New 2019 Levo Comp question

[mintakax]

I wanted a FS bike and my wife wanted an ebike, so I gave her my 2019 Trek Powerfly 5HT and bought a 2019 Turbo Levo Comp. I've read a lot of the posts in this forum and still decided to buy the Levo. At the dealer's, I asked about the motor housing crud issue and neither the salesman nor the service department knew anything about it. I live in Boulder CO and perhaps the dry climate doesn't have as much of an impact ? From all of the posts, its not clear to me if some newer bikes have addressed the issue or not, how can I tell ? If not, or if my bike doesn't have it, how do I go about getting the foam insert or newer motor covers ? Is there a best DIY solution ? I've read about tape, film, adhesive inner tube pieces ,etc, but I'm not sure if there is a current consensus on the best fix ?
Thank you !

 

[davarello]

I wouldn't be worried about it in a dry climate, I'd just fit a quick DIY solution as a bit of insurance (as i did) and if anything goes wrong down the track with dirt build up, just take it back to the shop.

 

[nickB]

I'm in So Cal and seems like US stores don't know or care about the problem - yet! Not a big deal over here although we have had a shed full of rain lately so trails are muddy. I just have a homemade duct tape cover and it works fine. I will have them clean it out at my first checkup/service. I don't think the crud build up is detrimental to the motor - just a bit annoying.

 

[Julio]

The guy at our bike shop showed us a Brose motor. It was fully sealed and all of the plugs had o-ring seals. He said he couldn’t see that crud getting in around the motor would cause any significant problems and to go out and ride.

 

[R120]

If buying a Levo you should insist that all the applicable mods as recommended by Specilized have been done - personally if the shop isn't aware of the issues I would take my money elsewhere.

This isn't a problem specific to a wet climate, just as much dust and rocks can get in there as twigs and mud, and the issue is that although the motor unit is sealed, the connections going to and from it are not, and that is what gets affected.

 

[mintakax]

If buying a Levo you should insist that all the applicable mods as recommended by Specilized have been done - personally if the shop isn't aware of the issues I would take my money elsewhere.

This isn't a problem specific to a wet climate, just as much dust and rocks can get in there as twigs and mud, and the issue is that although the motor unit is sealed, the connections going to and from it are not, and that is what gets affected.

Thank you. The purchase has already occurred, I didn't have much choice as to which shop I purchased from as the local inventory of medium Levo Comps is pretty scarce and I was told Specialized is out of stock until May.
The dealer would certainly work with me on doing the applicable mods, but is there an "official" recommended mod or is it being handled case by case ? Its hard for me to tell from all the posts.

 

[mintakax]

I talked to the service dept at 2 additional specialized dealers in my town and none of them were aware of the issue. The last one was curious enough to look it up and found an official service bulletin. The foam piece is not yet available from specialized but they are going to fabricate one and install it for me.

 

[Thomas]

It is really not that hard to find this foam and buy it for a few $.
I found this big piece and my friend confirmed it, that Specialized use identical material.
So, why wait for something, that you can do it your self and you can learn in the process, how you would maintain this in the future.

I wouldn't be worried about the new cover. As I was told, Specialized won't be replacing this on the older bikes for free.
Regarding extra protection back there, there are lots of clever solutions from users.
This is mine, even though the bike will not see mud anytime soon.

 

[mintakax]

Thanks Thomas-- I appreciate your suggestion and usually enjoy tinkering with things. I will do the external mods but I'm definitely not going to open up the motor and do the foam myself. Not on a brand new $6K bike and not when I can get someone who knows what they're doing to do it "officially". My bike shop will do it, I just need to bring them the foam. The service memo says Uni air filter foam bf-2 or bf-4. I used to ride sport motorcycles and had an awesome Ducati 848 Evo and a Honda project bike. I did a lot of mods on the Honda but took the Duc to experts. I feel the same way about the Levo.

 

[Thomas]

Thanks Thomas--I will do the external mods but I'm definitely not going to open up the motor and do the foam myself. Not on a brand new $6K bike and not when I can get someone who knows what they're doing to do it "officially".

