Levo Gen 2 Base Turbo Levo Upgrades

[Markymark]

As the thread title states. What upgrades would you consider first. I have converted the stock tires to tubeless but have no idea if they are any good for the ground where I tend to ride most (Swinley) area.
I think that pedals would be one of the first, not sure I like the look of the stock ones.
So welcome any ideas.
I was a bit dissapointed that, as far as I could see, was there was no lockout for the rear shock for when climbing or road riding but that upgrade is too expensive at the moment. I could lock the shock on my old Haibike.

 

[z1ppy]

Tbh straight away, just your contact points (seat/grip/pedals to your preferred choices), then ride it & see what you don’t like. The base levo fork looks to be where you’d gain the most performance, but having been smoked by a friend who has one, I wouldn’t write it off straight out of the box (unless you have cash burning a hole).
i bought a 19 Comp last year & asked the same question, a year later it’s basically stock & a brilliant bike to ride. though the rear rim has finally succumbed to my cackhandedness, it’s lasted longer than I expected & took a far amount of grief to get there (Insert would have helped). There lots of sparkly parts I‘d love but I have other priorities, & really are they going to make me much faster?

oh & I’ve never felt the need for a lockout on the Levo, it pedals really well.
Get out & enjoy it

 

[RickBullotta]

Modern shocks on well designed frames like the Levo don't need lockout. In fact, the higher end shocks and forks don't even offer lockout.

 

[Choc3]

I have the base levo 2020 and had a problem as many with the RockShox 35 from the start and repaired /replaced under warranty. I then I took the desición to change to a Lyrik, what a difference. I highly recommend to do this upgrade in the near future. I also changed the brakes to SLX 4 pistons, if you ride hard you need stopping power. The SRAM Level T not up to the job in my opinion. My bike also came with the Burgtec Penthouse Flat MK5, they are very good pedals. Just changed grips to Deity Lockjaw

My future upgrades when I have to change the drivetrain will be Shimano XT drivetrain I do not really like NX. Maybe the shock too.

For the price of the bike it should bring better components.

 

[Markymark]

Thanks for the input guys. TBH I didn't really miss the lockout.

 

[Choc3]

Thanks for the input guys. TBH I didn't really miss the lockout.

As everyone has mentioned you do not need the lockout.

 

[James_C]

I have a nearly new 2020 Comp shock for sale

RS Deluxe Select+

For Sale (BIKE) - please delete

please delete

www.emtbforums.com

the pedals are for demo only, they are rubbish.

 

[Mattwilko92]

The crap SRAM brakes.

 

[Mikerb]

1. pedals
2. grips
3. saddle
Sort your riding position having done these.....you may need to alter the stem stack/get different rise bars/change the stem.
or it all may be fine.
4. Change the fork to a Pike/Lyric.
5. Change the rear mech to GX
6. 4 pot caliper for the rear.

 

[Al Boneta]

Don’t go too high end on the fork, most riders don’t know how most of the adjustments work or what they do. I run into plenty of riders who don’t have their suspension set up properly and they are busy bragging about how much better their Fox fork is. A mid level fork or shock will be fine in most cases.
Have a reputable shop help set up the suspension properly and the performance will improve tremendously.

 

[55plusmxinsanity]

To burn a hole in your pocket book: Fox36e and dpx2 (both are no brainer to set up and are fantastic), upgrade brakes (rotors are fine), carbon bars, and nice pedals. Keep messing with power settings to get the feel and assistance you want for any given day or trail.

 

[blacktiger]

You people throwing money at changing the forks, you do realise that you can change the oil in the damping side to different weights and tune it to feel lots better? Just needs some experimentation.

 

[z1ppy]

... it's the same with the "Sram brake are rubbish" (4 pot version), have you guys actually bothered riding them? I'm Clydesdale size and they stop me just fine, and done so for a year with out issue (& the 1.5yr previous on my last bike). At worst get some decent pads, stop spending penny's on pads then whining your brakes are crap.

 

[RickBullotta]

Don’t go too high end on the fork, most riders don’t know how most of the adjustments work or what they do. I run into plenty of riders who don’t have their suspension set up properly and they are busy bragging about how much better their Fox fork is. A mid level fork or shock will be fine in most cases.
Have a reputable shop help set up the suspension properly and the performance will improve tremendously.

That statement actually doesn't make sense though. While most riders may not know how to set them up, you *will* be able to get a better outcome with a higher level fork that supports separate high speed and low speed rebound and damping circuits and that has a more tunable spring curve. It's not that huge an effort to do a proper setup. With experience you can "trail tune" it for differing conditions as well. I have an index card with a handful of "recipes" for bike park days, flowy groomers, and rocky/rooty tech gnar.

 

[RickBullotta]

You people throwing money at changing the forks, you do realise that you can change the oil in the damping side to different weights and tune it to feel lots better? Just needs some experimentation.

The flow rate of the oil is only one tiny aspect of a properly tuned suspension component though. Will it make a difference? Yes. Will it "tune" a fork properly? No.

 

[blacktiger]

The flow rate of the oil is only one tiny aspect of a properly tuned suspension component though. Will it make a difference? Yes. Will it "tune" a fork properly? No.

