Levo Gen 3 Cascade Link 2022+ Levo Long Shock Kit

[rzr]

so, Long Link installed,
bike config: BB low, 2 x 29x2.5" Assegai, front -1* ZEB 170mm
BB is at exactly 36cm (with 230x65mm)
(however i forgot to measure before :/ )

 

[FirstAscent]

I run the following settings [from fully closed]:
LSC - 7
HSC - 1/2 [depending on terrain]
R - 3

However, as I mentioned my Öhlins TTX22 M.2 has a custom valving for my bike, my weight and riding style.
Considering this and the fact I run much softer spring (502), my damping settings are totally irrelevant for anyone else.
I would suggest to set your shock to your liking and not try to copy somebody else's setting.

If you’re in the U.S., can you share the shop details for whom you worked with to build the Ohlins? I’m considering the TTX22 M.2 but I don’t want “normal”

 

[BikeBert]

If you’re in the U.S., can you share the shop details for whom you worked with to build the Ohlins? I’m considering the TTX22 M.2 but I don’t want “normal”

Un(fortunately) I'm in the EU. But if you don't want "normal" and are in the US - forget Öhlins, you have many good suspension specialists there, e.g. Avalanche. I have his open bath cartridge in my old Marzocchi 55 Ti, and it's fantastic! I would kill to get the same for my Fox 38 in Levo.

If you want the best, talk to Craig, he can transform the Bomber CR OEM shock into best personalized suspension you will ever ride.

Avalanche Suspension

Avalanche Suspension gives you a competitive advantage with its custom tuned shocks and forks. Our Open Bath Cartridge systems are virtually maintenance free, guaranteed.

www.avalanchedownhillracing.com

 

[FirstAscent]

Un(fortunately) I'm in the EU. But if you don't want "normal" and are in the US - forget Öhlins, you have many good suspension specialists there, e.g. Avalanche. I have his open bath cartridge in my old Marzocchi 55 Ti, and it's fantastic! I would kill to get the same for my Fox 38 in Levo.

If you want the best, talk to Craig, he can transform the Bomber CR OEM shock into best personalized suspension you will ever ride.

Avalanche Suspension

Avalanche Suspension gives you a competitive advantage with its custom tuned shocks and forks. Our Open Bath Cartridge systems are virtually maintenance free, guaranteed.

www.avalanchedownhillracing.com

haha thanks, yeah options are a good thing!

I know I'm ordering the Cascade long shock kit, I may go with the EXT E-Storia shock because getting it through Cascade will give me a deal and I can work directly with them to make sure it's setup for the link and my style/weight etc. Still deciding on a specific shock though which is why I haven't ordered the link yet.
If I go with the EXT I need to order it at the same time as the link to get the discount.

For my fork, I'll leave on the Fox 38 but upgrade the internals, I've never used any of the Avalanche products but pretty sure I'll do their cartridge as you suggested, I keep hearing amazing things about it!

However, I'm on the fence for smashpot coil conversion vs avalanche hybrid coil. I'm so ready to order everything... once I decide which route haha

 

[ebikerider]

Un(fortunately) I'm in the EU. But if you don't want "normal" and are in the US - forget Öhlins, you have many good suspension specialists there, e.g. Avalanche. I have his open bath cartridge in my old Marzocchi 55 Ti, and it's fantastic! I would kill to get the same for my Fox 38 in Levo.

If you want the best, talk to Craig, he can transform the Bomber CR OEM shock into best personalized suspension you will ever ride.

Avalanche Suspension

Avalanche Suspension gives you a competitive advantage with its custom tuned shocks and forks. Our Open Bath Cartridge systems are virtually maintenance free, guaranteed.

www.avalanchedownhillracing.com

Disagree. I went down the tuned Bomber from Avy path and it hasn’t been positive. I had been assuming the shock he built me was awesome and had been blaming the link for less than stellar performance but after sticking with it and putting the shock on the dyno it showed the shock was 100% the issue. Excessive rebound and minimal compression damping were my complaints that were confirmed on the dyno. Craigs fork dampers are excellent but after this experience I couldn’t recommend the Bomber shocks from him.

 

[Ou812]

haha thanks, yeah options are a good thing!

I know I'm ordering the Cascade long shock kit, I may go with the EXT E-Storia shock because getting it through Cascade will give me a deal and I can work directly with them to make sure it's setup for the link and my style/weight etc. Still deciding on a specific shock though which is why I haven't ordered the link yet.
If I go with the EXT I need to order it at the same time as the link to get the discount.

