Specialized Turbo Creo 28mph Electric Road Bike

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UPDATE: I just finished a review for the Turbo Creo SL Comp Carbon models here, which includes a full list of specs and video with ride footage! I'm very impressed with the bike and love the new SL 1.1 motor system... it only weighs ~4lbs but provides a surprising amount of zip and power.

Specialized reached out to me earlier this month with some news about their upcoming Turbo Creo SL, which is a high speed electrified road bicycle with the tagline "it's Julian, only faster". For those who aren't familiar with Julian Alaphilippe, he's a celebrated French road cyclist and cyclocross athlete who is renowned for his climbing ability and endurance. So the idea here is that the new Creo ebike will help you climb like a pro, and maybe even do it faster ;) Here's a little promo video featuring Julian and the new Creo ebike:


Name: Specialized Turbo Creo

Marketing Intro: We’re going to flatten your climbs. We’re going to make you laugh at headwinds, ride farther, and go faster than you ever imagined. That’s what our first Turbo road bike is all about. Because, let’s be honest, riding faster is just more fun. Turbo Creo SL—It’s You, Only Faster.

Marketing Overview: The Turbo Creo SL isn’t just the lightest e-bike in its class, it’s literally kilograms lighter than the competition at just 12.2kg (26.89lb) for the S-Works Creo SL. We made the frame out of our FACT 11r carbon, and we designed it to handle like a Tarmac to inspire dancing on the pedals and diving into corners. And with the Future Shock 2.0, and its adjustable damper, we suspend you, not the bike to deliver more control, confidence, and comfort.

We launched Turbo seven years ago, and since then, we’ve been relentless in our pursuit of the perfect e-bike—bikes that feel like you, only faster. Since there wasn’t a motor and system on the market for a performance road bike that we were satisfied with, we developed our own. Designed in California and engineered in Switzerland (the heart of the e-bike revolution), the new Specialized SL 1.1 represents the ideal performance e-road bike motor. It’s based on a decade of research, development, and ride testing, and it features the perfect combination of power, weight, size, range, and ride quality, so it delivers the consistent power in the natural cadence that riders need. In order to build a performance e-road bike, all of these features needed to come together to deliver a true performance road bike experience.

Ultralight and whisper quiet, the Specialized SL 1.1 motor doubles your effort with silky smooth power delivery—power that feels like it’s straight from your legs. No unnatural power curve, lurching, or motor jumps. It delivers up to 240 watts of power that are in sync with your cadence all the way to 28 mph for real-world road riding. And when you want to pedal unassisted, there’s no drag holding you back.

With up to 80 miles of range from the internal battery alone, the Turbo Creo SL lets you enjoy the power, not worry about the range. Our Range Extender, included with the S-Works build and available aftermarket on other models, provides up to 40 additional miles of mountain-flattening power. The internal battery offers 320Wh, while the Range Extender is a 160Wh battery. The Turbo Creo SL’s internal battery can be charged in as little as 2 hours and 35 minutes. Every rider and every ride are different, so we created a Turbo Creo SL Range Calculator to help you determine exactly how far you ride.

Our Mission Control app has logged millions of miles because it offers an intuitive and seamless way to unleash your Turbo. This is a ride app you’ll actually use. Each of the motor’s three assisted riding modes can be tuned almost infinitely for both peak and sustained power delivery. Mission Control can even manage battery power automatically with Smart Control. Just tell it how far or how long you want to ride, and it will ensure you have the battery power to get there. It can record your ride, send it to third-party apps, and it even has an integrated power meter that can send your power numbers to an ANT+ head unit. While seamless connectivity comes standard with the Creo SL, connecting with Mission Control is always optional. The Turbo Connect Unit on the top tube gives you all the control you need to ride.

Our Turbo Creo SL EVO build takes the bike’s revolutionary e-road performance and creates incredible new opportunities for adventure and exploration. This versatile build adds 38mm Pathfinder tires, flared Adventure Gear Hover bars, and a dropper post for long gravel rides, bikepacking, and venturing into the unknown.

The Turbo Creo SL ushers in the era of the performance e-road bike, and our S-Works Creo SL Founder’s Edition celebrates this with an incredible build at just 11.9kg. A host of special touches, including gold foil graphics, a numbered Founder’s Edition plaque on the chainstay, and a custom Founder’s Edition SL Kit make this very limited-edition bike an instant classic.

