2020 Turbo levo drivetrain swap recommendation - ? XT/XTR

[bjmc]

I am about to order a 2020 Turbo levo comp.
Would greatly appreciate a recommendation for a drivetrain swap.
The stock SRAM drivetrain shifting seems "clunky," clattery and noisy. I am used to much smoother shifting with the XT components on my mountain bike. I realize there is more torque when shifting on an e-bike.
Has anyone swapped to XT/XTR derailleur and shifter? How does it perform?

 

[ggx]

Super mojo is XT combo

 

[RickBullotta]

I am about to order a 2020 Turbo levo comp.
Would greatly appreciate a recommendation for a drivetrain swap.
The stock SRAM drivetrain shifting seems "clunky," clattery and noisy. I am used to much smoother shifting with the XT components on my mountain bike. I realize there is more torque when shifting on an e-bike.
Has anyone swapped to XT/XTR derailleur and shifter? How does it perform?

IMO XTR is overrated and not worth the incremental cash. XT is solid, reliable, and durable.

 

[Mavik]

I am about to order a 2020 Turbo levo comp.
Would greatly appreciate a recommendation for a drivetrain swap.
The stock SRAM drivetrain shifting seems "clunky," clattery and noisy. I am used to much smoother shifting with the XT components on my mountain bike. I realize there is more torque when shifting on an e-bike.
Has anyone swapped to XT/XTR derailleur and shifter? How does it perform?

Go with the XT drivetrain, the Hyperglide+ helps a lot especially on the e-bike with more torque. You can just shift under load and not be worried as the new XT drivetrains just soaks it all up. A mate of mine on the Turbo Levo swapped it over to the XT drivetrain and he loves it.

 

[Kave]

What are the best option for going xt if coming from a standard shimano hub?

 

[Mavik]

What are the best option for going xt if coming from a standard shimano hub?

You probably need to ensure that you have a microspline freehub to fit the newer cassette.

 

[James_C]

the 19 levo comp I demoed had the same issue. Nowhere near as smooth as XT on my other bike

I hoped it hadn't been oiled or something - perhaps not :-O

 

[Thomas]

New HYPERGLIDE+ is only on 12 speed shimano systems.
With new Shimano 12 speed chain you will encounter in whole new other "problems". First you might need 12 speed compatible chain tool, as the side plates are also taller and chain doesn't fit in some tools. Other problem is front chainring. New 12 speed Shimano chains are narrower and paring this with normal 11-12 speed......grrrrr it is just to tight for my comfort. Already send some components back for a refund....
For best performance, you would be advice to use specific Shimano 12 compatible chainring, that is little narrower, as this one from RaceFace.
Narrow Wide – SHI 12 Speed
Unfortunately you are limited regarding size choice.
I gave up on 12 speed Shimano chain, don't care about HYPERGLIDE+. On my previuse LEvo, I use 11 speed XTR derailleur, Sram 1199 cassette, XTR Chain and it was really perfect match. With new build, I will have to go with Sram Eagle cassette and chain, which should also works perfectly with Shimano 12 speed derailleur. You will also have to install 12 Speed micro spline freehub body as Comp models have normal 11 speed Shimano/Sram.
bjmc you probably just want to upgrade to 11 speed XT, not that 12 speed Shimano headache right? So you are good to go.
Only buy rear derailleur, shifter and Sram lever/Shimano shifter adapter. You can run everything else stock. If it still doesn't feel good, you can always upgrade later, to XT cassette and XTR Chain or even XT lever/brake set.

 

[FishyBob666]

I swapped mine straight away for XT but 11 speed, no need for 12 and stronger/cheaper. A 50t cog on an ebike is totally unnecessary

 

[Flatslide]

Just a side note on Shimano 11-12 speed chain compatibility: My Altitude new is 11spd Slx 11-46, XT derailleur, Slx shifter and RF 34t narrow-wide chain ring. I'm using an XT 12spd chain picked up for a bargain, and it's lasted 1100km now. As the quick-link is fractionally narrower, I initially had a noise issue where the link would hook on a wide tooth as it left the front ring with a click, but a couple of hundred k's sorted that. Aside from that, for a $60nzd chain, it has outlasted the factory KMC "e-bike specific" chain by more than twice. If you just pinned the chain without using a quick-link, catching on the wide tooth wouldn't be an issue. I used my park tool chain breaker to remove links initially, the 12spd chain fitted in sweet.

