Levo SL 1.2 2023 - from the frame up!

[p3eps]

I'll start the thread with a picture... and then explain what I've done!!

This is a thread detailing my build so far of my new Levo SL. I’d class it as my dream build, as it’s been built using the components I want, without considering the cost of the parts… so no holding back.

I’ve actually been a Levo SL owner since they came out in 2020. I’d just purchased a Trek Rail about 2 weeks before they were released as my first eMTB… and when I heard about the Levo SL, I was able to demo and exchange my Rail for it. A lightweight low powered bike was exactly what I was looking for.

I’m a reasonably fit 45 year old, who has 2 young children. I don’t get to ride as much as I’d like, so most weeks it’s just a few hours on a Sunday morning before everyone else is up and functioning. Although I can manage this on my old 2017 Stumpjumper, it’s nice to have a little bit of help - and the ability to ramp it up if I need to.
I generally ride on a low Eco setting (currently 15 / 45 is my default in Mission Control) which gives my legs a little extra power, but still makes me work hard. I can increase the power if I want to do a quicker lap, but 95% of the time I’m in Eco and only use Turbo for technical climbs that my own legs can’t manage!

I bought the new 2023 SL as a frame only option - thinking that I could just whip all the parts of my old bike and continue. I’d already upgraded my entire 2020 model… so it seemed logical. Unfortunately there’s always the ‘want / need’ to upgrade. Although people will say ‘weight doesn’t matter - it’s an eMTB’, I’ve tried to keep the weight down where possible. Not at the cost of performance, but it has been considered whilst building. As things stand, the bike is just over 17kgs (17.11kgs)

 

[p3eps]

Here’s what I’ve got so far…

2023 Levo SL S-works frame in size S4.
Invisiframe ‘matte’ kit fitted before anything else.
Frame was complete with SRAM carbon cranks, 32T SRAM chain ring and Specialized 240W Range Extender.

Here's it just out of the box. The old SL frame in the background - which then went in the box and sent off to an eBay purchaser. It took a couple of weeks to sell, but was a relatively easy transaction (apart from I forgot to send the speed sensor - so had to send it by Royal Mail Special Delivery the following day!).

 

[p3eps]

Start at the front:

ENVE M9 35 x 31.8mm downhill stem - originally stolen from my Stumpjumper, and moved from my 2020 SL.

Generic non branded Garmin Mount - for holding my Edge 840.

Wolftooth Premium IS Specialized headset. Due to the headset adjustment cup, the Chris King Dropset 5 I previously had doesn’t fit. I queried with i9 about their headset, but was told it wouldn't fit either. The Wolftooth is specifically designed for Specialized fitment. The downside is their QA for colour matching is appalling and I ended up with a load of different coloured blue bits. They apologised and gave me some discount - but they said they couldn't get an exact match. I swapped the spacers with some i9 ones and the cap too. I may have to see if I can get the Wolftooth steerer in black instead, as it doesn't match!

These are supposed to match

SQ Labs X30 handlebar, 45mm rise, 12° backsweep - I had Enve DH bars from my 2020 SL, but was suffering from numb hands / pins and needles. I was recommended the SQ bars by various forum members, and so far they seem to fix this problem.

DMR Deathgrips, with new blue collars - decided these would go nice with my new blue theme.

Magura MT7 brakes, with carbon upgrade levers - I had these on my 2020 SL, however had to buy a new one after stripping the thread on one of the brakes. I moved the carbon levers over, as I like the feel of them, and they don’t feel as cold in Winter as the steel ones.

Rockshox Lyric Ultimate 160mm - taken from my 2020 SL. I’ve always preferred Rockshox forks over Fox, and the Lyric is fine for me. I could fit a Zeb, but I don’t feel there is any need, as the Lyric works for me… and it would only increase the weight.

Magura MT7 calipers - ordered 2 different sets of the replacement rings to get the 2 different colours of blue. Standard MT7 pads, as they provide good bite, and don’t squeal like hell when they get wet.

 

[p3eps]

Next is the middle...

