Levo Gen 2 New Spesh Turbo Levo tips and advice

[Synns]

Hey guys,

Made the jump over to the darkside and bought a 2021 Turbo levo in matte Black. Collecting later this week can't wait!

Do you guys have any tips or general info you think I should know about the bike as a new owner? Any extras I need to buy?

I love the matte Black but am aware it's probably going to be a right bugger to prevent scratches.. I've got a large AMS protection pack that should help from the get go.

Anyways, anything you think would be useful to know about the levo would be awesome.

Cheers

 

[jsharpe]

Do the normal suspension adjustments even if your bike shop supposedly set it up for you (there is a sticky post with some very useful videos). Take a look at what you can do with the blevo app. It's a great alternative to Mission Control or a dedicated Garmin device. Don't worry about any upgrades until you've ridden it a while then decide what, if anything you want to change.

I also have the matte black and the Chameleon Skin (Invisiframe) has already saved me from a few nasty gouges. It does have more sheen than the natural finish and makes the Specialized logo on the downtime less visible but IMO a helpful addition.

Expect your world to be changed. The stuff you will be able to ride that you might have struggled with on a clockwork bike now becomes doable. Not just hills, technical stuff is way different with the added power.

 

[Synns]

Picked up the levo today.. Having never been on an ebike.. Omg ? turbo is insane! Can't wait to get it on some trails!!

 

[congerball]

Shuttle mode gets you to the trails with minimum effort ?

 

[Synns]

Thanks man, definitely very strange with the added weight mind.. Obviously just takes some getting used to. If it takes me to the top quicker though more than happy to lug the extra weight back down ?

 

[Swissrob]

You can buy matt black plastic tape 50mm wide, no more scratches. Take the wheels off after a couple of weeks and check axle nuts are still tight. All bike factories are working at 2x capacity so keep a close eye on everything.

 

[Synns]

You can buy matt black plastic tape 50mm wide, no more scratches. Take the wheels off after a couple of weeks and check axle nuts are still tight. All bike factories are working at 2x capacity so keep a close eye on everything.

Do you have any links to the matte Black tape? I popped on a couple of the AMS protector strips but they look crap tbh against the black.. Super obvious..

Cheers

 

[Singletrackmind]

Was an emtb naysayer up until about 2 months ago before I defected to the dark side as well (now I say I'm on the "right" side). Been riding clockwork mtb bikes since the late 1980's when GT still reigned supreme. Been on about 20 rides since seeing the light and having the most fun I've had in years!

Recommend riding on some trails your very familiar with, starting off with the lesser challenging. This will give you a feel on the difference in riding characteristics of an emtb. Weight is an obvious difference and I've been very surprised it feels lighter than I thought it would. Center of gravity is lower cus of baterry weight and position.

Depending on what brakes you were running before and have now, you may need to allow for more response time when braking. Just can you can climb a hill, doesn't necessarily mean you should! What goes up, must come down! You won't have to be so picking in choosing your lines when climbing and it will be easy to pick up bad habits!

Start off riding with factory default motor settings then create your own in the Mission Control App. I have specific presets named for the types of trails I ride. Use a different preset for different types of rides (steep climbs, enduro, ect). You may find yourself enjoying climbing more then descending!
Lots of good info about spesh Mission Control app on Youtube. I learned quite a bit of helpful bits.

Ignore any negative comments you get because you are now "cheating." Its bern the 80/20 rule for me so far. Lots of positive comments and get lots of questions from bikers and hikers thinking about taking the plunge. Every once in while I come an asshat who feels compelled to share their thoughts. I just smile and say have a nice day cus I am!

You will now be able to climb trails that you could not previously. Be careful cus nsny trails are used more for decending and fellow riding flying downhill may not be expecting to encounter a rider coming uphill. If you are used to getting big air, you can still jump and get flight, but not as easily as before. I'm pushing 60 and am more of a wheels on the ground guy so the riding characteristics of an emtb suit me find.

In regard to trail limitations, so trails I've explored have sign restricting ebikes. Some bike parks and skills centers also prohibit ebikes. Heard lots of horror stories about riders using aftermarket software to remove speed regulator set by manufacturers and even some hardware. This may void your warrenty and from my perspective, I'm riding fast as I want with restrictions.

Hope this helps.

Happy Trails!

 

[DreamensioN]

Shuttle mode gets you to the trails with minimum effort ?

I just wish there was an easy way to toggle Shuttle Mode on/off without going into the MC app.

