Levo - Fork / Shock customisations ?

[ccrdave]

@Rob Hancill have you talked to Jake at sprung? he an Ohlins expert. That airspring sounds expensive to me for instance to take my lyrics from 150 to 180 is about 25 quid

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

I am not sure thats correct, rear shock on my levo is 197x48 travel is 135 if your assumption is correct my rear travel should be 48 x 3 =144

Sounds correct, I spoke with TF Tuned who mentioned the levo has a 3:1 ratio, so assuming that is correct you are running 144mm travel.

 

[ccrdave]

Sounds correct, I spoke with TF Tuned who mentioned the levo has a 3:1 ratio, so assuming that is correct you are running 144mm travel.

interesting wonder why specialized list it as 135mm

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

interesting wonder why specialized list it as 135mm

Which shock do you have?

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

I see what you mean, Specialized list all Levo shocks as 197x48mm

 

[ccrdave]

i have the rockshocks rt 197x48
the kenevo lists 57mm stroke and 180mm suspension so i guess the ratio is different again on that

 

[Mambat]

Im wondering if the Spez OE Yoke makes a difference?
BikeYoke spec only a 190X45 or 190X51 shock that can work with their yoke?
Otherwise its not 3:1 but 2.8:1 ratio or thereabouts...

 

[Mambat]

Therefore 51mm X 2.8 = 143mm

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

The information on the website is wrong for the Levo 2017. It states 47.6mm of stroke. It is actually 45mm as I physically measured it yesterday. My Fox shock was off the bike so I let all of the air out and compressed the shock fully until I felt it bottom out. I measured from the shock body to the beginning of the rubber ring and it was 45mm.

Maybe the info for the 2018 is also wrong? If you try the same procedure as above it will give you the correct measurement and then you will know for sure ?

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Maybe the info for the 2018 is also wrong? If you try the same procedure as above it will give you the correct measurement and then you will know for sure

I'm sure its wrong!

 

[Doomanic]

You've turned your Levo into a Kenevo! (almost)

@Kiwi in Wales has built a Lenevo...

 

[ccrdave]

ok I have just measured mine after talking to tf tuned
spesh states 197x48 because there is no bottom eye I didnt know where to measure to, TF said to the end of the shock mount where it sits inside the yoke, measurement is 197 then I measure the stroke spesh says 48 I measured 60mm!! but after collapsing the shock all of the shaft does not disappear inside the body, just 48mm of it.
end result shock is 197x48

 

[Ricky]

Hi all. I've just made the switch to eMTB and can never contemplate going back. I've bought myself a Specialized Levo FSR Comp. Absolutely love it, but am wondering whether I should have stretched to the Kenevo. Having said that, I'm not a particularly accomplished rider, but like a fair bit of travel to get me out of trouble when my willingness far outstretches my skill!

Anyway, I've been reading this thread and have been searching elsewhere on the net with interest. I plan on upgrading the Rockshox Revelation to a Pike with the Charger2 damper. But I'm wondering what to do with the rear. I weigh about 81kg and find I'm not using the travel on the rear to full effect. I've taken the tokens out of the fork, but there isn't such adjustment on the rear. I fancy raising the rear travel to 150mm to match the front (I don't want to mess with the geometry), and having something more adjustable. So what are the options?

 

[Dax]

I'm wondering what to do with the rear. I weigh about 81kg and find I'm not using the travel on the rear to full effect. I've taken the tokens out of the fork, but there isn't such adjustment on the rear. I fancy raising the rear travel to 150mm to match the front (I don't want to mess with the geometry), and having something more adjustable. So what are the options?

How much sag are you running on the back? You want 30% or so, but if youre finding it too stiff, let out a tiny bit of air and try again. Just make sure you dont run it too soft, it *really* hurts when you bottom the back end out.

 

[Doomanic]

If you're running the correct pressure/sag and you're not using all the travel you're just not riding it hard enough.
Don't worry about it, correct settings are more important than using all your travel.

 

[Ricky]

How much sag are you running on the back? You want 30% or so, but if youre finding it too stiff, let out a tiny bit of air and try again. Just make sure you dont run it too soft, it *really* hurts when you bottom the back end out.

Hi, yes the sag is set to 30%

 

[Dax]

Maybe let a sniff out and see if it feels better, or huck of something big and see if you use it all

Has anyone noticed needing to change air pressure in the recent hot weather? I set my forks up when I bought the bike a couple of months back with 30% sag, but realised the other day I was only running about 20%. Much better after I dropped some air.

 

[bigborett]

Hi all. I've just made the switch to eMTB and can never contemplate going back. I've bought myself a Specialized Levo FSR Comp. Absolutely love it, but am wondering whether I should have stretched to the Kenevo. Having said that, I'm not a particularly accomplished rider, but like a fair bit of travel to get me out of trouble when my willingness far outstretches my skill!

Anyway, I've been reading this thread and have been searching elsewhere on the net with interest. I plan on upgrading the Rockshox Revelation to a Pike with the Charger2 damper. But I'm wondering what to do with the rear. I weigh about 81kg and find I'm not using the travel on the rear to full effect. I've taken the tokens out of the fork, but there isn't such adjustment on the rear. I fancy raising the rear travel to 150mm to match the front (I don't want to mess with the geometry), and having something more adjustable. So what are the options?

