GL1
Member
Just a post to celebrate turning 1,000 miles on my Levo!
I am blessed to live in an area (Golden, Colorado USA) where eBiking opportunities abound between our county trails, state parks, and other public lands. Being a long time, very competitive MTB and Moto rider I have found the perfect synergy in eBikes and wanted to pass along my comments to the community at large and specifically anyone looking to jump into the eBike world and / or looking to purchase a new Levo.
I’m a statistics professor so I’ll start with some of that (and I’d love to get some stats from others if they have some of these.)
My 1000 Mile Stats:
2020 Levo Comp, Medium
Delivery Date / First Ride: 5/22/2020
Date hit 1000 mi: 10/22/20 (5 months from purchase, avg. 50 mi per week)
59 - Total rides
67 - Hours of riding (roughly)
55 - # of charges (I charge after most rides unless I have 70% or better depending on my ride plans)
117,772 feet - Total elevation gained
132,562 - Total elevation lost (some rides where I was dropped off higher and rode home)
44.96 mph - Highest speed
22,679.97 - Total calories burned (est)
52 miles, 4200 feet climbing, 159% support, 15% battery -Longest Ride
12.13 - Avg speed for all rides.
17.59 - Highest average speed on a ride (all out turbo with only 800’ elevation etc.)
159.06% - Lowest level of support
410.62% - Highest level of support
277.00 - Avg overall level of support
My 1000 Mile Notes:
Overall:
The eBike has me on the bike more than I have been in years. It motivates me to get out. I have explored more trails and ridden many trails I hadn’t in years! I am still getting plenty of exercise and likely more than I did with my standard MTB.
I use my bike mainly for trail riding but also for some commuting…or a combo of both which I love!
I feel that sharing trails is no problem at all with the possible exception of going “turbo” on someone’s tail on singletrack climbs and breathing down their neck. I consciously avoid this situation to assuage negative eBike opinions. I lower my assist level and simply pass when it’s possible and reasonable with a positive word to the other rider and then go on my way. In 1000 miles I have not had any negative interactions or comments from other trail users.
I can’t believe how much I enjoy eBiking over either regular MTB (with less opportunity to go as far in the same amount of time) or, dirt biking (which is loud and hard to deal with in technical terrain due to the weight of a moto.) eBiking is the perfect mix for me. I would not buy another regular MTB or a dirt bike at this point. All eMTB all the way! I love the mix of cardio but also the way it performs. Personally with my moto background I like the extra weight as it holds corners better and makes the suspension a bit more active. I certainly ride the eMTB differently than a light MTB where you can really throw it around. But, I love the glued and rail feeling of an eMTB on technical terrain and in swooping singletrack.
Up and down the Levo is the absolute best bike I’ve ever owned. I had a Bulls too…nice bike but not as nice as the Levo. I have considerable time on a 2019 Kenevo too and still…2020 Levo by far…700 battery of course but the overall quality and ride as well.
Bike Specific:
I can’t say enough about the 700 battery. Honestly, often times I only do an hour or so ride and don’t get anywhere near using much more than 50% of capacity (even at full turbo, 20+ miles and 3000+ feet of climbing.) But, it’s really nice to have it. I have ridden with some guys that have the 500 Levo and Kenevo and the two of us with the 700w Levo’s have a LOT more range if we are following similar battery saving riding techniques. On one ride that as about 32 miles and 4800 feet of climbing we all were saving battery but we rode a lot in our second mode (45%) and at the end we still had nearly 50% while they were down around 15% and had been riding in their lower modes most of the time trying to conserve battery. So even if we had wanted to go longer (and we could have), we had to cut the ride short for the 500 watters.
I have not de-restricted my bike nor do I have plans to. When commuting (on roads) sometimes a higher assist speed would be nice and would result in being passed a bit less by cars on certain roads. But, based on the Levo’s gearing it would also mean likely having to change the gearing to optimize the higher speed as well as reduced battery range (although with the 700w…not sure that would be a huge issue.) Offroad it’s rare I would ever want higher speed…maybe on flat dirt roads but it’s great as is and I want to keep it a Class 1 and be able to use Mission Control accurately (rather than Blevo etc. which modification would necessitate to get accurate mileage etc.)
I did get the firmware update installed but not before I had about 600 miles on the bike. One thing I had done was to make my maximum on level 3 only 95% and my response about 80%. Not sure if this saved some stress on my motor but I have certainly cranked on it on some very steep obstacles and climbs. But, at 1000 miles, my motor is original and has had no issues at all. It was a later 2020 shipped bike and from what I can tell on the motor serial number, is likely to have been “fixed” and not have the prior belt slipping issue. I think. At any rate, it seems just as powerful as and quiet as it has since the beginning.
The battery still says 100% health in Mission Control.
