Levo Gen 3 Cascade Link 2022+ Levo Long Shock Kit

[electricbogaloo]

I have the problem of bottoming out my stock gen3 Levo with an X2 too easily and the rear and also doesn't feel as plus as my old 160 mm bike.

I'm a lighter rider and don't ride big jumps/drops. Mostly natural alpine hiking paths but also not too slow.

The easy/cheap solution would be to buy the link that just provides 10 mm more travel.

The long shock kit should be better but idk if I really need it considering I'm a lighter rider and I don't do big jumps. Also there seem to be clearance issues with the long shock kit and newer carbon frames if you want to use an X2.

I also prefer the low bottom bracket setting and the long shock kit makes it higher, at least when the bike is static. Do you guys feel the bottom bracket getting higher when you ride the long shock link?

 

[Laja_B]

Hello,

Anyone have issue or experience with Cascade Long Shock Kit and RS Vivid Ultimate Air 230x65 , may contact and damage the frame when the suspension is full compressed at Specialized Turbo Levo Alloy Gen3 S3 size?

Thanks for the answers

 

[cañonaco]

The long shock turns the Levo into a Kenevo, it is much better for enduro, with or without jumps, with a light or heavy rider.
The best upgrade for a Levo!
Of course the best solution to avoid various problems is to use a Float X, Superdeluxe Air or Ohlins TTX Coil to avoid contact with the frame or broken stem.

 

[cañonaco]

The center of gravity goes up but you won't regret it.
The Levo works much better in all aspects!

 

[electricbogaloo]

Its not so much the center of gravity but more like the geometry changes. BB gets higher, seatangle and headangle get steeper which will effect the handling of the bike and might make it less capable in some situations. I really prefer the low bb setting to the high with the stock link. That's why I asked cascade about the geo changes.

 

[cañonaco]

The bottom bracket is raised with the long link, the stock geometry is not maintained, but the bike works much better.
The seat tube becomes more vertical, which only has advantages.
The steering is closed, but this is very easy to correct with the angle-set of the Levo.

 

[Haveland]

The geo change is one reason I recommend changing the front shock to 170mm. I was running the long link kit with a 170mm fork with the chip in low up until a few weeks ago that I put the chip in high. I might be liking it a tad more in high. In low I think it was better at the park but high it feels more at home on trails.

 

[mustclime]

The long shock turns the Levo into a Kenevo, it is much better for enduro, with or without jumps, with a light or heavy rider.
The best upgrade for a Levo!
Of course the best solution to avoid various problems is to use a Float X, Superdeluxe Air or Ohlins TTX Coil to avoid contact with the frame or broken stem.

I’m afraid I can not agree with the statement that a long shock kit turns a Levo into a Kenevo. The Kenevo has much longer chain stays and this makes it much more stable at speed and a better climber.

 

[tdmsurfguy]

Hello,

Anyone have issue or experience with Cascade Long Shock Kit and RS Vivid Ultimate Air 230x65 , may contact and damage the frame when the suspension is full compressed at Specialized Turbo Levo Alloy Gen3 S3 size?

Thanks for the answers

Wondering about this too. My frame would be a S5. Debating on the RS SDU coil or Vivid ultimate. But sounds like there could be fitment issues with the vivid?

 

[andymmiami]

Hi all,

Finally installed my cascade long travel linkage on my gen 3 levo with my rockshox sdu air shock. Something I did find odd was just how much psi I am having to add to achieve 30% sag. Does 290 psi seem excessive to you all? I weigh roughly 215lbs with all my riding clothes on.

 

[zorro77]

hi, I tried the long link cascade on gen3 with different shocks but it's always hard in the initial part. I have a new DHX factory to test or sell, can it work? Advice or ideas?

Weight 90kg ready to ride, any suggestions for springs?

TKS

 

[Haveland]

What is your sag measurement and what shock are you running? If coil what weight? If Air what PSI?

