Mahle SL 1.1 to SL 1.2 - What's Possible and What's Different ?

[G-Sport]

Speed limit in the UK and EU is 15.5mph anyway so this isn't a problem for us.

Can't you keep it as a funky little dirt jump/bmx esq play bike ?

I was considering this. higher bars and stem and have an electric jump bike, could be good. Problem is probably BB height but maybe switch to a 26" front wheel.

Alternatively, I was thinking of selling my motor, battery and TCU etc as spares on ebay. Should recoup a reasonable amount.

 

[farjevall]

I completed this swap last month. I had the same questions as you and didn't find any clear answers so hopefully this helps. I did the swap on my 2021 Gen 1 Alloy Levo SL. Keep the hardware with the bike, not the motors, at least for the alloy frame there was unique hardware that stays with the bike. The skid plate fitment was the biggest issue, both plates had to be modified and took a lot of grind and fit checks to make them work. My son is barely 48" so I modified the stock SL 1.1 cranks to 130mm, fits him great now. 155mm cranks are still WAY to long for a 24" kids bike IMO.

- how to remove the limitation
* A Specialized dealer can reprogram the ECU to the standard Levo SL software, however my dealer would not do this and discouraged me from doing such for warranty purposes. If the software doesn't match the bike/motor some dealers might not be as friendly for warranty replacement if needed. I purchased a SPEEDi device. It has worked great and gives me 22 MPH speed capability. The display does not show the correct speed but I use my Garmin for tracking rides. SPEEDi - E-Bike Speed Limit Increaser by NLS Components

- if the stock 155mm cranks are usable for adults
* As far as strength; they are the same forging as the adult cranks, pedal hole is just drilled and tapped at 155mm. They will be just as strong as "Adult" Levo SL crank arms. Depending on your height and riding terrain, crank arm length is really subjective to personal preference. I am 6"1' and ride mostly flowing XC terrain, I wanted longer crank arms. I traded my 155mm cranks for a set of 165mm arms with a member on a Levo SL Facebook group.

- compatibility of the chainring with non-Transmission AXS
* I have been using X-Sync 2 chainring(s) on multiple bikes with full Shimano XT 11 speed drivetrains. Has worked great. Obviously you cant mix & match with 12 speed Shimano, but the 11 speed parts work fine together. If you are asking about standard AXS, the chainring will work great with any SRAM 12 speed group set.

- if there might some kind of preselection going on for the motors going in kids bikes
* I don't think there is. I noticed the extra torque and reduced noise from the SL 1.2 motor from my sons bike. According to the Specialized app I get the full 320 watts of output on the kids 1.2 SL motor. I like the new motor, its an improvement but its not completely life changing.

Now that I have done the swap and figured out some of challenges I am happy with it. However, if I were to go back in time with my current knowledge, I would likely forgo the swap and leave both bikes as-is.

If you have any specific questions, let me know I will try to help you out.

Hi,

New here on the forum and just found this post that you had converted a Kids Levo SL 1.2 motor/battery/tcu to an 2021 Turbo Levo SL.

I'm looking to do exactely that. My Gen1 Levo SL Comp Alloy 2020 have a broken motor and battery and Specialized warranty wont cover it but my incurance company will. And for a small extra cost I could get an Kids SL and hopefully do the swap to the 1.2 motor/bat and mastermind tcu.
Not really interested in the kids bike in itself so that bike will not be used.

But I was wondering if it were any struggle to fit the "Kids SL" motor and battery into the Gen1 Frame?
Read somewhere that the motor protection cover at least need som modification to fit?

I also do understand that I need new cranks for the new motor, that's fine. And that the kids TCU is restricted to 10 mph. But my dealer said they can restrict it to 15 mph without voiding warrenty and with 29 wheels that means restriction to about 18 mph for me so thats also fine.

Is there anything else to think about when doing this conversion that I need to take into account?
Should also state that I have an "old" GX AXS derailleur on my bike which I intend to continue to use with a xx1 casette and chain.

BIG thanks in advance @crawfishoo or anyone who knows this .

 

[gooberboy]

I have done the Kids > LSL 1.1 swap of motor, TCU, and battery and it works great. I was only able to get my shop to unlock 16MPH, so I might have to get that cool kiwi de-restrictor mentioned above. I have found it a little difficult to source the carbon cranks in 170MM. Here's a crazy question: Would it work to get 2X non-drive-side DUB crank arms (the side without a spindle), say from a standard DUB XO or XX crankset, and use one on each side of the motor? Seems like it would work...