Rockshox Super Deluxe Ultimate (with Megneg) - taken off my 2020 bike, and sent to J-Tech Suspension for re-tuning for the new leverage, and tuned to my weight / riding style. It keeps the bike feeling poppy, but gives me a less jerky ride over fast bumps.

Rockshox Reverb AXS dropper post - 34.9 x 170mm - also taken from my 2020 bike. I’ve used various droppers over the years, and the Reverb AXS is by far my favourite. The adjustability is amazing, and the controller is super sensitive - allowing me to drop a couple of mm’s on a tough technical climb when required.

Syncros Tofino R 1.0 Saddle - again taken from my 2020 bike, although this was a relatively new addition. I had the Specialized Phenom saddle for a couple of years, but the carbon rails kept snapping. After going through 2 of them, I thought I’d try something else. The Tofino is a similar weight, but at almost half the price of the Phenom. Very comfortable, and will see how it lasts!

Non branded Garmin saddle mount - I have a Garmin Varia RTL515 that I use for my evening cycles, and also if I’m doing a lot of road trekking to get where I’m going. It tells my Garmin 840 on my bars that a car is approaching… and also is a pretty bright light!

HT Components ME03T Pedals - super slim and light weight. They’ve also come off my old bike, and are showing plenty of wear and battle damage. I have various rebuild kits in stock, and also invested in the tool kit for them several years ago. They may end up like Trigger’s broom as I’m considering a new blue set, and stealing the Titanium axels from my existing ones. I’d also swap out the pins with the lightweight aluminium ones as they snap rather than bend - and are much easier to get out when broken.

2 x SL 160W Range Extenders. I had one already from my previous bike, which I kept… and got a new one with the S-Works frame.

 

[p3eps]

The rear...

SRAM Eagle AXS T-Type Transmission XX - I ran the Eagle XX1 AXS kit off my old bike for a few weeks, but decided to upgrade to the new Transmission. It’s a minor improvement, but after finally getting the correct positioning, I really like the new POD controller. Easy to set up and flawless shifting… although the XX1 AXS was hard to beat.

On the ground...

Custom Industry Nine EN315 carbon wheel set 29” - I rode the bike for a few weeks on my old Roval Traverse Carbon rims, however the sale of my 2020 SL frameset gave me a bit of spare cash… so I decided to blow it on the wheel set I always wanted! A combination of turquoise, blue, black and silver spokes on Hydra hubs. These set the colour theme for the bike, and all the blue bits were acquired after I put the order for the wheels in. I decided to run the bike as 29” front and rear, as at 6ft 2”, the S4 frame is probably on the smaller side.

Michelin WILD F / R Tyres - these were fitted to the Traverse rims a few weeks before changing the frame, so I’ve decided there is no need to replace them yet. These are my 3rd pair of WILD’s, and I think they are a great all round tyre. In Scotland, I can have 1 day where the trail is dry and dusty, and the next where the trail is wet and boggy - and the WILD’s seem to handle it all pretty well.

Magura Storm HC 203mm F and 180mm R rotors. The new Levo SL comes with 200mm at both ends, but I’ve never seen the need for a 200mm rear.

Peaty’s Holeshot Sealant - thought I’d give this a try after being a Stan’s man for years. I tried MucOff once and didn’t really like it, and so far I have no issues with the Peaty’s stuff. I’m also loving their all-weather Link Lube - which has a nice mint smell to it!

 

[p3eps]

Future Plans...

I’m trying to get a set of S-Works and ’S’ decals ordered up in a metallic turquoise to match the i9 spokes / parts, however this is proving more difficult than expected… as none of the graphics companies I’ve tried so far have responded.

Try and get a Wolftooth steerer in black, so save the spacers / steerer being a slightly different shade of blue.

I might order up a Wolftooth seat post clamp and hope that it's a similar shade of blue to the rest of the bits.