 

[z1ppy]

Try the Sram setup for a while, we all love it. It doesn’t feel clunky in a bad way, it’s such a solid shift, it conveys a confident shift which is awesome with extra power on a e-bike. I don’t get that from shimano & multi-gear shifting is a rapid fire joy with the s700 shifter. XT on my other bike now feels wishy washy in comparison. No way you get me to change*

*unless parts starts to wear quickly & tbh I’d be looking to replace it with better sram parts

 

[Choc3]

I need some advise.

I also want to change to XT 11 speed for my Levo.

I woud want to install SLX or XT cassette 11-46.

The derailleur come in medium and long cage. Which one?

 

[paquo]

i used just the xt cassette with an xo derailleur and new steel microspline freehub and it shifts better. Sadly the stock xx setup sucked badly

 

[FishyBob666]

I need some advise.

I also want to change to XT 11 speed for my Levo.

I woud want to install SLX or XT cassette 11-46.

The derailleur come in medium and long cage. Which one?

medium

 

[Flatslide]

I need some advise.

I also want to change to XT 11 speed for my Levo.

I woud want to install SLX or XT cassette 11-46.

The derailleur come in medium and long cage. Which one?

Although the Rocky is more powerful, does the Levo need 11spd? I changed my Powerplay to 10spd. I use Deore 10spd chains (cheap but strong), an M785 10spd shifter with the original XT 11spd derailleur and an 11-42 HG500 Deore cassette-also cheap and only the 42t is alloy, the rest are steel.

 

[Taffyteg]

I need some advise.

I also want to change to XT 11 speed for my Levo.

I woud want to install SLX or XT cassette 11-46.

The derailleur come in medium and long cage. Which one?

I have done this and I am very impressed with the results.
Firstly I swapped my wheels to Hope XC on Pro 4 hubs and Shimano hub.
Secondly I went for a Sunrace rear cassette 11 - 46, its really good and the ratio between gears is so much better compared with Shimano M8000.
Finally I recently went to a XT rear mech and shifter as the SRAM was on its last legs. To be honest I slightly preferred the way SRAM GX shifted under load, felt a bit more solid, but the XT seems more robust and shifts well under all conditions, better than the SRAM overall - but not much.
The Sunrace and XT combo works very well and is cheaper to service / replace than SRAM.
I have also gone for a 32T Hope chainring - thats also performing very well.

 

[Levo-Lon]

I have xt 11speed cassette with SRAM mech ,it is slightly smoother

I wouldn't go 12speed on a levo, pointless

 

[Choc3]

My Levo 2020 is setup with NX SRAM derailleur . Will the existing hanger also fit the XT derailleur? Thanks

 

[Taffyteg]

My Levo 2020 is setup with NX SRAM derailleur . Will the existing hanger also fit the XT derailleur? Thanks

I didn't need to change the hangar when going from SRAM to XT

 

[J10]

I replaced my Tubo Levo 2020's Sram NX set to Shimano XT and it's been amazing, it was a cheap upgrade (200 Euros total) since XT 11s parts are not as popular nowadays in comparison to 12s (I didn't bother with 12 speed, probably an overkill on a Levo + micro splines would need a new hub) . I can shift faster, with less noise and it feels like the chain is not going to break anymore.

I left the old Sram cassette in for a while and then also changed it to Shimano last week, that was a smaller difference but it also feels better, probably because is new too.

 

[James_C]

I am using XT rear mech with SRAM shifter and works perfect. Much prefer it. It shifts really well, I don't see a need to change the shifter.
The shimano mech is cheaper too and the jockey wheels seem more resistant to mud ingress in the bearings too.