2022 Specialized Electric Bikes Guide
2022 Specialized Electric Bikes Guide
Specialized have been gradually expanding their electric bike range over the last few years. For 2022 they have introduced new mountain bikes and updated a big chunk of their hybrid bike range. This guide will give you a quick overview of the electric bikes Specialized make to help you pick the right one for your style of riding.
Mission Control
One of the best, and least well known, features of Specialized electric bikes is their Mission Control app. This lets you pair your phone with the bike so you can adjust the profile of the motor and battery, run updates, diagnose problems, track your ride, lock the bike and lots more. This gives a lot more functionality, and a lot more control, than many other electric bike systems.
Specialized Turbo Vado - £3200 to £5000
Best for - hauling your weekly shop, your kids and anything else you need
The Vado has had some pretty big updates for 2022. It’s been re-designed as a utility bike for everyday use. It comes with mudguards, pannier racks and lights attached and is designed to be able to handle child seats and tow trailers. Most models come with 710wh batteries (much bigger than the standard 500wh found on most hybrids) so they have loads of range. 650b x 2.3 tyres are smaller but wider than those found on most hybrid bikes. This makes the bike more stable and manoeuvrable at slower speeds while soaking up bumps and allowing the bike to be used on tracks and paths as well as on the road.
Specialized Turbo Vado SL - £3000 to £4000
Best for - quick rides around town and weekend exploring
With many of the Specialized electric bikes the SL version is a stripped down ‘super light’ version of the standard bike. The Vado SL is a whole different platform than the standard Vado for 2022. It uses a different frame, 700c rather than 650b wheels, and is intended more for fitness and fun rather than hauling all your weekly shopping and kids around. The Vado SL works great as a commuter and is light enough to lift if you want to take it into the building at work or carry it up the stairs at home. With a 320wh battery and smaller motor than the standard Vado the SL is intended to give a bit of extra support as you pedal along, rather than adding lots of extra support for hauling big loads.
Specialized Turbo Como - £3200 to £5000
Best for - getting around town in comfort
The Como is another bike with a big re-design for 2022. It’s now designed to be laid-back and easy to ride. It comes with an upright riding position and a low-step frame that’s easy to hop on and off and to get your feet on the floor. It’s a bit like an electric version of the traditional Dutch style shopping bike. With a full power motor and large battery the Como has loads of power and loads of range so you can ride for hours with minimum effort.
Specialized Turbo Como SL - £3250 to £4500
Best for - low maintenance and easy to live with practical bike
The Como SL is designed for running errands around town. Like the standard Como it is a laid back bike that’s easy to ride. This lighter weight version can still carry double it’s own weight in cargo but is light enough to lift upstairs. Many of the models in the Como SL range come with internal hub gears which are super low maintenance and easy to use. This really practical bike makes it easy to ditch the car for everyday tasks.
Specialized Turbo Tero - £2900 to £4500
Best for - weekend singletrack rides and weekday commuting
The Tero is a new bike for 2022 and replaces the old Levo Hardtail electric mountain bike. The reality is that a lot of hardtail electric bikes get used for commuting and touring as well as for mountain biking. Specialized have designed the Tero with this in mind. It works great as a singletrack ready mountain bike but has all the mounting points you need for mudguards and pannier racks.
Specialized Turbo Levo - £5250 to 10750
Best for - all day mountain bike rides
The new full power Turbo Levo comes in both carbon and aluminium frame versions. Both are designed to work with a ‘mullet’ setup of a 29” wheel at the front and a 27.5” wheel at the back. This gives a great balance of speed and manoeuvrability. Although the entry level Levo comes with a 500wh battery most of the range comes with a 750wh battery for ride times of up to 5 hours. The motor gives up to 4x times your power so you can easily tackle any terrain. With 150mm of suspension at the back and 160mm at the front the Levo can easily handle standard trail riding and can take you into more gravity focussed riding and bike parks.
Specialized Turbo Levo SL - £5500 to £8500
Best for - trail riding on a bike that handles like the best non-electric models
The multi-award winning Levo SL was one of the first bikes to kick off the whole SL trend for super light electric bikes. It is designed to ride like Specialized’s non-electric Stumpjumper trail bike with just enough power to ease you up hills and along the trails. Like the Stumpjumper it comes with 150mm of suspension travel front and rear and is designed to work as an all-round bike that can handle big adventures in the mountains as well as laps of your local trails. As it comes out of the box the Levo SL had enough power for 2 to 3 hour rides but the optional range extender battery takes it up to all-day rides.
Specialized Turbo Kenevo - £6000 to £7750
Best for - bike parks and downhill sessions
The Kenevo is a gravity focussed e-bike. It lets you spend all day riding downhill tracks without the need for a chairlift or uplift vehicle. The Kenevo’s powerful motor and battery will carry you to the top while the 180mm travel suspension will make sure you have plenty of fun on the way back down. There are just 2 models in the Kenevo range at the moment. They are the Comp which comes with a single-crown fork and 500wh battery and the Expert which comes with a triple crown fork and 700wh battery.
Specialized Turbo Kenevo SL - £6500 to £8750
Best for - enduro riding and racing
The Kenevo SL comes with 170mm travel, rather than the 180mm of the full power Kenevo. It is designed more for Enduro riding and racing than bike parks but is still a very capable bike. It comes with a 250wh battery and 320wh battery. Like the Levo SL it is designed to ride more like a standard bike but with a bit of extra power to help. To help you get the most out of the bike it comes with adjustable geometry with 6 different settings so you can fine tune the ride.
Specialized Turbo Creo SL & Creo SL Evo - £4000 to £7500
Best for - fast rides on the road and mixing it up on gravel
The Creo is Specialized’s lightweight electric road bike. There is also an Evo version which is slightly beefed up for gravel riding. Like Specialized’s other SL bikes the Creo is designed to feel like a normal road bike to ride but has a bit of extra power to tackle headwinds and get you up the hills. Although this is a lightweight bike it still comes with a range of up to 80 miles and you can add an additional range extender for another 40 miles.