Depending on how the S-Works graphics look (if I ever get some!) then I might set some blue Lyric Ultimate and Super Deluxe Ultimate graphics done in the same colour. I'd also consider some Industry Nine ones for the wheels too

In the last few weeks Industry Nine have announced an EN325 rim - so I'm currently in talks with them to see how realistic it is to swap my 315 rim over - as the hub / spokes remain the same. It might not be worth doing, but I thought I'd ask. Kind of annoying when you spend a heap of money on something and they bring a new model out a few weeks later! That's life though...

My wheels were specced with silver valves, but they fitted black in error. I collected the silver ones yesterday... however I'll wait until I next need to either change the tyres or top up the sealant until I do this.

 

[Bluedirtz]

Thanks for doing this! Awesome build! I just got the comp and thinking of replacing the fork and rear shock to exactly what you got. The rear shock doesn’t rub the RE when installed?

 

[p3eps]

Thanks for doing this! Awesome build! I just got the comp and thinking of replacing the fork and rear shock to exactly what you got. The rear shock doesn’t rub the RE when installed?

Thank you! Here’s one with the RE installed. S4, and there’s not a whole lot of clearance, but it fits ok. I have the bottle cage as far down the screws as it’ll go… so I’m not convinced this would would work with a smaller frame?

 

[Bluedirtz]

Thanks for doing that. Yeah, I have the S3, so it most likely rub.

 

[Sebov]

Next is the middle...

View attachment 122875

Rockshox Super Deluxe Ultimate (with Megneg) - taken off my 2020 bike, and sent to J-Tech Suspension for re-tuning for the new leverage, and tuned to my weight / riding style. It keeps the bike feeling poppy, but gives me a less jerky ride over fast bumps.

Rockshox Reverb AXS dropper post - 34.9 x 170mm - also taken from my 2020 bike. I’ve used various droppers over the years, and the Reverb AXS is by far my favourite. The adjustability is amazing, and the controller is super sensitive - allowing me to drop a couple of mm’s on a tough technical climb when required.

View attachment 122877

Syncros Tofino R 1.0 Saddle - again taken from my 2020 bike, although this was a relatively new addition. I had the Specialized Phenom saddle for a couple of years, but the carbon rails kept snapping. After going through 2 of them, I thought I’d try something else. The Tofino is a similar weight, but at almost half the price of the Phenom. Very comfortable, and will see how it lasts!

Non branded Garmin saddle mount - I have a Garmin Varia RTL515 that I use for my evening cycles, and also if I’m doing a lot of road trekking to get where I’m going. It tells my Garmin 840 on my bars that a car is approaching… and also is a pretty bright light!

View attachment 122878

HT Components ME03T Pedals - super slim and light weight. They’ve also come off my old bike, and are showing plenty of wear and battle damage. I have various rebuild kits in stock, and also invested in the tool kit for them several years ago. They may end up like Trigger’s broom as I’m considering a new blue set, and stealing the Titanium axels from my existing ones. I’d also swap out the pins with the lightweight aluminium ones as they snap rather than bend - and are much easier to get out when broken.

2 x SL 160W Range Extenders. I had one already from my previous bike, which I kept… and got a new one with the S-Works frame.

View attachment 122880

Good work!
Where did you get the frame from? It‘s not available in Germany…

 

[p3eps]

Thanks for doing that. Yeah, I have the S3, so it most likely rub.

I don’t know how much difference there is internally between sizes, but I’d guess it would likely rub. The reservoir is slightly bigger on the Super Deluxe than the original Fox.

 

[p3eps]

Good work!
Where did you get the frame from? It‘s not available in Germany…

I had my local shop order me a frame on release day (Scotland). It took about week to come in, and I collected it on the 12th May.
I remember the date as it was my wife’s 40th birthday, so I didn’t get it out of the box for a few days

 

[p3eps]

A couple of little updates...

Industry Nine customer service is awesome! I emailed them a couple of months back saying I was a bit disappointed to spend over £2500 on a set of wheels, which were the 'old' model within a week of them being delivered.
They agreed that it was unfortunate (I expected them to say tough luck to be honest!) and gave me 3 options.
1. Get a whole new EN325/310 wheel set at 40% discount. I could then sell on my existing ones and hopefully make the money back.
2. Return mine for a small restocking fee and have them swapped out for the EN325/310 wheels.
3. Keep the wheels, and they'd send me a headset, stem and spacers as a goodwill gesture.