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Frequently Asked Questions:

WHEN CAN RIDERS GET A TURBO CREO SL?

The Turbo Creo SL will launch globally on July 16th, but only be available in nine markets initially—USA, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, UK, and the Netherlands—with availability globally in October. Our Founder’s Edition, however, will be available for preorder globally on July 16th.

WHAT WERE THE MAIN GOALS WHEN DEVELOPING THE SPECIALIZED SL1.1 MOTOR AND BATTERY SYSTEM?
The new Specialized SL 1.1 motor represents the ideal performance e-road bike motor, based on a decade of research, development, and ride testing. It features the perfect combination of power, weight, size, range, and ride quality. In order to build a performance e-road bike, all of these features needed to come together to deliver a true performance road bike experience.

HOW MUCH DOES THE MOTOR WEIGH?
At just 1.95kg, the SL 1.1 Motor is essentially half the weight of other crank-based motors. To help achieve this light overall weight, the motor casing is made of magnesium.

HOW MUCH POWER DOES THE NEW MOTOR OUTPUT?
Our SL1.1 motor amplifies rider power up to 240 watts and 35Nm of both peak and sustained power. We tuned our motor to deliver constant, strong support across a wide cadence range for a very natural feel while pedaling.

HOW MANY RIDING MODES ARE THERE AND HOW MUCH ASSIST DO THEY OFFER?
There are three assisted riding modes: ECO, SPORT, and TURBO. ECO matches your effort up to 30% of the motor’s power, SPORT matches your effort up to 60% of the motor’s power, and TURBO matches your effort to 100% of the motor’s power—or 240watts. All three assist modes can be tuned almost infinitely to personalize power levels via our Mission Control App. There is also an unassisted riding mode when no power from the motor is desired.

DO ALL THE MODELS HAVE THE SAME RANGE? WHAT IS IT?
Yes. All models use the same Specialized SL1.1 motor and 320Wh internal battery. Range varies with use, but you can expect up to 130 kilometers (80 miles) of range using ECO mode. With a Range Extender (included with the S-Works and Founder’s Edition models and available aftermarket on other models) another 65 kilometers (40 miles) of range can be added.

IS A RANGE EXTENDER INCLUDED WITH EVERY TURBO CREO SL?
The 160Wh Range Extender comes standard with the S-works and two Range Extenders are included on the Founder’s Edition models. For other models, the Range Extender (adding another 65 kilometers / 40 miles of riding) will be available aftermarket and is the perfect tool to extend your Turbo Creo SL rides even farther.

HOW DOES THE RANGE EXTENDER ATTACH TO THE TURBO CREO SL?
While the Range Extender fits in a normal water bottle cage, we recommend using the Specialized Z-Cage along with the included band for increased security—especially on rougher terrain.

WHAT IMPACTS THE RANGE AND HOW CAN I GET THE MOST DISTANCE POSSIBLE?
There are many variables that influence range. The rider’s weight, fitness, and position on the bike, as well as the bike build, bike weight, tire choice, and tire pressure all impact range. Several environmental influences, such as road conditions, elevation, and weather can impact range as well. The less motor support you require, the longer the battery will last. Riding in ECO mode will generally provide the longest battery life. Our Turbo Range Calculator helps riders predict the range they can expect given certain key metrics.

WHAT MAKES THE TURBO CREO SL SO MUCH LIGHTER THAN THE OTHER BOTTOM-BRACKET-BASED E-ROAD BIKES?
The Turbo Creo SL’s FACT 11r carbon frame combines with the lightweight SL1.1 motor, a magnesium housing, a battery integrated into the frame, and thoughtful builds to create the lightest production e-road bike with a bottom bracket motor in the world.

WHAT IS THE TURBO CREO SL’S Q-FACTOR?
The Turbo Creo SL’s Q-Factor (the distance between crankarms) is 181mm.

HOW MUCH TIRE CLEARANCE DOES THE TURBO CREO SL HAVE?
The Turbo Creo SL has clearance for 42mm tires with 700C rims. With fenders, there’s still clearance for 38mm tires.

CAN I USE 650B WHEELS WITH THE TURBO CREO SL?
Yes. The Turbo Creo SL is compatible with 650b wheels and up to a 47mm tire. Keep in mind the Turbo Creo SL uses 12x110mm front hub spacing and 12x148mm rear spacing.

