Levo SL Gen 1 Levo SL Expert - First Ride

[p3eps]

Only 2kg lighter than my 3x more powerful LEvo Expert....

Which must be heavily upgraded as the stock Levo S-Works is 20.9kg.
I could spend a few thousand on this and make it ~16kg if really wanted.

I bought the SL because I didn’t want 3x power. I want to use my legs!

 

[Thomas]

Which must be heavily upgraded as the stock Levo S-Works is 20.9kg.
I could spend a few thousand on this and make it ~16kg if really wanted.

I bought the SL because I didn’t want 3x power. I want to use my legs!

With high employee discount just break even...
O and I also use my legs, more than I should. As Roadie on average 12K km od 100K m ascend a year, but sometimes is nice to see how Roglic is powering on the flat and on the climb....

 

[Zimmerframe]

and ads

Can’t do owt about the adds though.

If you "subscribe" .. the adds vanish.. think it's about £5 a year, so not much for the add free experience .. Every 1,000,000th subscriber gets a free bike.

 

[p3eps]

New tyre is here - so I can get it fitted and the tube out tonight.
30mm inner diameter on my rim, makes it 2.5.
This is a 2.6 tyre, but doesn’t look like there is any rim size that makes it 2.6?!

 

[miPbiP]

View attachment 26482 View attachment 26483

New tyre is here - so I can get it fitted and the tube out tonight.
30mm inner diameter on my rim, makes it 2.5.
This is a 2.6 tyre, but doesn’t look like there is any rim size that makes it 2.6?!

I run that on my '19 Levo rear (they're stock) with a Minion on the front.

When weighted and lower pressure you'll probably get 2.6, FWIW.

 

[Surge]

Just ordered the new SL! And the only way to justify the cost was to plan to put 10,000km on it over 10 years. I ride ~4000km per year over 4 bikes.
Good to know that many of you put this kind of miles on the Levos much faster and they seem to hold up. I know the SL is a new motor and drivetrain though.
My 2018 Levo is a ton of fun, but it’s more like a monster truck, and it’s not really a workout unless you purposely reduce the power.

 

[Blinkie]

If you "subscribe" .. the adds vanish.. think it's about £5 a year, so not much for the add free experience .. Every 1,000,000th subscriber gets a free bike.

Where is the subscribe button

 

[Zimmerframe]

Where is the subscribe button

Think it's in account, click on your avatar. Just looked on my phone and it's in account and then account upgrades.

Can someone pm me when we're at 999,990 so I can unsubscribe and be ready to claim my free bike ??‍??‍??‍?

 

[p3eps]

A few more grams knocked off by fitting my carbon ENVE bars and stem...

Spesh stock aluminium bars = 366g
ENVE DH carbon bars = 229g
Saving = 137g

Spesh stock aluminium stem = 153g
ENVE carbon stem = 88g
Saving = 65g

Overall saving = 202g

Whilst I had all this apart, I weighed the mechanism / multi tool that’s stored in the headset.

133g - that could easily be replaced with a lightweight top cap if you were desperate to save 100g+ for little cost.

 

[p3eps]

Just ordered some Magura MT7's, Storm HC rotors, and the SRAM matchmaker kit - so hopefully that'll solve the worries of the brakes being insufficient.
Never used Magura's before - but they get loads of great comments on here, and the reviews I've read have all been top notch.
Will see how the standard levers are before ordering in the HC3's.

 

[High Rock Ruti]

View attachment 26368

Away to take my own one out for its first run. It’s actually snowing just now... but hey ho! When you live in Scotland, you’ve got to embrace the weather!!

So far...
Invisiframe kit fitted
Derailleur / shifter swapped to AXS XX1
Rear tyre tubeless
DMR Vault mg pedals
Front Mudhugger
Carbon Garmin mount
Shockwiz fitted to rear shock

Weight: (XL SL Expert)
18.30kg or 40.34lb

View attachment 26367

Still to swap my bars / stem over, fit new front tyre and make it tubeless. Also swap dropper for AXS Reverb.
Should tip the scale at less than 18kg... which is a little over 4.5kg less than my Rail 9.9 was.
May be other mods along the way, but that’ll be my starting point.

