Levo Learnings

[Ted]

I have about 500 miles on my 2019 S-Works Levo. I thought maybe what I have learned so far might be useful to others. Please add what you have learned to help others who own Levo's or may be thinking about one.

1) I just completed a ride with 40 miles and almost 7000 feet climbing while leaving 18% battery left. I rode mostly in Eco. I have the 700WH battery.

2) I was really irritated by the buzz of the rear hub (Roval Traverse SL). I have other DT-Swiss hubs so I have extra ratchets around. I replaced the 54 tooth ratchet with a 36 tooth. The sound now is very quiet and much lower pitched. The ratchet sets are about $100 on the web. The change is very, very simple. No tools required.

3) I ride very hilly terrain and am going through brake pads. In the past I have used Truckerco brake pads so I decided to try them on my Levo. The pads were four sets for $27 from the Truckerco site. So far no problems. Much cheaper than SRAM pads and performance seems the same.

4) Twice I have had the blinking light problem. The first time I panicked and took my bike into the shop. They saw the problem but could not determine the cause. The indication from the manual was "Motor Error". They cleaned the connectors and sent me on my way. I have had the problem once since. I now use canned air to blow out the male and female connectors whenever I charge the battery. No problem since I started doing that. (Fingers crossed)

5) My last dropper post was a Thomson Elite and I loved it but it was good for about 2-3 years before it had to be replaced or repaired. When I tried the Command Post I hated it because it was not infinitely adjustable. I did not replace it immediately to see if I could get used to it. After 500 miles I don't love it but I can live with it and I don't hate it any more. I am used to the steps. If it proves more reliable than my Thomsons (three) I may even replace it eventually with another Command Post.

Any more Levo Learnings out there?

 

[JimBo]

40 miles 7k gain!?!? Hot damn, dude ?

Thanks for turning me on to Truckerco!

 

[SwissDH]

I have only a few rides on my 2019 S-Works Levo, but so far:

1) Don't notice the noisy rear hub at all! I'll be more conscious of it now you've said that!

2) I live in a mountainous region, so get through pads as you do. I am about to try Swissstop 29E's. They come highly recommended, so hopefully they'll be good.

3) I don't understand all the hate on this forum about the Command post. It's not my favourite post, but it's far from the worst one. I like the 'cruiser' mid position a lot as well.

4) I am running Cushcore and run my Butchers quite low pressure. Works well for me.

5) Love the big battery, the stealth look (only the fat bottom bracket area makes it look like an eMTB), Fox 36, Code RSC (why are these so much better than the Code R?).

6) I think that this bike is about as light as these types of bikes will be for a few years until something changes with battery technology. Sure, I could drop a few hundred grams here and there, but no obvious places to drop lots of weight. I am not at all a weight weenie for riding, and when on trails, I don't notice the weight of the bike at all. However when lugging it round, getting it in the car, lifting it over gates, it seems a real heavy lump (until I compare it to a friends eMTB )

7) I love the clean cockpit, and really don't like the large LCD dashboards that some eBikes seem to have. Just a battery indicator and a mode LED. Perfect.

8) Blevo - just great, and a major part of me choosing a Levo!

 

[McInner1]

This is what I posted here a couple of days before:
(2019 Turbo Levo Owners Thread - EMTB Forums)

I have a Levo S-Works 2019 since a few weeks. There are three things I notice that I don't worry me, but as a technically interested person I would like to know if others would notice it too:

1) Brakes: SRAM Code rsc 200mm
The discs have not been braking evenly since the beginning. When braking lightly on steep slopes, the bike starts to pump - alternately braking harder and weaker - at the rhythm of one wheel turn. As if the discs on one side of the circumference were slightly thicker than on the opposite side. I don't have such an accurate measuring tool to measure that. The brakes are already well retracted.
Has anyone of you already felt that or has an explanation?

