2016/2017 Specialized Turbo Levo / Kenevo FAQ - Discussion - Info Thread

[Dee Scee]

handlebar switch is a huge improvement! i use it all the time. i now rarely ride in turbo, as i can easily and insantly tap into the power and then drop back to trail or eco. and the walk function is a little quirky as everyone says, but it is still a lifesaver when u need it. if you have a pre ‘18 levo, you should get the switch!

 

[Dee Scee]

my next project on my 2017 is to raise it up like the ‘18 so i can run 2.8 and 2.6 tires and still have the same clearance / geometry as with the oem 3.0” tires. (i do wish somebody would make a 3” knobby as good as the hillbilly. but there’s not a lot of options at 3”) i’m going to increase the travel of the pike fork to 150mm with the different airshaft, and im trying to find out about how changing the rear shock and or yolk will affect ride height and travel.

 

[wildsau2]

i m also interessted to change the wheels from 650B 3" to 29er 2,6 Front and 2,3 Back. Any part hints are welcome. MY2017 Comp HT.

 

[Rocket Roche]

Hi Dee
I'm looking to get the walk assist fitted to my 2017 Levo do you have any pics of the cable routing did they run the cable through the frame or outside the frame? if through the frame did they have to drill a new hole or open out one of the existing holes to bring the cable out of the frame.

 

[Sherman]

My 2017 Levo started to stop assisting when the battery level went under 30%. In Mission control everything looked OK, but the battery health was only 90%. I took the bike to the shop today and they ran diagnostics. Seems like one of the cells has gone bad in the battery.

Now we're waiting for Specialized's response. Hopefully they will just replace the battery even the warranty has expired months ago.

 

[Troutwrestler]

Fingers crossed...

 

[Dee Scee]

My 2017 Levo started to stop assisting when the battery level went under 30%. In Mission control everything looked OK, but the battery health was only 90%. I took the bike to the shop today and they ran diagnostics. Seems like one of the cells has gone bad in the battery.

Now we're waiting for Specialized's response. Hopefully they will just replace the battery even the warranty has expired months ago.

i am curious... i use blevo, and my motor stops assisting when blevo says 10%. i’ve learned to be careful about this and carefully monitor myself. i wonder what other users are seeing around this? at the beginning of a ride, my blevo will show my battery at 100% if i’ve fully charged it, but the first ten to twenty % do seem to go pretty quickly...

 

[krisrayner]

My 2017 Levo started to stop assisting when the battery level went under 30%. In Mission control everything looked OK, but the battery health was only 90%. I took the bike to the shop today and they ran diagnostics. Seems like one of the cells has gone bad in the battery.

Now we're waiting for Specialized's response. Hopefully they will just replace the battery even the warranty has expired months ago.

Make sure it has the newest firmware. My wife’s levo HT was doing something similar. It would cut out on trail or turbo when below 30% but was ok on ECO. It was at least 2 updates behind and works fine now.

 

[Sherman]

Make sure it has the newest firmware. My wife’s levo HT was doing something similar. It would cut out on trail or turbo when below 30% but was ok on ECO. It was at least 2 updates behind and works fine now.

Good to know. I'm probably one version behind. Mine does not assist at all at any assist levels. Hopefully I'll hear something from the shop today.

 

[Joeri]

what is the latest update? I have two weeks ago a new motor in my 2016 Levo. previous motor on 4.4 firmware. new motor on 5.4 firmware.

 

[Dee Scee]

what is the latest update? I have two weeks ago a new motor in my 2016 Levo. previous motor on 4.4 firmware. new motor on 5.4 firmware.

my bike is in shop, but i think i’m still on 4.0.1 - i thought they stopped updating the older stuff. BLEvo is working perfectly, i don’t want to mess that up.
what hardware do you have now? im gonna have to check in on blevo thred about this!

 

[Utah Rider]

My 17' will be 3 yrs old in October. My motor went out at 3200 miles / 5150Km. The electrical side still worked but the gears were stripped inside. Specialized sent a new motor even though the old one was out of warranty. That was great! The bike shop charged me over $100 to put it in. Then I broke the rear axle. It seems to be fairly common by the number of posts that I've seen on the internet. That was around $100 for a new axle and free hub. The wheels are supposed to be lifetime warranty but everything except the hoops are considered wear items and not covered under warranty. Convenient. Ha.

My wife also has a 17' Levo. Her bike never had the best battery from the beginning but we have never been able to get warranty out of it. It shuts off around 30% power. I found a place that says they will rebuild Levo batteries but it is near impossible to mail a battery with that high of a watt hour rating in the U.S. as I recently found out. I looked inside the case and the batteries are spot welded in place so unless you know someone who can weld onto a lithium ion battery then you are out of luck for repair.

