SL Lightweight eMTB Group Review Pros and Cons #emtb #ebike

#loamwolf #mtb
Welcome to our first ever Lightweight, SL, eBike Light Group Review. Pardon the long title but we don’t exactly know if the mountain bike world has adopted an official name for this category of eBike. We’re trying to get eBike Light to stick, but ‘SL’ seems to be rising to prominence. No matter what you call it, there is no denying the category is booming. It seems new models are dropping almost every other month as brands seek to offer lightweight, mid-power eMTBs for riders seeking a different experience compared to the full power, full weight eMTBs that have risen dramatically in popularity.

Are you looking for more info or reviews on mid-power, light weight eBikes? Head to our website and check out the individual reviews on all eight of the bikes shown here in our shootout.
Check out the full write-up here:
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Lightweight eMTB Roundup Sponsors

Schwalbe Tires has been an amazing partner and once again returns as our official test tire. The new Tacky Chan served us incredibly well over the course of our testing and quickly became one of our favorite tires on the market! Get your tires here

Ninja MTB dialed us in with some really comfortable and breathable knee pads and elbow pads that also cost quite a bit less than many other offerings on the market. We’d suggest checking them out here.

Glade Optics hopped on board as our official eyewear sponsor and we were stoked to have some quality lenses to keep the bright sun and dust out of our eyes. Give them a peep here.

LOCATION
We traveled back down to Klamath Falls, Oregon a spot we recently visited for the first time in our eMTB Destination Tour a few months ago. We fell in love with the trail offerings and the Running Y Resort’s amenities. Thanks to the Running Y and Discover Klamath we had a great time staying in a beautiful spot with epic views and just a short drive away from two very fun trailheads.

Get your Loam Wolf gear here:
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#emtb #mountainbike #mountainbiking #trekbikes #specializedbikes #enduromtb #ebike

00:00 Introduction
01:13 The Crew, Location and Sponsors
02:14 Forestal Siryon
08:47 Giant Trance
15:35 Orbea Rise
20:40 Pivot Shuttle SL
26:39 Scott Lumen
32:23 Timed Hill Climb Test
33:27 Specialized Levo SL
40:11 Transition Relay
45:09 Trek Fuel EXe
51:28 Final Thoughts and Awards

[TheCrucible]

I'm coming up on (1) year of riding the Pivot Shuttle SL XTR and I agree 100% it is blistering fast. All of my buddies I ride with have full fat bikes, unlocked Levos, and one is a Luna with 160nm bafang motor. All of them go beyond the 20mph limiter. On some of the climbs I have to work hard to keep up, but when we get to flat or downhill sections good luck catching me on the Shuttle. We got to the point where they always want me to go 1st on the downhills we ride lol. Amazing bike when used for the right purpose. The team at Pivot have been incredible to deal with on a couple small issues and I also got to meet the guys from Fazua and they have been super helpful with some tuning. My bike is a large and weighs 40.5 lbs ready to ride. Hard to beat, literally. Expensive but it was worth every penny in my opinion. Great review!

[urbanredneck]

This really cements my opinion of the transition as my next bike. Thank you guys so much for doing this shootout!

[brianbass]

Great work on this series! I think this category is the gateway for those of use who started out on analogs but where life gets in the way of all day grind fests. For me, the ebike is a time machine, allowing more laps and more smiles. It also levels the playing field for those that are not as athletic. Not to feed into too much confirmation bias, but I bought a Relay PNW edition a few months ago after doing my own research and am so happy I did. You didn’t touch on my other use case for the Relay which is popping out the battery and hitting up the bike park. It’s so good!

[tttass]

How would the new Santa Cruz Heckler SL compare to the top bikes you had (the Trek, Pivot, and Transition)? Thanks!

[usernorcalroad]

As someone who owns the Orbea Rise and a Santa Cruz Hightower, I’m getting the Specialized Levo SL. I’ve ridden the new Heckler SL, the Pivot Shuttle SL, and the Levo. The Pivot is really light, but feels more trail than downhill. The Pivot is gorgeous in the desert sage color with Kashima coat. I was tempted to but it for the looks alone😂. The Heckler is nice, but honestly the Fazua system feels dull and seems to have a serious delay applying power. The Levo SL to me felt perfect. Just enough power help nicely with the climbs, but not so much that it sacrificed any playfulness downhill. The bike feels like a Porsche 911 on trails, and a Troohy truck downhill. A definite quiver killer.

[bimmerfan]

The chain discussion gets me even more excited about the gearbox ebikes with belt drives.

[tonygregg]

I would have loved the Relay but went for the Shuttle SL back in February as I really needed something to get me back out after illness, having to remove the battery also put me off a bit. Glad I made a good choice as it was my first real experience of e-bikes (other than a trial on the Forestal that backs up everything you said). So far the Shuttle has done everything I could want . Quick blast on Rocket to 40 miles on breeze, gentle trails to full on Lake District epics. I've watched all the videos in this group and they are spot on, keep them coming.

[Masemoto]

Great series! At the rate of ebike launches you'll have to do another round up in 6 months. Maybe do a series capping it at $8-9k/bike? Keep up the great work!

[yofoo]

Awesome video and literally covered just about every popular motor. Congrats Transition!!!! They make the best bikes hands down.

[adrianpluskota]

My Relay is finally coming next week ! Great vids Guys. You just assured me that I’ve made good choice ordering Relay back in February. Cheers 👍😀

[waynephilbert]

Exceptional work guys. In producing these it must take so much time and patience (and insect repellent!)

It's massively appreciated and great to watch. 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

[mikeriley]

I went with the 9.7 EXe. For myself, I wanted something that felt as close as possible to a regular bike, quiet, but that provided a little help. I might have checked into some other rides had this video come out before I jumped in, but I'm still pleased with the bike regardless.

Thanks for putting this together, looking forward to future reviews.

[Schnabulation]

Owning a 2020 SC Heckler and pre-ordered a Heckler SL now… I‘m so ready for a lighter ebike! ❤

[peakz]

Thanks for this perfect video, 1 week ago I did buy the specialized turbo levo sl carbon 2023 with the new 1.2 motor. Got it for 7100 dollars my bike shop made me an offer i couldent say no to. Had the first ride on it last day. And what a play full bike, for me the power is more than enough and on the downhill Parts the bike feels so good.

[skellener]

Great roundup! Still looking forward to an in depth on the Heckler SL. I was all in on the Relay, but the lower builds are too heavy. The Heckler SL seems to fit the bill on the build I want. Looking forward to your take.

[sharpsbattle]

Knowing nothing about light e mountain bikes, the presentation and content of this video was excellent. I learned a lot. Thanks guys!

[Yip]

Any thoughts on how the Santa Cruz Heckler SL would have done in this shootout? Too bad it wasn’t released in time to make it into this comparison.

[rezenclowd]

Even my 35Nm KSL has allowed me as a family man to hit trails more often and still be home to cook dinner.

[russgordon]

Great roundup! Thanks for the excellent review and solid recommendations.

[jeanmarc_in_Hudson]

Watched & loved the whole series, now this final group review and just thumbs up!
Nowhere did you mention (at least I didn’t catch it) the adjustability of the Nm on the Giant bike, it can be tuned down to 75Nm or 60Nm to save battery on longer days.
I am a full size (fat) e-mtb owner looking to switch down into this newer SL category.
Great series, thanks! 👍