Now... away to get this thing an extra few KG’s in mud ?

High Rock Ruti

Nice picture of the scale......don't tease us show the bike "resting on stuff" please baby please baby, baby baby please (Spike Lee She's gotta have it)

 

[p3eps]

High Rock Ruti

Nice picture of the scale......don't tease us show the bike "resting on stuff" please baby please baby, baby baby please (Spike Lee She's gotta have it)

Here’s a couple from this morning.

This is where ~4kg makes a huge difference, as lifting it over these 2 gates would’ve been a different story with a 22.5kg bike!!

 

[High Rock Ruti]

Here’s a couple from this morning.

View attachment 26795

View attachment 26794
This is where ~4kg makes a huge difference, as lifting it over these 2 gates would’ve been a different story with a 22.5kg bike!!

High Rock Ruti

I just love a picture of a mountain (Sweet Ride) "resting on Stuff" (thanks Doomanic for the coinage) especially when there's signs of NO TRESPASSING in the background, for me those "signs" are personal invitation to explore.

Here’s a couple from this morning.

View attachment 26795

View attachment 26794
This is where ~4kg makes a huge difference, as lifting it over these 2 gates would’ve been a different story with a 22.5kg bike!!

 

[p3eps]

Some more weighing...
Once again - I am building this bike to be how I want it, regardless of weight! Just interesting to see the differences.

Original SRAM G2 RSC - lever, hose (shortened front) and calliper. 287g

Magura MT7 with full length hose and calliper. 242g

SRAM 203mm front rotor. 192g

Magura 203mm front rotor. 171g

SRAM 180mm rear rotor. 145g

Magura 180 rear rotor. 140g

As you can see... I got some new scales ??

 

[p3eps]

Here’s a good one. Everyone saying Spesh have fitted a Fox 34 to save weight.
Here’s it vs the Lyric I got today. 160mm 51offset.

FYI, I work with instrumentation and have calibration labs at my work. I had them calibrate my scales when I had them delivered yesterday.
When a certified 2.000kg is applied, mine read 2.008kg... so take 0.008g off both readings!!

Fox 34 Performance - 29er 150mm 51 offset. 1.932kg (or 1.926kg corrected)

RockShox Lyric Ultimate 29er 160mm 51 offset. 2.006kg (or 1.998kg corrected)

Surprised to see only 74g between them. I genuinely thought this was going to put my weight up by about 250-300g... so very pleased with this result!

 

[Blinkie]

that with steered cut? grams to be had there ?

 

[p3eps]

that with steered cut? grams to be had there ?

The person I bought it from says no, but I’d be inclined to differ. About 1cm shorter than the Fox, and with not nearly as nice a finish at the top.

On another note though... the Lyric has Invisiframe applied, so that’s some extra g’s there ?

 

[ImSundee]

Wonder how much more 36s are?

Interesting as the Lyric is going to be so much stiffer, looks like I will be hopefully going that way too.

Be interested to hear how the 160s feel on it.

 

[losgatosgtr]

Please let us know about the handling with the 160 travel fork.

Is the offset on your new lyric the same as the fox 34?

 

[jmulvaney]

If you "subscribe" .. the adds vanish.. think it's about £5 a year, so not much for the add free experience .. Every 1,000,000th subscriber gets a free bike.

Without the ads, is that another few grams off?

 

[jwrx]

Only 2kg lighter than my 3x more powerful LEvo Expert....

its not the weight its how it feels. My expert turbo is 20.5kg, and I spent the whole morning with a 18.5kg SL...it feels waaaaay lighter than the on paper 2kg diffrence

 

[p3eps]

Today’s ride was like riding a different bike.
Probably because it was.

First time I’ve ridden with the Lyric Ultimate 160, Magura MT7’s, and I have Maxxis DHF 2.5 upfront and DHR II 2.3 at the back.
What a transformation.

