The Specialized Turbo Creo SL—This Bike Will Change Everything
The Takeaway: Light, fast, long range, smooth, refined: This e-bike changes everything
Up to 240 watts of assist with a 28mph cutoff
Claimed range of up to 80 miles. Optional range extender adds another 40
About 27 pounds
Price: $14,000
Weight: 26.9lb (medium)
It was going to happen: The e-bike that changes everything. And this is it. The Specialized S-Works Turbo Creo SL is like no other e-bike, and like no other bike.
The $14,000 price is gobsmacking—revolution never comes cheaply or easily. (There are also two $9,000 Expert models). Prices will fall, technology will trickle down. It is inevitable, just like this bike was.
The S-Works Turbo Creo SL is a carbon e-road bike that weighs around 27 pounds. Its magnesium-cased SL 1.1 mid-motor puts out up to 240 watts of assistance which cuts out at 28mph and the 320Wh internal battery offers up to 80 miles of range. That's enough speed and range for spirited group rides with the fast riders. A 160Wh Range Extender—included with S-Works models, a $399 upgrade for Expert models—fits into the seat tube bottle cage and adds for up to 40 more miles of range.
Take the motor and battery out of the mix, and the Creo SL's specs and geometry look like those of a high-end endurance road bike.
The S-Works SL version has a Shimano Dura Ace Di2 hydraulic disc brakes and shift/brake levers with XTR rear derailleur shifting across a 11-42 cassette. Up front is a Praxis carbon crankset with 46-tooth ring. Other parts include a carbon handlebar and seatpost, 50mm-deep tubeless ready carbon clincher wheels with ceramic bearings, a carbon-railed saddle, and 28mm tires.
The two $9,000 Expert models use the same frame, battery, and motor but are built with less-expensive parts. One model, the Expert EVO, is gravel optimized and features dropper post and 38mm-deep tires. For $17,000, Specialized offers the limited Founders Edition (250 were made) that weighs about a half pound less than the S-Works SL bike due to lighter parts spec.
The Creo's geometry resembles an endurance or gravel bikes'. The chainstays are a touch long (426 to 428mm depending on size), BB drop is generous (about 78mm) and, compared to a racing bike, the Creo has slightly shorter reach and taller stack. Front end geometry, however, is like a race bike's for light and sharp steering. This geometry reflects the Creo's mission as a dual-purpose road and gravel bike.
Other notable features include the Future Shock front suspension system with lockout—also found on Specialized's Roubaix—up to 42mm of tire clearance (47mm in 650b), and hidden fender mounts.
To reiterate: this is a mid-motor e-bike with 28mph assist cutoff and 80 mile range, electronic shifting, hydraulic disc brakes, front suspension, and huge tire clearance that weighs only 27 pounds. That. Is. Crazy.
What's even crazier is how it rides: like one of your favorite road bikes. This is such a light and well integrated e-package you almost forget you're on an e-bike. The experience isn't like an e-bike we've ever experienced. The Creo's ride is smooth and refined, its handling sharp and accurate, its feel lively and crisp. You feel like you're riding a great road bike: an extra (extra) fast one that makes the climbs less steep, distances shorter, and easier to keep up with the fast riders.
It's only the low hum of the motor and the fact that you're climbing twice as fast as usual that remind you that, no, you didn't become as fast as Julian Alaphilippe overnight.
The Creo's motor—and probably more importantly its tuning—help provide the bike's regular-bike feel. The Creo's builds power in a controlled, linear fashion that's (super) human like.
There's not as much kick-in-the-butt torque off the bottom as some other motors—or even the motor on Specialized Turbo Vado commuter bikes. But it's not missed because the motor's output is so in harmony with the pumping of the rider's legs that it feels like a natural extension of the body instead of an accessory bolted to the bike. It's this feel that makes the Creo feel natural, normal, almost un-e, whether blasting a straightway in a tuck, or grinding a slow cadence out of the saddle up a climb.