I had issues with the rims sealing for tubeless. The strips included did not entirely seal it well enough to keep some leakage through the spoke nipple holes. I tried some Stans tape and that was worthless. It would not stick to the rims at all even after thorough cleaning. Waste of money. I taped them twice around (covering all the spoke nipple holes) with good quality electrical tape, installed the specialized rim strip over that and it’s been perfect since then with zero leaking or PSI loss.
I ditched the Specialized grips for some fatter and softer ones. No biggie. I’d like to try a carbon bar and may in the future to see if it reduced hand fatigue a bit but so far it’s been fine. I did go to a slightly longer stem given my height (5’9”.) I know most would say I should be on a large but I like the medium and find it a bit more manageable. I am in-between but just saying…you can be a bit taller and still do fine on a medium. (It’s all that was available anyway in May of last year….the Larges were gone.) The dropper post is still plenty long to accommodate me and well below the max height line on the post.
The front stock tire (Butcher) is still going (and still looking) okay at 1000 miles. The rear I had to replace around 200. It was simply not stout enough for me (at 172 lbs). I like to think I’m a rather finesse rider but I was pinching it and had to run too high of PSI. Sidewalls were not standing up to the rocks here either. I looked at rim inserts but ultimately just went with a DHR Minion full DH casing and it’s been perfect now for near 500 miles on a lot of rough terrain. So, with that I don't see the need for any inserts unless I really wanted to run lower pressure (and I'm running 24-26 psi.) I don’t run very low pressure because regardless of what tire I run on the stock rims they also seem to be able to break the bead and leak around the bead a bit too easy. I have dented the rear rim a few times and pulled them out with covered channel locks easily (maybe too easily...seem a bit flimsy at the lip). The stock rims (Rovals) on the comp are in my opinion…so-so but that’s acceptable to me considering the price point of the bike.
I upgraded the fork to the better internal dampener from Rock Shock and have 160mm of travel now. That is really nice and I did notice it. As is a commonly known issue, the stock 150 in the Lyrik for this year had a lot of sag and the new dampener solves that and gives it more travel. Very happy with this mod for $40.
I did have some shifting issues with the GX derailler out of the box. Personally I don’t love the auto-clutch. With narrow-wide I’m not sure it’s needed all the time and puts more wear on components. Beyond that though, the high setting no matter what I did (my friends was the same way) would on occasion slip off the cog down onto the frame and wear a groove in the alloy. If I adjusted the derailler to where it wouldn’t do this it would skip and didn’t have enough range on the bottom side. I solved this finally by slightly tweaking the derailler hanger inward and by putting a strip of rubber via double sided tape to act as a guide to keep it on that lowest cog. That has worked now for 600+ miles. Still, kind of annoying. Don’t love the derailler but again, considering the price point it has worked fairly well. I did also bend a few teeth on the cog. This is likely user error downshifting under load and turbo. I was able to remove the cassette and pound them back into line easily enough with a punch. No biggie and we all know this can and does happen given the torque on eBikes. Also, at 1000 miles there is some slight skipping beginning to happen. The chain is still original and within spec but I’m likely going to change it soon and see how that goes. After that a new derailler, cassette, chainring and chain may be in order before 2000 miles.
The Guide brakes have been a pleasant surprise. I’m partial to Shimano but these have performed excellent for 1000 miles and I am actually still on the original pads! I check them every few rides and they are close to needed changed but still have some life left. No squishy in the brake lines and they have great feel and handle the weight of the eBike well. Very happy with them.
I did not “flip the chip” or do anything to the shock positioning. The rear (and front) shocks are still buttery smooth and performing perfectly.
The seat dropper post is beginning to get a bit of play but not too bad. Still, fully functional. I do not love having to take the shock out and mess with everything to extend or shorten the cable enough to move the seatpost. This is an internal seatpost routing issue but it’s a bummer as it makes it difficult to swap the bike to different riders easily.
There is some general creaking and clicking that has occurred as is normal in my experience for any bike around this mileage and in alloy. I have lubed and greased some points and that has helped. I will probably overhaul the suspension bearings at some point but movement is still great and I really see no need yet.
My only “complaint” if I had one would be the pedal strikes. It took me awhile to adjust coming from a bike with a considerably higher bottom bracket. And yes, even with the 165’s it strikes a lot. But I also know that’s part of the magic of this frame design downhill and keeping the weight low. I’ve adapted and the battery is pretty well protected. Overall the 165 are the right length and spinning on the eBikes is much more effective (and likely easier on the motor and drivetrain) than trying to push big gears.
Also, why no USB or other power ports on our Specialized eBikes? That is one think I liked on the Bulls. The ability to charge my phone or to hook lights up to the main bike battery. Seems like something Specialized would be all over. Accessory market!
So that’s it. 1000 in and still going strong! I’m already saving for my next one and this next time I’m going carbon! Happy trails!
