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First e-bike: 2020 Specialized Turbo Creo SL Comp Carbon Evo

November 5, 2020

I hated Specialized

My previous experience with the local Specialized Elite Store kept me away from the brand for years. With the distributorship changing hands and long-time friends became involved in one of the dealership, I thought of giving the brand another chance.

Love riding, but

To have cycling buddies is a blessing, specially when they wait for you while you're somewhere suffering from cramps. Yes, that's my weakness. I easily suffer from cramps at over 50 km rides or those routes that have hundreds of elevation. It's no longer fun when time is wasted while friends wait for me, I feel I'm taking away their enjoyment. However, there were times when I feel good and is not plagued by cramps going through some 80 km ride at Mabitac or a rare performance up Revpal. But...

So I started looking at available e-bikes in the market and while there are a couple of them out there, I don't like how they look nor how much they weigh. As a fan of Giant Bicycles, the Road E+ seems like a good choice. However, after lifting one up, I just can't deal with it.

A good friend has introduced me to the Ribble brand and their e-bikes look like a normal bike using a technology which is hub-based. The MAHLE ebikemotion hub-drive motor system is one of the popular option used by other vendors such as Orbea and Willier.

I made an attempt to buy one of the cheapest Ribble but due to distribution being limited to the UK, complicated by the lack of cost-effective forwarding options, led me to sideline the plan.

Looking at local options, I contacted Unison about the Willier Cento1 Hybrid that uses the same ebikemotion technology as the Ribble, requested for a test ride if they can bring the Cento1 to TheBrick Multisport store. Time went on and on, and...

It's You Only Faster

This is the marketing pitch of Specialized for their Turbo range of e-bikes using their own design, produced in parts unknown, SL crank-based motor system.

Nine months ago, I was offered a test ride of the much more-expensive-I-can't-afford-it model which is the Turbo Creo SL, and I took the opportunity where else, but at Timberland. My first reaction of the ride was:

  • It feels like a heavy road bike, as this model is the road bike version in the Creo SL line up.
  • It has Di2 electronic shifting and as a fan, I love it.
  • There is audible motor whine as I was climbing Wall 1 in Sport mode.
  • With the motor off, I felt there is measurable drag. I'm weak you know.
  • I didn't have confidence with the brakes, specifically the front which could have been due to the setup.

After the ride, there wasn't a feeling of thrill or excitement on my part and I parted ways with Mike who has to return the bike to their store. The feeling is like "yeah, I'll call you."

Finally, the Willier Cento1 Hybrid arrived at TheBrick. I was actually more excited testing this one as I have built some bias towards the ebikemotion technology based on paper, i.e., what I've read from the different documentation from MAHLE and other sources, including some first hand reviews.

(photo courtesy of TheBrick Multisportstore)

I rode the bike around Upper McKinley area with my phone running the ebikemotion app to set settings and monitor performance. I liked the ride of the Cento1, it feels good which is not surprising based on its pedigree. The fact that I can make it a non e-bike by replacing the rear wheel with a normal one is a very strong proposition.

When I returned to TheBrick, I reported to Leroy about my positive experience with the Willier but I was also honest with him about how Unison was slow in fulfilling the test ride request. Had I rode it first, I would have ended up with the Willier. I now feel "I like the Creo better" but at the back of my mind if I sell one of my Colnago bikes, I'd also buy the Cento1.

Welcome home, Creo

I chose the Turbo Creo SL Comp Carbon Evo which is the gravel version in the line up, in Sage Green. I fell in love with the color, specially when I saw the blue one in person.

Here's the official weigh in at Specialized QC.

I tried to get the individual weight of some components and came up with this.