Well If you have some basic skills, I suggest that you do that. Why?
Because this has nothing to do with opening the motor as you think. First you have to remove non drive crank arm with allen key. Than you just remove the left side cover, which is attached with 3 bolts.

It cannot be more straightforward than that.
You will now have the access, so you can fit the foam. More importantly, you will have to clean and check the compartment more regularly than you think, even with foam and mudguards. Some debris might get in during the year.
Better to be safe than sorry and checking this bottom motor compartment regularly. Why taking the bike to the shop for small job like that, if you can do it your self, especially because personally will check this regularly.
We all have this expensive bikes and unfortunately, necessary or unnecessary, had to do some small or big tinkering ourselves.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

After 4 months of ownership I took my motor cover off for the first time.

No sponge by the way. Standard original 3 Bolt cover.

Not too bad considering what I’ve ridden the bike through.

 

[Andy A]

After 4 months of ownership I took my motor cover off for the first time.

No sponge by the way. Standard original 3 Bolt cover.

Not too bad considering what I’ve ridden the bike through.

View attachment 10088

Wow that's very good and of course when you get the sponge fitted you will have nothing in there, are you getting the sponge fitted Rob?

Hey I might be ordering a new Levo Expert this afternoon I am going to the shop to check the sizing but crikey these bikes are expensive aren't they! The good thing is I have negotiated a 17% discount and the tyres replacing with magic mary's and also converting to tubeless so at £6000 it is still a shed load of money but I would like to think it's a good price for an Expert

 

[mintakax]

Well If you have some basic skills, I suggest that you do that. Why?
Because this has nothing to do with opening the motor as you think. First you have to remove non drive crank arm with allen key. Than you just remove the left side cover, which is attached with 3 bolts.
View attachment 10086
It cannot be more straightforward than that.
You will now have the access, so you can fit the foam. More importantly, you will have to clean and check the compartment more regularly than you think, even with foam and mudguards. Some debris might get in during the year.
Better to be safe than sorry and checking this bottom motor compartment regularly. Why taking the bike to the shop for small job like that, if you can do it your self, especially because personally will check this regularly.
We all have this expensive bikes and unfortunately, necessary or unnecessary, had to do some small or big tinkering ourselves.

Thanks. What you detailed doesn't seem too bad. Only tools needed are Allen key and spanner for bolts ? The guy at the service shop said I'd need a gear puller and that the motor must be removed. I take it that isn't the case ? I agree that checking for debris should be routine maintenance.

 

[Thomas]

Thanks. What you detailed doesn't seem too bad. Only tools needed are Allen key and spanner for bolts ? The guy at the service shop said I'd need a gear puller and that the motor must be removed. I take it that isn't the case ? I agree that checking for debris should be routine maintenance.

Yes only Allen Keys.
My guy also told me that the motor have to be removed. But as you can see, with normal to small fingers and help with small screwdriver or something similar, you can easily put the sponge behind the motor into the position, not removing anything.

 

[Indigo]

After 4 months of ownership I took my motor cover off for the first time.

No sponge by the way. Standard original 3 Bolt cover.

Not too bad considering what I’ve ridden the bike through.

View attachment 10088

Looks to me like a log jam of debris at the entry point has prevented any inflow of debris into the motor housing. I hope you didn't clear the log jam (natures filter)

 

[e-mtbrider]

I live in SoCal as well. My LBS has bee very good about taking care of any issues. Your LBS can order the foam pieces for the rear of the motor cover through their regular online specialized order system. The 4 bolt cover needs to be ordered through their local specialized rep. Here are the part numbers;

Foam Inserts part # S199 900 058
4 Bolt Motor Cover part . # S194 200 013

I was surprised to see how intricate the foam insert is, lots of angles.

Hope this helps...

 

[Nifty 56]

It's not the debris/foam fix that's putting me off buying a 2019 Levo, it's the app not allowing you to change wheel circumference to get a bit more speed with assistance. You guys in the US get a better stock bike than we do in the UK as your assistance cuts out at 20mph not 15mph!