I am blessed to live in an area (Golden, Colorado USA) where eBiking opportunities abound between our county trails, state parks, and other public lands. Being a long time, very competitive MTB and Moto rider I have found the perfect synergy in eBikes and wanted to pass along my comments to the community at large and specifically anyone looking to jump into the eBike world and / or looking to purchase a new Levo.
I’m a statistics professor so I’ll start with some of that (and I’d love to get some stats from others if they have some of these.)
My 1000 Mile Stats:
2020 Levo Comp, Medium
Delivery Date / First Ride: 5/22/2020
Date hit 1000 mi: 10/22/20 (5 months from purchase, avg. 50 mi per week)
59 - Total rides
67 - Hours of riding (roughly)
55 - # of charges (I charge after most rides unless I have 70% or better depending on my ride plans)
117,772 feet - Total elevation gained
132,562 - Total elevation lost (some rides where I was dropped off higher and rode home)
44.96 mph - Highest speed
22,679.97 - Total calories burned (est)
52 miles, 4200 feet climbing, 159% support, 15% battery -Longest Ride
12.13 - Avg speed for all rides.
17.59 - Highest average speed on a ride (all out turbo with only 800’ elevation etc.)
159.06% - Lowest level of support
410.62% - Highest level of support
277.00 - Avg overall level of support
My 1000 Mile Notes:
Overall:
The eBike has me on the bike more than I have been in years. It motivates me to get out. I have explored more trails and ridden many trails I hadn’t in years! I am still getting plenty of exercise and likely more than I did with my standard MTB.
I use my bike mainly for trail riding but also for some commuting…or a combo of both which I love!
I feel that sharing trails is no problem at all with the possible exception of going “turbo” on someone’s tail on singletrack climbs and breathing down their neck. I consciously avoid this situation to assuage negative eBike opinions. I lower my assist level and simply pass when it’s possible and reasonable with a positive word to the other rider and then go on my way. In 1000 miles I have not had any negative interactions or comments from other trail users.
I can’t believe how much I enjoy eBiking over either regular MTB (with less opportunity to go as far in the same amount of time) or, dirt biking (which is loud and hard to deal with in technical terrain due to the weight of a moto.) eBiking is the perfect mix for me. I would not buy another regular MTB or a dirt bike at this point. All eMTB all the way! I love the mix of cardio but also the way it performs. Personally with my moto background I like the extra weight as it holds corners better and makes the suspension a bit more active. I certainly ride the eMTB differently than a light MTB where you can really throw it around. But, I love the glued and rail feeling of an eMTB on technical terrain and in swooping singletrack.
Up and down the Levo is the absolute best bike I’ve ever owned. I had a Bulls too…nice bike but not as nice as the Levo. I have considerable time on a 2019 Kenevo too and still…2020 Levo by far…700 battery of course but the overall quality and ride as well.
Bike Specific:
I can’t say enough about the 700 battery. Honestly, often times I only do an hour or so ride and don’t get anywhere near using much more than 50% of capacity (even at full turbo, 20+ miles and 3000+ feet of climbing.) But, it’s really nice to have it. I have ridden with some guys that have the 500 Levo and Kenevo and the two of us with the 700w Levo’s have a LOT more range if we are following similar battery saving riding techniques. On one ride that as about 32 miles and 4800 feet of climbing we all were saving battery but we rode a lot in our second mode (45%) and at the end we still had nearly 50% while they were down around 15% and had been riding in their lower modes most of the time trying to conserve battery. So even if we had wanted to go longer (and we could have), we had to cut the ride short for the 500 watters.
I have not de-restricted my bike nor do I have plans to. When commuting (on roads) sometimes a higher assist speed would be nice and would result in being passed a bit less by cars on certain roads. But, based on the Levo’s gearing it would also mean likely having to change the gearing to optimize the higher speed as well as reduced battery range (although with the 700w…not sure that would be a huge issue.) Offroad it’s rare I would ever want higher speed…maybe on flat dirt roads but it’s great as is and I want to keep it a Class 1 and be able to use Mission Control accurately (rather than Blevo etc. which modification would necessitate to get accurate mileage etc.)
I did get the firmware update installed but not before I had about 600 miles on the bike. One thing I had done was to make my maximum on level 3 only 95% and my response about 80%. Not sure if this saved some stress on my motor but I have certainly cranked on it on some very steep obstacles and climbs. But, at 1000 miles, my motor is original and has had no issues at all. It was a later 2020 shipped bike and from what I can tell on the motor serial number, is likely to have been “fixed” and not have the prior belt slipping issue. I think. At any rate, it seems just as powerful as and quiet as it has since the beginning.
The battery still says 100% health in Mission Control.