I'm a gadget freak and always like to have the latest model, so decided to go with the restocking fee option. I sent the wheels back to Lyon (UK distributer) and they went back to i9 in Spain. A couple of weeks later, a new wheelset arrived.

Whilst they were away, I ordered some new winter rubber too. The Cannibals have been recommended by several people on here for wet roots and rocks... and living in Scotland, that's what I'm going to see for the next 5 months!!
2 downsides to the Cannibals I can see before even riding them. They're almost 300g heavier per tyre than the Michelin Enduro's I've had for the last few years... and Specialized aren't as picky putting their logos on tyres, so having the CANNIBAL centred across the valve doesn't mean the SPECIALIZED logo is centred at the bottom! Not really an issue, but it sends the OCD in me into a state of fear and alarm

Apart from the decals being slightly different on the new rims (and a blue valve this time!) to the untrained eye, they look identical to my old ones. They're now different widths - the front is slightly wider, and the rear is narrower, but stronger. 5g heavier too... so 1740g for the pair (including tape and valves).

 

[p3eps]

I've been trying to get S-WORKS and the S at the front in a similar metallic turquoise to the i9 colour for about 3 months now. I've emailed loads of bike graphics companies, but they all tend to stay away from Specialized. SLIK was my first choice, but they said the S-WORKS is stretched / shrunk depending on bike and frame size, so it was really difficult to get right.

I messaged IndiBike on Facebook, and Lucy came back and said no problem. I told her is was a Levo SL (2nd gen) and that I wanted S-Works to go over the existing decals. The original S-Works is build into the carbon, and is recessed - so you can feel a dip with your finger nail.

I sent her a photo of a turquoise i9 hub, paid £29.99 for a special metallic finish, and a package arrived about a week later. I took placed them next to the original on the bike - and they were about 1 and a half times the size! After a couple of emails, it was agreed that IndiBike / IndiPrint didn't ask for any size details, so they should supply another set. I asked what measurements they wanted... and then printed off an A4 sheet with S-Works on it. I then sat with a cloth tape measure and measured various lengths / heights of the graphics, and drew them on my A4 sheet... and sent it to them. She asked how the colour was. Good enough, but could do with being a bit more 'turquoise'.
A week or so, I got another set of decals... but again, they were huge! The colour was great though!
Again, she admitted she'd made a mistake... and about 2 weeks later I got another set. Once again, these were totally wrong! She claimed they'd been amended, but not saved - but agreed to send another set out.
A few weeks later, I got a set that actually fitted!

A bit of patience, a steady hand, and some good natural daylight - and they're now on.

I bought 2 new sections of Invisiframe (headtube and downtube) which turned out to be not much cheaper than ordering a full kit (£56 vs £95)... and will get these applied over the S-Works this week.

Eagle eyed people may also notice a new Deity seat clamp in turquoise too!

Once I get the Invisiframe on, and the wheels on... I need to decide if I should have the Lyric and Super Deluxe decals done in the same blue colour too!

 

[p3eps]

Out for a maiden ride today on the new wheels and tyres. It was a local ride of 18 miles. About 11 miles single track and dirt track, and the other 7 miles were paths and roads. Wet, slippy and muddy.
The Cannibals handled it well - lots of slippy roots and rocks… however they drag quite a lot on the concrete sections. Should be good for Winter though.

Some Slik Graphics on the rims. Not sure if I should get the forks done in the same colour as the S-WORKS as a finishing touch?

I have an i9 iRiX headset to go on, however they sent me the wrong one, so I’m waiting for a Specialized specific one to arrive from Spain. Hopefully next week.

Really pleased with the bike now. I didn’t really want another black bike since my last SL was black… but the blue bits are brightening it up a bit!