It's not tiny as you say. It's a major aspect of it because it is two of the only adjustments you can make. i.e. compression and rebound damping. The other being the spring/air pressure. By altering the oil weight, you change the range of adjustment you have in the fork.

 

[RickBullotta]

It's not tiny as you say. It's a major aspect of it because it is two of the only adjustments you can make. i.e. compression and rebound damping. The other being the spring/air pressure. By altering the oil weight, you change the range of adjustment you have in the fork.

Yup - but it can't make a sh*tty fork good, and can't make a fork with limited tunability tunable...cheers.

 

[jsharpe]

The crap SRAM brakes.

I replaced the front rotor with a 220 Magura MDR-P and some kevlar pads front and back and it completely transformed the brakes. Before that I was planning to swap the stock set out completely, but no longer feel the need.

 

[Mikerb]

You people throwing money at changing the forks, you do realise that you can change the oil in the damping side to different weights and tune it to feel lots better? Just needs some experimentation.

That will have marginal impact if what you are upgrading is an oil wetted damper (eg Motion Control to the charger bladder type

 

[Mikerb]

RC only has rebound and low speed compression. RC2 has high and low speed compression and rebound. All Charger dampers are sealed air bladders.

 

[blacktiger]

That will have marginal impact if what you are upgrading is an oil wetted damper (eg Motion Control to the charger bladder type

That "marginal" effect has made my bike rideable because the forks now absorb the bumps rather than crashing through them. It's a HUGE noticeable difference. That will also have the knock on effect of putting less stress through all the surrounding components.

 

[Mikerb]

That "marginal" effect has made my bike rideable because the forks now absorb the bumps rather than crashing through them. It's a HUGE noticeable difference. That will also have the knock on effect of putting less stress through all the surrounding components.

The damper only controls the speed of the stroke nlt the compression and the oil in the lower leg has no effect on the compression stroke of the damper since that is a sealed unit so unless you have an open oil wetted honeycomb damper like the motion control type it is difficult to see how changing the viscosity of the very small amount of oil (10 ml) in the lower leg can make much difference.

 

[blacktiger]

The damper only controls the speed of the stroke nlt the compression and the oil in the lower leg has no effect on the compression stroke of the damper since that is a sealed unit so unless you have an open oil wetted honeycomb damper like the motion control type it is difficult to see how changing the viscosity of the very small amount of oil (10 ml) in the lower leg can make much difference.

Seems like you're commenting without reading my original post. I only changed the compression damping oil. The rebound is fine as I have adjusted it. By keeping on trying to justify your spending hundreds of quid, you've completely missed my point. Which is to try changing the oils for a tenner BEFORE spending big on swapping the whole fork.

 

[Al Boneta]

That statement actually doesn't make sense though. While most riders may not know how to set them up, you *will* be able to get a better outcome with a higher level fork that supports separate high speed and low speed rebound and damping circuits and that has a more tunable spring curve. It's not that huge an effort to do a proper setup. With experience you can "trail tune" it for differing conditions as well. I have an index card with a handful of "recipes" for bike park days, flowy groomers, and rocky/rooty tech gnar.

It doesn’t make sense to you because you are an experienced rider and understand set up.
A lot of my customers are new to Emtbs and mountain biking in general.
The basic concepts of preload, rebound and compression can be a total mystery to these riders. Do these riders need a $1200 fork? They won’t be able to tell the difference between high and low speed compression when they can barely turn at this point.

 

[blacktiger]

That statement actually doesn't make sense though. While most riders may not know how to set them up, you *will* be able to get a better outcome with a higher level fork that supports separate high speed and low speed rebound and damping circuits and that has a more tunable spring curve. It's not that huge an effort to do a proper setup. With experience you can "trail tune" it for differing conditions as well. I have an index card with a handful of "recipes" for bike park days, flowy groomers, and rocky/rooty tech gnar.

For riders like me who trail ride around the countryside and encounter all sorts of things on a ride, I can't stop and retune my forks because I'm about to ride through some woods with roots sticking up or a track that has been surfaced with rocks or a fast down hill. Any setting is a compromise and unfortunately a lot of bikes are set up from the factory with overly stiff suspension damping ranges to cope with landing huge jumps. That's why I changed to a 2.5W oil in the compression damping to give me a different range of adjustment. It has worked FOR ME. It might not be the solution for you.
That's why I'm trying to get the message across to riders that don't know about this stuff that you can change your forks to improve them for a few quid. And no, they're never going to be the ultimate. But, for probably 99% of riders they'll get an acceptable result.

 

[RickBullotta]

It doesn’t make sense to you because you are an experienced rider and understand set up.
A lot of my customers are new to Emtbs and mountain biking in general.
The basic concepts of preload, rebound and compression can be a total mystery to these riders. Do these riders need a $1200 fork? They won’t be able to tell the difference between high and low speed compression when they can barely turn at this point.

Yup. Agree. I was simply commenting that changing fluid weight won't make a cheap fork better.

 

[Choc3]

You can do tweeks to a budget fork and make some improvements but it will never compare to a more expensive fork. My bike came with Rockshox 35 a budget fork and after 2 months changed to a Lyrik and what a difference it has made to the overall feel of the bike and to my riding confidence, in my opinion well spent money on an upgrade that you can feel a noticble difference.