I had issues with the rims sealing for tubeless. The strips included did not entirely seal it well enough to keep some leakage through the spoke nipple holes. I tried some Stans tape and that was worthless. It would not stick to the rims at all even after thorough cleaning. Waste of money. I taped them twice around (covering all the spoke nipple holes) with good quality electrical tape, installed the specialized rim strip over that and it’s been perfect since then with zero leaking or PSI loss.
I ditched the Specialized grips for some fatter and softer ones. No biggie. I’d like to try a carbon bar and may in the future to see if it reduced hand fatigue a bit but so far it’s been fine. I did go to a slightly longer stem given my height (5’9”.) I know most would say I should be on a large but I like the medium and find it a bit more manageable. I am in-between but just saying…you can be a bit taller and still do fine on a medium. (It’s all that was available anyway in May of last year….the Larges were gone.) The dropper post is still plenty long to accommodate me and well below the max height line on the post.
The front stock tire (Butcher) is still going (and still looking) okay at 1000 miles. The rear I had to replace around 200. It was simply not stout enough for me (at 172 lbs). I like to think I’m a rather finesse rider but I was pinching it and had to run too high of PSI. Sidewalls were not standing up to the rocks here either. I looked at rim inserts but ultimately just went with a DHR Minion full DH casing and it’s been perfect now for near 500 miles on a lot of rough terrain. So, with that I don't see the need for any inserts unless I really wanted to run lower pressure (and I'm running 24-26 psi.) I don’t run very low pressure because regardless of what tire I run on the stock rims they also seem to be able to break the bead and leak around the bead a bit too easy. I have dented the rear rim a few times and pulled them out with covered channel locks easily (maybe too easily...seem a bit flimsy at the lip). The stock rims (Rovals) on the comp are in my opinion…so-so but that’s acceptable to me considering the price point of the bike.
I upgraded the fork to the better internal dampener from Rock Shock and have 160mm of travel now. That is really nice and I did notice it. As is a commonly known issue, the stock 150 in the Lyrik for this year had a lot of sag and the new dampener solves that and gives it more travel. Very happy with this mod for $40.
I did have some shifting issues with the GX derailler out of the box. Personally I don’t love the auto-clutch. With narrow-wide I’m not sure it’s needed all the time and puts more wear on components. Beyond that though, the high setting no matter what I did (my friends was the same way) would on occasion slip off the cog down onto the frame and wear a groove in the alloy. If I adjusted the derailler to where it wouldn’t do this it would skip and didn’t have enough range on the bottom side. I solved this finally by slightly tweaking the derailler hanger inward and by putting a strip of rubber via double sided tape to act as a guide to keep it on that lowest cog. That has worked now for 600+ miles. Still, kind of annoying. Don’t love the derailler but again, considering the price point it has worked fairly well. I did also bend a few teeth on the cog. This is likely user error downshifting under load and turbo. I was able to remove the cassette and pound them back into line easily enough with a punch. No biggie and we all know this can and does happen given the torque on eBikes. Also, at 1000 miles there is some slight skipping beginning to happen. The chain is still original and within spec but I’m likely going to change it soon and see how that goes. After that a new derailler, cassette, chainring and chain may be in order before 2000 miles.
The Guide brakes have been a pleasant surprise. I’m partial to Shimano but these have performed excellent for 1000 miles and I am actually still on the original pads! I check them every few rides and they are close to needed changed but still have some life left. No squishy in the brake lines and they have great feel and handle the weight of the eBike well. Very happy with them.
I did not “flip the chip” or do anything to the shock positioning. The rear (and front) shocks are still buttery smooth and performing perfectly.
The seat dropper post is beginning to get a bit of play but not too bad. Still, fully functional. I do not love having to take the shock out and mess with everything to extend or shorten the cable enough to move the seatpost. This is an internal seatpost routing issue but it’s a bummer as it makes it difficult to swap the bike to different riders easily.
There is some general creaking and clicking that has occurred as is normal in my experience for any bike around this mileage and in alloy. I have lubed and greased some points and that has helped. I will probably overhaul the suspension bearings at some point but movement is still great and I really see no need yet.
My only “complaint” if I had one would be the pedal strikes. It took me awhile to adjust coming from a bike with a considerably higher bottom bracket. And yes, even with the 165’s it strikes a lot. But I also know that’s part of the magic of this frame design downhill and keeping the weight low. I’ve adapted and the battery is pretty well protected. Overall the 165 are the right length and spinning on the eBikes is much more effective (and likely easier on the motor and drivetrain) than trying to push big gears.
Also, why no USB or other power ports on our Specialized eBikes? That is one think I liked on the Bulls. The ability to charge my phone or to hook lights up to the main bike battery. Seems like something Specialized would be all over. Accessory market!
So that’s it. 1000 in and still going strong! I’m already saving for my next one and this next time I’m going carbon! Happy trails!
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