Levo SL Gen 1 Levo SL 2023 Megathread

[rydeezie]

Any thoughts on running a 170mm 38 on the SL? Too much fork?
Thinking of moving my Levo fork and Enve wheelset to the SL and sell the 36

if i do move the fork to the SL, my Levo will get a 180mm 38 or Fox 40

 

[George_KSL]

Absolutely no problem, you will slacken it by about 0.4 deg in static position, somewhat less in sag and it will feel barely different while riding.
I still remember when people used to put 180mm Marzocchi66 fork onto hardtails 20 years back... and it still rode OK. And that was such a crapshot geo :- ).
And if anyone watched the LoamWolf review of that zero offset 20cm height or how much stem, which puts your hands into fully ridiculous position and the review result was that it still rode OK :- ) ? I know there are folks who say they can feel 5mm stack height difference but.. I doubt majority of riders can.
You're from California, where average overlander puts 37" mud-terrains to whatever vehicle they get their paws on and doesn't give a second thought to it :- ).

What I am saying is it will be totally ok, you will probably hardly notice. My wife has 170 ZEB on current Levo SL, rides great.
DO IT ! And post a photo :- )

 

[Zimmerframe]

The 1.1 > 1.2 thread has been updated with comparisons/weights/alternative fitments.

Mahle SL 1.1 to SL 1.2 - What's Possible and What's Different ?

The SL 1.2 is out in the wild with the '23 Levo SL. From what we know so far, mountings and connections are all the same. It works with the existing battery and range extender (shorter 145mm instead of 160mm cable). The motor is slightly larger due to the two piece aluminium honeycomb casing...

www.emtbforums.com

 

[galaga187]

A great video from Guy Kesteven showing the bike in action in the UK apparently there will be a demo fleet at Coed y Brenin (Welsh for King's Forest).

 

[RJUK]

A great video from Guy Kesteven showing the bike in action in the UK apparently there will be a demo fleet at Coed y Brenin (Welsh for King's Forest).

Yeah, not great on facts though. I watched part of it yesterday and switched off at the point he said the new SL has a larger battery...

 

[Doomanic]

apparently there will be a demo fleet at Coed y Brenin (Welsh for King's Forest).

Shame they didn't locate it at a decent trail centre instead...

 

[galaga187]

Yeah, not great on facts though. I watched part of it yesterday and switched off at the point he said the new SL has a larger battery...

He says that on both the videos for some reason - it was the only fact mistake I noticed. There are comparisons in there of motor noise and different wheel sizes to see and hear.

 

[galaga187]

Shame they didn't locate it at a decent trail centre instead...

They rode Dyfi forest off piste stuff as well - hard to tell from the camera but that looked steeper.

 

[Doomanic]

I watched part of it yesterday and switched off at the point he said the new SL has a larger battery...

I had to watch 6 minutes of that tosh to hear that...

 

[Doomanic]

it was the only fact mistake I noticed.

He got torque and power mixed up too...

 

[JetSetDemo]

Picked it up!!! It feels a lot lighter than my KSL. The weather is terrible today so no ridding I’m away all week flying early tomorrow so won’t get a chance till next weekend to test it out.

Rich at Race Co was a legend as always and threw in the short range extender cable. Really pleased with the colour, the green lyrics look good on it

 

[Lightme]

Personally I just wanted an electric SJEvo. Didn't get it however.
The SJEVO already has too linear of rear suspension for aggressive riding, which is why they respond so well to the Cascade link.
Unfortunately the new Levo SL advertises 'more linear' suspension kinematics. This is good for pedaling support and allows novice riders to use all the travel. However it was the wrong direction for aggressive riding.
Anyways, it is what it is. It makes sense that Spesh didn't overlap the Levo & Kenevo, the way they have with the Evo & Enduro.
The bike is awesome and my wife will probably have one once our daughter takes over her Mondraker pedal bike.

I had a Cascade link on my SL.
I really hope CC make a link for this - or even a long shock kit.

 

[JetSetDemo]

Short cable fitted

 

[G-Sport]

I could but the battery has a notch in it that dovetails perfectly with the bottle cage to keep the battery snug. If I rotate it there's no more notch. View attachment 113687

Doh, silly me.

 

[rocco1109]

View attachment 113728
Short cable fitted

Thank you

 

[Rtwo-Dtwo]

Any ideas when to expect an Expert build? Is it a matter of weeks or either months? Is there any experience from past releases? The pdf manual, you can download from the product site, already mentions an Expert.

As I want to replace my 2020 Stumpjumper and Turbo Levo, both Comp, there is some budget to take the better components from the Expert build and hopefully some better color selection .

In general, I like the Comp builds price-performance ratio, but do not like the actual colors: Poo-brown and Garbage-can-orange. At least in Germany, the garbage disposable vehicles wear near the same orange color. Maybe this is the concept behind the color selection . I know, it is a matter of taste, want to offend nobody!

