Levo Gen 2 2020 Turbo Levo Owners Thread

Raknor

Member
Jun 11, 2019
21
54
North East
Has anyone had luck getting a 2020 at a discount? I’m guessing not as they’re brand new. I’m hoping to get my dealer to do a 10% discount if purchasing another (lower cost) bike at same time. They had offered me a 2019 Kenevo Expert for 5k but I’m leaning towards a 2020 Levo. Haven’t found a Kenevo to try and it’s specs are more gravity focused than I’ll actually do

Where are you based?
 

LordExplorer

Member
Aug 20, 2019
18
18
Denver
Has anyone had luck getting a 2020 at a discount? I’m guessing not as they’re brand new. I’m hoping to get my dealer to do a 10% discount if purchasing another (lower cost) bike at same time. They had offered me a 2019 Kenevo Expert for 5k but I’m leaning towards a 2020 Levo. Haven’t found a Kenevo to try and it’s specs are more gravity focused than I’ll actually do

Where are you based?

Colorado
 

eabmex

Member
Patreon
Jun 8, 2018
97
87
Guadalajara, Mexico
My review of the 2020 Turbo Levo Comp.



As already stated great review! I myself have a ´19 expert and hearing your comments about the suspension I have to agree that for the kind of riding that I do both the progression and the pressure were too high. What I ended up doing was removing all the tokens from the fork (Pike in my case) and left just one on the shock (removed the gnar token) and used the rockshox app for the suggested pressure and rebound which ended up being about 10 psi less and 3 clicks faster than what Specialized recommended for the fork and adjusted the shock a similar percentage, it transformed how the suspension react, I might add a regular token to the shock to try at a later day.

Enjoy your bike, they are amazing!
 

Al Boneta

Dark Rider
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 18, 2018
1,351
2,603
California
Been building 2020 Levos all day for my sales floor. Some of them have this nifty case for the charger and manuals. Some of them don’t.
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digitalhippie

New Member
Sep 5, 2019
17
120
Hobart, Tasmania
Heya so I've been buzzing around on the 2020 Turbo Levo Comp for the last week or so.

It's replaced the 2017 Comp I've been using for work the last couple of years (guided ebike tours, rentals, and commuting up and down mountain trails to work). I'd done about 4000km on the old Levo (fitted with Butcher 2.8's) then a few hundred km on the demo 2019 Levo Comp we've had in our store.

The 700wh battery and Lyrik fork on the 2020 were enough to convince me to say goodbye to my 2017 comp which I'd grown quite fond of. The 2019 Levo, especially at the lower spec levels fell a little short.

TBH I was surprised when Specialized released the 2019 Levo with 29er wheels. On an eMTB I much prefer 27.5, 38mm internal width rims or greater, 2.8 Butchers. I temporarily swapped out the 2019 29er wheelset with the 2017 650b wheelset and yeah for sure enjoyed the bike more in 650b mode. To be clear, have nothing against 29er - my non electric enduro bike is a 29er.

So that's why my 2020 Levo has ended up with the same wheelset as my 2017 Levo. I carried over the Black Diamond Butchers which I'm a big fan of. Had wrecked a bunch of tires before the Black Diamond spec was released, none since.

To round it out I am running 150mm cranks (Nimbus 2). No issues, love the clearance especially having lost some BB height swapping back to 650b 2.8's.

Out of the box the Lyrik had potential but needed extra tokens - running 4 tokens now and it feels great. A definite upgrade on the Yari/Revelation on previous Levos. I migh upgrade the airshaft and charger unit yet, but for now it feels good. Opening up the rear shock the air can as shipped is already maxxed out with tokens

All up the 2020 Comp looks to be a slick machine out of the box, and with a couple of upgrades is going to be even sweeter. I use the Levo as my car and fun machine on work days, my non electric bike is for the gravity park on days off

Pete

2020-turbo-levo-4.jpg
 

Paolone

Member
Jul 20, 2019
53
44
Italia
I can’t stand the tires. Sliding all over the place. Already ordered 3C 2.6 EXO+ DHF and DHR2.

