Levo SL Gen 1 Official Levo SL Thread

[KnollyBro]

Have visited Whistler years ago, but not for mountain biking so that's still on my bucket list. But if I was to travel half way across the world I would probably rent a freeride or DH bike to have good margin for error. I don't know what the trails are like in Whistler, hard to tell from videos. Maybe most lines are smooth as butter?

One thing I would be concerned about would be how a lightweight build would hold up for big hits. I went to a bike park in Spain once (profile picture) and I don't think the SL would have survived 10 minutes there (or me if I would go over the bars). Maybe enduro is defined differently in different parts of the world. I still don't think the SL should be taken for an enduro bike. Just my opinion. Or my riding skills. ?

I would definitely consider what time of year you intend to go Whistler as the trails can get pretty beat up from mid July until the end of August, especially during Crankworx. Then again, you would be missing out 75% of what Whistler and its surrounding area has to offer, if you only went to the bike park. There are many trails in the valley and in Squamish that perfect for the Levo SL. If you want a "butter smooth" bike park, the only one that comes close is Coast Gravity Bike Park in Sechelt. The only time Whistler has trails as "smooth as butter" is on Opening Day! I have never ridden a 29er at the bike park but my wife has ridden her Levo SL, with a proper fork, all over the area and has found a renewed confidence in her riding skill. The "lightweight builds" mostly described in this forum would be fine in the park if you are willing to do the recommended progression and not begin on A-Line as those table tops are pretty big. Also, Goats Gully and In Deep, which are both Double Black tech trails, are pretty sketchy on any bike, without a considerable amount of skill. Similar to what Squamish has offer with so much more and no lift lines!
This begs the question; what kind of trails do most people ride on with their Levo SL? I see some pretty heavy duty brake and suspension setups so I assumed people were riding some pretty gnarly stuff!

 

[Etacata]

I would definitely consider what time of year you intend to go Whistler as the trails can get pretty beat up from mid July until the end of August, especially during Crankworx. Then again, you would be missing out 75% of what Whistler and its surrounding area has to offer, if you only went to the bike park. There are many trails in the valley and in Squamish that perfect for the Levo SL. If you want a "butter smooth" bike park, the only one that comes close is Coast Gravity Bike Park in Sechelt. The only time Whistler has trails as "smooth as butter" is on Opening Day! I have never ridden a 29er at the bike park but my wife has ridden her Levo SL, with a proper fork, all over the area and has found a renewed confidence in her riding skill. The "lightweight builds" mostly described in this forum would be fine in the park if you are willing to do the recommended progression and not begin on A-Line as those table tops are pretty big. Also, Goats Gully and In Deep, which are both Double Black tech trails, are pretty sketchy on any bike, without a considerable amount of skill. Similar to what Squamish has offer with so much more and no lift lines!
This begs the question; what kind of trails do most people ride on with their Levo SL? I see some pretty heavy duty brake and suspension setups so I assumed people were riding some pretty gnarly stuff!

I live in the PNW and have had my SL for 8 months now. put a the cascade link, marzochi coil with prog spring, and long shocked, fox 36 160mm fork, saint brake heavy casing tires. I would certainly vouch for the fact they it can do heavy duty dh runs. yes its on the lighter end of the spectrum but I have beat this bike day in and out and performs awesome. never rode the bike in its stock form so can't comment on they but I'm curious as to anyone who would say this bike can't handle more than trail bike duties. so much fun and easy to throw around.

I'm going to have a tough time deciding if the new sl enduro version is going to be they much better to warrant upgrading to it.

merry Christmas all!

 

[Olof Bike Adventures]

I live in the PNW and have had my SL for 8 months now. put a the cascade link, marzochi coil with prog spring, and long shocked, fox 36 160mm fork, saint brake heavy casing tires. I would certainly vouch for the fact they it can do heavy duty dh runs. yes its on the lighter end of the spectrum but I have beat this bike day in and out and performs awesome. never rode the bike in its stock form so can't comment on they but I'm curious as to anyone who would say this bike can't handle more than trail bike duties. so much fun and easy to throw around.