You know that the charger 2 damper will fit into your Revelation along with the new 2019 Debonair air spring. Both can be bought as an upgrade. This will bring you up to 2019 Pike specs as they are basically running the same body now.
Did this to mine and they are great.

 

[Witte300]

Or you can do the push coil acs3 conversion to your revelation

 

[Ricky]

Maybe let a sniff out and see if it feels better, or huck of something big and see if you use it all

Has anyone noticed needing to change air pressure in the recent hot weather? I set my forks up when I bought the bike a couple of months back with 30% sag, but realised the other day I was only running about 20%. Much better after I dropped some air.

I'll take another look at it. Although I don't get a great deal of air on it, I hit stuff fairly hard on reds and use the full 150mm on the front (leaving about 10%) so I'm surprised I don't use more travel on the back. I've taken both volume spacers out the forks, leaving none, so it's a bit of a pain not having that kind of adjustment on the rear.

 

[Ricky]

You know that the charger 2 damper will fit into your Revelation along with the new 2019 Debonair air spring. Both can be bought as an upgrade. This will bring you up to 2019 Pike specs as they are basically running the same body now.
Did this to mine and they are great.

I knew I could change out the damper, but didn't realise there's a Debonair spring for the forks too. Where did you source yours, and what was the cost?

Have you done anything with the rear shock?

 

[Ricky]

I see Bike Yoke offer a 190x51 rear shock fitment. Would that end up giving a 5mm increase (to 140mm) or a 15mm increase (to 150mm)? And would that change the geometry much?

 

[ccrdave]

Well if you believe spesh suspension ratio is three to one with a 50mm stroke you should get 150mm rear travel. I have a 190 x 51 shock on mine and its really good but im not yet convinced i have 150mm rear travel

 

[bigborett]

I knew I could change out the damper, but didn't realise there's a Debonair spring for the forks too. Where did you source yours, and what was the cost?

Have you done anything with the rear shock?

Readily available on ebay and I think cost was about AU$70. Not expensive.

 

[Ricky]

Well if you believe spesh suspension ratio is three to one with a 50mm stroke you should get 150mm rear travel. I have a 190 x 51 shock on mine and its really good but im not yet convinced i have 150mm rear travel

I've just checked my rear shock, and it's marked 197x48. That would make it 144mm, rather than the 135mm advertised. However, there are two posts above where the stroke has been measured. One that confirms a stroke of 48, and the other that suggests 45 after measuring. 45 would make more sense, because that would make it 135mm as advertised. I don't know what to make of it!

 

[StuR]

My head is a bit spun out with all the leverage ratio , stroke length scenarios.
I understand the maths etc but im struggling with what is actually fact .
What is the definate leverage ratio on a Levo ?
Does it change through the travel ?
Is the travel calculation simply leverage ratio x stroke ?
I.e. if the LR is 3 then multiplied by the stroke hypothetically 45 = 135mm travel
If a different shock with a 51 stroke was fitted then travel should be 153mm
I contacted bike yoke who said fitting their product with a 190x51 shock only increases travel to 140mm
The overall shock eye to eye plus yoke is about 2mm longer than the standard Spesh shock plus yoke
Does anyone have a definitive answer as this seems a bit odd to me ??

 

[khorn]

I have measured my actual travel on my 2018 Levo Comp carbon and no way it’s 135 mm. As a matter of fact I could only get 129.5 mm out of it. Also, my monarch RT stoke is only 46 mm and not the 48 mm indicated on the body. The leverage ratio on the Levo is not linear but both progressive and regressive. Finally no way the total leverage ratio is 3, it’s more like 2.82 as an average. Hope this help clarify things.

Karsten

 

[StuR]

Interesting !
Out of curiosity how did you measure your travel ?

 

[khorn]

Interesting !
Out of curiosity how did you measure your travel ?

Put the bike on the floor with rear wheel just touching the floor and bike supported. Measure from centre of rear axle to floor. Deflate the rear shock completely and compress the rear suspension completely keeping it compressed with a luggage strap from seat to rim. Then measure distance again from rear axle to floor and the difference is the travel.

BTW look at post #8 in this thread and you will see that Gary posted a leverage chart for a 2016 Levo and I'm sure it is the same ratio:

Rockshox Monarch RT setup questions - EMTB Forums

Here it is very clear that the average ratio can never end up being 3.

Karsten

 

[StuR]

Put the bike on the floor with rear wheel just touching the floor and bike supported. Measure from centre of rear axle to floor. Deflate the rear shock completely and compress the rear suspension completely keeping it compressed with a luggage strap from seat to rim. Then measure distance again from rear axle to floor and the difference is the travel.

BTW look at post #8 in this thread and you will see that Gary posted a leverage chart for a 2016 Levo and I'm sure it is the same ratio:

Rockshox Monarch RT setup questions - EMTB Forums

Here it is very clear that the average ratio can never end up being 3.

Karsten

Thanks
Quick question . Forgive me if im having a senior moment
Are you referring to the wheel axle to floor?
Isn't that dimension constantly the same regardless of suspension compression ?