I've always found myself well with Magic Mary in front and greed bdm rear .... with mousse I go down to 1.2 bar in front and 1.8 rear ... I read that you did not like the lyrik .... I hope to find a right setting , since I come from a bad experience with Fox 36 rhythm (I felt it was too hard, unlike the lyrik rc3 2019 I had)
 

RipTide

Member
Sep 2, 2019
26
14
California
I ordered the 2020 base model. I expect it will be just fine for me. It is a significant step up from my 1997 Specialized A1 Comp; yes, some of us are a little slow to making the leap to ebikes. But I feel like this is a great choice for me! Looking forward to spending time riding again.
 

rsilvers

Well-known member
Dec 2, 2018
283
244
US
I was not able to get the suspension to be acceptable (if I set it for 25-30% sag, I could only get about 1/2 travel), and thought it was because the Lyrik was over-forked for this bike. Turns out, and I never would have expected this, but they put in volume-reducing spacers in both the front and the back at the factory. I guess they set it up assuming a 250lb guy will ride it.

I am happy I was able to fix it, but frustrated it would come that way.

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rsilvers

Well-known member
Dec 2, 2018
283
244
US
Mods so far to my 2020 Comp:

Remove dork disc
XTR pedals
36T chainring.
Re-route front brake cable to inside fork
Flip chip to high (for less slack)
Remove all tokens and set front to 75psi and back to 150+20 pumps for 20-25% preloads.
Cut bars to 730mm
Make tubeless
Install DHF and DHR2 tires, 3C 2.6 EXO+
RAM phone mount
Bell
 

digitalhippie

New Member
Sep 5, 2019
17
120
Hobart, Tasmania
I was not able to get the suspension to be acceptable (if I set it for 25-30% sag, I could only get about 1/2 travel), and thought it was because the Lyrik was over-forked for this bike. Turns out, and I never would have expected this, but they put in volume-reducing spacers in both the front and the back at the factory. I guess they set it up assuming a 250lb guy will ride it.

I am happy I was able to fix it, but frustrated it would come that way.

TBH a few things there don't sound quite right. Volume spacers are there for a reason. A progressive spring curve offers several key benefits. Tokens allow you to run lower pressures giving better off-the-top performance, while still having the fork/rear shock ramp up nicely towards the end of its travel rather than blowing through its travel and bottoming out. All good things on a trail bike like the Levo and its intended use. It was great to see a Lyrik spec'd on the Levo. It needs a decent fork that can support the front end of the bike comfortably.

2 tokens in the fork is not extreme or for heavier riders. Lightweight aggressive riders can get full travel from the fork with 2 or more tokens if it is set up correctly.

Of course though, bike setup is personal. It's satisfying to get a bike set up just how you like it. Gadgets like Shockwiz can be handy to help set up forks and rear suspension to suit how you ride. If you can get your hands on one, maybe give it a go and see what suspension setup recommendations it comes up with for you.
 
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rsilvers

Well-known member
Dec 2, 2018
283
244
US
I would love to try a ShockWiz, but don't want to spend the $300.

"Volume spacers are there for a reason."

I think the reason is that they want to make sure it doesn't bottom out for the riders who are heavier and/or do big drops.

"Tokens allow you to run lower pressures giving better off-the-top performance, while still having the fork/rear shock ramp up nicely towards the end of its travel rather than blowing through its travel and bottoming out."

This is what everyone says and what I saw on every YouTube video, but if you are light and need 40% sag to get close to the end of the stroke, you give up the beginning of the stroke - and this supposed plush feel at the beginning never materializes. The end result is actually a very harsh ride. So I would agree, but only if you are in a weight range that allows it with acceptable parameters.

"Lightweight aggressive riders can get full travel from the fork with 2 or more tokens if it is set up correctly."

For sure. With some forks. And with jumps of a certain size. With the not much larger than curb-sized jumps I do, and my 64KG of weight, there was no way to get a normal preload and full travel without removing the spacers.
 
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ChrisH

Member
Aug 5, 2019
19
26
Denmark
I had a bit of a weird experience aswell, with the Rockshox Lyrik Select RC fork that came with my 2020 Comp.
Im 100kg with kit, and at the recommended (by Rockshox) 115psi I was sitting at around 45% sag, but it in turn it used a decent amount of travel on larger drops.
I had to go to 150psi "Way to much I would think" just to hit 30% sag and the fork got Very Harsh and even on big drops, I never used more than 60-70% travel....

So i just removed both Tokens it came installed with.
And I get 30% sag at 125psi now.
Travel used looks okay too, but I will test more on the trail later today.
 
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