New Levo 4 X... Spesh love a big "X"!

[Rás Cnoic]

An EMTB with racks for bikepacking, basically and the absense of mudguards say mad max desert bikepacking. Not up the Highlands or Kerry!

Only 12 grand apparently.

 

[jabberwocky]

I would love to read the meeting notes where Specs well-paid marketing department decided that a 12 grand bikepacking EMTB made sense. Genuinely, it seems incredibly niche but it would be cool if there was actually a market.

I guess to be fair it looks like they just kludged the rear rack onto the upper linkage and (lol) a clamp on the seatpost. The front rack is clamped in the fork steerer. So no frame modifications were made. If anyone can jury rig racks onto a bike they already make and sell it for 12k, its Spec!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Genuinely, it seems incredibly niche but it would be cool if there was actually a market.

I can think of one eager market — bike thieves! You couldn't leave this bike unattended anywhere.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

N my head Spesh higher command are becoming those two old boys from Trading Places, "12 Grand Randolph, who'd have believed the plebs would pay that!"

 

[stompandgo]

They should give one to @Chargeride and see how long it lasts.

 

[mschwett]

…. If anyone can jury rig racks onto a bike they already make and sell it for 12k, it’s Spec!

to be fair, the s-works levo 4 that this appears to be exactly the same as (motor, battery, groupset, wheels etc) is $11,499.

so it’s a $500 pair of racks.

 

[jabberwocky]

so it’s a $500 pair of racks.

Fantastic deal!

Wonder if they will sell the racks by themselves? Probably a different linkage piece to allow it to attach, but the seatpost clamp and front rack look like they would fit the standard bike.

 

[Chazmo]

Wonder if they will sell the racks by themselves? Probably a different linkage piece to allow it to attach,

That’s a good question. It could be the picture, but the rear rack looks like it’s bolted to the suspension linkage. What’s up with that? It seems “wrong” to me, but I’d have to see it up close and personal to understand what they’ve done there.

Those racks are pretty damn cool though.

 

[DaveMatthews]

What an entertaining rack assembly...

 

[mschwett]

That’s a good question. It could be the picture, but the rear rack looks like it’s bolted to the suspension linkage. What’s up with that? It seems “wrong” to me, but I’d have to see it up close and personal to understand what they’ve done there.

Those racks are pretty damn cool though.

it looks like it’s some only attached to one bolt at the frame side of the linkage, and then the seatpost.

but it looks like a lot of fussy bits of metal for $500!

 

[stompandgo]

What is a "desert bikepacker" going to do with a pole saw? Chop down cactus? Carve up bodies like in Breaking Bad?

 

[Rás Cnoic]

What is a "desert bikepacker" going to do with a pole saw? Chop down cactus? Carve up bodies like in Breaking Bad?

gotta make back that 12k somehow...

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Spesh higher command looking at the threat from Chinese brands thought - "a 12 grand version of our existing well liked emtb with complicated fussy racks, they'll never copy that..."

 

[jabberwocky]

it looks like it’s some only attached to one bolt at the frame side of the linkage, and then the seatpost.

but it looks like a lot of fussy bits of metal for $500!

Yeah, they clearly wanted to mount racks without having to change the frame (since carbon molds are very expensive). The suspension pivot is already nice and strong, so mounting it there makes sense. A seatpost clamp is a... serviceable.. solution for the other mounting point. Its not a bad solution, but its what bargain racks do so its a little insulting to do it on a $12k bike. I imagine it works fine though.

$500 is a lot for racks but its not, like, insane compared to high quality racks from OMM or whatnot.

 

[Chazmo]

Yeah, they clearly wanted to mount racks without having to change the frame (since carbon molds are very expensive). The suspension pivot is already nice and strong, so mounting it there makes sense.

Bingo! Thanks jw!