When there's a way to up the assistance (or does anybody know how?), I might buy one, as the debris issue is a bad design fault but it's not rocket science to fix it.

I've seen this post Max assistance speed with USA spec Levo - RESOLVED! - EMTB Forums but I don't think a UK Specialized dealer would have the US spec firmware and probably wouldn't do it anyway!

 

[mintakax]

It's not the debris/foam fix that's putting me off buying a 2019 Levo, it's the app not allowing you to change wheel circumference to get a bit more speed with assistance. You guys in the US get a better stock bike than we do in the UK as your assistance cuts out at 20mph not 15mph!

When there's a way to up the assistance (or does anybody know how?), I might buy one, as the debris issue is a bad design fault but it's not rocket science to fix it.

I've seen this post Max assistance speed with USA spec Levo - RESOLVED! - EMTB Forums but I don't think a UK Specialized dealer would have the US spec firmware and probably wouldn't do it anyway!

Wont the Blevo app allow this ? I've just started using it and don't know anything about it yet.

 

[Thomas]

Wont the Blevo app allow this ? I've just started using it and don't know anything about it yet.

NO and won't any time soon.

 

[Nifty 56]

NO and won't any time soon.

On this page it reads that the speed limit can be increased with the BLevo app including the 2019 model... The Official BLEvo Thread - EMTB Forums

Considering a new Levo to go with my E-Sommet now

 

[Maastricht]

On this page it reads that the speed limit can be increased with the BLevo app including the 2019 model... The Official BLEvo Thread - EMTB Forums

Considering a new Levo to go with my E-Sommet now

Dear Nifty,

Have you read this post of Paolo?
The Official BLEvo Thread - EMTB Forums

Due to liability reasons Specialized decided to block the Levo 2019 bluetooth setting related to wheel circumference setting. This is the reason why you can't change speed setting anymore with BLEvo when riding with TCU firmware version 2.025 and 2.026.

 

[Nifty 56]

Dear Nifty,

Have you read this post of Paolo?
The Official BLEvo Thread - EMTB Forums

Due to liability reasons Specialized decided to block the bluetooth setting related to wheel circumference setting. This is the reason why you can't change speed setting anymore with BLEvo when riding with TCU firmware version 2.025 and 2.026.

I've read that post but the latest post might be the problem sorted... The Official BLEvo Thread - EMTB Forums

But does BLevo not still have circumference AND speed setting sliders? This is so the speed/mileage stays correct? The old Mission Control method was to change the wheel circumference to up the speed limit, but this has been removed now. But BLevo will still be able to change the speed when connected?

This thread is a long one to read through from the start, so after page 7, I went to the end and now reading backwards I've not purchased a Levo yet

 

[Maastricht]

I've read that post but the latest post might be the problem sorted... The Official BLEvo Thread - EMTB Forums

But does BLevo not still have circumference AND speed setting sliders? This is so the speed/mileage stays correct? The old Mission Control method was to change the wheel circumference to up the speed limit, but this has been removed now. But BLevo will still be able to change the speed when connected?

This thread is a long one to read through from the start, so after page 7, I went to the end and now reading backwards I've not purchased a Levo yet

BLEvo does contain the sliders like you mentioned but the speed slider doesn't have any effect.

There are other options like the mechanical LSS and other hardware modifications. However I haven't tried these.

I understand that you didn't buy the bike yet but I can assure you that it's a really nice bike. Some minor issues yes, but it was easy to solve them.

 

[Nifty 56]

BLEvo does contain the sliders like you mentioned but the speed slider doesn't have any effect.

There are other options like the mechanical LSS and other hardware modifications. However I haven't tried these.

I understand that you didn't buy the bike yet but I can assure you that it's a really nice bike. Some minor issues yes, but it was easy to solve them.

I've got a Vitus E-Sommet so not in a desperate need for another bike but I do fancy a 29er and I do like the Levo's & the build quality of Specialized bikes. A couple of friends have the 2017 Expert models.