdoorsman runs uphill... both ways... barefoot.
@@jasper_of_puppets 😂😂
I totally agree. I have so much household and life style crap I live in fear of running out of battery. The last thing I need is my bike to worry about
Yep. The answer to the BIG question at the end of the vid .... is cost.
If money was no object I'd love to buy the e-bike.
Unfortunately, money is an object and I cannae even afford the analogue stumpjumper.
But this channel inspires me to dream.
Thanks Blake and Steve (and all at GMBN & EMBN) for keeping my dreams alive.
totaly agree with you, i had to take a chunk of money out of my pension to buy the 2021 Levo SL, i would never have had an ebike if i hadn’t been able to do that…..still got an analogue hardtail though……just in case there’s a power cut 😂
Nowadays, with really good low prices for Spec Levos, you can get 700 Wh full power Levo for only 4400 eur...Average ppl don˙t need all the best specs on the bike.
Any ebike will be more expensive than the equivalent regular bike. Plus all accessories and extra maintenance that comes from the electrical parts…at some point age may take us the ebike way, but for know let’s enjoy the analog word!
@@legyvanmaster agreed - look at the alloy frame Levo in Comp spec - they are probably the best value - although if you want an SL motor/model, those are carbon.
@@jmendez73 there really isn't any maintenance of the electrical components, but you do end up eating through more chains and tyres - mainly because you tend to ride more [distance] that you would on a non-assisted bike... and to a lesser extent because of a little extra wear and tear on the [typically same spec] transmission components from putting more power though them more regularly.
I just rode that exact bike. I'm now waiting on delivery, just in another color.😂 Does exactly what it says, "2x you". Its not a motorbike, it only magnifies what effort you put in.Most fun I've had on a bike in years. Got to do multiple laps without feeling wrecked. And it handled like a dream. Expensive?? Yup. But if i can double the miles i ride, and with my age, injuries, and major health issue, its a no brainer.
I go to my local trail centre and do the black n red loop totalling 22miles. After one full loop on my analog MTB I’ve had enough. I can go and do the same 22mile loop on my eMTB, go have a cup of tea and then go and do it again. There’s the difference, a lot more time riding, a lots more miles, a lot more descents……and I can this day after day if I want to. Excellent video!
I love this channel when they stir up the haters, great video team 👏
Great video guys, I am in my mid 50's and getting an e bike is becoming more appealing as I get older. These lighter weight EMTB's that don't look like a Chieftain tank on two wheels make the proposition even more attractive, but I am not quite ready to throw the towel in yet!
I’m also middle aged and am a bit of a car guy - I think of it this way.
Light weight ebike = Miata
Full power ebike = Challenger Hellcat
Both are awesome and the right number of bikes is N+1.
I'm in my upper mid 30's and ride an e-mtb when I'm lazy or my body hurts too much to push hard 😬 loving it
I’m 52 and just bought my first eMTB, they are amazing, totally game changing, 40mile rides,lap after lap, day after day if you want. Best thing I ever bought.
State laws and trail laws should also play it what ya buy
Mid powered bikes like the SL offer the best of both worlds. More distance in a shorter time but you can still max out your heart rate.
the emtnbike has been a game changer for me, ride more trails for the same time and its made even the shity up trails fun….basically “no trails suck” anymore…just do it people!
Excellent to watch a fit and talented rider going hard on both bikes, can you do a full power emtb vs mid assist using Blake again this would give all levels of comparison.
The quality of your vids is getting better and better! Keep the work up!
Gotta love your energy Blake
For the weekend warrior who works a physical job 40-50 hrs a week over 60 and still likes to race. (Naturally aspirated.)❤bikes and after 40 years of being out there, My Husqvarna E-bike helps 18:40 keeps me motivated and my fitness levels improved significantly since I can ride faster further distances on the weekends. ❤🎉🎉🎉
Great compare video. Full power Levo with those two would be also interesting. Like Steve said, I am also a full power guy - I use as much power I feel like it in the moment. And the best thing is - you can do as much workout as on regular bike. But if you want to ride downhill more times, you use more power and there is more fun...Greetings to all.
Great to see the cross-channel content, Blake and Steve are the best presenters from each IMO.
And Levo any day of the week, miles more smiles, make the up as much fun as the down.