 

[farjevall]

I have done the Kids > LSL 1.1 swap of motor, TCU, and battery and it works great. I was only able to get my shop to unlock 16MPH, so I might have to get that cool kiwi de-restrictor mentioned above. I have found it a little difficult to source the carbon cranks in 170MM. Here's a crazy question: Would it work to get 2X non-drive-side DUB crank arms (the side without a spindle), say from a standard DUB XO or XX crankset, and use one on each side of the motor? Seems like it would work...

Ok that sounds promising, thanks!
So motor protection case from kids version even works on Levo SL gen 1?
Yeah saw that my dealer also could change restriction to 16mph. But isn’t 16 mph on 29 wheels closer to like 18 mph due to bigger wheel diameter when the kids version is fitted on the adult frame?

 

[gooberboy]

Ok that sounds promising, thanks!
So motor protection case from kids version even works on Levo SL gen 1?
Yeah saw that my dealer also could change restriction to 16mph. But isn’t 16 mph on 29 wheels closer to like 18 mph due to bigger wheel diameter when the kids version is fitted on the adult frame?

Math is not my strong suit, but yes, I think you are correct. I will say this, though: I happen to have both the V1 LSL with the 1.2 kids motor upgrade AND a V2 LSL with a 1.2 motor. The top speed of 20MPH (legal in US) is noticeable vs the "hacked" LSL.

 

[farjevall]

Math is not my strong suit, but yes, I think you are correct. I will say this, though: I happen to have both the V1 LSL with the 1.2 kids motor upgrade AND a V2 LSL with a 1.2 motor. The top speed of 20MPH (legal in US) is noticeable vs the "hacked" LSL.

Ah did not think about that you had 20 mph legal in the us
You mentioned something about crank comparability issues, is it a problem buying spare cranks “adult” size for the SL 1.2 motor?

 

[gooberboy]

Ah did not think about that you had 20 mph legal in the us
You mentioned something about crank comparability issues, is it a problem buying spare cranks “adult” size for the SL 1.2 motor?

They are not super hard to find in aluminum. I am just looking for the 170MM ones in carbon, which are either not available in the US, or really expensive from Bikeinn and others from Europe. I recommend getting the aluminum ones from Bikeinn. I got a pair from them recently.

 

[farjevall]

They are not super hard to find in aluminum. I am just looking for the 170MM ones in carbon, which are either not available in the US, or really expensive from Bikeinn and others from Europe. I recommend getting the aluminum ones from Bikeinn. I got a pair from them recently.

Ah then I understand, I can live with the alu ones

Then I’ll think I go with the kids upgrade to my Levo SL.

Final question(s), did all motor and battery bolts/holes fit the gen1 frame?

 

[G-Sport]

....Here's a crazy question: Would it work to get 2X non-drive-side DUB crank arms (the side without a spindle), say from a standard DUB XO or XX crankset, and use one on each side of the motor? Seems like it would work...

I think the spindle interface would work, but you would have a left hand pedal thread on the right which wouldn't fit a normal right hand pedal. You can switch the pedal axle for one from a left pedal and it will all work, but the pedal may tend to try to "walk" itself out of the threads as you ride, so you need to loctite it and keep an eye on it's tightness regularly.

 

[crawfishoo]

For the couple questions above:

Yes, when using the kids motor (15 mph restricted) with a 29" wheel the actual speed cutoff will be about 17.5 mph. It's personal preference but I was hitting the limiter constantly on my local trail so I added the speedi.

Motor guards: no, these do not just bolt on with the swap. You will keep the guard that came with the bike and have to modify to fit the different motor. This was the most time consuming part of the swap. Lots of Dremel time and finding spacers and hardware to make them fit.

For cranks, no you can't use two right side Dub cranks. I thought about this same thing but obvious hit me. You will have the wrong pedal threads on the left side. You would need two right side pedals and then will likely have issues with one pedal loosening frequently.

 

[gooberboy]

Ah then I understand, I can live with the alu ones

Then I’ll think I go with the kids upgrade to my Levo SL.

Final question(s), did all motor and battery bolts/holes fit the gen1 frame?

I think all the bolts used in the LSL 1 frame worked fine with the 1.2 motor. The mounting hardware is slightly different for the kids frame, as the aluminum frame has a different mounting setup. That said, the bolts from the Kids frame will work if you plan to install the 1.1 motor into it.

Be sure to mount all the bolts loosely before you tighten everything up, as tolerances are tight to get it to fit properly. You'll see that there's a small nut that secures one of the bolts on the lower rear part of the motor in the LSL frame. This is not used in the Kids frame, if I recall correctly. The presence of this nut allows you to tighten the opposite side bolt by sticking an allen key through the bolt hole provided by the nut. It sounds complicated, but you'll figure it out.