 

[Swissrob]

Do you have any links to the matte Black tape? I popped on a couple of the AMS protector strips but they look crap tbh against the black.. Super obvious..

Cheers

Not sure where I bought it but in Australia it was in the building section of the hardware store used for taping plastic under concrete foundations.

 

[Singletrackmind]

This is the most important advice you will get on this forum... Keep your old bike for when your Levo breaks down ??
When washing your bike put some extra wide electrical tape on the TCU it peels off easily afterwards.
2 x Levos, 2 replacement motors,
1 x tcu
2 x battery leads.... All under warranty but still a pain in the arse... But I love it.

View attachment 41397

Excellent advise! Only 2 weeks after buying my new Levo TCU became possessed by the devil! LBS replaced after 3 visits because they had to "see" if for themselves. I tape my TCU too when washing even though mechanic said it shouldn't be a problem. Have you had sny issues with your Levo making creaking noises or hear clicks? Mine did for some unknown reason. Re-tightened all the obvious bolts with Torque wrench following manufacturers recommend nm's. Solved the problem initially but noises are coming back. F#@king love this bike but its been a pain in the arse from day 1!

 

[Synns]

Damn guys.. I'm starting to think if it was a good idea to buy one now :/ a lot of money for something that's just going to break and cause more money..

Good idea about taping though, will do that when cleaning.

 

[Singletrackmind]

Mine had an annoying click I replaced both front and rear wheel bearings (again) and the noise disappeared I also replaced the pedals and put on a new chain but I'm sure it was a wheel bearing as when I spun them in the stand I could hear a strange sound now it's totally quiet

Appreciate the feedback mate! Will give them a look.

 

[Synns]

N

Not to mention the replacement derailleur (warranty)
Wheel bearings
2 chain rings
6 chains
3 casettes
6 x brake pads
2 x sets of clipless pedals
1 x Spoke
Jockey wheels

But the above-mentioned stuff is all stuff that wears out naturally except for the derailleur which would wear out eventually but mine failed prematurely
Not trying to scare you they are a fantastic bike but you did want some tips and advice just letting you know you will spend a lot of time and money maintaining it?

Cheers bud, I appreciate that there's more things can that go wrong and things do go wrong. Just concerned that they are not great in terms of reliability from things I've been hearing. Can I ask over what period of you having the bike you've had to replace/fix all those parts?

 

[Synns]

Sure, the bike has done 7700kms since brand new mid November 2018.
The original motor did not fail it was one of the noisy ones, I spoke to specialized and apparently at the factory a huge batch of motors were torqued down too tight that's what caused them to be louder.
Apparently the noise was never going to contribute to a failure if one occurred, that motor was replaced 5 months after I purchased the bike, the only reason it took so long is because I was having too much fun to have it in the bike shop!
SRAM could not explain what happened to the derailleur it just stretched itself out and died 2 weeks after purchase.
Instead of the NX that came on the bike they replaced it with the an X1 because it was better quality at no charge at all.
I document every maintenance procedure I do to the bike I have included some screenshots that way you can get an idea of the dates between various maintenance jobs.
Specialized have warranty second-to-none if there is an issue they replace multiple parts to stop something failing in the future.
Example, there are three different generations of battery cables, when my tcu died they replaced the battery cable anyway because I had the second generation which was still eventually failing.
... Is yours this colour??

View attachment 41426

View attachment 41427

View attachment 41428

View attachment 41429

Wow thanks for such a detailed response! I like how thorough you are!! Ah that's put my mind at ease a little, so just seems like general wear and tear for the most part? I know parts will run down quicker with the added stress the motor force puts on everything, I expected to have to change out the chain, cassette etc quicker than a normal mtb.

I'm gonna just try not to stress too much and enjoy the bike, I think I'm going to tape the TCU when the weather is bad while I'm riding and always tape it when cleaning.

Mines the 2021 matte Black all over.

Thanks again for your info, much appreciated

 

[Synns]

Tape up the tcu when washing, ALWAYS have the battery plugged in while washing and just splash in that area to rinse off soap etc, keep up the maintenance and you will love it! I just had bad luck with the motor and dearalliur, like you said the rest is just normal wear and tear.

Thanks bud, I made sure to buy local too incase anything did go wrong, they assured me if anything did its a case of pop in and theyll switch out they said they don't even have to authorise it with spesh which is a good sign of the relationship. Theyve stocked up on batteries and motors for loads of ebikes too incase of stocking issues with covid.

Absolutely hammering it down today but think I'm gonna tape TCU and take it for a spin ?