Flip Chip on a Levo 2019 (flip it !)

[Moots YBB]

in short:
flip the chip to get a higher bottom bracket and more nimble steering
--------------------

the story in case you aren't already getting your 6 and 5 mm Allen key

I just came back from a 1000km holiday in the Auvergne, with my 2019 Levo S-Works
i used it for 4000km in total

when i got it the first thing that set it apart from my Specialized Camber (a 110mm trail bike) was that it had terrible understeer.
i adapted, more breaking before corners, more pronounced leaning etc.

after a few weeks, (i had to work) i went into the forest, of course, i loved it, overall it's the best bike i have ever had, motor or not.
but, i had a lot of pedal strokes.

i had read something about a flip-chip, but assumed the default was the best setting, and the flip was only required to use 27.6 wheels

i was so wrong, i just flipped the switch, the difference is immediate, i went home zig-zagging through the "poles" or whatever they are called, i would not even have attempted that before.

i can't say this is better for everybody, but it is definitely for me, even on downhills i wanted a more nibble bike, not a more stable one.

IMO the "low" default setting is a mistake.

did you try both settings ?, if you did, what did you prefer? what is your bike size, and your height?

I'm 171cm, the bike is a medium

-- how to --
you need a 6 and a 6mm Allen key
at first i got confused by the orientation of the bottom screw (the one on the flip side) and went the wrong way, making it imposible to lose using the small built in tool.

hint, you have to turn left, not right

(im an idiot)

so i required a longer lever to loosen the lower of the two screws (6mm)
the top one is easy

i removed all air pressure from the shock, i guess that's indispensable.

beware that when you detach the shock the chip itself might fall down, making it harder to know what position to flip it too, so remove the shock carefully

if you did what i did, and let every thing fall on the pavement, put the chip back in with the hole farthest from the shock

put the shock back, and pump it up to about one PSI for half a kilo of body weight (double the pressure of the fork)

 

[Marcelfacd]

Many ways to make a bike more nimble....due to other reasons I put a 35mm stem and a 40 mm riser bar in 780 width.......love the nimbillity (?) with the same angles.

 

[Niklas]

I like my Levo best in the low setting and on top of that I have a 170/44 fork and a 50 stem 800/20 bars.
Don’t take this the wrong way but you should rethinking your way of how much to put in the shock because that is really not right, if I did it like that it would mean 156-160 Psi and I am @195-220 depending on what I am going to ride. So now wonder you didn’t like it in the low setting.

 

[Hitby]

I had my Levo delivered in the high setting as I had a pile of pedal strikes on the demo bike in the low. I've not had any with mine and it rides great!

 

[Moots YBB]

I like my Levo best in the low setting and on top of that I have a 170/44 fork and a 50 stem 800/20 bars.
Don’t take this the wrong way but you should rethinking your way of how much to put in the shock because that is really not right, if I did it like that it would mean 156-160 Psi and I am @195-220 depending on what I am going to ride. So now wonder you didn’t like it in the low setting.

i just follow the guidelines for pressure, see the sticker on the fork. for me thats 185 in the back, 90 front.

 

[Moots YBB]

this is what the fork says, you might be right i oversimplified the pressure for the rear shock, i think it's all beside the point, as the subject is the flip chip, or do you imply my bike might understeer if the pressure is too low ?

 

[Niklas]

If you run to little pressure in the rear the bike rides lower then it is supposed to and you get more pedalstrikes and the forkangle becomes even slacker, and since you are coming from a “steeper and shorter bike” you are probably not familiar whit that you have to put more weight on the front wheel outer vise it will push in the corners. I have skillcourses a lot and see it often, could bee so without me seeing you ride...

Best regards Niklas

 

[Moots YBB]

the pressure was correct, i just made a mistake writing my post, the bike was set up by the shop

the bike Has understeer, it's not my lack of sklll, im an ex pro cross country racer, i love it since i flipped the chip

 

[Niklas]

Ok, sorry that you feel that way, I was only trying to help.

 

[khorn]

Is

Is it set high or low from factory?

It is nicely listed if you read the first post in this thread

Karsten

 

[Niklas]

Low

 

[Maastricht]

The manual says all models are assembled with the flip chip in low position:

I never tried the high position. @Specialized Rider Care can you maybe give some official advise? I assume there must be a reason why you have choosen for a default low position?

 

[miPbiP]

EDIT: confirmed my bike came from the dealer set to high. see following post for a video link on how to do the change and a couple of photos of the disassembled parts. If you're unsure which setting your bike is on (it's not 100% clear from the markers) you have to disassemble it.

I SAID:
regardless of what the manual says, mine, collected from a dealer 3 weeks ago, came set to high. (assuming the marker lines on the assembly are meant to indicate which setting the bike is in ... which I am now questioning ...).