2) Freewheel: DT Swiss Star Ratchet, 54t engagement, SRAM XD driver body
In freewheeling, when the bike rolls downhill, the freewheel does not make an even whirring, but is alternately louder and quieter during one wheel turn - wheeewheeewheee.... Why isn't the noise even? Is that an indication of any error?

3) Fork: FOX 36 Factory E-bike, GRIP2 damper, 29" Boost™, 150mm of travel
With every rebound the fork makes a hissing noise. Not scary, but I didn't have that with a fork yet. Is that normal?
Edit: I did a few clicks on the rebound-knob and now it‘s quiet.

 

[McInner1]

@Ted: can you please be more specific about changing the rachet?
What ratched should I order?
„No tools needed“ - how to change rachet?
I think one has to remove the cassette - isn’t there a special tool needed for XD driver body?

 

[Indigo]

Your front brake rotor may need replacing (under warranty). An appropriate quality of the right grease will probably quieten down a noisy free hub racket without needing to change parts.
Both will likely be fixed for free. I suggest calling your lbs.

Here is my learning:

• To change gears smoothly (and protect drive train), you need to back off peddle power and wait a full 1 second for motor to stop pushing before changing gears.
• Set motor acceleration setting to a level that enables you to lift front wheel whenever needed. Handy for getting over logs across your path on trails.
• If you're not very fit or need to keep hear rate low, try adjusting shuttle mode setting to make peddling easier.
• Set mode to off before (dis)mounting bike and as a precaution when stationary off road because any bump onto peddles may cause bike to shoot off under it's own power.
• Get the BLEvo app to control motor support based on biker power and/or heart rate.
• Butcher tyres on dry hard packed soil can drift badly when bike is only half cranked over. Lowering tyre pressure helps and so does deliberately (artificially) cranking the bike over more to allow side nobs to work. The reason is lack of transition nobs -- this improves bite of side nobs.
• The Code RSC levers on S-Works come from factory in least progressive setting, the adjuster wheel on fluid reservoir adjusts the progressiveness of braking power, but as you adjust towards a more progressive feel the brake lever also moves toward the bars so you need to counteract that by adjusting the reach (knob near base of lever).
• There have been a number of reports of rear axle working loose over time. I checked mine with a torque wrench and found it wasn't tightened enough but as I tightened more it didn't get any harder (like it was cross threaded) so I went to remove bolt and found it wouldn't budge. With a little WD40 and persistence it let go with a bang . After removing the axle, I found the thread was okay but only base of thread had grease, the tip was completely dry. After spreading grease evenly over thread the axle bolt went in really smoothly right until the very end where it became tight quickly, sweet.

 

[Ted]

@Ted: can you please be more specific about changing the rachet?
What ratched should I order?
„No tools needed“ - how to change rachet?
I think one has to remove the cassette - isn’t there a special tool needed for XD driver body?

On the 2019 S-Works the rear hub internals are from DT-Swiss. They use a ratchet system where most hubs use pawls. I have found the ratchets to be much more reliable so I am happy to have this hub. DT-Swiss makes three tooth count ratchets of this type 18, 36, and 54. Specialized puts the 54 in this Levo. The differences during riding are speed of engagement and sound. The 18 is very quiet but results in 20* of "float". This means you may have to move the pedals through 20* before the hub locks in and starts to spin the rear wheel. The 36 has 10* and the 54 has 6.6*. On the trails I don't notice the difference but some people do. The 36 does not make much noise. The 54 sounds like angry bees. I put a 36 in my Levo as a compromise and am very happy with the sound. Replacing the ratchet is very simple. You should check YouTube for a video. Basically, you remove the rear wheel, pop off the cassette (you just pull it off, no tools required, you are actually opening the hub and not removing the cassette), lift off the old ratchet and slide on the new, then push the cassette back on. Easy! Note that the ratchets are very lightly greased. Too much grease causes them to be very quiet and not work.

