Mountain biking is more than a hobby or sport for me. It’s pretty much my life. I own two mountain biking websites in South Africa and have been a mountain bike writer and content creator for more than 30 years. Riding mountain bikes regularly is an essential part of my job. In 2022 and 2023, I suffered through an injury and an illness that could have severely impacted my ability to work, but thanks to this bike, I was able to ride on and am (almost) back to my best.
By Sean Badenhorst
I have been fortunate to have only a few health interruptions in my life. A few illnesses that end with ‘itis’ and three fractures of my spine. The most recent (and hopefully last) spinal fracture happened on Friday 13th May 2022. I had been practising the stages for the Enduro SA Cup that Sunday at Buffelsdrift, Pretoria. I flipped doing a simple wheelie on the way back to the car park. The demo bike I was riding had the rear brake on the left, not the right as I am accustomed to. Rookie error, right?
Long story short. I learned some lessons. My wife, Joanne, wasn’t impressed because I’d sustained a similar injury in 2018 which created major concern as I also developed double pneumonia. Anyway, in May 2022 my spinal fractures were limited to injury status and I needed to take it easy for three months, which I did. In that time I lost a lot of conditioning and pretty much started from a very low fitness base. It wasn’t possible to ride with anyone around me because they were all much fitter and stronger.
Fortunately, Specialized is our eBike partner on our Top MTB Trails brand and they make available a Turbo Levo SL Expert for us to ride and review trails. I climbed on that bike and immediately was able to ride with my usual crew members. I even did a few Enduro races on it in the eBike category. The pedal assist modes allowed me to climb with fitter riders and of course descend with most, as it handles like a trail bike. This bike helped me bridge the large gap in fitness and strength and essentially, allowed me to continue creating content for our websites.
But as was I starting to see signs of fitness returning and was considering climbing on a regular bike, I began to struggle a bit with my breathing. After conceding that it may be age but then realising it was too restrictive too suddenly, I reluctantly saw a pulmonologist who ran some tests, asked me some questions, did some scans and told me that I have asthma. He prescribed medication for six months.
I took the medication for a couple of months, then stopped it to see what would happen. My breathing became strained again. How frustrating! I generally refuse to accept any chronic condition and medication, but here I was struggling to do the most basic human thing – breathe. I reluctantly resumed with the medication and carried on riding the Levo SL so that I could at least ride!
The spinal injury seemed to be fine but now this lung issue was creating some havoc for me. I generally don’t show that I’m stressed, but I was. Very much so. I wasn’t prepared to live the rest of my life by taking a tablet and sucking on an inhaler every day. But here I was, relying on this medication. And, fortunately, riding regularly and generating content to eke out a living as I have always done, thanks to the Levo SL…
I have experienced some mild seasonal asthma since about 2010, but it generally led to a dry cough and never really impacted my breathing. But this time it was different and in summer, not winter as I’d experienced before. I started to think about changing my diet and by process of elimination, work out what had led to this consistent more severe form of asthma. Most illnesses are related to diet and I haven’t exactly been a model for best eating practices.
Then, in September 2023, my son Cade and I headed to the Winelands to do some riding in Paarl and race the Enduro SA Cup at Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch. I purposely left the Levo SL at home because I was going to race in the regular bike category. I also inadvertently left the asthma medication at home. Fortunately, I didn’t need it! Somehow, my breathing just resorted to normal. It was most noticeable as I suffered up the long Jonkershoek climbs. Regular suffering, like old times. I was so stoked to be breathing normally again without chemical assistance. I haven’t had any breathing issues since, which is a huge relief – and a bit of a mystery, which I’m not getting too tied up on…
However, while I didn’t miss that asthma medication, I did miss the Levo SL on that trip! It’s the perfect bike for a place like Jonkershoek where it can take 45-55 minutes on a regular bike to climb to the start of one of the incredible descending trails. On my regular Specialized Stumpjumper Evo, I was able to do a maximum of two descending trails per session, whereas if I was on the Levo SL, I could have likely done four in a similar time.
‘Ride more trails’ is the Specialized Levo tagline. It’s so simple, but so appropriate. Even though I’m not riding it as much currently, I still ride the Levo SL if I need to cover more trail distance in a certain time, especially if there is a high volume of climbing. It also allows me to ride with my 17-year-old son, Cade, who is far stronger and faster than me, especially on climbs.
During my period of injury and illness in 2022 and 2023, which in total, was about 12 months, the Levo SL gave me the ability to ride some trails initially and more trails eventually. But most importantly, the Levo SL enabled me to ride when my health and fitness were compromised – and for me riding is my life.
You can own this bike
We’re due to get the new Specialized Levo SL from Specialized soon, so this bike that saved me is up for sale. It’s been ridden all over the country and it’s never given us any trouble. It’s been serviced regularly by Complete Cyclist, Bryanston, who have the service record. Here’s the lowdown on this bike , which is a 2022 model. If you’re in the market for a size medium light eBike that rides like a trail bike, then send me an email at sean@treadmtb.co.za and I’ll send you the relevant info.