For my fork, I'll leave on the Fox 38 but upgrade the internals, I've never used any of the Avalanche products but pretty sure I'll do their cartridge as you suggested, I keep hearing amazing things about it!

However, I'm on the fence for smashpot coil conversion vs avalanche hybrid coil. I'm so ready to order everything... once I decide which route haha

The owner of Avalanche is an interesting person to say the least. If you like getting talked to like you’re a 5 year old then he’s your man. He has a reputation for being a douche, I know his suspension stuff is decent but I won’t buy it on principle alone. I got told I was an idiot for wasting my money on EXT stuff

 

[FirstAscent]

The owner of Avalanche is an interesting person to say the least. If you like getting talked to like your a 5 year old then he’s your man. He has a reputation for being a douche, I know his suspension stuff is decent but I won’t buy it on principle alone. I got told I was an idiot for wasting my money on EXT stuff

I’ve heard that about him, which is unfortunate. I know couple people like that in the motorcycle industry.. really great at what they do but they are a$$holes. It definitely affects the overall product experience.

What EXT do you have? I’ve read through this thread but don’t recall who’s who yet

 

[Ou812]

I’ve heard that about him, which is unfortunate. I know couple people like that in the motorcycle industry.. really great at what they do but they are a$$holes. It definitely affects the overall product experience.

What EXT do you have? I’ve read through this thread but don’t recall who’s who yet

I have the regular Storia, I already had it from another bike so just had it retuned for the Levo. I’m on the regular cascade link too, been debating going with the long link. I’ll upgrade to the E-Storia if I go that route.

 

[Haveland]

Can the alloy long link fit the carbon? I like the idea of the alloy version being more sturdy.

Going to ask cascade but wondered if it was a known hack or something.

 

[LeeG]

Has anyone measured the actual head angle with this link installed? and if so, what was your headcup set at?

 

[rzr]

Can the alloy long link fit the carbon? I like the idea of the alloy version being more sturdy.

yes, i have alloy version with a strut, on carbon frame

 

[maramouse]

Has anyone measured the actual head angle with this link installed? and if so, what was your headcup set at?

Hello, how repeatedly said, the geometry does not change with the long link.

 

[LeeG]

Hello, how repeatedly said, the geometry does not change with the long link.

The BB height increases, as has been repeatedly said, so geo must change.

 

[BikeBert]

Who cares about geometry.
Go ride your bike

P.S. Smashpot is a perfect match for a coil shock on the back.

 

[rzr]

Hello, how repeatedly said, the geometry does not change with the long link.

more details please.... (not a link or word from cascade web page)

The BB height increases, as has been repeatedly said, so geo must change.

NOT TRUE... only if BB goes higher, there is a chance of keeping geo the same.


i didn't measure mine bike before the change (i was too excited )
it all depends what does it mean 'geometry doesn't change'.
if the BB stays at the same height (when bike not sagged) - definitely geo changes. (your sagged bike will be lower, and BB during full compression like 12mm lower !)

if the BB is roughly at the same height during a ride - dynamic SAG - this I'd call 'no geo change'

 

[MM5K]

more details please.... (not a link or word from cascade web page)

NOT TRUE... only if BB goes higher, there is a chance of keeping geo the same.


i didn't measure mine bike before the change (i was too excited )
it all depends what does it mean 'geometry doesn't change'.
if the BB stays at the same height (when bike not sagged) - definitely geo changes. (your sagged bike will be lower, and BB during full compression like 12mm lower !)

if the BB is roughly at the same height during a ride - dynamic SAG - this I'd call 'no geo change'

"Geometry doesn't change" can only mean one possible thing - Whenever anyone talks about geometry, it's always a completely unsagged, static bike, as it doesn't change.

You can't reference dynamic sag/geometry, because it's always going to be different for everyone, depending on their suspension setup and how they weight the bike. You and me could weigh exactly the same and ride the exact same bike back to back, but if I ride hard over the front, and you hang far off the back, we're both going to have different dynamic geometry.

I'm not jumping into the discussion on whether or not the BB is raised with the longshock kit, but as a mechanical engineer, I can tell you that the only possible and useful reference for geometry is the static geometry.

 

[rzr]

"Geometry doesn't change" can only mean one possible thing - Whenever anyone talks about geometry, it's always a completely unsagged, static bike, as it doesn't change.

so this statement doesn't make sense to me, and talk 'geo doesn't change'
as it's CLEARLY DIFFERENT while I ride the bike ....


thank You for explaining how suspension works, Mr. Obvious

 

[FirstAscent]

alright, right or wrong, I made some decisions and placed some orders today!