 

[Ted]

This is what I posted here a couple of days before:
(2019 Turbo Levo Owners Thread - EMTB Forums)

I have a Levo S-Works 2019 since a few weeks. There are three things I notice that I don't worry me, but as a technically interested person I would like to know if others would notice it too:

1) Brakes: SRAM Code rsc 200mm
The discs have not been braking evenly since the beginning. When braking lightly on steep slopes, the bike starts to pump - alternately braking harder and weaker - at the rhythm of one wheel turn. As if the discs on one side of the circumference were slightly thicker than on the opposite side. I don't have such an accurate measuring tool to measure that. The brakes are already well retracted.
Has anyone of you already felt that or has an explanation?

2) Freewheel: DT Swiss Star Ratchet, 54t engagement, SRAM XD driver body
In freewheeling, when the bike rolls downhill, the freewheel does not make an even whirring, but is alternately louder and quieter during one wheel turn - wheeewheeewheee.... Why isn't the noise even? Is that an indication of any error?

3) Fork: FOX 36 Factory E-bike, GRIP2 damper, 29" Boost™, 150mm of travel
With every rebound the fork makes a hissing noise. Not scary, but I didn't have that with a fork yet. Is that normal?
Edit: I did a few clicks on the rebound-knob and now it‘s quiet.

For the brakes you might try cleaning the rotor surface with alcohol. I always do this with new rotors. Any greasy contamination will negatively effect braking and ruin the pads. I make sure that I never spray any grease or lube anywhere near the bike. After cleaning the rotors you have to re-bed the brakes again because you have removed any embedded pad material from the rotor.

As for the star ratchet noise, I hear the same thing even when the ratchet is properly greased. I always assumed it was a problem with my ears. As mentioned above, I have installed a 36 tooth ratchet and much prefer the lower noise.

 

[Swissrob]

On the 2019 S-Works the rear hub internals are from DT-Swiss. They use a ratchet system where most hubs use pawls. I have found the ratchets to be much more reliable so I am happy to have this hub. DT-Swiss makes three tooth count ratchets of this type 18, 36, and 54. Specialized puts the 54 in this Levo. The differences during riding are speed of engagement and sound. The 18 is very quiet but results in 20* of "float". This means you may have to move the pedals through 20* before the hub locks in and starts to spin the rear wheel. The 36 has 10* and the 54 has 6.6*. On the trails I don't notice the difference but some people do. The 36 does not make much noise. The 54 sounds like angry bees. I put a 36 in my Levo as a compromise and am very happy with the sound. Replacing the ratchet is very simple. You should check YouTube for a video. Basically, you remove the rear wheel, pop off the cassette (you just pull it off, no tools required, you are actually opening the hub and not removing the cassette), lift off the old ratchet and slide on the new, then push the cassette back on. Easy! Note that the ratchets are very lightly greased. Too much grease causes them to be very quiet and not work.

Ratchets are good saves having a bell when you come up behind someone! ?

 

[paquo]

3) Fork: FOX 36 Factory E-bike, GRIP2 damper, 29" Boost™, 150mm of travel

I found the forks to be pretty harsh at suggested settings and sag. I wasn't using all the travel, i don't land jumps etc. I removed all but one volume spacer and kept the same sag, this improved the harshness. A couple turns in from open for both rebounds and compression dials and it's pretty smooth.

 

[Ted]

I found the forks to be pretty harsh at suggested settings and sag. I wasn't using all the travel, i don't land jumps etc. I removed all but one volume spacer and kept the same sag, this improved the harshness. A couple turns in from open for both rebounds and compression dials and it's pretty smooth.

I also found the fork (Fox Factory 36) to be harsh at spec'ed settings. I have it now at 60lb (I weigh 190 ready to ride) and no compression. It is much better but I worry about bottoming if I ever do a jump or drop. I think the main problem may be inertia of the heavy wheels/tires. The fork cannot help with that.

 

[Koo]

My 2019 Turbo Levo Comp has about 3300 - 3400km now. About half fire road, half single track with lots of roots. So I would say quite many hours... I have even put some bike park hours on it, but well... I'm not a sender (yet)

Loving every single minute riding it. Feeling bad every time I crash and scratch the paint...