In the leaked pictures there was in my opinion a beautiful blue color option. Any ideas if this is still in the pipeline to come soon?

 

[Mcharza]

Any thoughts on running a 170mm 38 on the SL? Too much fork?
Thinking of moving my Levo fork and Enve wheelset to the SL and sell the 36

if i do move the fork to the SL, my Levo will get a 180mm 38 or Fox 40



View attachment 113691

Haha, You won the first prize!
At the time of publication, I was wondering who would be the first to ask this.

 

[Mcharza]

This color is much better in nature.
Like riding an SJ Evo but with thicker muscles. And indeed, the sound of the engine is quieter than in my own Kenovo SL.

 

[Loamranger]

The rubber band was designed to go round the plug and not the bottle cage. I see so many with this incorrectly positioned. Got this from a Specialized manager.

 

[Loamranger]

What is the make of dropper with the least insertion/most travel for use with the LSL and KSL? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RJUK]

Any ideas when to expect an Expert build? Is it a matter of weeks or either months? Is there any experience from past releases? The pdf manual, you can download from the product site, already mentions an Expert.

As I want to replace my 2020 Stumpjumper and Turbo Levo, both Comp, there is some budget to take the better components from the Expert build and hopefully some better color selection .

In general, I like the Comp builds price-performance ratio, but do not like the actual colors: Poo-brown and Garbage-can-orange. At least in Germany, the garbage disposable vehicles wear near the same orange color. Maybe this is the concept behind the color selection . I know, it is a matter of taste, want to offend nobody!

In the leaked pictures there was in my opinion a beautiful blue color option. Any ideas if this is still in the pipeline to come soon?

On a foreign Spesh site that shows up as a carbon comp colour. In the UK site it's just the brown or orange. I like the orange.

My first proper MTB back in the day was exactly the same as this, so it's a bit of nostalgia.

 

[Mcharza]

What is the make of dropper with the least insertion/most travel for use with the LSL and KSL? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Think Oneup has the shortest insertion. And size 31.6 and a shim, it goes a little bit deeper.

 

[RJUK]

What is the make of dropper with the least insertion/most travel for use with the LSL and KSL? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

OneUp?

 

[rydeezie]

Haha, You won the first prize!
At the time of publication, I was wondering who would be the first to ask this.

i probably would do it anyways since i did do it to my FF Levo and had great results. But now, will my FF Levo ride well with a 180mm 38? I know it rides well with a Fox 40 from testing a friends Levo with this set up.

The good thing is I don’t need to buy new forks. Just moving them around between bikes. I guess i could just try out the different set ups….

 

[Dax]

On a foreign Spesh site that shows up as a carbon comp colour. In the UK site it's just the brown or orange. I like the orange.

My furry proper MTB back in the day was exactly the same as this, so it's a bit of nostalgia.
View attachment 113765

Same suspension linkage too

 

[singletrackminded]

Got a chance to weight the stock 2023 Levo SL Comp, size S3. It weights 40.88 pounds out of the box, without pedals. A bit more than I was expecting. With a judicious upgrade of the wheelset, tubeless, etc. I have it now at a comfortable
37.9 lbs. or 17.2kg. (sub 18 kg, as they say). very pleased.

 

[RJUK]

Got a chance to weight the stock 2023 Levo SL Comp, size S3. It weights 40.88 pounds out of the without pedals . A bit more than I was expecting. With a judicious upgrade of the wheelset, tubeless, etc. I have it now at a comfortable
37.9 lbs. or 17.2kg. (sub 18 kg, as they say). very pleased.

What wheelset?

 

[singletrackminded]

A custom I9 wheelset w/ Ibis 941 and 741 rims. Carbon
handlelebars bars helped the weight too.

 

[Bluedirtz]

Holy cow…This SL is nice and plush. Impressive suspension even for the comp model. First impression after a 22 mile ride was very impressive. The motor and power delivery was better than my ‘22 Rise and this would most likely get the same range as my 360wh Rise. Really impressive.

With the current set up with pedals is 41 lbs. My Rise with pedals is 43.8 lbs.

 

[Pete N]

This color is much better in nature.
Like driving an SJ Evo but with thicker muscles. And indeed, the sound of the engine is quieter than in my own Kenovo SL.
View attachment 113753 View attachment 113754

A great video from Guy Kesteven showing the bike in action in the UK apparently there will be a demo fleet at Coed y Brenin (Welsh for King's Forest).

I like his videos because they’re different and you get a real time feel of the bike, including what makes it fun etc. He’s been writing for UK Bike magazines for years. I remember his name from 20+ years ago.

The best for Facts and data though is Francois from MTBR.