I noticed after my ride a little bit of the Invisiframe (headtube section) hadn’t stuck down properly… so had a lot of fun peeling it back a little and washing the dirt out from behind it before re-sticking it!!

 

[Bluedirtz]

Holy smokes! That bike is beautiful!

 

[p3eps]

Another minor change…

Through all my contact with Industry Nine about swapping my wheels, they advised that they DO actually have a headset for the Levo SL.

The iRiX for the Levo SL is about £150 for the whole thing, which includes bearings and a headset cap. I advised them I already have the same Enduro bearings from my Wolftooth one, and had already purchased their spacers and top cap… and could I just order a top cover.

Yes was the answer - so I finally have all my headset parts matching!!

The Lyric / super deluxe decals in metallic blue are ordered, and will be the last upgrade hopefully!

 

[R3Z3N]

Awesome.

So now we know the bike is tits, show us a ride pic of it dirty and you in the air with a massive whip!

 

[Cb750stu]

Definitely a B.I.O bike as we say in Aberdeen

 

[p3eps]

Definitely a B.I.O bike as we say in Aberdeen

I’m in Aberdeen, and I don’t know what B.I.O means?!

 

[p3eps]

Awesome.

So now we know the bike is tits, show us a ride pic of it dirty and you in the air with a massive whip!

It lives in my house, so it’s cleaned to the N’th degree after every ride! Mods are made before it’s ridden again (obviously!) which is why the pics are always immaculately clean!

 

[Cb750stu]

"B

I’m in Aberdeen, and I don’t know what B.I.O means?!

"Big in oil" , you're maybe not in that line of work

 

[p3eps]

"Big in oil" , you're maybe not in that line of work

More money than sense? There’s some on here would refer to it as ‘Dentists Spec’!

I’m definitely not big in oil, but I’ve spent the last 20 years working predominantly in Oil and Gas.

I’m sure a Comp would have been more than enough bike for me, but I’ve been enjoying the upgrading process! It’s been fun not only getting the parcels delivered, but learning how to fit and service all the bits too.

 

[Cb750stu]

More money than sense? There’s some on here would refer to it as ‘Dentists Spec’!

I’m definitely not big in oil, but I’ve spent the last 20 years working predominantly in Oil and Gas.

I’m sure a Comp would have been more than enough bike for me, but I’ve been enjoying the upgrading process! It’s been fun not only getting the parcels delivered, but learning how to fit and service all the bits too.

Surprised you have never heard the saying!!
Lovely bike though, I'm waiting for a S3 frameset to become available, not many around just now

 

[Doomanic]

I need to decide if I should have the Lyric and Super Deluxe decals done in the same blue colour too!

Of course you do!

The Lyric / super deluxe decals in metallic blue are ordered,

Phew! I was getting worried for a minute.

and will be the last upgrade hopefully!

Yeah, right...

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

doesn't mean the SPECIALIZED logo is centred at the bottom

Tip: it takes 3 minutes to sandpaper off the Specialized logo from the tyres if you’d like to remove it

 

[p3eps]

Of course you do!

Phew! I was getting worried for a minute.

Yeah, right...

That predictable…
I genuinely don’t think there’s anything else I can change. The only thing that’s not been touched is the cranks. My old SL ones were 165, and these are 170… but I haven’t hit a rock yet!!

Maybe some sort of rear mudguard for winter… but that’s an accessory rather than modifying the bike

Tip: it takes 3 minutes to sandpaper off the Specialized logo from the tyres if you’d like to remove it

View attachment 129373

Never thought about that! Could be an easy fix for my first world problem

 

[p3eps]

Surprised you have never heard the saying!!
Lovely bike though, I'm waiting for a S3 frameset to become available, not many around just now

I was into Edinburgh Cycles and ordered on day 1… just to make sure I got one!

 

[Doomanic]

Never thought about that! Could be an easy fix for my first world problem

With the added benefit of shaving off a few more grams.

 

[Cb750stu]

I was into Edinburgh Cycles and ordered on day 1… just to make sure I got one!

Apparently there will be more out in January in a new colour scheme according to Spesh