I haven't really had any issues. When I got the bike and there was that "REAR SUSPENSION GAP GATE" and weather was horrible in November here I had some warning lights when starting the bike - but never such problems I could not ride the bike. After they introduced the foam fix (which I still have) I haven't had really any electrical issues, except once or twice had water in battery connector. That water ingress can just be removed with cloth with or without electronic cleaner.

At the moment i'm having a small issue.. or it might be me just imagining things, but I think there is some clicking noise coming out from headset. Gotta get that one checked. Any hints where it could come from or how to fix it?

Second thing what drives me mad is that should I update my Revelation Charger RC to Revelation Charger 2.1 RC2. Any opinions? The damp update is over 300e...

This is my bike when we started our journey

Had 27,5" 3" Suomi Fat Freddie's (studded) in the winter!

This is me training for a manual about week ago. Can manual 10m randomly, but 50m manual is on bucket list for this summer... Any tips? lol.

-K

 

[Ted]

I spoke too soon about my Specialized Command Post. I was getting used to it and thought it was OK. Then it blew out the wiper seal and the return speed got really slow. It was repaired under warranty but meanwhile I bought a BikeYoke revive.

I have 600 miles on the original Butcher tires. I always thought they were sketchy on loose over hardpack but decided to wear them out. This week they were so loose it felt that I was riding on ice. I went down hard on a steep descent so I just ordered a Maxxis DHF and DHR 2. Hopefully, problem solved.

 

[Rusty]

Just at the start of my journey with a mere couple hundred kliks on my 2019 Levo Comp.
From my initial rides I think I made a good decision purchasing it but will reconsider after I have a couple thousand under my wheels. My thoughts on the bike and componentry are as follows.
Chassis - is a little bit nervous compared top my eGenius on fast sketchy downhill runs but definitely good enough. This is due to the slighly sharper geometry and on the plus side makes tight climbs and decents much easier. Have also noticed that it jumps more controllably due to a more central weight bias.
Motor - love it. Seems to put the power down just a smidgen nicer than my e8000 powered bike.
I do prefer the Shimano power selector though - I guess the location suits me better and feels more natural. Have not hit a climb that I could not negotiate so-far in Trail mode and Boost is only needed when I want to climb faster.
Suspension - I am happily surprised with the Rockshox performance both front and rear. Having had several negative experiences I was in 2 minds to either buy something else or replace with Fox componentry. Happy to say, the Revelations and Deluxe shock have handled whatever I have thrown at them admirably .... NOTE - I am around 110kg and ride quite aggressively for my age.
Brakes - Seriously Specialized .... I expect much better on a $9k NZ bike. I would not put those Guide RE brakes on anything other than a shopping trolley.
Wheels - seem to be of reasonable stiffness and are handling my weight so far.
Dropper Post - don't really use it too much as the first time I rode with one was on my eGenius last year. I have however put a dropper post protector on it as my first few rides had the post pretty mud covered.
Tyres - Don't like those Butchers at all. Replaced with Maxxis DHF and Minion - feeling much more confident going fast and in gnarly/sketchy terrain.

All in all a decent ride and my distance issues will be resolved when I fit the 700W/h battery.

 

[Marcelfacd]

Brakes - Seriously Specialized .... I expect much better on a $9k NZ bike. I would not put those Guide RE brakes on anything other than a shopping trolley.
Wheels - seem to be of reasonable stiffness and are handling my weight so far.
Dropper Post - don't really use it too much as the first time I rode with one was on my eGenius last year. I have however put a dropper post protector on it as my first few rides had the post pretty mud covered.
Tyres - Don't like those Butchers at all. Replaced with Maxxis DHF and Minion - feeling much more confident going fast and in gnarly/sketchy terrain.
All in all a decent ride and my distance issues will be resolved when I fit the 700W/h battery.