Kill the assist, and the Creo still rides like a normal bike. There's no perceptible drag from the motor system, and, unassisted the Creo rides crisply on flat roads and descents. Accelerate or climb with the motor off though and you'll feel this bike's weight, which is 12 or more pounds more than that of a $10,000 carbon race bike. Still, this isn't an e-bike that needs its assist on full time because there is so much parasitic loss in the motor to overcome.
An unexpected highlight of the Creo experience is its handling. On paper, the Creo looks like a heavy endurance bike, which suggests sluggish and inelegant handling. But that's not how the Creo handles. You will notice the extra weight the first few turns—though it's not as impactful as much as you'd imagine because much of the weight is carried low in the bike—but you'll quickly adapt and soon it will be beyond your notice.
Once you reach that point, you'll find the Creo's handling is sporty and direct, the steering light and sharp. In fact, its weight helps smooth and stabilize its moves, which, along with the traction enhancing benefits of the Future-Shock suspension, make it one of the most confidence inspiring bikes to throw down a fast and curving descent we've ever ridden.
We're used to speaking about e-bikes like they're a lesser form of equipment. Inelegant, unrefined, heavy, clunky, compromised; bikes with inescapable caveats and asterisks. Bikes that are stuck with the reputation of medical equipment to manage an unforgivable and embarrassing disease. But what happens when an e-bike is none of those things? What happens when an e-bike is so good, so fun, and so natural to ride that all riders want to ride it because speed is addictive, and speed is fun? You get a game changer. And that's what the Creo Turbo SL is. Nothing will ever be the same.
Style: e-road, e-gravel
Material: Carbon
Drivetrain: Shimano Dura Ace/XTR Di2 1x11
Brakes & Rotors: Shimano Dura Ace hydraulic disc, 160mm front and rear
Cassette: 11-42
Chainring: 46t
Handlebar: Specialized S-Works Hover Carbon
Stem: Specialized S-Works Future Stem
Saddle: Specialized Power
Seat Post: Specialized S-Works Carbon 27.2
Wheel Size: 700c
Wheels: Specialized Roval CLX 50, tubeless ready
Tires: Specialized Turbo, 28mm
Tire Clearance: 700x42mm, 650bx47mm
–Turbo Creo Models–
S-Works Turbo Creo SL Founder's Edition—$17,000
This model stands out with its price, deep blue color, gold-foil graphics, and 26.2 lb. claimed weight. This model also gets gold anodized thru-axles, GPS mount, and Ceramic Speed pulley wheels, and a gold accented saddle. Included in the price is a Founder's Edition shorts and jersey, and two range extender batteries.
S-Works Turbo Creo SL—$14,000
Color changing paint sets this model apart. Build consists of 1x11 drivetrain with Shimano Dura Ace Di2 hydraulic disc brakes with 160mm rotors, and a XTR rear derailleur with 11-42 cassette. Up front is a Praxis carbon crankset with 46-tooth ring. Other parts include a carbon handlebar and seatpost, 50mm-deep Roval SLX tubeless ready carbon clincher wheels with ceramic bearings, a carbon-railed Power saddle, and 28mm Turbo tires. This model comes with one range-extender battery.
Turbo Creo SL Expert Carbon—$9,000
The Expert model uses the same frame, motor, and battery as the S-Works model, but is built with less-expensive parts. They include a Shimano Ultegra/XT Di2 hybrid 1x11 drivetrain with Ultegra hydraulic disc brakes, forged aluminum cranks, an aluminum handlebar, lower-grade Roval carbon wheels (38mm deep), and a titanium railed saddle. Expert models do not include the range extender battery, but it may purchased for $399.
Turbo Creo SL Expert EVO Carbon—$9,000
The Expert EVO model is very similar to the Expert model, but features a few gravel-friendly changes. They include 38mm-wide semi-knob Specialized Pathfinder Pro tires, a dropper post with remote, and drop bars with 12-degree flare. Expert models do not include the range extender battery, but it may purchased for $399.
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