While Blake was climbing on the electric bike, he even had time for a spot of nature, watching I know which one I prefer 😊
The editing is so fun in this video
Great concept for this video 🙏🏽. In my own experience, to add to your conclusions, my number of rides has also drastically increased since I bought my first e-mtb 2 years ago. I was once a young, fit rider, but over the years, my job and family came first. Now newly retired and not quite as young or fit 😉, I went from a few hundred km per year to 2600 km, and I am reliving the rush of my youth 😄. I still push myself, but it's pure pleasure with minimal pain. I always treat myself to turbo once I'm off the trail and on my way home.
Great comparison! Pretty rare to find such a closely aligned bike-to-bike matchup for a traditional vs. e-bike test. I don't think 'preferring' a traditional bike makes anyone a 'hater'. It's okay to like what we like. The hugely obvious hard sell on e-bikes at the very end wasn't totally necessary, but it's a retail world out here after all.😊
At the start of the vid I couldn't tell which bike was the ebike. Crazy tech!
Love the idea of the Levo. Mostly a normal trail bike, but just a little bit of extra oomph to make the climbs a bit easier.
To be honest I don't ride bikes to get in crazy good shape. It's a nice byproduct of riding, but I just ride to have fun. If I can be a bit less gassed at the top of a climb so I can give the downhill my all, then that sounds perfect to me.
That´s covering exactly my experience. I like the bigger range I get with my ebike.
Nice sales pitch. Ridden both. Ebikes do feel amazing up hill but prefer the "naturally aspirated". No charging. No e waste in a couple years. No software glitches. Easier to maintain.
+ cheaper to maintain
We heave already expensive suspension that has to be checked once a month. 😅 but yeah when we get to a point where we have some standards regarding the motor software interface and mount… maybe it worth it.
True!
Well done guys that was really interesting to see the comparison.
The video editing on this is st aight fire 🔥. The attention to detail and the flawless transitions that match the beata are killer!
One great thing about the Stumpy is that by just swapping out the rear shock link, the shock, and fork cartridge you can go from long travel to short travel. Basically two bikes in one. My 2020 Stumpy can run 27.5 but came with 29 inch.
I know this is off subject but it does add more to these specific rigs.
Interesting comparison!
Levo sl 2 can run mullet or 29. Steep or slack, has 6 way geometry adjustment same as the latest version of the stumpy evo. Its pretty much the exact same bike with a motor and battery
Glad you guys have some filthy dnb over the action shots fits perfectly 🔥🔥🔥
That was music?
So I used to have a Scott Aspect hardtail. Then I had heart surgery @49 years old & to help me along bought a Turbo Levo. & let me say this, there is no way I would now go back to an analogue bike 😂
Specialized makes a "mullet link" for the Evo. So yes you can mullet the Stumpy Evo(carbon and Alloy).
Yes, and for 2023 they're shipping mullet SJ EVOs from the factory with mixed wheels. My carbon Pro build just showed up this week
@@jamesinsteamboat if you're able to, would love to see a video or pictures of the build.
I don't blow up on an emtb, I push just as hard and end up just riding further (probably for longer than I would on a mtb, without the risk of over excursion due from stubbornness). I found I need to pro-actively remember to get off my emtb loosen up. It's easy to overlook and stay on bike/in riding position all session and end up with aches/pinched muscles.
Besides I've done my turn riding DH bikes around the UK before up lifts and emtb is better than I ever dreamed.
Agree. My ebike on the Golfie trails at Innerleithen. Pure heaven.
100%, my eMTB is worth every penny.
The reason many people choose an analogue bike is MONEY
Thought Blake’s commentary was great here, nice one chap 👏
Great points. I have a levo and will never go back. I can work as hard or as little as I want to on a down day; I can also go further, faster, steeper. If your like me you have a natural pace you keep up with exercise wise, on a levo you will just be going further faster steeper once again. 👍 haters, well are worthless and just don’t get it. These ebikes are life changing like nothing else I have ever purchased.
This is just mountain bike po*n . The riding, the filming, the editing is just amazing.
Had my first experience riding emtb in Bentonville. I gotta say, it was fun, fun, fun! So many laps, so many smiles. 💯 If there were trail access here in Michigan, I wouldn't flinch to buy an Orbea Wild or Ibis Oso
I ride as hard on my E as I do on my unplugged but can cover far more miles. Its about the going downhill bit, its made me a better rider in a shorter span of time.
