GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNING
We all wish we could tear apart the Tour de France with the youthful vigour of 21-year-old Tadej Pogačar on the last important day of the grandest of tours. Sadly, however, age and finite fitness levels are going to stand in your way. But what if you could ride a bike that handled with the same sort of vibrancy as the legendary Cannondale SuperSix EVO, or coarse road-crushing Specialized Roubaix, while giving you a massive 250-watt power boost? A bike you ride just like your own but which, when it comes to the toughest of climbs, helps you achieve elite-level ascending speeds for amateur-level efforts? Welcome to the world of elite e-road bikes.
In the past, ebikes came in two distinct flavours. There’s the mid-mounted (bottom bracket), motor-driven bikes that come with plenty of power and torque but look a little ‘different’ and are fairly hefty in weight. The other is the lightweight, hub-mounted system that delivers a less intrusive option based around just enough (but possibly not enough) assistance.
More recently, however, the advent of mid-mount systems, such as Germany’s Fazua and Specialized’s in-house developed SL1.1 (that debuts on the Creo) has muddied the waters. These offer low weight and retain the power and torque that’s inherent in bottom bracket-mounted systems.
Holding up the hub-motor end impressively is the Spanish start-up ebikemotion that our SuperSix EVO Neo comes equipped with. This system has seen constant improvements since its launch back in 2017 (it was first seen with Orbea on the Gain range) and the recent acquisition of the company by German tech giants Mahle, who helped Specialized develop the Turbo Creo’s motor, has seen further investment into this lightweight option.
With the Turbo Creo SL, Specialized has unashamedly aimed for the best of the best, regardless of price. The specification confirms it has left nothing to
