Levo comp fork woes...

[Kentrider]

I have a 2019 turbo Levo comp XL, love the bike just can’t get on with the forks, I’ve tried settings from the specialized website and got the sag right but is so hard and very little give, making my arms hurt on the trails. Is it worth trying putting a volume spacer in?
Or........ is it worth putting a decent set of forks in if so what ones and are they direct fit?
Thanks

 

[nellyb]

I'm in the same boat, same bike... I picked up a new set of old stock Pike 2017 RCT3 from JE James yesterday for £404. They feel better out of the box but i'm going to fit a Debonair upgrade to them and put some TF Tuned seals in them before I fit them. I'll see if I can get them somewhere like before going full on with the latest forks. Was thinking coils, but for 400 quid I thought it's worth a try and stick with air for now.

 

[Kentrider]

I was thinking of going fox 36 if they fit without too much hassle, forks are a massive part of the ride (to me anyway) and I’m getting fed up with the standard rock shocks.

 

[lumpy]

I have a 2019 turbo Levo comp XL, love the bike just can’t get on with the forks, I’ve tried settings from the specialized website and got the sag right but is so hard and very little give, making my arms hurt on the trails. Is it worth trying putting a volume spacer in?
Or........ is it worth putting a decent set of forks in if so what ones and are they direct fit?
Thanks

Try taking a volume spacer out.

 

[Kentrider]

Try taking a volume spacer out.

Do they come with one in already then?

 

[lumpy]

Do they come with one in already then?

Yeah, there might be a couple in there. I took one out of mine and it helped a lot.

 

[Kentrider]

Thanks will take a look when I get home

 

[simmo-mj99]

Had the same fork for a year now no problems with the fork they come out factory with two volume spacers already fitted and had two spares with paper work when I picked up the bike,I took both spacers out and been very happy with the ride the only difference between the revelation and the pike is the damper so you could go and change the damper to a rc2.1 damper With high and low speed compression for about £350. As a lot of members have said on this forum it’s not a bad fork all depends how aggressive a rider you are and what type riding you are doing if it was me I would spend a bit of time setting it up. I saw you mentioned you got the sag right but is so firm with little give this might be a silly question but you have got the compression open.

 

[Kentrider]

Yes compression is open. I’ve been riding Mx and enduro bikes for years so normally had no problem setting forks up but these are a pain, didn’t know they had spacer in already tho.
Didn’t say also, I’m 16.4 stone if that’s makes a difference

 

[simmo-mj99]

My revelation has both spacers taken out I have between 20 and 25% sag I get pretty much full travel and its certainly not firm I’m also round the 16 stone mark

 

[eabmex]

This has been discussed before, Specialized went quite aggressive with their suspension setup (Heavier riders, big jumps) and fitted a couple of spacers and suggest a high pressure. What I did is remove all the spacer from the fork, set the initial pressure using the Rockshox app and also removed one spacers from the shock and adjusted to 30% sag. Mine is an expert but all seem to setup the same. Try it and I think you will like it

 

[Kentrider]

Thanks will let you know how I get on...

 

[Mikerb]

It has taken me a while to get my Rev fork how I want it. Firstly, according to the Rockshox specs it should have 1 volume spacer fitted but mine had 2...presumably specced that way by Spesh. What I noticed going through various settings whilst removing first 1 then both volume spacers was that each spacer seemed to have a disproportionate effect on air pressure to achieve the same sag. I was left with the impression that each produced such a quick ramp up that there was no way a 25/30% sag would give a plush small bump feel. Go to 40% and its OK! With all spacers removed the ramp up is much more linear and 30% sag then works well. I am 77kg so the guys at 16 stone may find one spacer is required, but if the fork is set up like that I would suggest going higher on Sag than 25/30%...…...oh, and make sure rebound is fully fast when setting up.

 

[Jeff H]

Try taking a volume spacer out.

The Revelation on my ‘19 Comp had 2 tokens installed. Per Rockshox website the default is 1 and max is 4. I removed 1 and it seems a bit more compliant. I’ve been about 25 mm away from bottoming but I’m not catching big air or drops, at least not yet. Using the Specialized suspension calculator I’m at 20-25% sag depending on sitting or attack stance.

 

[55plusmxinsanity]

I was thinking of going fox 36 if they fit without too much hassle, forks are a massive part of the ride (to me anyway) and I’m getting fed up with the standard rock shocks.

Fox36E bolt right up , the only funky labor is to trim the stem to length.

 

[Neverbeentomoab]

You can get the charger damper upgrade kit for about £250 my lbs said they would fit it for about £40-£50 with a lower leg service but is an easy fit if your a competent home mechanic and they suggested extending the travel to 160mm for an extra £40 turns the revalation into something near a high end pike.

 

[Neverbeentomoab]

You can get the charger damper upgrade kit for about £250 my lbs said they would fit it for about £40-£50 with a lower leg service but is an easy fit if your a competent home mechanic and they suggested extending the travel to 160mm for an extra £40 turns the revalation into something near a high end pike.

