We’ve long known Specialized to be among the brands charging crazy-high prices for top-spec ebikes, but the new S-Works Turbo Levo 4 LTD e-MTB takes the trend to alarming heights, pricing in a few thousand dollars higher than a brand-new Nissan Versa. It’s as if the company charged $1,000 for every character in that run-on product name. With its marbly blue-swirl paint and “cyborg”-level power delivery system, the LTD is definitely a wondrous piece of machinery, but is it really worth the price of a brand-new entry level sedan?
$20,000 no longer gets you very far in the auto market, but it is more than enough for a brand-new 2025 Nissan Versa S with a modest 122 horsepower and five seats. In fact, you’ll even have some money left over to put toward taxes and registration, as the 2025 Versa S prices in at a US$18,435 base, including destination and handling.
Or, you could spend that same $20K on an electric mountain bike with a hair under 1 single horsepower to go along with its 1 single seat. And you’ll be on your own with taxes because the S-Works Turbo Levo 4 LTD costs that whole $20K, minus the token penny that allows Specialized to desperately cling to the “1” at the front-end of the five-figure price tag.
We realize electric bikes have been known to effectively replace cars in terms of certain styles of urban trips, but we didn’t think they were supposed to replace the entire upfront cost, too.
Specialized
So what do you get for that kind of coin? A weight lower than a non-motorized XC race bike? Unlimited range via a battery that works off ambient humidity? Exclusive access to a private heli-biking lodge in the Selkirks? An actual cyborg to ride the bike for you?
Nope, nope, nope and nope.
In fact, we’re not seeing any standout component bump or accompanying privilege worth the extra $4,600 stack of bills over the standard S-Works Turbo Levo 4. Both bikes feature the same Specialized S-Works 3.1 mid-motor drive with 720 watts and 111 Nm lb-ft of torque – lofty figures, yes, but beyond not rising above the $15,400 standard Levo 4, they’re actually less than what you can get on the new DJI Amflow PL (price: $7,499+).
Specialized
As for the “cyborg” marketing, Specialized calls it “an electric mountain bike so advanced it transforms you into a cycling cyborg,” continuing: “Together you’re supernatural, fortified with super power, traction, control, and range to conquer any off-road terrain.”
Basically, words you could use to describe any powerful mountain electric mountain bike or, even more accurately, riding a bike while suited up with one of several new electric sport exoskeletons.
While the LTD shares its electric drive system and SRAM AXS wireless electric shifting with the standard Levo 4, it does gain a few new trick upgrades, starting with the 280-Wh range-extender battery that’s thrown in as part of the base price. Sold as a separate add-on for the standard Levo 4, the bottle-type range extender adds 33% more overall capacity and range to augment the removable down-tube-stowed 840-Wh battery. Specialized estimates up to 4.75 hours of runtime with both batteries charged, installed and ready to ride.
Digging a little deeper into the Levo 4 LTD spec sheet does wield some additional upgrades, most notably in the big, powerful Fox Podium inverted fork. Then there’s the Trickstuff Maxima four-piston front and rear brakes, I9 Hydra 2 hubs and Cane Creek printed titanium cranks.
Extremely nice adds, for sure, but worth $4,600?
Specialized
And if you’re thinking the fancier bespoke component set will save some serious weight, get ready to burst that thought bubble with extreme disappointment. Not only does that not happen, the Levo 4 LTD actually packs on about 11 oz (312 g) over the standard Levo 4, weighing a not-light-at-all 52.9 lb (24 kg). At $377 per pound, it’s at least on the inexpensive end of the scale … for caviar or truffles.
Specialized finishes the LTD off with a heavy splash of gorgeous blue marble-swirl paint it calls Astral Blue. “Our Strata technique weaves a free-flowing, one-of-a-kind pattern that softens body lines, creating a dynamic interplay of deep and light blues,” the company describes. “A harmony of calm and chaos, it shifts with every angle – fluid, bold, and undeniably unique.”
We definitely like the look, but not to the tune of $20K. Or even the $3K and change that Bike Rumor worked out the special paint job costs after itemizing out the extra cost of the individual component upgrades.
To be fair, the site was working with a lower comparative standard Levo 4 price than the $15,400 that Specialized lists on its website now, resulting in a widened gap with the Levo 4 LTD. But even using the $4,600 price gap we cited earlier leaves that special paint job costing over $1,700.
Still. Not. Worth it.
It really seems Specialized is just trying to see how much it can get away with charging for a top-tier e-MTB before sparking a full-on industry revolt. We suppose folks who look at an extra $5,000 as little more than a rounding error might be attracted to snatch one up, even if only for whatever bragging rights that come with owning one of the most expensive ebikes ever created.
Maybe a few real, passionate e-mountain bikers will get their hands on one through the secondary market, after the types above get bored and move on to the next shiny, hideously overpriced thing. The rest of us will just have to remain content with more down-to-earth e-MTBs … or grinding pedals the old fashioned way, no e-assistance at all.
The Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo 4 LTD can be ordered now, complete with some recommended accessories for those itching to spend a few hundred or thousand above and beyond $20K.
Source: Specialized
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