I suspect its not necessarily representative of how most people would ride an emtb from the fitness (heart rate) aspect. Most people wouldn't ride over the limiter on climbs, I suspect you decided to do that to give the results you got. Not against emtbs just interesting how you decided to do the test.
We cover as much distance as possible, shooting up the climbs and using the ebikes to maximise the descending. Some of the best trails are not chair/uplift serviced; those trails tend to be more natural too and less 'built'. I'm converted.
Remember he was in turbo which on the SL you can't ride in all the time. If he was in eco it would have felt much more natural. Trail gives you some added help and turbo drains the battery quick.
Best comparison with a bio bike. That makes more sense than a full power 😊. Keep it up
this is a very specialized video about a specialized bike 😎😎 like it 😃😃
Super review thanks so much. just the question where was the place you've been riding guys???
Average speed is faster despite the limiter due to a higher lowest speed (when climbing) raising the average.
Average heart rate is higher because riding up hill is more fun on an eeb so you push it more.
I'd like to think max heart rate is the same because Blake is an athlete who knows his body and the limit of what he can push it to.
if both bikes give you the same physical workout then i think to answer steve's question is the cost factor. as the analog stumpjumper would cost lest then the SL e bike for the buyer.
This is quite like the fight between IOS lovers and Android lovers…
I don’t mind the e-bikes, but even if I could choose (now I don’t want to talk about the costs) I would always choose „analog” bike because of the two reasons: analog is always ready to go (e-bike need to be recharged), if I get myself on the top of the hill on the „analog” bike, I know It is my achievment - nobody and nothing helped me to do this (maybe I am strange - but it is important for me).
But if I had less strength, if I was older or had any kind of health issue - I would always choose an ebike to maintain possibility to ride the bike into the woods and riding the trails up and down.
Of course it doesn’t mean that for me ebike is some kind of the wheelchair - simply I am getting as much satisfaction on technical climbs as on descents.
All discussion which bike is better is absolutely pointless, because it is all about personal preference. Everyone should ride the bike whichever gives him fun and happiness.
My ebike vs regular bike comparison is switching off days between my 43lb freeride bike and a 32lb enduro bike. One is much more efficient of a climber, and not only due to the weight. I can't say I prefer one over the other, especially when based on climbing ability alone or amount of laps I am able to achieve. It is simply nice to switch it up sometimes and have a different experience on the trail. I can see the draw of ebikes but currently simply doesn't check off any of the important boxes for me.
Some of us ride to get away from the everyday way of life. To get away from technology. From all the electronic distractions. To become one with nature and the trail. To forego all the complexities surrounding us.
Once I gave up suspension and gears and went to a rigid single speed the game changed for me. Everything feels faster and more exhilarating. For me no amount of technology can offer this experience.
18kph isn’t over the limit on the Levo is it? Thought it was 20kph.
Yes, I think they were getting their MPH and KPH mixed up there?
Cool video and Blake looks like he is having fun!!! 🙂 Personally my answer to Steve Jones is A I can't afford an E-Bike in a Spec that I'd like and B (this is only a small point) when I ride my dads bike (E-Spark) the noise of the motor is kind of annoying to me...
The new ones are almost completely quiet. The 2023 levo sl (the one in this video) has a new motor that doesn't wine like the old ones... What I did to start was just get a comp version and move over some other parts to it, then upgrade as I went. That's just me though!
Would love to know what the difference would have been if you were able to ride the SL with the US spec 20mph limiter vs the 25% less UK limit.
Truth-Spoken - I am new to this. Does the UK allow you to go faster than the 20 in the US? Thank you.
Not legally. My Levo might be confused about limits though lol.
Great video! I own an Ecotric tornado ebike, This powerful, practical, and affordable bike makes riding for fun or exercise very enjoyable.
If you're the type to push hard on a regular bike you are more likely to push hard on the Eeb. I think that E bikes make it easy to not work as hard, so for many it can start a decline in their fitness. Like everything else, it's all about what you put into it.
Since I got my Orbea Rise my fitness has gone up, it allows me to ride much more, even on "off-days" I hit the trails where I would hit the couch before.
@@jayvkman that doesnt make sense. theres no such thing as an off day if you can still go out.