Also, I had to grind down the two extension arms inside the rock guard from the LSL 1 frame to make it work with the new motor. It's not hard to do. Just cut them off and sand them down a bit. Label all your bolts on a piece of paper and put each bolt next to the label.

 

[farjevall]

I think all the bolts used in the LSL 1 frame worked fine with the 1.2 motor. The mounting hardware is slightly different for the kids frame, as the aluminum frame has a different mounting setup. That said, the bolts from the Kids frame will work if you plan to install the 1.1 motor into it.

Be sure to mount all the bolts loosely before you tighten everything up, as tolerances are tight to get it to fit properly. You'll see that there's a small nut that secures one of the bolts on the lower rear part of the motor in the LSL frame. This is not used in the Kids frame, if I recall correctly. The presence of this nut allows you to tighten the opposite side bolt by sticking an allen key through the bolt hole provided by the nut. It sounds complicated, but you'll figure it out.

Also, I had to grind down the two extension arms inside the rock guard from the LSL 1 frame to make it work with the new motor. It's not hard to do. Just cut them off and sand them down a bit. Label all your bolts on a piece of paper and put each bolt next to the label.

Fantastic - BIG Thanks

 

[gooberboy]

No problem! Good luck! I found the hardest part was getting the bolt holes for the battery lined up with the battery mount holes. I suggest using a small allen key to find and keep the holes aligned while you get it mounted.

 

[G-Sport]

I have done the Kids > LSL 1.1 swap of motor, TCU, and battery and it works great. I was only able to get my shop to unlock 16MPH,

What did your local shop do in terms of firmware? Does it now have the normal Levo SL1.2 27.5" (or 29") wheel firmware so the TCU reports correct speed and distance? Or is it just on the higher speed-setting of the kids firmware?

 

[gooberboy]

What did your local shop do in terms of firmware? Does it now have the normal Levo SL1.2 27.5" (or 29") wheel firmware so the TCU reports correct speed and distance? Or is it just on the higher speed-setting of the kids firmware?

Higher-speed kids firmware. I'm not sure they knew how to completely re-flash it, and/or they may not have wanted to, as that brings up serial number/product ID/warranty issues.

 

[gooberboy]

For the couple questions above:

Yes, when using the kids motor (15 mph restricted) with a 29" wheel the actual speed cutoff will be about 17.5 mph. It's personal preference but I was hitting the limiter constantly on my local trail so I added the speedi.

Motor guards: no, these do not just bolt on with the swap. You will keep the guard that came with the bike and have to modify to fit the different motor. This was the most time consuming part of the swap. Lots of Dremel time and finding spacers and hardware to make them fit.

For cranks, no you can't use two right side Dub cranks. I thought about this same thing but obvious hit me. You will have the wrong pedal threads on the left side. You would need two right side pedals and then will likely have issues with one pedal loosening frequently.

That's a great point about 2X same-side cranks. Thanks!

 

[gooberboy]

I think the spindle interface would work, but you would have a left hand pedal thread on the right which wouldn't fit a normal right hand pedal. You can switch the pedal axle for one from a left pedal and it will all work, but the pedal may tend to try to "walk" itself out of the threads as you ride, so you need to loctite it and keep an eye on it's tightness regularly.

Thanks, hadn't thought of that...

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

Ok that sounds promising, thanks!
So motor protection case from kids version even works on Levo SL gen 1?
Yeah saw that my dealer also could change restriction to 16mph. But isn’t 16 mph on 29 wheels closer to like 18 mph due to bigger wheel diameter when the kids version is fitted on the adult frame?

Yes if it is 16mph and not 15 mph then it's more like 19.3 mph (29/24) as long the actual circumference maintains the 1.21 ratio (tire profiles can vary a bit). If it's 15 mph, which is what I heard then it's still 18.1 mph for the 24 to 29".

 

[davem85]

Hi,

New here on the forum and just found this post that you had converted a Kids Levo SL 1.2 motor/battery/tcu to an 2021 Turbo Levo SL.

I'm looking to do exactely that. My Gen1 Levo SL Comp Alloy 2020 have a broken motor and battery and Specialized warranty wont cover it but my incurance company will. And for a small extra cost I could get an Kids SL and hopefully do the swap to the 1.2 motor/bat and mastermind tcu.
Not really interested in the kids bike in itself so that bike will not be used.

