Levo SL Gen 1 Official Levo SL Thread

[toii]

Hi, can anyone tell me if the standard Fox 34 fork on Levo SL comes with any volume spacers installed?

 

[chamaruco]

Two on mine

 

[GlynRS2]

How do you find the frame sizing on the Levo SL?
I am 182cm tall, or a fraction under 6 foot. I currently have an XL frame for my Epic Evo, as I like the bigger frame on that bike, but have an S4 for my Stumpjumper Evo as that seemed a better fit for that. The size guide on the Specialized website siggests either S4/S5 for the Gen 3 Levo, how does the SL sizing compare?

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

After looking for a CF SL and having several deals fall thru I think I've found one. I'll know soon enough. It's a 2021-2 Redwood color expert carbon medium, 146 miles, perfect condition, weighs about 39.25 lbs without pedals and with tubes. While it does come with dpx2 and fox 36 I really love the dvo topaz t3 and 2021 Lyrik Ultimate I have on my Focus Jam2. I plan to put the Focus back to stock and use these on my new SL. And it does save about a half lb. I'm looking at a few other changes to further lower the weight of the expert carbon sl since I'll have some extra cash once I sell my Jam2. Love the geometry and playfulness of the Sl and for my size lighter is better and noticeable in many cases. I was looking at the Roval 29" CF wheels that come with the DT Swiss 36t hubs, straight spokes and 29mm id CF rims that have a claimed weight of 1450g for only $1350. USD. I was also considering the I9 27mm id aluminum 245 wheelset for $1400. but heavier at 1700g but instant engagement. Does anyone know what the wheelset on the newer expert carbon weighs? I've heard 2.2 kg but that must be for the std sl. Anyone have any thoughts about these two wheelsets for the sl please chime it. I'm not an aggressive downhiller but more trail and xc with some technical sections here in SoCal. I'm a light rider too at 145 lbs and 5'-7" (shrunk the past decade, lol) and have found the power a good match for eco or even trail on my Shimano 45 lb bike. Thanks and Happy New Year to all.

 

[GlynRS2]

Does anyone know what the wheelset on the newer expert carbon weighs?

The Levo SL Expert carbon 21/22 model comes with the Roval Traverse Alloy 29 wheelset which weighs 1870g, has a DT Swiss 370 rear hub. You would only be saving 200g for your $1400, could do the same with a different tyre construction.
Full spec of the Roval Traverse Alloy wheels here

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

The Levo SL Expert carbon 21/22 model comes with the Roval Traverse Alloy 29 wheelset which weighs 1870g, has a DT Swiss 370 rear hub. You would only be saving 200g for your $1400, could do the same with a different tyre construction.
Full spec of the Roval Traverse Alloy wheels here

Thanks. It's not only the wheel weight but the engagement with the i9's. Not sure how the meshes with the sl engagement. My Shimano is very coarse at the motor and I am running the hybrid dt swiss 350 hub with a coarse 24t engagement. At 1870g though, it will be the last thing I change if needed. The tires are 998g and 1048g from what I've read and 2.3 Maxxis dhr ii tires are 850g if I stick with that size. And I'm factoring everything in like tubeless, etc. Luckily I have some parts from my existing bike, CF bars, seat, shock and fork that will save some weight and probably won't get me much selling my Focus with 6000 miles on the motor. I expect $4500. will be tough to get.

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

The Levo SL Expert carbon 21/22 model comes with the Roval Traverse Alloy 29 wheelset which weighs 1870g, has a DT Swiss 370 rear hub. You would only be saving 200g for your $1400, could do the same with a different tyre construction.
Full spec of the Roval Traverse Alloy wheels here

My latest deal just fell thru. They are up in SF and I'm in San Diego..7+ hr drive. We were planning on meeting half way but they are worried about me showing up, lol. I've had bikes quit running on tests, one guy suddenly decided to keep it when I wanted to look at it (140 miles, expert 2021) and this latest 2021 with almost full warranty 2 yrs left.

The only one that's available now that is in the running is the carbon comp medium purple one that quit on the road test (owner left the magnet off the rotor). It has xx1 shifting, x1 cassette, xx1 shifter updates and code rsc brakes. Was not very clean or detailed when I saw it.. felt very light. Do you happen to know how heavy those wheels are? Looked stock so probably more than the 1870g expert wheels. Thanks.

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

This is after drilling out the cage mounting holes a bit to lower it a little, I'm going to make a bracket to get it a bit lower yet if I can, but it seems like there is sufficient room, it is tight though.

I'm also on a size medium, shock is 210 x 55 and its awesome...

View attachment 57805

i think I’m going to be buying a 2020 with xx1 shifter upgrades and rec brakes. Looking to move a 210x55 topaz t3 tand 2021 150 lyric to this sl. What do you weigh and how did you set up the topaz? I’m 155 with full gear a

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

This has been a crazy roller coaster ride trying to but a used Levi sl. The 6 week old expert carbon I found that is only 7 weeks old is back as a possible. It’s 500 miles north of me but the owners son has finally agree to bring it down this weekend while attending super cross in Anaheim. The lady who bought this found it did not have enough power for her to keep up with her husband and friends on more powerful Ebike uphill. It’s a heck of a deal if I can make this redwood color like new bike mine this weekend.

