Levo Gen 2 Gear shifting problems.... I've run out of ideas!

[DaveNewing]

Hi everyone, I apologies because this might be a long thread.
I have a 2020 Turbo Levo that has done about 2000Km and started having gear shifting issues about a month ago. I do my own bike maintenance and servicing and the only thing I don't touch is the motor and battery, but this gear shifting issue is starting to irritate me.
Firstly my bike is having trouble shifting to gears 10 and especially 11 (two smallest gears on rear cassette). I replaced the inner and outer gear cable with new Jagwire parts, this didn't make any difference.
I noticed my chain was worn out (beyond 0.75 on gauge) and the rear cassette had started to look like sharks teeth, so I replaced the chain, cassette and front chain ring with original parts.
Whilst replacing the cassette I noticed the cassette wobbled slightly on the free hub. The free hub bearings were worn, so I have replaced the free hub and rear hub bearings in my wheel. the cassette doesn't wobble anymore, but the gear issue still exists.
I have replaced the mech hanger (just in case) and cleaned/lubed the derailleur pivot points, guide wheel and jockey wheels, but the gear issue still exists.
I have tried adjusting high/low screws (with gear cable disconnected), but the derailleur doesn't seem to move far enough to the smallest cog on the cassette. I can gently push the hanger into the correct place, but it appears the spring in the derailleur isn't strong enough to pull it all the way.
Any ideas on fixing this ongoing issue?

 

[morgs010]

It could be play in the jockey wheels which is stopping the mech from moving all the way, however, I suspect the mech is just worn out. They take a lot of hammer from ebikes.
Providing it is being set up correctly (which I am sure it is) the process of elimination says it is mech or jockey wheels.

 

[morgs010]

Also check that the mech is aligned properly. Sometimes the hanger that goes on the mech itself can bend or twist and sometimes the actual cage on the mech can bend causing issues.

 

[DaveNewing]

It could be play in the jockey wheels which is stopping the mech from moving all the way, however, I suspect the mech is just worn out. They take a lot of hammer from ebikes.
Providing it is being set up correctly (which I am sure it is) the process of elimination says it is mech or jockey wheels.

Hi Morgs010, I have replaced the original jockey wheels with Hope ones, so I don't think it is the jockey wheels. I did clean and service the jockey wheels at the same time as the derailleur.

 

[DaveNewing]

Also check that the mech is aligned properly. Sometimes the hanger that goes on the mech itself can bend or twist and sometimes the actual cage on the mech can bend causing issues.

I have checked the alignment of the jockey wheels with the cassette/chain and they look OK to me, but I don't have any tools to measure it accurately

 

[KennyB]

And the jockey wheels are the right way round?

 

[DaveNewing]

And the jockey wheels are the right way round?

Hi KennyB. I don't think the Hope Jockey Wheels are handed like the original Sram ones. The tooth profile is symmetrical and there aren't any directional arrows on the Hopes.

 

[KennyB]

There are on mine, 12 tooth for 11 speed

 

[DaveNewing]

There are on mine, 12 tooth for 11 speed

I'll have another look on mine when I get home from work this evening.

 

[morgs010]

Sometimes, the mechs just wear out, especially the Sram NX and GX. I found on my ebike that the NX just wouldn’t shift properly and the clutch had given up the ghost. It had had plenty of hammer Which tends to happen with shifting on ebikes. I could have stripped it and tried to service, but I just purchased a new one. In my experience, Shimano are more robust.

 

[steve_sordy]

My money is on the mech hanger alignment. 12-speed is always sensitive to it.

Your LBS can check it and fix it for very low money. But seeing as you have a 12-speed, I recommend that you buy a mech hanger alignment tool because you are sure to need it again.

 

[Paul Mac]

I had exactly the same issue as you, and changed everything as you have, new gear cable inner and outer, jockey wheels and then a new hanger.
By accident I then snapped my derailleur with a branch going through my wheel.
New derailleur solved the problem.
Don't know if its the spring getting weak or it gets twisted somehow.
I had about 2000 miles on mine.
My drive train is a sram gx eagle.

 

[Swissrider]

You need one of these - about £30. Even when my hanger looked straight, it was miles out and once straight with this tool, shifting was perfect

 

[steve_sordy]

That looks a lot more stylish than the Park Tool version.

Derailleur Hanger Alignment Tool DAG-2.2

Buy your Park Tool Derailleur Hanger Alignment Tool DAG-2.2 - Tool Sets from Wiggle. SAVE 10% - RRP £84.99 now only £75.99. Free worldwide delivery available.

www.wiggle.co.uk

 

[Mikerb]

Given what you have already checked I can think of only 2 reasons why the rear mech will not select the 2 smallest cogs....even with no cable attached. Either the cassette is not in the correct position on the rear axle, i.e. it should be a few mm further in towards the hub face, or the spring in the rear mech has weakened.
Thinking of where the cassette is positioned, is it possible a spacer was fitted on the freehub before the cassette is fitted? Alternatively, are you confident the freehub bearings are fully pressed in?
With regards to the rear mech spring, there was a post on the forum where a guy fitted a second smaller diameter spring inside the existing spring ...that may be an option.