@@mcspiffington on a day i’m tired, have a hangover, … now I force myself to go out and ride because i have no excuses as there is always a motor to save me if i need it ;)
ye I got a ebike hardtail one but still a very good one, used to do dh racing as kid but I got pretty fat last couple of years, now I've started to ride my ebike and that has def increased my fitness and i have lost 21kg so far with it, noway in hell I'd be riding a normal bike nearly as often just because of how tired i would be after just one climb. but I could see how for fit people it would decrease their fitness, tbh if I never got fat and kept riding i'd likely just have a analog full suspension bike rather than hardtail ebike.
You absolutely can put a 27.5 rear wheel on the Stunpy Evo. You do have to get a linkage from specialized to do it. I love GMBN, but please make sure you have specs down when reviewing bikes.
Why would you go for the analogue bike? Because in my country, there are too many restrictions on e bikes
Time for a new country
I have found my max HR the same between analogue and ebike. The main difference in riding the bikes is I have more fun and sessions on my ebike.
How many kms can you put on the e-bikes motor before maintenance/ problems? Or motor failure? And are you covered with warranty? thanks 😊
Some day we will all ride e-bikes. I don’t have one, but I am certain that one is in my future.
Of course, first they have to be allowed on my local trails.
i hate going to the training day for an enduro and everyone is sitting there with emtb, and the next day to race they show up on a regular mtb to compete, fully rested. been happening for years, no way to stop it. I have formed my opinion of emtb from that.
I think ebikes are excellent, I love bikes of all kinds, but the battery life would stress me too much on an activity that is meant to make me happy and relaxed. And price, of course, is also a big problem. My friends have ebikes, I ride with them all the time; some barely get through a ride, meanwhile I can carry a few gels and keep going all day long 😁 .
Blake you are a machine my man!
Pretty sure the motor and battery don't add up to another £2500, the turbo levo doesn't seem like good value when you look at it like that. Blake is an absolute powerhouse!
I just got the SL for £5600 so prices coming down already.
I just noticed the Levo SL doesn't have the side arm support for the shock like the stumpy..
it's their new redesign..
Arghh. Such a massive topic of debate.
Personally, I've got back to an acoustic bike. My fitness level has made my ebike (trek rail) feel too easy and not rewarding enough from a cardio perspective.
My peak BPM was hardly getting above 160 on the ebike. On my acoustic Orange Crush Pro I'm hitting 190.
Used to hate ebikes, definitely don't now and I'll get another one day. Just feel like I'm not needing one yet.
hy, quanto dislivello pensi si possa fare con la SL?( so che ci sono tante variabili ma credi che un medio allenato 90 kg di persona si possa arrivare a 1600 senza extender?) motore più potente e stessa batteria consumerà molto di più....
after buying emtb, i won't go back to regular bike anymore, i don't see the point, when there is emtb
Support is expressed as a percentage (20%, 50%, etc). My question is: percentage of what? Of the total motor power, limited by the peak power? Or of the rider power applied to pedals? Thanks and congrats on the good work.
There is a distinct difference in the workout on an e-bike vs a regular bike. You might be able to achieve the same max HR but your muscle contractions are not as pronounced I.e. the cardio workout might be the same but the muscular workout is not. I’m not an e-bike hater, I have been riding e-bikes for 3.5 years and I love my full power Mondraker Crafty BUT I have noticed in that time that my strength has declined even though I ride as much or more than I used to. It is most noticeable in my quads. I used to have huge muscular quads and now they are kinda skinny. I still send it on the climbs and get my HR up to 175-180 regularly but I am spinning my legs fast instead of grinding with strong muscular pushes. Because I have noticed this decline in strength I decided to buy a normal bike (I’m still keeping my e-bike) so that I can work on my strength. The first ride on the regular bike at my local trail network was VERY hard and my legs were like jelly at the end of it. It goes to show that you might get a good cardio workout on an e-bike but it is most certainly not the same level of strength workout. Just my 2 cents from my personal experience.
And not once did Blake or Steve mention how the ride could have been improved if only the bikes had ABS or electronic auto shift.
The editors went ham at the start
Racing bike against bike is completely different than your regular hobby/exercise ride. I ride with emtbers and on a normal ride on their analogs, they are slower than they used to be. Jmo.