FRAMESET    
Frame FACT 11r carbon, Open Road Geometry, front/rear thru-axles, fully integrated down tube battery, internal cable routing, fender/rack mounts, Boost™ 12x148mm
Fork Future Shock 2.0 w/ Smooth Boot, Boost™ 12x110mmmm thru-axle, flat-mount disc
Headset
Seat post X-Fusion Manic Gravel Dropper Seat Post, 50mm travel 0.410
Seat post lock Alloy, 30.8mm
Front skewer 0.065
Rear skewer 0.075
COCKPIT    
Stem Future Stem, Pro
Handlebar Specialized Adventure Gear Hover, 103mm drop x 70mm reach x 12" flare
Saddle Body Geometry Power Sport, hollow Cr-Mo rails 0.164
Pedals  
Bar tape Roubaix S-Swrap
GROUPSET    
Front derailleur N/A
Rear derailleur RD-RX812 GX, Shadow Plus, 11 speed 0.267
Cassette Sunrace CSRX8, 11-42T 0.404
Crankset Praxis, Forged alloy M30, custom offset
Chainring Praxis, 46T, 110BCD
Chain Ultegra  
BRAKESET    
Shifter ST-GRX810-R 0.286
Shifter Left ST-RX810-LA 0.263
Calipers BR-RX810-F/BR-RX810-R 0.260
Rotors SM-RT800-S 0.256
Brake pads L03A Resin brake pads
Hoses Shimano  
Oil Shimano mineral oil
WHEELSET    
Front DT Swiss R470 db (rim) Unknown (110x12mm hub) 1.012
Rim 0.450
Spokes 0.163
Hub 0.399
Tires Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss Ready, 700x38mm 0.480
Tubes Presta valve, 48mm
Rear DT Swiss R470 db (rim) Unknown (Boost 148x12mm hub) 1.273
Rim 0.450
Spokes 0.163
Freehub 0.660
Tires Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss Ready, 700x38mm 0.480
Tubes Presta valve, 48mm
MOTOR    
Motor Specialized SL 1.1 1.950
Battery Specialized SL1-320, fully integrated, 320Wh 1.800

It's me, and my Creo SL

What a better way to test me and my Creo SL than doing Revpal, so I did. I was all by myself on this ride and it felt great. I'm honing in on the motor tuning of the Creo SL, balancing between power and maximum distance.

Am I excited? Hell no! Two days after, I'm up at Revpal again, this time with good friend Dan. Again, more adjustments on the motor tuning where my goal is for Eco mode to give minimal support, just enough to carry the weight of the bike. In Sport mode, my goal is to let me climb and still use my legs with just enough assist. I haven't thought about the Turbo mode at this time.

The following day, I joined a group ride of Specialized Philippines from Nuvali to Tagaytay and this is when I had to use Sport mode (Trail in Mission Control) to keep up with Rolen and his S-Works. The Creo SL motor cuts-off at over 25 kph which is not a problem on flat roads and allows me to trail faster riders during climbs.

Peak Power represents the percentage of absolute power the motor will give you. Let's use 100 units as the baseline, in Eco mode the motor will give me an absolute maximum of 30 units of power. Easy, right? Basically it sets the ceiling for the motor power you're going to get. So in Turbo mode above, I can get as much as 90 units of power. The higher the Peak Power setting is, the more battery charge it eats up, so my objective is to lower the Peak Power and still give me enough assistance.

Now, Support is what's confusing. Specialized University described it as "how quickly you ramp up to Peak Power" which doesn't really help. What came to mind is that in my first ever Timberland climb, Mike was actually pushing my back, so perhaps he's giving me just enough push for me to achieve my "peak power." Maybe it should be called Effort, wherein if I excert 75% effort and Mike is giving me the other 25%, I will achieve 30 units of Peak Power in Eco mode. Or it could be ratio, 75% me, 25% the SL motor to get 30 units of additional power in Eco mode.

Pure joy

With the Creo SL, I enjoy long rides more and so are my cycling buddies for sure, not having to worry about "where's Arnold" anymore :D

 

One ride I enjoyed most and yet scary was our route to Nasugbu, such a beautiful route and I was able to experience the full-blown gravel capability of the Creo SL Comp Carbon Evo. Why scary? Well, because I was tailing Carlo at a fast pace most of the time and when I reached our take-off point at Twin Lakes in Tagaytay, the battery was down to 6%. In fact, I was nursing it at 6% for about 15 km in Eco mode so I was really slow but I finished it.