Both of my bikes came with the 460wh batteries. I am happy to report that the 504wh battery paired with my brand new motor is much more efficient than the original setup. I always carry power links/quick links for the inevitable chain breaks. If you like 27.5 X 3.0 tires, the best tire that I have found to run tubeless is the WTB Bridger TCS Tough. The case is thick enough that it doesn't bleed sealant out of the sidewalls like other tire brands. The only problem is that they are very hard to find right now and I am not sure they are going to keep making them.

I had the big problem that Avid had with the brake levers (on both bikes). There is a big thread on MTBR about years worth of brake problems from Avid. Unfortunately we were riding in Moab when we found out about the brake lever problem. Anyway, that is fixed now. If you ride in a cold climate then you will not experience the problem.

I got tired of the problems trying to keep the OEM wheels running tubeless so I had some custom carbon wheels made from EIE in China. They were $700 and were made UST with no spoke holes (ie no rim tape required). Definitely worth the investment if your are into tubeless. Both my bikes still have all original motor cables and speed sensor cables which is good. Seems that I have been rambling. Cheers.

 

[Dee Scee]

My 17' will be 3 yrs old in October. My motor went out at 3200 miles / 5150Km. The electrical side still worked but the gears were stripped inside. Specialized sent a new motor even though the old one was out of warranty. That was great! The bike shop charged me over $100 to put it in. Then I broke the rear axle. It seems to be fairly common by the number of posts that I've seen on the internet. That was around $100 for a new axle and free hub. The wheels are supposed to be lifetime warranty but everything except the hoops are considered wear items and not covered under warranty. Convenient. Ha.

My wife also has a 17' Levo. Her bike never had the best battery from the beginning but we have never been able to get warranty out of it. It shuts off around 30% power. I found a place that says they will rebuild Levo batteries but it is near impossible to mail a battery with that high of a watt hour rating in the U.S. as I recently found out. I looked inside the case and the batteries are spot welded in place so unless you know someone who can weld onto a lithium ion battery then you are out of luck for repair.

Both of my bikes came with the 460wh batteries. I am happy to report that the 504wh battery paired with my brand new motor is much more efficient than the original setup. I always carry power links/quick links for the inevitable chain breaks. If you like 27.5 X 3.0 tires, the best tire that I have found to run tubeless is the WTB Bridger TCS Tough. The case is thick enough that it doesn't bleed sealant out of the sidewalls like other tire brands. The only problem is that they are very hard to find right now and I am not sure they are going to keep making them.

I had the big problem that Avid had with the brake levers (on both bikes). There is a big thread on MTBR about years worth of brake problems from Avid. Unfortunately we were riding in Moab when we found out about the brake lever problem. Anyway, that is fixed now. If you ride in a cold climate then you will not experience the problem.

I got tired of the problems trying to keep the OEM wheels running tubeless so I had some custom carbon wheels made from EIE in China. They were $700 and were made UST with no spoke holes (ie no rim tape required). Definitely worth the investment if your are into tubeless. Both my bikes still have all original motor cables and speed sensor cables which is good. Seems that I have been rambling. Cheers.

thanks for the long term update!!!
good to hear that Specialized replaced the motor? but too bad about the battery?

 

[Joeri]

my bike is in shop, but i think i’m still on 4.0.1 - i thought they stopped updating the older stuff. BLEvo is working perfectly, i don’t want to mess that up.
what hardware do you have now? im gonna have to check in on blevo thred about this!

sorry for the late response. I have still some problems even after i swap al the cables. loosing for a short time power and then its back again.

 

[Sherman]

My 2017 Levo started to stop assisting when the battery level went under 30%. In Mission control everything looked OK, but the battery health was only 90%. I took the bike to the shop today and they ran diagnostics. Seems like one of the cells has gone bad in the battery.

Now we're waiting for Specialized's response. Hopefully they will just replace the battery even the warranty has expired months ago.

Update: Specialized replaced the battery under warranty (even though warranty expired Jan 2019). Happy customer here

 

[Dee Scee]

wow! i've gotten a few things done, learned a few new things and had some good luck since i last posted to this thread. one thing i did was contact berkshire cycles to get my hands on some shorter cranks. took my first ride with them tonight and it was fantastic! i only went down to 160mm but i love it. not only less fear of strikes. but my poor old knees love the reduced angle my knees have to bend! i actually felt MORE powerful. my cadence did go up about 10 rpm but i just scored 8 personal records on a ride that i have over 20 times on on strava. I'll try to get on here and log some of the stuff i've done. happy trails!