You are a road cyclist by heart, and your area might not be the gravel cycling domain. "Gravel cycling" or -- as I call it -- "adventure cycling" is a big thing now. Originating from the United States (no other highly civilized country is as rich in gravel roads as the United States is), it caught worldwide, especially in Europe. It is not even about riding gravel but rather exploring rough tracks of any surface (but possibly not rock) interconnected by paved or gravel roads. It is the fact for my country, where gravel cyclists are intentionally avoiding sealed roads for recreation and fun! They are looking for rough trails even if there is a good asphalt road nearby! Or, take the well groomed Denmark: A friend living there has joined the local gravel community in Copenhagen and these people can find anything but asphalt even there! The sport is like a new religion. If you look at the number of drop bar bikes in Warsaw and around, the number of gravel bikes has greatly exceeded the number of race bicycles here! It is because you can only ride a race bike on good asphalt but the gravel bike will ride even on a singletrack.i ride gravel on my creo sometimes, and find it pretty much the worst of all worlds. slow, dusty, rough, steep, but not nearly as unexplored or natural as single track through a forest feels. an electric bike tailored to that seems an odd thing…. but time will tell! people who ride gravel around here do so because they’re scared of cars or trying to get somewhere where there aren‘t direct paved routes, not the e-bike crowd.
Love to see detailed pictures once you’ve carried out your transformation! And a good report on how it rides, especially the more all-road set up you are trying. Good luck!I have ordered a Creo 2, but with the intention of swapping it back to road. I will remove the dropper (in favour of split carbon Ergon for more comfort), swap the wheels and swap drive train to my well loved GRX Di2. I have all these bit already. I will swap the chainring to Garbaruk (yes they make a 107BCD in Narrow Wide). I will also tidy up the front end. The Specialized press shots have edited out the remote wire and with the showing, 5 wires on the front is not a good look. I can hide the di2 and remote cable (i use the Di2 hack) and have just 2 brake hoses. I need and extra button for the confirm button on the Mastermind TCU, but this is easily sorted. I rode the Levo 2 yesterday with the new motor and confirm it is quieter (no more high pitched whine) and has more power. As for range,,,,3 lap of car park didn't tell me much !!
Just wondering why you would cripple a 100% gravel e-bike to become an inferior road e-bike? Just to get the new motor?I have ordered a Creo 2, but with the intention of swapping it back to road. I will remove the dropper (in favour of split carbon Ergon for more comfort), swap the wheels and swap drive train to my well loved GRX Di2. I have all these bit already. I will swap the chainring to Garbaruk (yes they make a 107BCD in Narrow Wide). I will also tidy up the front end. The Specialized press shots have edited out the remote wire and with the showing, 5 wires on the front is not a good look. I can hide the di2 and remote cable (i use the Di2 hack) and have just 2 brake hoses. I need and extra button for the confirm button on the Mastermind TCU, but this is easily sorted. I rode the Levo 2 yesterday with the new motor and confirm it is quieter (no more high pitched whine) and has more power. As for range,,,,3 lap of car park didn't tell me much !!
I would have 2 sets of wheels, so could swap back to Gravel when need. Would not use the dropper, so will still be a good gravel bike when neededJust wondering why you would cripple a 100% gravel e-bike to become an inferior road e-bike? Just to get the new motor?
Which reminds me of a distant friend of mine. He thought he needed a gravel bike. He bought a Merida Silex 600, which is a pure 1x drivetrain machine. Instantly, he started modifying his bike, starting with the replacement of the drivetrain to 2x. He never rides gravel or rough terrain, only pavement. He would be well off with a 2x drivetrain Merida Silex 400 but he "knew better". (As a policeman, he always knows better!)
The bottom line: The Creo 1 does not sell in Europe. The 25 km/h speed restriction makes the race e-bike an absurd. While a gravel e-bike would be a hot stuff here!