Recently, I completed my first metric century ride with a fine group in and out of The Old Grove Farmstead. I cheated this time, I had the charger in my jersey pocket and did a refresh while we were having breakfast.

The nitty gritty

The Creo SL wasn't perfect. I've had a few issues with it, and here they are in order:

  1. Shifting.

    I can't believe I'm having this problem again! In my first Revpal ride, shifting was spotty so I was staying in a gear range where everything was fine. I'm pointing my middle finger to the Sunrace cassette, rightly so or not. When I got home, I had to tune the shifting and how I wish I was also using Di2 in this bike.
  2. Squeaking Futureshock cover.

    This is SUPER annoying! And hard to troubleshoot. If I turn the handlebar left and right, there's no noise. But the moment I ride the bike, the noise will pester me throughout the ride. I grabbed the entire cover and the noise disappeared and the moment I released it, the noise comes back. The local Specialized technician argues that the lip part maybe rubbing the frame but it does not. I can put a sheet of plastic and paper between the lip and the frame and they don't touch (maybe when riding, which I still have to test.
  3. TCU still presents itself as "Levo"

    This one is cosmetic. In the Mission Control (2.2.0 build 50) app, the Tune settings still show Eco, Trail, and Turbo when Trail should be Sport. Similarly, using Connect IQ of Garmin, the data field shows TRAIL. It seems to me that the TRAIL is hard coded. If the TCU generates 0, 1, 2, 3 and the developers assumed 2 = Trail then that's what causes it.
  4. Futureshock rocks

    In our ride to The Old Grove Farmstead, during take off on an incline, the fork turned left while handlebar still points straight forward. Thankfully, I'm not in a downhill or something. After slightly tightening the bolts, there is a forward rocking motion every time I apply the front brake.
  5.  Dropper post seized

    The X-Fusion dropper post no longer drops. I was told by my Specialized dealership that I am another one that has the X-Fusion problem wherein the cartridge is "wasted."

Items 2, 4 & 5 has been fixed at the Specialized Elite Store at MOA after I was endorsed by Mike. Thankfully, the dropper post still works and it was just a cable issue. They did re-cable the entire bike, that's what they said they'd do though I wasn't able to see if they actually did as I left the bike in the shop while I get to work.

The issues are overshadowed by the new opportunities the Creo SL brings to the table for me.

  • I am now able to ride with faster, stronger riders up hills. I am happy with the tuning I did using Mission Control allowing balance between my own power and assisted power.
  • The Creo SL is nothing without me. This is not a bike that will move on its own, it needs input from the rider and I can get as much as 2x me (according to Specialized marketing) in the highest tuning, i.e., 100% Support + 100% Peak Power. I have yet to experience this in fact, as my custom tune is 90% Peak Power.
  • Remember that power assist is gone beyond 25 km/hour and this is how I save the baterry charge. When the Creo SL is on the move, it is fast despite the nearly 14 kg weight. I have found affinity with the Pathfinder Pro tires, my previous favorite is the Clement LAS which is on my Niner RLT9 Steel.
  • The Creo SL is a great training bike! Just don't turn on the motor.
  • The Futureshock 2 is effective, but one must experience it first. Many may criticize the 20 mm of travel but it really does the job.
  • The dropper post is useful and I've been using the feature in steep descents. Like the Futureshock 2, I've seen posts critizicing the 50 mm drop as useless but in my case it is actually useful.
     
  • One of the reasons I get cramps is the constant stop-start, clip-unclip when in bad traffic such as when we were going down from The Old Grove. However, I was able to manage the cramps because of the assist the Creo SL allows, which in fact I was able to totally get rid of (with a help of one sachet dose of Crampfix). I knew that if I wasn't riding the Creo SL, I'm dead meat even with one bottle of Crampfix.

I'd be lying to myself if I don't admit I love the Creo SL. I think my decision to chose it over ebikemotion technology is the right decision for me.