RIDE THE LIGHTENING (sic)

Specialized Turbo Creo SL

HOT

FOUR

H OTS T U F F

Yes, it’s
an extender!
A separate 160Wh Range
Extender offers an extra
40 miles and fits in the water
bottle cage. Splash out
£10,999 for the S-Works
version and you’ll get
one included.

All tyred out

There are two base ‘Expert’

models: one for the road and

an Evo version with more

serious tyres designed for

riding on gravel. Both cost

the same: a piffling

£7499.

S-club

heaven

The S-Works edition

also includes higher-end

parts, including Shimano

Dura-Ace Di2 gears, an XTR

rear derailleur and Roval

CLX 50 Disc carbon

wheels.

If you turned up on the start line

of a race with a normal electric

bike between your thighs, the

bulky frame would make it

pretty obvious you were trying

to pull a (very) fast one. But

Specialized’s new Turbo Creo

SL has a motor and 320Wh

lithium-ion battery housed

inside the down-tube, so it’ll

look like you’re pedalling it up

to 28mph all by yourself.

When you hit that speed the

motor uncouples, which means

there’s no drag; and as the

whole thing only weighs

around 12kg, it shouldn’t feel

like an electric bike at all. Better

still, a smartphone app called

Mission Control allows you to

choose how much help the

motor gives you: 30% in Eco

mode, 60% in Sport and all

240W in Turbo mode.

Smart Control is probably

its neatest trick, though: this

uses an algorithm to constantly

recalculate how much help to

give you based on how far you

tell it you need to go, or how

much battery you want to have

left when you get there. Range

anxiety, what range anxiety?

As hot as... playing musical

electric chairs

from £7499 / specialized.com