It surely does I assume, however, that restriction is less of an 'issue' for those on gravel or trails when compared to riders who are on asphalt/streets.Does the Creo 2 not have the same 25km/h restriction, and were the gravel-oriented Creo EVO models not made available in Europe?
The 25 km/h refers to all e-bikes in Europe except S-Pedelecs.Does the Creo 2 not have the same 25km/h restriction, and were the gravel-oriented Creo EVO models not made available in Europe?
This is correct. You need to be a "horse" (a pro) to ride faster in rough terrain on a gravel bike.It surely does I assume, however, that restriction is less of an 'issue' for those on gravel or trails when compared to riders who are on asphalt/streets.
The 25 km/h refers to all e-bikes in Europe except S-Pedelecs.
Creo 1 EVO was a road bike pretending to be a gravel one and was too far from a real gravel bike to be really interesting. Use the 12x148 mm rear hub and you are not treated seriously. I could continue.
Specialized seems to be able to rectify all the flaws of Creo 1 EVO related to gravel cycling.
Emperors new clothes maybe?
What I like about the Creo is the futureshock to give that extra comfort. No other road ebike has that option, which is why I will stick to Creo. I replaced my seatpost with a Ergon CF3 split carbon and this bike is now really damn comfy....If I was ever going to replace my gen 1 Creo, the Scott Solace eRIDE could be a potential contender. It’s home on both tarmac and trail. Look for the 2024 models to come out next summer in a totally new offering of color palettes.
You are a road cyclist by heart, and your area might not be the gravel cycling domain. "Gravel cycling" or -- as I call it -- "adventure cycling" is a big thing now. Originating from the United States (no other highly civilized country is as rich in gravel roads as the United States is), it caught worldwide, especially in Europe. It is not even about riding gravel but rather exploring rough tracks of any surface (but possibly not rock) interconnected by paved or gravel roads. It is the fact for my country, where gravel cyclists are intentionally avoiding sealed roads for recreation and fun! They are looking for rough trails even if there is a good asphalt road nearby! Or, take the well groomed Denmark: A friend living there has joined the local gravel community in Copenhagen and these people can find anything but asphalt even there! The sport is like a new religion. If you look at the number of drop bar bikes in Warsaw and around, the number of gravel bikes has greatly exceeded the number of race bicycles here! It is because you can only ride a race bike on good asphalt but the gravel bike will ride even on a singletrack.
….
See the post #63. The geometry has completely changed. It is not "slightly wider clearances"; these are dramatically wider up to 2.2". Multiple bosses (a must!) Proper hubs (I was reading Creo 1 users bitching about the Road Boost); you might want to replace the wheels with even better ones. Or replace them if damaged with any brand or custom wheels.Do continue. Which particular "flaws" were fixed in the Creo 2? What specifically about the 12x148 rear hub impacted its performance that the 12x142 ameliorates?
Glancing at the Creo Expert EVO against the Creo 2 Expert, I see:
- flared handlebars on both
- dropper on both, 50mm travel
- 44T chainring and 12 speed 11-50 cassette on both
- Future Shock 2.0 became Future Shock 3.3 - both adjustable on the fly
- Tire clearance increased a bit - though it was already as much or more than many analog gravel bikes
- While easier to obtain alternate wheelsets, it wasn't impossible before, and you don't really need to swap unless you're switching between road & gravel setups.
- both would have same 25kph restriction in europe
I do agree! The time for a new Specialized race e-bike will come! I also agree the name is wrong.my objection is not that some like gravel - more bikes, more riders, more better! i personally don’t enjoy it much, so it’s disappointing that specialized no longer makes an electric road bike. sure, they can remove the dropper and put on 28 or 30mm tires on the creo 2, but it’s still got the wrong geometry for a road bike.
Did you buy directly from specialized or from the LBS?I bought my Creo 2 Comp today. It should arrive at the LBS in 10 days. I currently have a Vado SL 4.0, and love it. The ride can be pretty stiff so I am looking forward to the carbon frame and future shock. I think the Creo 2 looks pretty cool, so that is exciting.