But I was wondering if it were any struggle to fit the "Kids SL" motor and battery into the Gen1 Frame?
Read somewhere that the motor protection cover at least need som modification to fit?

I also do understand that I need new cranks for the new motor, that's fine. And that the kids TCU is restricted to 10 mph. But my dealer said they can restrict it to 15 mph without voiding warrenty and with 29 wheels that means restriction to about 18 mph for me so thats also fine.

Is there anything else to think about when doing this conversion that I need to take into account?
Should also state that I have an "old" GX AXS derailleur on my bike which I intend to continue to use with a xx1 casette and chain.

BIG thanks in advance @crawfishoo or anyone who knows this .

Your last concern considering the "old" SRAM Eagle derailleur / cassette already got mentioned before in this thread. Seems to be no problem combined with the newer spider.

You might also use the 155mm cranks from the kids bike.

Cant' you just buy the KSL 2 bashguard instead of grinding the old one down?

 

[gooberboy]

Yes if it is 16mph and not 15 mph then it's more like 19.3 mph (29/24) as long the actual circumference maintains the 1.21 ratio (tire profiles can vary a bit). If it's 15 mph, which is what I heard then it's still 18.1 mph for the 24 to 29".

If I recall from what the shop said, I think it's technically 25 KPH in "big kid" mode. So that's like 15.5 MPH.

 

[davem85]

If I recall from what the shop said, I think it's technically 25 KPH in "big kid" mode. So that's like 15.5 MPH.

So 25 kph in Big Kid mode without the, need to go to the shop?

25kph on a 24" wheel equals around 30kph on a 29" wheel (circumference 20% bigger).

That would rule out the need for a tuning module for me, which would be a nice bonus.

 

[gooberboy]

So 25 kph in Big Kid mode without the, need to go to the shop?

25kph on a 24" wheel equals around 30kph on a 29" wheel (circumference 20% bigger).

That would rule out the need for a tuning module for me, which would be a nice bonus.

By default, the Kids LSL I bought was NOT in Big Kid mode. I did have to have it changed via the Specialized dealer software. If you buy the bike from a dealer, simply have it changed before you leave with it, perhaps? I didn't know about all this and had to bring in my modded LSL and ask them nicely to change the mode, because I was stuck at like 10MPH. I also handed over a six pack.

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

By default, the Kids LSL I bought was NOT in Big Kid mode. I did have to have it changed via the Specialized dealer software. If you buy the bike from a dealer, simply have it changed before you leave with it, perhaps? I didn't know about all this and had to bring in my modded LSL and ask them nicely to change the mode, because I was stuck at like 10MPH. I also handed over a six pack.

So all of this really begs the question of those of you that have done this. Was it worth it? And of course you have to sell the kids bike unless you think a $3250. upgrade is worth it unless you got some kind deal in the US. It's a lot less expensive in the UK I've heard.

 

[gooberboy]

So all of this really begs the question of those of you that have done this. Was it worth it? And of course you have to sell the kids bike unless you think a $3250. upgrade is worth it unless you got some kind deal in the US. It's a lot less expensive in the UK I've heard.

It was worth it a few months ago, but perhaps not now, in the US. The kids was $2500 in the US earlier this year. I sold it with my old 1.1 motor/bat/TCU in it to a friend--who actually has a kid--for $1250. We basically split the cost of the bike.

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

It was worth it a few months ago, but perhaps not now, in the US. The kids was $2500 in the US earlier this year. I sold it with my old 1.1 motor/bat/TCU in it to a friend--who actually has a kid--for $1250. We basically split the cost of the bike.

Oh I didn't see that. I probably would have bought one. It's back up to $3800. now so no way. I picked up a turbo levo carbon for $3500. recently so if I want a ride with more power I have both bikes and the 1.1 SL is still not that bad really.

 

[gooberboy]

Oh I didn't see that. I probably would have bought one. It's back up to $3800. now so no way. I picked up a turbo levo carbon for $3500. recently so if I want a ride with more power I have both bikes and the 1.1 SL is still not that bad really.

The kids bike is waaaaay overpriced. I doubt they are selling any of them.

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

And I

The kids bike is waaaaay overpriced. I doubt they are selling any of them.

And I don't know why they don't give us the same low price as the UK. When I bought my Carbon Levo I found out that Spec had lowered the price to the dealers to $3K including that extra 700 whr battery. So Specialized cost must be below that by enough to make money, quite an eye opener, lol.

 

[G-Sport]

And I

And I don't know why they don't give us the same low price as the UK.

Stock levels probably. If they managed to sell off a load earlier in the year then they may not be as over stocked as I am guessing the UK is...