According to Praxis (who I contacted before I removed the crank) we should not touch the outer ring. Your #2 and 3 are what I did (and it worked) :) I wrote to Praxis about having trouble getting the outer ring to 20 n*m and they replied 15 n*m with loctite blue should be ok.
"Right to Repair" just got a boost today with an executive order and support from Steve Wozniak. The plan is to require manufacturers to provide parts and information to more than just their selected "authorized" repair facilities. We may yet be able to get schematics, diagnostics, and parts...
Faster/better shifting can be had by reducing the gap between gears. If we don't need 11-50 we can improve shifting by going to 11-40 or 11-32 or... Saves weight too.
The part we don't know is how full Specialized controller charges the batteries. Like some electric cars they may only charge to 80-90% when the charger shuts off. If we charge to an estimated 80% it may be 80% x 80% which is not a lot.
Like some other forums (fora ?) I subscribe to, plenty of info and videos of how to do it incorrectly, thanks for posting an example of how to do it right! :)
Cassettes on the basic Levo models have 11 tooth smallest cog "Shimano HG" type, some higher models may be XD types with 10 tooth cogs. They both take the same 12 spline tool, I am amazed that SRAM did not require a new tool. ;) If the two halves move it may be something other than...
I changed my SL from 29 to 27.5 and the speed/distance as reported by Mission Control was way off. My LBS adjusted the wheel diameter and it is accurate now.
My Levo SL has 2400 km, much of it ridden on a surface that is like sandpaper without the paper. ;) I recently changed the cassette and found the chain was not even to 0.5 on the Park checker, the original cassette showed little wear, and the freehub had only small notches from a few of the...
At least your bolt waited until the end of the ride to fall out, it's nice and clean in there. ;)
Most (all ?) of the bolts appear to be bespoke, sure makes it difficult to get spares.
There is nothing inherently wrong with the bike design or component selection chosen by the manufacturer. Specialized and others make the bike to suit a large cross-section of riders and terrain and in most cases it works just fine. In your case with your riding style and your trails it does...
35 n*m of torque at the crank with a 30 T crank and 50 T cog with 29" wheel produces about 78.5 N at the road which is enough to go up about a 10% grade *without* the rider adding anything. The SL is powerful enough.
To look at it another way, the SL with 240 W and a rider with maybe 200 W is...