I'm going to have a tough time deciding if the new sl enduro version is going to be they much better to warrant upgrading to it.

merry Christmas all!

With a Fox 34 fork and other standard components I still don't think it's an enduro bike. The bike that you have I consider is massively upgraded and far from what the bike once was.

Great to hear your thoughts about your bike, though! I like the Fox 36 too. Interesting how much it differs from the 34.

 

[Etacata]

With a Fox 34 fork and other standard components I still don't think it's an enduro bike. The bike that you have I consider is massively upgraded and far from what the bike once was.

Great to hear your thoughts about your bike, though! I like the Fox 36 too. Interesting how much it differs from the 34.

other than stanchion size I'd say the biggest difference is the grip vs grip2 dampers. if u know how to tune a fork properly than LS/HS adjustment for compression and rebound can be huge. I have a fox 38 performance elite on my meta and it is next level. those forks are made for the heavier ebikes.

 

[Olof Bike Adventures]

other than stanchion size I'd say the biggest difference is the grip vs grip2 dampers. if u know how to tune a fork properly than LS/HS adjustment for compression and rebound can be huge. I have a fox 38 performance elite on my meta and it is next level. those forks are made for the heavier ebikes.

Have tested the 38 too on a Merida and I agree, that is on another level. Enduro level.

 

[Etacata]

Have tested the 38 too on a Merida and I agree, that is on another level. Enduro level.

ya, I'm going to put it on the sl for a few rides in the future.

 

[Twvandoren]

Interesting discussions on fork stanchion sizes. Pinkbike posted their latest huck to flat video of 5 trail bikes and 5 enduro bikes, and the forks have stanchions from 34 mm to 38 mm diameters. The same rider rode all the bikes off the same jump and the slow motion camera had the same view every time, so this was a somewhat controlled test.

You can really see the forks flex. I felt like nerding out a bit so I measured the maximum deflection of the stanchions with respect to the fork lowers for 9 bikes. Results below. The 38 mm stanchions are definitely stiffer, but the 34 and 36 are closer than I would have thought. I would guess my measurement technique is only good to +/- 0.3 degrees, but it is still kind of interesting.

Field Test: 10 Trail and Enduro Bikes Hucked To Flat at 1,000 FPS - Pinkbike

 

[jcmonty]

I recently rode my bike (more on the heavily modded side) with the stock 34 , and I found that it was a tad bit livelier (51mm offset and sharper hta), and felt like I used the travel a lot more. Felt a bit less stiff as well.

the biggest difference on the mezzer (37mm stanchions and pretty much as stiff as the new 38s) is the control it provides in any scenario - particularly chunky, steeper trails. To me, that’s the biggest area that pushed this bike into “enduro” territory. Occasionally I wish I had more travel/ was a bit more of a magic carpet ride, but other than that, really pleased with the versatility of this bike. Will be curious to see what the enduro/kenevo SL version ends up being. It will be a tough call to keep or sell this bike in lieu of that one .

 

[Twvandoren]

Damn. You properly nerded out man!! Also remember that rider is 6’1” and 200 LBS

Comes from being an engineer. I can’t help it. ?

 

[thewrx]

I bet most of that flex is not primarily caused by the stanchion size, but the steerertube diameter/materials/crown race bearing setup/etc.

I wonder what the comparable size stanchions but with a proper triple tree setup would look like in that that test above.

 

[Twvandoren]

I bet most of that flex is not primarily caused by the stanchion size, but the steerertube diameter/materials/crown race bearing setup/etc.

I wonder what the comparable size stanchions but with a proper triple tree setup would look like in that that test above.

I am sure there is flex in the other parts of the fork. By measuring the amount of deflection at the axle relative to the head tube centerline the flex of the whole fork could be measured, while taking account of the fork offset. The measurement (really an estimate) that I did just accounts for the stanchion, since it was just the angle between the stanchion and the fork lowers.

