VINCENT PATUREAU: People have a certain apprehension
before coming on this bike I don't know
if it's because it feels strange, it feels new,
or just because maybe people are a bit afraid
to like it too much, you know?
SAM BENEDICT: The first time you ride one of these bikes,
you're just blown away.
You're just flat out floored.
You shouldn't be this fast, is what you're thinking,
but you are now.
And it just puts this big smile on your face.
It's like riding your first bike.
I've been to Finale a few times.
And every time we come, we'll ride a certain zone.
And every time we come back, there's more trails
that we haven't ridden.
But I always ride a particular area.
But now I believe I would want to see
if we can just ride them all.
They're always insane.
As a mountain biker, you know about this place,
because there's so many different tracks
and trails of all different types, terrains, experiences.
You want rocks, you want steep, you want flowy,
everything is here.
It's so unique.
But it's all right here in this little, tiny town
that you can go right out your front door
and be on the trails in 20 minutes.
BRITTANY CAVALETTO: We got here in the morning.
We met up with Vincent, and he ran us through the bike.
SAM BENEDICT: Oh!
Bonjour!
VINCENT PATUREAU: Bonjour, Sam--
SAM BENEDICT: Bonjour, Vincent.
VINCENT PATUREAU: --and Brittany.
SAM BENEDICT: It is awesome to see Vincent here.
The guy was one of the major creators behind the Levo.
So we wanted Vincent to come down and make sure that we're
using his bikes right.
And he's just full of energy, and he's
one of the smartest guys I've ever met.
BRITTANY CAVALETTO: Is this the top secret bike?
VINCENT PATUREAU: Yeah, this is the Levo specialized first ever
pedal-assist mountain bike.
BRITTANY CAVALETTO: So Vincent gave us the rundown on the bike
and showed us all how it works, gave us
some real technical stuff.
VINCENT PATUREAU: We have the motor,
that is 250 watt nominal.
No bottom bracket, short chain stay, roomy top tubes.
We spent a lot of time working on the battery integration.
The motor has a belt on the inside that
separates the vibration from the electric motor
to the crank site, so you don't feel those vibrations
in your feet.
We integrates a discreet sensor directly into the bike.
We decided to put the trail disc just printed directly
in the battery.
Here you're in turbo, hit minus, you're in trail, hit minus,
you're on incline.
BRITTANY CAVALETTO: It's pretty cool.
I don't understand half of the engineering side of it,
but I understand riding it, and that's really
what matters to me is that it rides really well.
SAM BENEDICT: So I think when most people think about e-bike,
they think an electric bike with a throttle
like an electric motorcycle.
That's very different than a pedal assist bike.
What that means is that you have to pedal for this to work.
So the more energy you give it, the more it gives right back.
Brittany's rad.
She came in because we wanted to have somebody that's
an experienced rider, but no experience with the pedal
assist bike, so we wanted to just
bring her over, show her the bike,
and see what she thought about it.
BRITTANY CAVALETTO: Handles just like my trail bike,
crashes just like my trail bike.
It's a very durable bike, but the handling on it is so great.
SAM BENEDICT: You always hear about unique kind of race cars
or motorcycles where handling is super hey,
they want to get this thing undoubtedly low.
And it's no different with the Levo.
BRITTANY CAVALETTO: At the end of the day,
I can charge a battery super easy.
It just pops off, and I just can plug it into my hotel room.
SAM BENEDICT: It charges is very fast, three and a half hours
and you're ready to go again.
BRITTANY CAVALETTO: With the pedal assist bike,
you're still working, you can just ride a lot longer.
SAM BENEDICT: Any mountain bike that we
build has to be a great riding bike, that's
just the requirement.
And that's what Vincent and the team,
all of us that were working on the bike,
we knew that that's what it started with,
and now that we're here and you can see it in real life,
instill what it's all about.
VINCENT PATUREAU: I've been riding for 15 years.
I think the bike really shines when I only have
like two hours of time to ride.
And like I'll need to choose two or three trails out
of six of them.
And if I hop on the Turbo Levo, I can just ride them all.
I still get my work out, but I cover so much more ground, so
much more trail.
And within those two hours, I just have more fun.
SAM BENEDICT: If you're new to mountain biking,
if you've been doing it for 20 years,
this should put a smile on your face.
It's really been an amazing trip.
We got to ride more trails than I thought was possible.