 

[zorro77]

ext e-storia sag 19.5 mm spring 500Lb but sold almost immediately (pretty good). Then ohlins TTX1Air and now Float X always 30% sag. These two are progressive and not good but I had them at home and I tried. Now I have a new DHX that I can test or sell. Edit: About 200 psi

 

[Ou812]

What is your sag measurement and what shock are you running? If coil what weight? If Air what PSI?

I’m at 28-30%, it’s kind of hard to measure on a coil. I weigh 72kg geared up and settled on a 425lb spring, I tried a 400lb and a 450lb one was too soft for liking and the other was too stiff.

 

[zorro77]

I’m at 28-30%, it’s kind of hard to measure on a coil. I weigh 72kg geared up and settled on a 425lb spring, I tried a 400lb and a 450lb one was too soft for liking and the other was too stiff.

500Lb on E-storia was too hard for me, I would like to try a 450Lb on this DHX I don't jump that high

 

[Ou812]

500Lb on E-storia was too hard for me, I would like to try a 450Lb on this DHX I don't jump that high

TF Tuned has a pretty decent spring calculator on their site, it should get you in the ballpark. I ended up going between what their calculator and the Push spring calculator came up with after trying all 3 weights.

 

[mustclime]

hi, I tried the long link cascade on gen3 with different shocks but it's always hard in the initial part. I have a new DHX factory to test or sell, can it work? Advice or ideas?

Weight 90kg ready to ride, any suggestions for springs?

TKS

I have both the DHX and the Float X performance elite, the float x is better. The DHX is a trail coil shock and it has a lot of compression damping built in for peddle efficiency. Check this out….



FYI, I ride a Kenevo

 

[andymmiami]

All you guys that run the cascade long travel setup, do you prefer having the rear wheel set in the or high or low flip chip mode? It seems like the long travel raised my bottom bracket up by quite a bit and I was thinking about running the low flip chip mode to kind of counteract it.

 

[Haveland]

I initially put it in low to get a similar to stock height when the bike was in high before the long link. However, I recently changed it to high and think I'm going to leave it here as we have a lot of technical rock in my area and need all the clearance I can get.

 

[cañonaco]

All you guys that run the cascade long travel setup, do you prefer having the rear wheel set in the or high or low flip chip mode? It seems like the long travel raised my bottom bracket up by quite a bit and I was thinking about running the low flip chip mode to kind of counteract it.

Definitely better LOW for me

 

[andymmiami]

Definitely better LOW for me

I didn’t take good measurements but is the chip in low still with a taller bb with the cascade link than stock linkage set in high?

 

[Haveland]

I didn’t take good measurements but is the chip in low still with a taller bb with the cascade link than stock linkage set in high?

In my measurements it was still higher in low but once you added proper sag it was almost identical

 

[andymmiami]

In my measurements it was still higher in low but once you added proper sag it was almost identical

View attachment 148623

What setting did you ultimate settle on? Flip chip low?

 

[Haveland]

I ran lower for the last year, but in the last month, I switched back to high, and I think I like it better for my riding (I ride a lot of tech). I need the clearance.

 

[electricbogaloo]

anybody brought their geometry back to stock with the long link and offset bushings?

 

[andymmiami]

anybody brought their geometry back to stock with the long link and offset bushings?

I’d be concerned that if you used an offset bushing it would allow the shock to have a lower effective overall length and cause the linkage to bind on the frame on max compression.

 

[skiboycey]

Just to add my thoughts to this discussion I fitted the long-shock link and I'm very happy with it. It's on a 2022 Levo Gen-3 Pro S4. I fitted the alloy version of the long-shock link along with a Rockshox Vivid Ulitimate Coil with HBO. I'm 105kg (yes, I know a fat bastard) and live in the Alps so I'm generally climbing technical single-track or blasting down pretty steep and rocky stuff. I have gone with a 550lb spring which seems close enough for now but I bought a 600 in case it was too soft.