It would be interesting to see results for a Pike and a Lyrik. I am running a Pike on my SL and it seems just as stiff as the Yari (with internals upgraded to Lyrik Ultimate) that I had on my FF Levo.

One comment about the Pike - it is a leftover 2020 that I “upgraded” with the 2021 air spring. That was not a good move and I later “downgraded” back to the 2020 spring, which is more supple. Not sure what Rockshox was thinking there.

 

[KnollyBro]

Interesting discussions on fork stanchion sizes. Pinkbike posted their latest huck to flat video of 5 trail bikes and 5 enduro bikes, and the forks have stanchions from 34 mm to 38 mm diameters. The same rider rode all the bikes off the same jump and the slow motion camera had the same view every time, so this was a somewhat controlled test.

You can really see the forks flex. I felt like nerding out a bit so I measured the maximum deflection of the stanchions with respect to the fork lowers for 9 bikes. Results below. The 38 mm stanchions are definitely stiffer, but the 34 and 36 are closer than I would have thought. I would guess my measurement technique is only good to +/- 0.3 degrees, but it is still kind of interesting.

Field Test: 10 Trail and Enduro Bikes Hucked To Flat at 1,000 FPS - Pinkbike
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Very interesting analysis of their tests but I can't help but wonder how often I find myself dropping to flat, with very little forward momentum, as shown in the tests. I also don't run my tires at 35 PSI but I do use inserts. In the end, your suspension either feels good on the type of trails you ride or like many people, you learn to ride your bike the way it is. For everything else, there is MasterCard

 

[Olof Bike Adventures]

Very interesting analysis of their tests but I can't help but wonder how often I find myself dropping to flat, with very little forward momentum, as shown in the tests. I also don't run my tires at 35 PSI but I do use inserts. In the end, your suspension either feels good on the type of trails you ride or like many people, you learn to ride your bike the way it is. For everything else, there is MasterCard

Agreed, but I just don't like the idea of buying a super expensive bike which has got parts (the Fox 34) that I have to replace right away. It's not that the 34 is unrideable, but it's out of place for that bike at least in my opinion. A weird choice of fork for an otherwise excellent bike.

I've been riding the Fox 34 and the 36, back to back, and there is a noticeable difference in performance especially in break bumps. Prefer the Lyric, though. It seems to work great on all bikes that I have tested.

 

[Olof Bike Adventures]

Fortunately the 2021 SLs come properly equipped.

Do they? I tested a 2021 (at least I they said it was) Comp Carbon and that was equipped with a Fox 34.

 

[MLX John]

Fortunately the 2021 SLs come properly equipped.

Gotta step up to the $9500 USD Expert that comes with a Fox 36 and a DPX2.

Everything below is a 34 and a DPS.

It is a really nice bike though.

 

[Modcitizen]

Thanks to some suggestions in this forum, I finally have (some) of my upgrades completed. I swapped out the stock Spesh bars for some PNW. Got rid of the Fox 34 and replaced it with a Manitou Mezzer Pro 160mm and miraculously found a brand new DVO Jade X coil with spring for $300 (!) which replaced the rather lightweight Fox that the bike was spec'd with. I ride an XL and weigh about 200lbs and even though I'm not super sensitive to my suspension, I can say that this new setup is SO much better than the stock, at least for my riding here in the PNW. I took the bike out today and rode the roughest and steepest trails I could find and the bike was amazing! So much more control and traction at higher speeds, both through the rocky/rooty stuff and smooth berms. The next upgrade I'd consider making would be the brakes. The RE's are generally ok, but they start howling on the longer/steeper descents. But otherwise, I think I have the perfect bike!

 

[celbii]

Anyone swap out to a 32 or 34T chainring? I find myself constantly on the smallest gear riding my levo sl and think that would help give me a bit more top speed.