 

[DaveNewing]

My money is on the mech hanger alignment. 12-speed is always sensitive to it.

Your LBS can check it and fix it for very low money. But seeing as you have a 12-speed, I recommend that you buy a mech hanger alignment tool because you are sure to need it again.

My bike has 11 gears, 10 - 42 tooth.

 

[DaveNewing]

I'll have another look on mine when I get home from work this evening.

My jockeys wheels are actually from superstar components, the Hope jockey wheels are on my other bike. The superstar ones don't have any arrows, and the tooth profile is symmetrical.

 

[DaveNewing]

I had exactly the same issue as you, and changed everything as you have, new gear cable inner and outer, jockey wheels and then a new hanger.
By accident I then snapped my derailleur with a branch going through my wheel.
New derailleur solved the problem.
Don't know if its the spring getting weak or it gets twisted somehow.
I had about 2000 miles on mine.
My drive train is a sram gx eagle.

Thanks for letting know I'm not the only person with this issue. I might go for an NX mech if this happens in only 12 months of use.

 

[DaveNewing]

You need one of these - about £30. Even when my hanger looked straight, it was miles out and once straight with this tool, shifting was perfect
View attachment 51999

Looks sweet. I might invest in one of those soon.

 

[DaveNewing]

Given what you have already checked I can think of only 2 reasons why the rear mech will not select the 2 smallest cogs....even with no cable attached. Either the cassette is not in the correct position on the rear axle, i.e. it should be a few mm further in towards the hub face, or the spring in the rear mech has weakened.
Thinking of where the cassette is positioned, is it possible a spacer was fitted on the freehub before the cassette is fitted? Alternatively, are you confident the freehub bearings are fully pressed in?
With regards to the rear mech spring, there was a post on the forum where a guy fitted a second smaller diameter spring inside the existing spring ...that may be an option.

Hi, I double checked the spacers when fitting the new cassette, so I'm pretty sure it's the derailleur spring. I'll see if I can find a second, smaller spring to increase the pull. Did the other post give details of the smaller spring?

 

[Paul Mac]

Thanks for letting know I'm not the only person with this issue. I might go for an NX mech if this happens in only 12 months of use.

The GX was only £6 more expensive than the NX, so i stuck with the GX

 

[Pyr0]

Hi, I double checked the spacers when fitting the new cassette, so I'm pretty sure it's the derailleur spring. I'll see if I can find a second, smaller spring to increase the pull. Did the other post give details of the smaller spring?

No real details, but perhaps @cappuccino34 could help?

SRAM X01 upshifting fix

I just thought I'd share my fix for the weak spring upshifting problems that SRAM derailleurs commonly suffer with. I just added a smaller diameter spring (silvery coloured) inside the original spring to make up for the loss of tension in the original due to stretching. It was fiddly to do and...

www.emtbforums.com

 

[DaveNewing]

The GX was only £6 more expensive than the NX, so i stuck with the GX

Where did you get the GX derailleur for only

The GX was only £6 more expensive than the NX, so i stuck with the GX

Where did you get the GX derailleur for only £6 more than NX? I can only find GX's for £90 and NX's for £55

 

[jsharpe]

You might also double check the distance between the jockey wheels and the cassette cogs at both the largest and smallest gear. It's a separate adjustment screw from the the low/high screws, and could easily be off if the new jockey wheels don't happen to be exactly the same diameter as the original ones.

 

[Mikerb]

B stop adjustment will affect smoothness of shifting down the cassette but will not affect the mechs ability to reach the smallest cogs.

 

[Neeko DeVinchi]

I'm assuming that you've inspected your cassette and chain for wear. I only say this because I have warped a cassette on my levo before (never again do I go with a cheap cassette like ZITTO).
One idea you could try is changing the outer cable or flushing it out with WD40.
if you've riding in the winter months, chances are your outer cable (towards the mech) has ingested muck or god knows what. I recently replaced both on my Levo and I'm running shimano SLX drivetrain. The mech hanger might be bent but if so, you, you'd notice it more when shifting throughout the spread. Naturally, replace the inner cable when/if you change the outer or flush it out and make sure that you have good cable tension. Pliers are useful for this as it can pull the cable completely through the outer housing to reduce slack.
If you've compensated for the irregularity of shifting by messing with the limit screws, screw them back in before indexing.
Good luck my friend ?

 

[Paul Mac]

Where did you get the GX derailleur for only

Where did you get the GX derailleur for only £6 more than NX? I can only find GX's for £90 and NX's for £55

Mine derailleur is the eagle 12 sp.
NX was £99 and GX was £106.

 

[DaveNewing]

Mine derailleur is the eagle 12 sp.
NX was £99 and GX was £106.

Ah....my derailleur is 11 speed.

 

[Paul Mac]

Ah....my derailleur is 11 speed.

My bike shop didn't have the GX in stock initially so lent me a NX till it came in.
The GX looks a bit nicer and had more metal on it and anodised screws etc, where the NX used plastic in some places.
But they performed almost identically.

 

[Dustjunky]

The amount of money you’ve spent you could of took it to your LBS ..