IS THE TURBO CREO SL EXPERT EVO A DIFFERENT FRAME?
No, it’s the same FACT 11r frame and fork as the other Turbo Creo SL Carbon models, just with an adventure-ready build.

CAN THE TURBO CREO SL’S FIRMWARE BE UPDATED?
The Turbo Creo SL firmware can easily be updated at your local Turbo dealer through Turbo Studio, our retailer service platform. Once connected, the bike automatically checks for the latest software versions available and installs them if needed.

HOW MUCH MOTOR TUNING ABILITY DOES THE MISSION CONTROL APP HAVE?
With the Mission Control App, you can tune the level of assist almost infinitely (both peak power and sustained assistance) for each of the three ride assist levels: ECO, SPORT, and TURBO. Our Mission Control App allows you to fully customize your Turbo Creo SL motor to your personal needs and riding preferences. Of course, we only allow the rider to tune the motor and its behavior within the given speed limits in their respective country. We do not allow riders to tune the motor beyond the legally allowed speed setting.

HOW DOES SMART CONTROL WORK?
Using the Smart Control feature of our Mission Control App enables you to enter how far, or how long, you want to ride, as well as how much battery you would like to have left at the end of your ride. Smart Control then takes care of all battery management to reach those targets. It does this with a smart algorithm that checks the bike’s status every 10 seconds. Keep in mind, with Smart Control initiated on the app, assistance modes cannot be altered via the TCU on the bike’s top tube. Riding with no assistance means you’re not getting any motor support, but that the system is still on and recording/sharing data to display on apps or ANT+ enabled devices.

HOW DOES THE TURBO CONTROL UNIT ON THE BIKE’S TOP TUBE WORK?
The Turbo Control Unit has two buttons and a battery level display. The bottom button is used to turn the bike on, while the top button is used to select one of the three assistance levels—or to ride with no assistance. Quickly push the button to cycle through different modes—1/3 blue circle is ECO, 2/3 blue circle is SPORT, and full blue circle is TURBO. Press and hold the button until all blue lights turn off to ride with no assistance.

CAN THE TURBO CREO SL USE A 2X FRONT CRANK?
No. The SL1 motor is only designed for a 1x setup. Simplicity is key for us. The motor and the wide 1x drivetrain provide plenty of range for all kinds of riders.

HOW MANY SIZES ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE TURBO CREO SL?
The Turbo Creo SL comes in six sizes: XS, SM, MD, LG, XL, and XXL. These sizes are equivalent to 49, 52, 54, 56, 58, and 61cm frames.

HOW IS THE TURBO CREO SL CHARGED?
Included with every Turbo Creo SL is a Specialized 48V charger that plugs into a port on the bike’s seat tube, just above the bottom bracket. The Range Extender is charged with the same charger. After plugging in your charger, it will take five seconds for the TCU to light-up and indicate charging. When all blue bars are illuminated, the bike is fully charged. A green LED on the charger indicates “standby,” while a steady red light indicates “charging.” S-Works bikes and Founder’s Edition bikes will ship with a “Y” cable that allows both to be charged simultaneously.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CHARGE THE TURBO CREO SL?
You can expect your Turbo Creo SL’s internal battery to charge from 3% to 100% in approximately 2 hours and 35 minutes. A Range Extender will charge from 3% to 100% in approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes. Both the internal and Range Extender batteries will charge from 3% to 100% in approximately 3 hours 20 minutes with a “Y” cable.

CAN THE INTERNAL BATTERY BE REMOVED FOR CHARGING?
The Turbo Creo SL’s internal battery is fully integrated into the frame. It is intended to be charged in the frame. In order to get the battery out of the frame, you need to remove the motor first. It’s this kind of integration that allows the Turbo Creo SL to be so light.

If you want to fly with your Turbo Creo SL, the internal battery needs to be removed. You can carry a Range Extender in your carryon and when you arrive at your location, you can ride the Turbo Creo SL with just the Range Extender.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE BATTERY FALLS BELOW 20%?
When the battery falls below 20% charge, the Turbo Creo SL will automatically enter ECO mode to preserve the remaining battery life. At this point, the riding modes cannot be changed until the battery has been recharged.

WHEN A RANGE EXTENDER IS USED, WHICH BATTERY IS USED FIRST? THE RANGE EXTENDER OR THE INTERNAL?
When using a Range Extender, the default setting is for the Range Extender and Internal Battery to be drained simultaneously. By using Mission Control, however, the protocol can be changed to drain the Range Extender first.