 

[KnollyBro]

Thanks to some suggestions in this forum, I finally have (some) of my upgrades completed. I swapped out the stock Spesh bars for some PNW. Got rid of the Fox 34 and replaced it with a Manitou Mezzer Pro 160mm and miraculously found a brand new DVO Jade X coil with spring for $300 (!) which replaced the rather lightweight Fox that the bike was spec'd with. I ride an XL and weigh about 200lbs and even though I'm not super sensitive to my suspension, I can say that this new setup is SO much better than the stock, at least for my riding here in the PNW. I took the bike out today and rode the roughest and steepest trails I could find and the bike was amazing! So much more control and traction at higher speeds, both through the rocky/rooty stuff and smooth berms. The next upgrade I'd consider making would be the brakes. The RE's are generally ok, but they start howling on the longer/steeper descents. But otherwise, I think I have the perfect bike!
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Nice setup! I was looking for a JadeX but they are sold out. Do you run it Open on the steeps? How do you like those stock tires? I found them no where near as grippy in the damp/wet as Maxxis DHF 3C or Assegai which are the norm here in Vancouver/Squamish. I am sure the bike (frame) is much more capable than the stock parts suggest.

 

[Petef]

Just advertised my 2020 in the For Sale section.. let me know if anyone is interested guys

Pete

 

[R120]

Surely the SL is a pure trail bike? To my mind it and the Stumpy its based on are the very definition of trail bikes. Having said that one of the key elements of being a mountain biker is modifying your bike into something completely different!

I think one of the most important things to remember when changing out your suspension is that going up the burliness ladder isn't always the best idea depending on your riding - engineers actually deliberately engineer flex into forks, or rather specific flex, as too stiff a fork will just transmit all the trail chatter though to you, especially if combined with super stiff rims, stem and bars.

I think the term flex is being slightly misunderstood on here too - where the bigger forks get stiffer is torsionally, the increase fore and aft is fairly minimal. If you compare a Lyric to a Zeb, its the torsional stiffness that is much greater, not the fore and aft - the engineers did not want to up this too much as it would result in a ver y harsh feeling fork. The torsional stiffness is what helps stop the fork twisting and binding in its travel, and is what you are looking for in a DH/Enduro fork.

I have noticed that a Zeb whilst deflecting less when going full tilt boogie down gnarly terrain, holds it line better than a Lyric, it is also less compliant because of this, and as a result isn't quite as comfortable - now if you spend all your time riding like a bat out of hell down enduro tracks you will love this, if you dont the Lyric may be a better option. You could make the same analysis with a 36 and a 38.

One area where you do notice a difference, is when running big 220/223mm rotors - the likes of the 38 and Zeb flex noticeably less under heavy braking with big rotors from my experience.

So if you are changing up your fork, I think you have to consider realistically what you ride, and what components you run, to see if there will actually be any benefit - I ran a 150mm Pike and a 180mm Lyric ultimate on two of my EMTB's for a while, and for the majority of my riding I wouldn't tell the difference in terms of quality of suspension performance - where the Lyric shone was when you really pushed it down technically terrain, in fact the faster you went the better it got. With the Zeb I feel like you have to be riding it in the right terrain and going fast to really appreciate it, but then again you need the rest of the bike to be as capable too!

I now have a 36 Factory instead of the pike on the 150mm bike, and its a better fork when charging, but probably not as supple as the Pike was the rest of the time.

 

[Modcitizen]

Nice setup! I was looking for a JadeX but they are sold out. Do you run it Open on the steeps? How do you like those stock tires? I found them no where near as grippy in the damp/wet as Maxxis DHF 3C or Assegai which are the norm here in Vancouver/Squamish. I am sure the bike (frame) is much more capable than the stock parts suggest.