• Cascade Link - Long Shock Kit version
• EXT E-Storia
• Avalanche damper cartridge with additional hybrid coil option
• Fox 170mm air cartridge to up the front travel

Now for the worst part...waiting! haha

 

[Ou812]

Heads up for the UK people, Cascade is having a moving sale right now. Everything is 50% off, I just picked up the long link kit for £189.

 

[Ou812]

Is anyone running the fork at the stock 160mm or has everyone upped the travel to 170mm? My link will be delivered tomorrow so I’m trying to figure what else I should buy.

 

[BikeBert]

Is anyone running the fork at the stock 160mm or has everyone upped the travel to 170mm? My link will be delivered tomorrow so I’m trying to figure what else I should buy.

I was running fork at stock 160mm but recently upped the travel to 170mm while installing Smashpot. Don't see much difference between both travel options.

 

[FirstAscent]

Is anyone running the fork at the stock 160mm or has everyone upped the travel to 170mm? My link will be delivered tomorrow so I’m trying to figure what else I should buy.

No experience yet but my link was delivered yesterday and the longer shock (EXT E-Storia) should be delivered Monday or Tuesday.

I also ordered a new air shaft to up the fox 38 to 170mm.
So I’ll let you know next week how it feels haha

 

[rzr]

i've upped to 170, because I was servicing mine Zeb, and also coz BB is sometimes too low.
Didn't expect any noticable changes.

 

[Ou812]

No experience yet but my link was delivered yesterday and the longer shock (EXT E-Storia) should be delivered Monday or Tuesday.

I also ordered a new air shaft to up the fox 38 to 170mm.
So I’ll let you know next week how it feels haha

I ordered the smashpot kit, I’m going to set it up at 170mm since that seems to be what everyone seems to say is the best. I’ll probably run it in slack/high and see how it does.

 

[FirstAscent]

I ordered the smashpot kit, I’m going to set it up at 170mm since that seems to be what everyone seems to say is the best. I’ll probably run it in slack/high and see how it does.

Sweet! I was SO close to getting the smashpot as well but decided on the avalanche instead. But the avy is about 8 weeks out so that will be the last step.

I’m currently in the low setting and normal/0° in the headset, I’m going to leave it there as a starting point

 

[Dmaguirenz]

Regarding the CC long stroke, I asked the guys at Cascade the following

View attachment 100281

This is the response I got,

View attachment 100282
I also asked the guys at EXT regarding the E-Storia installed on the Gen3 Turbo Levo with the CC Long Stroke. This is the response I got

View attachment 100283


View attachment 100284

I'm a huge fan of Cascade links pared with EXT shocks. My daily has been a Dreadnought with Cascade B1 link with EXT Storia Lok v3, set up as mullet. I haven't ridden anything that comes close to how well the rear wheel tracks the ground. I just demo the Ibis Oso and the new DW rear linkage kinematics can't touch my Dreadnought set up.

About to install on the Turbo
View attachment 100285 View attachment 100286

Back to the question.

People who want to have a really good time and are willing to pay the money in order to do it. I'm confident, these folks don't care about other people who cry about it.

Hello there, what springs did you end upn with? Did I see you were 200lbs? 550 and a ? I've just got the e storia, and I'm 240lbs, sent me a 700 and 650...think it could be a little hard

 

[Redders473]

Hello there, what springs did you end upn with? Did I see you were 200lbs? 550 and a ? I've just got the e storia, and I'm 240lbs, sent me a 700 and 650...think it could be a little hard

I'm 240ish and i have a 700 and 750 but I've swapped the 750 for a 650. The 700 was only giving me 25% sag. Been using telemetry to do testing and I'm swapping to the 650. All though I'm not using the long shock kit just the added progression linkage

 

[rzr]

mind that quite often with a coil spring you have to run a bit less SAG
(when suspension is not exactly designed for linear spring)

 

[BikeBert]

mind that quite often with a coil spring you have to run a bit less SAG
(when suspension is not exactly designed for linear spring)

Wrong. SAG is a starting point and should be set right. If you're bottoming out your damper, your settings are wrong or it needs proper valving. I'm 85kg and run 29% SAG on my TTX 22 with 502 lb/in spring. No bottoming out even on jumps and drops. Plush and compliant.

 

[rzr]

sure.... sometimes frame is just wrong...