Firstly, the Lyric is so much smoother than the Fox 34. Did the extra 10mm make a difference to my ride today - probably not... but the Lyric (for me) is just a much better fork. No issues climbing. I put my stem about 5mm lower, and didn’t have any issues with the front wheel coming up - even on super steep climbs that I needed 1st gear for.

The MT7’s offered much more stopping power, with much less effort. I didn’t feel like I was having to crush the levers to slow the bike down. The G2’s felt like they faded really quickly, but the MT7’s offered so much more... and they didn’t shriek at any given opportunity!!

The bike felt much more planted on descents, and less prone to sketchy moments where the tyre slipped. Could be down to better dampening or better tyres - but it certainly cut out a few brown shorts moments!

Overall I’m really chuffed with the difference. I’m still waiting for my AXS dropper to come, and then I think I’m done with mods for a while. I’d like the Praxis carbon cranks when they release them... and I’ll maybe order the Magura carbon levers.
Also need to get a new tubeless valve (the Specialized one won’t seal 100%) and invest in a charger pump rather than taking my wheel / tyre full of glue to the LBS at 9am!

The bike is currently sitting at just under 17.7kgs with mudguard and ShockWiz fitted.
Carbon cranks should take it down to 17.5... which will be 5 full kgs lighter than my Trek Rail was!

I’m sure I could have done more to make it lighter... however I have some pretty high end components that have added weight rather than remove it. I’d much rather have the setup I want than losing 500g and sacrificing the ride for the sake of weight.

 

[losgatosgtr]

Nice job! What position is your flip chip in on the lower mount of your rear shock?

Do you feel or notice any compromises in steering or handling from the 160 mm fork compared to the 150 mm?

 

[p3eps]

Nice job! What position is your flip chip in on the lower mount of your rear shock?

Do you feel or notice any compromises in steering or handling from the 160 mm fork compared to the 150 mm?

Flip chip is in the low position.

No... I didn’t notice any obvious difference in the steering. That said, I didn’t have too many fast downhill parts with significant direction change on the route I went yesterday.

 

[p3eps]

What a saga...
When ordering the bike, the shop I got it from had to issue me quite a large refund (the difference between a Rail 9.9 and the SL Expert). I asked if they’d price match Wiggle(£539.99), and order me in a 170mm AXS Reverb dropper. They did - but it was out of stock in their warehouse. The due date has moved, and moved, and moved... until yesterday they advised it would be mid April.

I asked why - as I could get one from Tredz next day, at £489.99. They agreed to offer me a refund so I could order from Tredz. Ordered yesterday, here today!


X-Fusion Manic 34.9mm x 170mm dropper with cable and lever: 752g

Rockshox Reverb AXS 34.9mm x 170mm dropper with battery and wireless lever: 879g

+127g for the AXS Reverb... but well worth it!!

 

[Fivetones]

Good weenying. The Manic dropper is heavier than I thought it might be.

The Reverb weighs more than I’d expect too. It’s a little more about function though so I do understand your draw to it.

 

[p3eps]

Good weenying. The Manic dropper is heavier than I thought it might be.

I’m going the wrong way! I’ve added nearly 200g for my fork and dropper in the last week.
I reckon I must be somewhere around 17.8kgs at the moment... which is only about 500g lighter than the stock XL including my pedals.

 

[p3eps]

The Reverb weighs more than I’d expect too. It’s a little more about function though so I do understand your draw to it.

My whole build is about function rather than weight. It’d be nice if they coincided and the bike got lighter with every component change... but sadly that isn’t the case for some of these!

 

[jcmonty]

Is your 160mm lyrik sagging under its own weight as they tend to do? I.e. is the geo the same because, in effect, the bike is nominally at 150mm of travel?

 

[p3eps]

Is your 160mm lyrik sagging under its own weight as they tend to do? I.e. is the geo the same because, in effect, the bike is nominally at 150mm of travel?

Surprisingly not - there is pretty much no sag when the bike is standing on its own. I had the Lyric Ultimate 160 on my Trek Rail, and it sat down at the front.