View attachment 16078

Not happy with the RE brakes? In what way?
Have a pair of Saints waiting to be put on mine (comp carbon) but so far very content with te RE’s so decided to leave it like that (allready rode then in Vosges, Schwarzwald, Harz etc) Easy to modulate and a real good bite at the end.
Very happy with te X-fusion Manic dropper. Was worried about the quality but works like a charm.
Agree with the Butchers.

 

[Marcelfacd]

[QUOTE="Ted, post: 80848, member: 3633"

4) Twice I have had the blinking light problem. The first time I panicked and took my bike into the shop. They saw the problem but could not determine the cause. The indication from the manual was "Motor Error". They cleaned the connectors and sent me on my way. I have had the problem once since. I now use canned air to blow out the male and female connectors whenever I charge the battery. No problem since I started doing that. (Fingers crossed)

[/QUOTE]

Connector is an achilles-heel IMHO.
Had some weird problems leading back to connector; Failing bluetooth conncection, partly missing connections (not able to see cadence).
Specialized was sure it had to to with a failing battery but it turned out to be the connector.
Keep it very clean and be very sure to wiggle it tight, just the click aint enough.

 

[Rusty]

Not happy with the RE brakes? In what way?
Have a pair of Saints waiting to be put on mine (comp carbon) but so far very content with te RE’s so decided to leave it like that (allready rode then in Vosges, Schwarzwald, Harz etc) Easy to modulate and a real good bite at the end.
Very happy with te X-fusion Manic dropper. Was worried about the quality but works like a charm.
Agree with the Butchers.

Compared to the modulation of the Shimano MT520s on my Genius eRide they are like light switches - either on or off with little feel. As I get a long at a decent pace I prefer good feel and modulation so I don't skid into corners. Being a trail builder I get pissed at others wrecking my trails so am careful not to do that to others. Have tried a few different pad compounds and actually get the fest feel out of some cheap, crappy Chinese pads that will probably only last a month or so - or 2 good downhill runs ;-)
I know the reason why they are so powerful and lack feel - that is because Sram use a split pressure system, where Shimano and many others are single pressure. That split system allows for very powerful brakes at the expense of feel. It also makes them a lot more difficult to bleed.
I also dislike the Sram rotors. Have swapped wheelsets on another bike that had Sram brakes and used a set with Shimano rotors. Definitely quieter and no squeal for light mosture with only a very little after a decent creek crossing that went away quickly.

 

[Marcelfacd]

Compared to the modulation of the Shimano MT520s on my Genius eRide they are like light switches - either on or off with little feel. As I get a long at a decent pace I prefer good feel and modulation so I don't skid into corners. Being a trail builder I get pissed at others wrecking my trails so am careful not to do that to others. Have tried a few different pad compounds and actually get the fest feel out of some cheap, crappy Chinese pads that will probably only last a month or so - or 2 good downhill runs ;-)
I know the reason why they are so powerful and lack feel - that is because Sram use a split pressure system, where Shimano and many others are single pressure. That split system allows for very powerful brakes at the expense of feel. It also makes them a lot more difficult to bleed.
I also dislike the Sram rotors. Have swapped wheelsets on another bike that had Sram brakes and used a set with Shimano rotors. Definitely quieter and no squeal for light mosture with only a very little after a decent creek crossing that went away quickly.

Mmm that’s weird, same brake totally different feel.
To be honest for me it’s the best modulating brake I ever had. Magura mt5 for me was on/off, Saint almost as well, XT8000 single piston brakes very hard to modulate. I run all my brakes basically with standard pads because in my experience in the end the all have their weaknesses.
Either me or you is the exception ;-)

 

[paquo]

rsc on my bike feels great, especially with newish pads and bled. After the pads wear down it gets to be too much dead space in the beginning of the lever stroke so it feels more on/off. When i get back on my bike with magura mt8 the modulation is similar but the srams are crisper, maybe because of the dot fluid.