Use the rock shox trailhead app to find the upgrade kit for your forks by putting the number on the back of the fork crown into the app as there is a few different kits available.

 

[davarello]

I have the same bike and size. Initial setting with two tokens was way too hard with hardly any give, so they were both taken out and the pressure lowered. I'm 125kg and run the Revelations at 110psi - sag sits around 40%. Nice and plush, no bottoming - general trail and bike park riding.

 

[HORSPWR]

Fox36E bolt right up , the only funky labor is to trim the stem to length.

I can attest that the Fox36E are an awesome fork, I think the two best features are small bump compliance and that they can also be setup super plush without blowing through the stroke on big hits.

I'm 80kg by the way.

 

[khorn]

I have been fighting the the same issue with my 2018 revelation but in the end it became butter smooth, check out the link below as there might be a few tips there:

Upgrading 2018 Pike to 2020 Lyric Ultimate - Is it worth it - EMTB Forums

Karsten

 

[sisuman]

The revelation sucks!
Life is short, go for the Kashima!

 

[Apples]

Fox 34 on the 19 comp Carbon , what tweaks are recommended on those please

 

[Jeff H]

I upgraded the damper on mine to Charger 2.1 RC2. The Revelation is essentially a Pike inside so I posted to this general thread:

Upgrading 2018 Pike to 2020 Lyric Ultimate - Is it worth it - EMTB Forums

 

[Kentrider]

I’ve taken out the two volume spacers in the standard forks. I’ve only had time to go out once since and it felt better, I’m hoping to get out at the weekend to test more.

 

[steve_sordy]

The revelation sucks!
Life is short, go for the Kashima!

There is nothing wrong with the Revelation per se, it depends upon which one you've got. I have the Debonair air spring from new. I was not totally happy with the fork from the start and it fulfilled my expectations because I was used to a high end Pike fork. I was considering a charger damper to take it up to a Pike standard, but I left it for a while to see what I could do with the Revelation. Once I had spent some time experimenting with sag, rebound and compression damping I was still not totally happy.

I did only two more things.
I deflated the shock and started again following the instructions on the Rockshox website. I had been told that it is no longer enough to just pump it up! They were right!!
The second thing I did was to see how many tokens were in the air side leg. I removed the one that was in there because I wasn't getting anywhere near full travel and the fork felt harder than I wanted.

Those two actions in combo made a massive difference. I am now reconsidering spending the£200 + to fit the charger 2 damper.

 

[steve_sordy]

I have a 2019 turbo Levo comp XL, love the bike just can’t get on with the forks, I’ve tried settings from the specialized website and got the sag right but is so hard and very little give, making my arms hurt on the trails. Is it worth trying putting a volume spacer in?
Or........ is it worth putting a decent set of forks in if so what ones and are they direct fit?
Thanks

If the fork is hard (ie ramping up too much) you need to remove spacer(s) not add them.

 

[Kentrider]

If the fork is hard (ie ramping up too much) you need to remove spacer(s) not add them.

I have removed the two that were in there from buying it.

 

[Jeff H]

There is nothing wrong with the Revelation per se, it depends upon which one you've got. I have the Debonair air spring from new. I was not totally happy with the fork from the start and it fulfilled my expectations because I was used to a high end Pike fork. I was considering a charger damper to take it up to a Pike standard, but I left it for a while to see what I could do with the Revelation. Once I had spent some time experimenting with sag, rebound and compression damping I was still not totally happy.

I did only two more things.
I deflated the shock and started again following the instructions on the Rockshox website. I had been told that it is no longer enough to just pump it up! They were right!!
The second thing I did was to see how many tokens were in the air side leg. I removed the one that was in there because I wasn't getting anywhere near full travel and the fork felt harder than I wanted.

Those two actions in combo made a massive difference. I am now reconsidering spending the£200 + to fit the charger 2 damper.

Like I mentioned in my linked-to post above, I did all that before upgrading to the Charger 2.1 RC2. The upgrade takes it to another level, more than all the fine tuning combined. But it is expensive and maybe not worth it to everyone.

 

[Eduardoramundo]

Make sure you follow the Rockshox manual and compress the forks numerous times during pumping them up.

If you dont do this correctly then the +\- air chambers will not be equalised correctly and the forks will be harsh.

 

[bluemtrider]

Like others, I found the Revelation to be harsh even after removing one of the Bottomless Tokens (spacers). In another thread it was mentioned that there were two known issues with the fork: 1. too much grease on the airspring side, 2. not enough oil on the damper side. I found both of these conditions when I did the 50 hour service; a thorough cleaning including the air transfer port on the inside of the stanchion and reassembly with appropriate amount of Rockshox Dynamic Seal Grease and oil made it ride great. It is the Debonair/Charger version and all thoughts of spending money on an upgrade are now in the past.