I had previously fitted a Vorsprung coil kit and extended the travel to 170mm on the Fox 38 forks. I had always found them to be harsh and very hard to set up, even with a 170 airspring and, whilst they were much better with the coil, they were not as good as I'd hoped. I solved this by fitting a slightly higher rated spring, 55lb/in instead of the 50lb/in I had originally put in and by changing the bath oil to 5wt Fox Teflon from the original recommendation of 0w30 Rockshox and by not using any grease on the bushes, I'm now just relying on the oil splashing about. I also didn't fit the shrink-wrap to the spring as I didn't think a big lump of plastic sitting halfway up it would improve small-bump compliance and it didn't look like it would rattle in a fork as big as the 38 either. I was right on both counts.

With coils all round and a 170/165mm travel setup instead of the stock 160/150mm the ride of the bike is transformed at both ends without, it seems to me, negatively impacting stability or geometry. I can go at least 20% faster on the really bumpy, flat-out stuff, and the improvements in small-bump performance on the flats and climbs coupled with the much better mid-stroke support on single track makes it really very impressive. The bike is finally 'nice', not 'ok'. The rear end is way better than the stock link and Fox X2. The sag was around 28% when I fitted the coil, although it's hard to get a really accurate measurement, and no clearance issues, at least not on my bike. I more go on feel and may experiment with the 600lb spring to see what that feels like but for now the 550 is fine. It pedals very nicely, doesn't bob much and sits up nicely when going uphill. Downhill it just soaks it all up in a controlled and tidy way, like a downhill bike does - you just point it and let the machine soak up the punishment and think about your lines and braking, not hanging on to an out of control bucking bronco. The front end with the Vorsprung coil, lighter oil and no shrink wrap is finally nice, not harsh and constantly bashing my hands. I can probably tune it all a bit better but I found the Rockshox to be pretty good with middle settings, just a little up from middle for rebound. The HBO is on one click for now, I'll see if I need to wind it up for the bike park in summer. For now on alpine single-track and fast, choppy descents and steeps I'm very pleased and the combination of the coil fork and coil rear with revised linkage seems to be very harmonious.

So all in all very positive. Upgrading both front and rear was not cheap, close to 1500 euros and a bit of time to set it all up but, in my opinion, this turns the bike into the weapon it should always have been, not the poorly sprung, harsh pogo-stick it came as when I bought it. The Fox X2 had always leaked and whilst it was very reactive, it would never really sit at the right sag when climbing, even with two tokens, and it always seemed to chew through 60% of the travel just with the weight shift due to the climb - or maybe that is somewhat the link/coil combo that has improved this? The two conversions have added probably 1.5kg to the bike but at a porky 105kg I can always go on a diet if this bothers me and not drinking beer is a lot cheaper than trick components! For an e-bike, it really isn't an issue and coming from dirt-bikes that weigh 105kg (and that's for a light two-stroke, more like 125kg for a four-stroke), 23-24kg is still very light to ride and weight does tend to make the suspension work well if you're not too bothered about doing tail-whips in the air. My days of tail whips, rather like my days of elegant dancing, are now sadly long gone...!

This has been my experience, anyway. I hope it's useful to some others who might be thinking about this conversion...

 

[rzr]

The bottom bracket is raised with the long link, the stock geometry is not maintained, but the bike works much better.

Can't exactly agree, yes, when bike is on a parking lot, unsagged, BB is higher, but during a ride, dynamic SAG is quite similar to standard Levo, and during full compression BB should be even lower than in standard Levo.

 

[rzr]

All you guys that run the cascade long travel setup, do you prefer having the rear wheel set in the or high or low flip chip mode? It seems like the long travel raised my bottom bracket up by quite a bit and I was thinking about running the low flip chip mode to kind of counteract it.

depends what you are after.
For more than a year I run it in in long CS + 29" at the back, why? to move BB higher - I have a lot of techy trails with pointy rocks.
However a few weeks ago I put 27.5" back again and put CS in short position - unsagged BB is ~5mm lower now,
the bike is more manouverable and fun on some trails I currently ride - fast, but twisty, not too many rocks - way better for that type of trails.

 

[electricbogaloo]

Anybody changed the bearings on their long shock link? How difficult is it and do I need special tools?

Especially the double bearings: can I push them out to one side or do I need to get a special tool to extract them from either side?

Would you go for enduro bearings as replacement bearings or are there better/cheaper alternatives?