Yesterday I rode the rougher trails with the shock in the Mid position. I think the spring is actually a bit too light for my weight, so keeping it in the Mid setting firmed it up nicely for me. I'll experiment some more but will likely go to a stiffer spring soon. I'm interested in trying the Sprindex as my riding ranges from steep/rough terrain to jump lines and even some XC-ish stuff, so dialing in the coil depending on terrain would be useful. My goal (after this next bout of rain passes) is to spend a day just sessioning certain trails and really try to LEARN how each setting on my fork affects the ride. I'm still kinda fuzzy on the real-world application of LSC/HSC/Rebound/Etc. Understanding the concepts and feeling the changes on-trail as still somewhat disconnected for me.
As for the tires, I've been pretty happy with them! My other bike is a Hightower LT and has a Magic Mary on the front and some Bontrager tire on the back. And my previous bike had DHR/DHR combo ... and to be honest, I can't tell a huge difference between them all. So many good tire options these days. For me the biggest variable is if I have the correct pressure dialed in or not.

 

[SL-ED]

Anyone swap out to a 32 or 34T chainring? I find myself constantly on the smallest gear riding my levo sl and think that would help give me a bit more top speed.

I too am interested to know this.

 

[jcmonty]

Thanks to some suggestions in this forum, I finally have (some) of my upgrades completed. I swapped out the stock Spesh bars for some PNW. Got rid of the Fox 34 and replaced it with a Manitou Mezzer Pro 160mm and miraculously found a brand new DVO Jade X coil with spring for $300 (!) which replaced the rather lightweight Fox that the bike was spec'd with. I ride an XL and weigh about 200lbs and even though I'm not super sensitive to my suspension, I can say that this new setup is SO much better than the stock, at least for my riding here in the PNW. I took the bike out today and rode the roughest and steepest trails I could find and the bike was amazing! So much more control and traction at higher speeds, both through the rocky/rooty stuff and smooth berms. The next upgrade I'd consider making would be the brakes. The RE's are generally ok, but they start howling on the longer/steeper descents. But otherwise, I think I have the perfect bike!
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How do you like the mezzer? It’s been brilliant for me. Try 170mm at some point. I don’t think it adversely affected the handling at all , especially for the riding you experience in the pnw.


I don’t ride wet pretty much ever, but for the dry, dusty trails I did find that the stock tires held there own until the side knobs started to tear on the butcher. Also - stans sealant always leaked sidewall.

 

[KnollyBro]

Yesterday I rode the rougher trails with the shock in the Mid position. I think the spring is actually a bit too light for my weight, so keeping it in the Mid setting firmed it up nicely for me. I'll experiment some more but will likely go to a stiffer spring soon. I'm interested in trying the Sprindex as my riding ranges from steep/rough terrain to jump lines and even some XC-ish stuff, so dialing in the coil depending on terrain would be useful. My goal (after this next bout of rain passes) is to spend a day just sessioning certain trails and really try to LEARN how each setting on my fork affects the ride. I'm still kinda fuzzy on the real-world application of LSC/HSC/Rebound/Etc. Understanding the concepts and feeling the changes on-trail as still somewhat disconnected for me.
As for the tires, I've been pretty happy with them! My other bike is a Hightower LT and has a Magic Mary on the front and some Bontrager tire on the back. And my previous bike had DHR/DHR combo ... and to be honest, I can't tell a huge difference between them all. So many good tire options these days. For me the biggest variable is if I have the correct pressure dialed in or not.

What spring were you using with the Jade X (given you said you weigh 200 lbs and are riding some pretty aggressive and steep trails)? I looked into the Sprindex but doesn't that setup reduce the stroke of the shock? Have you considered a Cascade link? From what I can see from the DVO website, they seem to be pushing their Custom tunes (shim stacks for LSC/HSC) to setup your bike for your specific riding conditions. I am using a Vorsprung custom tune on my Kenevo's stock RockShox Super Deluxe coil but I have not compared it to anything else. My wife has an Ohlins TTX22M for her SL but I would need bigger spring for me to ride it with that shock on it.
I agree with your point about tire pressure being important but I was still slipping far too much on wet roots with the stock tires!

 

[BigFoot]

Anyone swap out to a 32 or 34T chainring? I find myself constantly on the smallest gear riding my levo sl and think that would help give me a bit more top speed.

I’m running on SL Carbon Expert a wolf tooth 34T , Shimano 12 speed chain and a Sram link, Shimano link jumps on drop stop A.