WHAT TYPE OF GEOMETRY DOES THE TURBO CREO SL HAVE?
All Turbo Creo SL’s have our Open Road geometry to provide nimble handling with stable steering and confidence at speed. This also gives the Turbo Creo SL much of its versatility, ably transitioning from a twisting road descent to a long gravel road.
 

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The details are on the Specialized website now. I agree it looks like a very interesting bike and only weighs around 27 pounds.
 
If only I had a spare 10k for a new bike I would be putting in the order.
VERY nice machine!
Exactly what I would want in all respects.
 
I guess as a drop bar e road rider of thousands of miles I don't understand the need for the lightest possible, and resulting low watt/wh, ebike. 240w is a decent kicker that should overcome the weight it brings to the table but I seriously doubt you will be cruising for long at 28mph on level ground on one of these. The fact that it is biased towards top end power and not torque isn't going to help that much on stop and go's, hills and headwinds. I guess it really all depends on what you expect.

They do however show promise for training and easier days in the saddle, or a day off a the TDF: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/dec...oad-bikes-on-tour-de-france-rest-day-gallery/ especially if they just give you one.
 
I wonder when Specialized will offer a super lightweight e-mountain bike along the same lines...

FYI: the Founder's edition mentioned above comes with two 160 Wh range extending batteries, as well as a framable price tag with the number $16,500 printed on it.
 
What’s amzing is that 4-5 years from now, a Creo SL will probably be worth 1.5-1.8k in mint condition. Less then 1k used. I would rather invest 5-6k and spend only 5k on a Domane e+.
 
Ebiker01,
Good point but I think that can be said about any bike costing this much. Depreciation is fast and steep. Just like a car.
 
I wonder when Specialized will offer a super lightweight e-mountain bike along the same lines...

FYI: the Founder's edition mentioned above comes with two 160 Wh range extending batteries, as well as a framable price tag with the number $16,500 printed on it.

Don't forget it comes with a "FREE" limited edition jersey and bike shorts!
 
Very interesting bike made more so by the question "is it a harbinger of things to come?" Does it protend a primary focus on weight lose as the next big thing for ebikes?

I for one, hope so. Like my ebike but its 57 lbs is too much. Now a 37 lb Vado could awaken the passions.
 
Now this is a truly wonderful design. Custom battery fit in the tube, the motor is customized/tuned properly and all the other components are pretty much the best.

Yes it is very expensive but this bike would still be very expensive without the motor/battery. At least this is not another mediocre bicycle which someone slapped in the regular Bosch motor/battery combo and gave it a fancy name. There is a unique design and a very light product here.
 
Wow that is one gorgeous bike. Those colors are stunning.

Looks like Specialized went with their own developed motor, as opposed to tried and true motor manufacturers. It should be interesting to see how this motor performs over time. As a former software tester I have learned to never go with the first version of anything.
 
This is either a typo or significant in that Specialized has broken ranks and developed the system off of 48v instead of the industry standard, for the big players at least that follow the EU model, 36v.

"Included with every Turbo Creo SL is a Specialized 48V charger"
 
Holy hell that q-factor is painfully wide. I feel it on a Bosch bike at 175mm. How is this even tolerable for long periods? A regular Shimano road crank is ~148mm.
 
It is a beautiful bike, one that finally shrinks the motor size to something closer to what the early DIY scene created using RC motors some years back. I'm looking forward to seeing this in a mountain bike frame.

I would guess it will provide 500 watts when climbing hills.

While it is possible that Specialized engineered the motor, I rather think they provided input to a third party to make this custom motor for them, while still claiming they "designed" it.
 
My Vado has a 42 volt system

Custom charger, 42V4A w/ Rosenberger plug

So maybe the Creo is just another variation
 
It is a beautiful bike, one that finally shrinks the motor size to something closer to what the early DIY scene created using RC motors some years back. I'm looking forward to seeing this in a mountain bike frame.

I would guess it will provide 500 watts when climbing hills.

While it is possible that Specialized engineered the motor, I rather think they provided input to a third party to make this custom motor for them, while still claiming they "designed" it.

According to a published article in road.cc this month, the motor is being made in conjunction with Mahle from Germany who is also big in the automotive industry like Brose. Mahle has also recently purchased ebikemotion who is a supplier of e-bikes in Europe.
 
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