 

[lumpy]

Mine came in the high position. After several months I tried it in the low position and found I liked it a lot ...... until I discovered that the front end was a little more likely to wash out on loose off camber turns. I'm back in the high position now

 

[miPbiP]

OK I just did the flip. I followed this video.



It's a few minutes job, you need a workstand, 5mm hex key, a 6 mm hex key, a torque wrench for those, a rag. I also let all the air out of my shock first to make manipulating the rear assembly easier.

I started like this (not a great pic as I was photographing the chip not the end of the shock).

I took out the shock, the chip at the end was orienated like this:

Here are the chips removed from the shock - top chip half at the top of the photo.

here they are rotated 180% in the horizontal plane:

here's the shock back in the frame - the end of the shock now extends well beyond the high mark and almost to the low mark. it's moved in the direction you'd expect given the mounting bolt is now a few mm closer to the shock body.

conclusion: mine came from the dealer in high, I just set it to low. on a ride up the street it certainly feels more 'ground huggy'.

I'll give it a try for a ride or 2 but I'm more into flow than steeps so will likely switch it back.

This is an easy job, don't be shy.

 

[paquo]

i just follow the guidelines for pressure, see the sticker on the fork. for me thats 185 in the back, 90 front.

i like the high position too
my shock pressure was off by only 10 psi and it made a noticeable difference in handling
i used this to double check ------->Suspension Calculator App | Specialized.com

 

[SidLawrence]

OK I just did the flip. I followed this video.



It's a few minutes job, you need a workstand, 5mm hex key, a 6 mm hex key, a torque wrench for those, a rag. I also let all the air out of my shock first to make manipulating the rear assembly easier.

I started like this (not a great pic as I was photographing the chip not the end of the shock).

View attachment 17286


I took out the shock, the chip at the end was orienated like this:
View attachment 17288

Here are the chips removed from the shock - top chip half at the top of the photo.

View attachment 17289

here they are rotated 180% in the horizontal plane:
View attachment 17292

here's the shock back in the frame - the end of the shock now extends well beyond the high mark and almost to the low mark. it's moved in the direction you'd expect given the mounting bolt is now a few mm closer to the shock body.

View attachment 17293

conclusion: mine came from the dealer in high, I just set it to low. on a ride up the street it certainly feels more 'ground huggy'.

I'll give it a try for a ride or 2 but I'm more into flow than steeps so will likely switch it back.

This is an easy job, don't be shy.

View attachment 17287

View attachment 17290

View attachment 17291

Thanks for posting that! I’m a mechanical pigmy & you just made that easy! Cheers

 

[miPbiP]

I spent couple of hours on low last night - it rocks, currently not seeing a downside so keeping it. ironically had I been sure it was in high I wouldn't have changed it.

 

[RoedeOrm]

Bike came with flipchip in low position. After a short while I tried high position seeing an advantage in steering but disadvantage in going downhill. I shortened my bar went back to low position and now have the same steering as in high position. BUT maybe I will give the high position another chance as there is some lack of grip at the front in corners and on gravel. This may alos come from the Butcher. I put down the fork pressure yesterday and will try this first.

 

[AlexR]

Bike came with flipchip in low position. After a short while I tried high position seeing an advantage in steering but disadvantage in going downhill. I shortened my bar went back to low position and now have the same steering as in high position. BUT maybe I will give the high position another chance as there is some lack of grip at the front in corners and on gravel. This may also come from the Butcher. I put down the fork pressure yesterday and will try this first.

Just got a Turbo Levo Comp 2020 this week , came in the Low position, as standard. I'm already feeling some lack of grip at front when cornering. Interested to know if you guys like the High position better (no pun intended ). Do you suggest to flip the chip to High or keep it in Low and replace the front tyre?

 

[miPbiP]

Just got a Turbo Levo Comp 2020 this week , came in the Low position, as standard. I'm already feeling some lack of grip at front when cornering. Interested to know if you guys like the High position better (no pun intended ). Do you suggest to flip the chip to High or keep it in Low and replace the front tyre?

Mine's untouched since I flipped it last year.

My advice is try both.

 

[AlexR]

Thanks. I'm keeping it in Low for now and will ask the LBS to change it when time for the 1st maintenance has come (I've seen the instructions but not confident to DIY mode, yet).

Also keeping the Butcher for now, and will be trying to reduce pressure a little (am at 22psi, weighting 73kg, 160 lbs)

 

[Mikerb]

Apart from changing the BB height the main difference is the change in head angle. Head angle is slacker in the low position. You would expect the steering to be a little more direct in the high position and you will naturally be placing a little more body weight over the front wheel. If you are in the low position ( all other things like stem length, bar width, bar rise etc being constant) you will need to purposely apply a little more weight over the front wheel for cornering grip and steering will be a little slower. My guess is the flip chip on the Levo is only there to raise the bb if a 27.5 rear wheel is fitted, although I guess it could also be there to compensate for a lower profile rear tyre.

 

[Paulo2020]

Y love the high.