I also found a Chinese Sram X Sync 2 copy,
Haven’t haven’t tried it yet.

There’s only 1.5mm of clearance ,see the Picture of 1.5mm spoke between frame and 34 chain ring.

I have demoed the alloy SL and it appeared to have more frame clearance, maybe a 36T would fit?

 

[SL-ED]

I’m running on SL Carbon Expert a wolf tooth 34T , Shimano 12 speed chain and a Sram link, Shimano link jumps on drop stop A.

I also found a Chinese Sram X Sync 2 copy,
Haven’t haven’t tried it yet.

There’s only 1.5mm of clearance ,see the Picture of 1.5mm spoke between frame and 34 chain ring.

I have demoed the alloy SL and it appeared to have more frame clearance, maybe a 36T would fit?

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Thats a pretty tight fit. Thanks for sharing!! I'll probably stick with a 32t..

 

[celbii]

Thats a pretty tight fit. Thanks for sharing!! I'll probably stick with a 32t..

Indeed thanks and I also will most likely stick to a 32T for clearance.

This is the correct part right? Wolf Tooth Components Drop-Stop Chainring: 32T x 94 4-Bolt Would I need to get the bolts as well?

Set of 4 Chainring Bolts+Nuts for 1X

Alloy super light 6mm chainring bolt specifically designed for mounting single chainrings like the Wolf Tooth Drop-Stop® chainrings

www.wolftoothcomponents.com

 

[jcmonty]

What spring were you using with the Jade X (given you said you weigh 200 lbs and are riding some pretty aggressive and steep trails)? I looked into the Sprindex but doesn't that setup reduce the stroke of the shock? Have you considered a Cascade link? From what I can see from the DVO website, they seem to be pushing their Custom tunes (shim stacks for LSC/HSC) to setup your bike for your specific riding conditions. I am using a Vorsprung custom tune on my Kenevo's stock RockShox Super Deluxe coil but I have not compared it to anything else. My wife has an Ohlins TTX22M for her SL but I would need bigger spring for me to ride it with that shock on it.
I agree with your point about tire pressure being important but I was still slipping far too much on wet roots with the stock tires!

I have a sprindex on my EXT. It does not reduce the stroke of the shock - purely changes the spring rate. Works great. I have found that I prefer a 585 lb rate for most scenarios, which would have me between sizes with most standard springs. And it is nice to be able to firm up or soften even quicker than adjusting compression. Pretty neat product

 

[BigFoot]

Indeed thanks and I also will most likely stick to a 32T for clearance.

This is the correct part right? Wolf Tooth Components Drop-Stop Chainring: 32T x 94 4-Bolt Would I need to get the bolts as well?

Set of 4 Chainring Bolts+Nuts for 1X

Alloy super light 6mm chainring bolt specifically designed for mounting single chainrings like the Wolf Tooth Drop-Stop® chainrings

www.wolftoothcomponents.com

I think you can reuse the steel chain ring bolts they came with the bike I changed mine out to alloy because I’m a weight weenie.

Here’s the link to Wolf tooth

94 mm BCD for SRAM XO1, X1, GX, and NX Crankset

Replacement Wolf Tooth Drop-Stop 94 BCD SRAM X01 Chainring, SRAM X1 Chainring, SRAM GX Chainrings. Drop-Stop

www.wolftoothcomponents.com

I think that’s the same ring as worldwide cyclist

 

[BigFoot]

I think you can reuse the steel chain ring bolts they came with the bike I changed mine out to alloy because I’m a weight weenie.

Here’s the link to Wolf tooth

94 mm BCD for SRAM XO1, X1, GX, and NX Crankset

Replacement Wolf Tooth Drop-Stop 94 BCD SRAM X01 Chainring, SRAM X1 Chainring, SRAM GX Chainrings. Drop-Stop

www.wolftoothcomponents.com

I think that’s the same ring as worldwide cyclist

The 34T has plenty of clearance I run my turbo levo 38 ring much closer without a problem