Maybe you're just faster than you used to be because you've been having to keep up with emtbers
@@jasper_of_puppets ive only ridden with them once on the e bikes. It's too slow for them. Lol. They ride their analogs with me.
gotta admit, i was very anti ebike untill i got to ride one, they are awesome and is where the future of alot of MTB lays.
Same here!!
@@geno6174 I've now sold my "steam" bike for a 180/180 ebike, i still have my canyon torque though
Blake putting in the effort but let's just face it he would be just as happy on a 16 inch kids BMX having fun. Loved Steve's commentary. The statistics are surprising but I wonder if people buy e-bikes then try to outride their motor's performance capability, especially someone as fit as Blake, he would really only use the motor's true capability on a steep climb.
What I miss with all this music overlay on the climbs with the Levo is the question of noise.
I find the howling of the Levo-motor on climbs really annoying.
I really love my Levo SL otherwise but the noise makes me wanna sell it everytime I am on a long climb…
Which was more fun ?, which would you get out of the shed more?
One point of your argument that seems to be missed a lot of times is access. I live in a town that does not allow e-bikes on the trails. So there is that.
Love the idea of EBikes. They're a bit like a sport car. They cost more, go faster, needs fuel more often and like a sport car, your local bike shop has no idea how to fix the engine/battery.
It's why I don't have one. I can't afford it and I can't do all the work myself on it.
Stumpjumper EVO can run a 27.5 in the rear with an $80 linkage change.
Why would one go for the natural bike over the e-bike? The elephant in the room is cost! Mountain bikes already cost a small fortune; e-bikes just bump it up way over the top. I will also add that there are quite a few out there who think that having an e-bike will somehow make mountain biking "easier". They forget there's still still involved. I often see these people walking their e-bikes around all the technical parts of the trails.
You wanna know why that is? Keep it quiet, it's because most of the people who can afford to buy ebikes can't actually ride properly. They think that a motor makes them good.
There is also the skill aspect, right
3Kg difference is pretty small but $3k difference is pretty big
Great video I won’t buy a Ebike until they make a hard-core Hardtail Ebike
I believe they do!
Just build your own with either a Bafang BBS02/BBSHD, Tongsheng TDSZ2 or CYC motor kit and have an Ebike with much more power, lower cost and no limiter. I built mine with the BBS02 and it destroys the other ebikes up hill. Just make sure that the frame will allow the battery to fit.
Uuuuhhhh... I also eager they do 😍 there are not aggressive options out there as long as you don't wanna build it yourself... Too sad
Been on an eeb for a while, after a ride im just as worn out as on my normal bike but ive got to ride more trails.
How would you know if you haven’t been riding you analog? I guarantee if you go back to analog your fitness level will have dropped significantly.
@@drewbiermann1009 i ride both
@@jonnysnakes5417 why? If the e-bike is all around better there's zero reason to do that.
I'm now in my 50's and been riding for decade's..I'd still have the Trail bike over the EV....Ha !
what it you had to push the bike to the top? theres no way im pedalling up that steep hill ))
Most people that ride ebikes do not ride abywhere near as hard as blake and therefore don't get anywhere near the work out.
I'm no hater, I own a 2022 orbea rise m20 and a 2021 9.7 trek slash. Both great bikes, but there is noway I'm going to believe that I'm getting the same workout on both bikes.
I love them both but there's a reason I normally grab my ebike for a ride, loads of fun and nowhere near as licked by the end.
Im one of those people that ride at threshold all day because i just cant help it, but its a different workout for me, i grind and let my legs do the work on analogue but emtb for the most out of the motor you need to spin fast and that really gets my breathing and heart rate up, im also stubborn and try to ride in eco all the time for the most range.
The other aspect for me is with emtb i can finish work, go and have blast afterwards and 'try' and have a chilled ride whereas i wouldnt with regular bike, so arguably id go out twice on emtb before once on analogue. I now dont even use analogue and im still cream crackered after.
If you're not pushing as hard when you're on the ebike, that's on you.
Not an e-bike hater here...On my second Levo SL with a total of 7,000 miles on both SLs.
My dad loves going biking so do i
Hell yea
Just do the sake of the experiment what about a fresh Blake on the E but switch OFF 😅 be interesting how much 3kg makes 🤔
I always find the comments on these videos strange. People feel they need to either A) validate owning a ebike or B) validate why they dont need one. I got a ebike and my normal bike but i dont go around saying you need to be "this and that" to ride a ebike. Just do what you want and dont project your views onto other riders.
