You probably have a few friends that are technology-phobic, especially when it comes to bikes. I certainly do. They always say something like, “I look at screens all day; I don’t want to look at a screen while I’m riding.”
That kind of person might be reluctant to add yet another bike-related app to their smartphone. Does it over-complicate things? Maybe during the adoption and set-up phase. But after a summer of using the Specialized app with a Turbo Levo Carbon test bike, I’ve found it to be a very useful tool for this e-MTB. And in a weird way, it helps me leave the screens and setup in the garage and focus on riding when I’m on the trail.
Not convinced? Here are three ways I routinely use the Specialized app to get the most out of my e-bike.
1. Tuning an E-Bike Motor with the Specialized App
Some might not want to fiddle with all of the settings available in a Turbo e-bike drive unit (or any other e-bike motor for that matter). But if you’re planning to ride an e-MTB extensively, and it’s easy to tune, then why not customize it for optimal performance and battery life?
Specialized transitioned to the current app from the previous Mission Control e-bike app, and the tuning user experience has significantly improved. Now you can see where your three assist modes land on an X-Y plot that lets you visualize how much peak motor power and how much “ease” (i.e., immediate power) that each mode will offer. You can also jump between three pre-set tunes: Race, Battery Friendly, and Universal or mess with the Shuttle and Responsiveness settings.
This isn’t an article about tuning the Levo motor, so I won’t get into all of that. All I’m saying is that these settings are easily adjustable right there in the Tune section of the app.
2. Changing the Displays on Specialized TCU with the App
You know those people who don’t want to look at screens on a ride? Yeah, that’s not me. I like to keep an eye on ride time, distance, and other stats. If you don’t want any of that, your handy Specialized app can switch the top-tube mounted display (the TCU) to Stealth Mode, and it’ll be blank.
I, however, like to change the displays so I can see what I want and ignore what isn’t important to me. However, there is one thing that’s been puzzling me about the TCU display options. Maybe you can help me out in the comments if you have a Turbo yourself. How the heck do you display ride time and distance for only the ride you are on? Right now the best I can do is view cumulative ride time and distance.
I swear I’m not as dumb as I look…
3. Tracking Rides with the Specialized App
This was the biggest leap for me, riding the Turbo Levo and tracking my rides with the Specialized app. I’m a Strava guy through and through. I even double-recorded my first few rides with Strava, just to be careful.
I’m pleased to report, however, that the Specialized app works pretty darn well for tracking rides, and it even has a clean integration with Strava to transfer your ride data there. Of course, they’re all classified as e-bike rides, to keep those KOMs above board.
Another big improvement from the Mission Control app to this Specialized app is now you don’t have to keep location setting in “Always” while using the app to track rides. It works in the “While Using” setting, which is better for battery life, privacy, and other things, I’d imagine. I don’t necessarily look at the mapping or other details when tracking a ride. It’s just in my pocket pinging satellites, and I end up at home with a nice, complete GPS track.
Conclusion
I don’t think we can win the fight against modernity, technology, A.I., or even perhaps the Terminators. At least we can use technology to improve our days out on the trail. That’s what I’ve done with the Specialized app, and I’ll continue to do it. Fortunately, if all of this is still disgusting to you and you yearn for a simpler time, you can still just plug in your e-MTB, charge it, ride it, and repeat.
P.S. We use affiliate links here at Direct Current. If you’re considering buying a Specialized e-bike, we’ll get a little kickback if you purchase using a link from this story. 😀