I don’t know if I will ever willingly go back to acoustic bikes. I freaking love my ebike.
The reason why not to go electric is the ridiculous price. and you can not put it on a plane.
Why can’t you? I’m just ignorant and have no idea lol
Battery will set in fire and burn the plane out of the sky
Well, you are going to be broke if you buy an emtb. With the insane 10-15k price tag.
Another reason not to buy an e bike is that it makes you look like you can't make it up a hill 😜
@@ALdicka89Airlines have restrictions on transporting batteries
18kmph isn't over the restrictor come on Steve get your mph and kmph sorted😂
18kmh was the average speed. So the implication is much of the ride was over the limiter. Not that the whole ride was.
does LEVO stand for Lazy Evo?
Work smarter, not harder 😉
I can see steel bikes with skinny tubes making a comeback for those who want to show without a doubt they’re not riding an E-bike.
The states need to make it ok to ride e-bikes everywhere there is no point on buying one to ride on only a handful of trails in my mind
No they do not. If you have a motor you get to use motorized trails. This should be fine for you as the motor will assist you up the loose moto stuff.
E-bikes completely change the the dynamic of normal singletrack trails because they start ascending stuff that normal mountain bikers won’t go up. Therefore they ruin the downhill by getting in way. They also run up on analogs during climbs pushing them out of the way.
E-bikes should be dead last in trail etiquette as well and have to give right of way to everyone else on the trail.
@@drewbiermann1009 think about what you're saying... if an eMTB is going up a dedicated 'moto' trail, then they are going to be getting in the way (and potentially at risk) of all the gas powered motos and atvs etc. aren't they?
As for climbing trails which a typical non eMTB rider might struggle to climb, unless they are specifically marked one-way (downhill) only, then anyone is at liberty to climb it too - motor or not - they onus is on any rider to look out for others on two-way trails.
I don't know where you ride, but I have never seen another cyclist push a slower rider 'out of the way' on a climb - you tell them you're approaching and find a safe place to pass.
At the end of the day, these are public trails... everyone has a right to use them, and in turn need to show other users courtesy and respect.
@@yodapig You don't know what you're talking about. Moto trails and MTB trails are combined all over the mountain west. You need to get out of your little area. Most of the MTB trails were multi-use (including allowed motos) until very recently in the Rockies. E-bikes have no business on new singletrack dedicated to MTB and hiker only. They are motorized END OF STORY.
isn't the max speed 32kph?
Another excellent video..absolutely right Blake, it is stubourness…and ignorance that keeps people away from e-bikes!!!
Until they try one that is :)
Until they try one and realise you can't legally go over 18mph/25kmh with it unless you want to work twice as hard as on an analogue. Biggest disappointment in my life but they never talk about that limitation on here
Yeah I've tried one. Not for me I'm afraid.
@@mtbzen It's not that black and white. They do advertise for products by talking positively about them, but how many of their viewers can actually afford all those high end bikes? And in the end it's on you to test the products you see in ads to see if they are best for you, and not just buy whatever someone claims is best for you.
@@2nd3rd1st the SL does much better cause of the weight. The heavy smtbs lag over the limiter but I find I don't really need to pedal past that speed going uphill and it doesn't matter going dh anyways.
@@_Jake.From.Statefarm_ Sure, for it's specific environment of the forest it's perfect, but once you leave there and need to travel on flat country roads or long fast bike lanes you will feel very vulnerable getting overtaken by cars and other bikers again and again. Delimiting saves lives there.
Should have keep the wattage output the same.
The power is in the legs! 😏
the new levo sl is awesome!!!
For me its the price, here in finland you can't get anything for under 4000€, unless you buy hardtail🙈😑
Lol yeah, price would be the reason. I think they are great, just not affordable xD
Do the best mtb youtubers reply??
...on an average on hour ride...so a lot more time spent on the bike...LMAO! These writers are fantastic!
A major reason not to get an ebike is because your trails don't allow ebikes. I'm not sure why they're not allowed though.
Because Karens lol
Because you’re in North America. The rest of the world got over this years ago.
My buddy has an e-bike and I make his ass stay behind me on Uphills lol.
You are no buddy