1st issue is that she wants to give me a copy of the receipt not the original. Will that work for the warranty? I did tell her I need the original. Was I wrong about this? I did ask for a copy of the receipt to take to my dealer to insure it will get me the 2 months of warranty. i don’t think she wants to do this either.

2nd issue is she wants to email it to me after I buy the bike and her sons are long gone back north.

3rd issue is that she has not even given me the serial number so I can check stolen bike registries and let my deal look at receipt and serial number. Spec warranty policy says it doesn’t have to be r3gisteed but you need proof of original purchase, which is the original receipt and not a copy (I think),

this could eventually happen but we’ve been talking over a week now and it’s been off and on many times so not holding my breath.

can anyone comment about needing the original receipt or if I am asking too much of this buyer. Oh we are planning on meeting at a local police station to exchange funds and I have asked for a bill of sale so I don’t get arrested for stealing this bike, lol. Wish me luck! Thanks

 

[Launchrider]

Does anyone have insight into the 2023 refresh of the Levo SL. If the usual Specialized cycle continues we should see it released this coming spring. Any nuggets of information would be great!

 

[levity]

@sdcoffeeroaster – This may be “too late to the party”, but here are some things I’ve done when purchasing a used bike:

1. Before meeting ask Seller to send you a screenshot of the Mission Control page showing the bike’s SN, mileage, and battery health.

2. Also ask Seller to send you a photo of the sales receipt showing store, date of sale, and SN. Confirm that they have the battery charger!

3. When you meet confirm the SN and take a photo of the Seller with the bike standing next to his/her vehicle and showing the vehicle license plate.

4. Get a signed Bill of Sale showing the SN and sales price.

Then just quit worrying and have fun!

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

@sdcoffeeroaster – This may be “too late to the party”, but here are some things I’ve done when purchasing a used bike:

1. Before meeting ask Seller to send you a screenshot of the Mission Control page showing the bike’s SN, mileage, and battery health.

2. Also ask Seller to send you a photo of the sales receipt showing store, date of sale, and SN. Confirm that they have the battery charger!

3. When you meet confirm the SN and take a photo of the Seller with the bike standing next to his/her vehicle and showing the vehicle license plate.

4. Get a signed Bill of Sale showing the SN and sales price.

Then just quit worrying and have fun!

Good advice, thanks. With spec you have to make sure the receipt shows the purchase amount too. Since it’s likely a cash transaction, meet in a police station parking lot. With covid19 you not be allowed to exchange money in their lobby but the lot has cameras and they gave me a number to call if I had problems. I also did a preview of the bike on FaceTime since the owner is delivering it from 500 miles away. We have both exchanged social media account links and our linkedin link to increase trust. Take a friend with you to the transaction too.

And if for instance the purchase receipt is missing information like the serial number don’t be afraid to call the selling dealer which I had to do on the “perfect” bike I found weeks ago but had to pass up. Picking my bike up tomorrow and everything has been investigated except the in person review and ride! A bit more money for this one but everything is in order including a 22 month warranty that will transfer to me.

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

finally picked up my 2021 expert carbon sl. After I got it home and had the back wheel off I noticed it was very heavy on the scale. Turns out it’s a micro spine Shimano wheel, center lock brakes and Shia no cassette, all wrong per the spec. The original selling dealer doesn’t know what happen but is sending methemoglobin correct much lighter wheels. It also has a class 3 sticker, a mistake at the factory. No stickers available so I’ll just remove it.

rode it once so far and love it. While the fox grip2 forks and dpx2 shock are high end and nice I’m going to put my 2021 lyric ultimate and dvo topaz t3 on it to save another 375g including the tool stem holder. I really loved the lyric and Dvo on my focus jam2 and will probably sell the high end fox components. I found the sl has plenty of power for a lighter rider and is so playful and fun to ride on the trails.

 

[levity]

. . . but is sending methemoglobin . . .

Ha ha, never thought I'd see "methemoglobin" mentioned on this forum! Not sure how it will help.

(the website programmer who wrote the auto-correct code must have minored in biochemistry )

 

[Pdoz]

Ha ha, never thought I'd see "methemoglobin" mentioned on this forum! Not sure how it will help.

(the website programmer who wrote the auto-correct code must have minored in biochemistry )

AI at it's finest - predicting the likely delivery of those wheels ?

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

Ha ha, never thought I'd see "methemoglobin" mentioned on this forum! Not sure how it will help.

(the website programmer who wrote the auto-correct code must have minored in biochemistry )

LOL, well you heard it here. And it's an actual thing and I can honestly say I've never used that word at any time in my life before now!

I see "me" and "the" without a space but where did moglobin come from. Typing too fast and spell correction can be entertaining at times.

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

I had my first ride using the Lyrik Ultimate and DVO Topaz and the correct aluminum wheels. The dealer even thru in a hg-1295 cassette although it's 500% not the stock 520% but still very light. I would say it's very comparable to the stock Fox 36 Grip2 and Dpx2. I did have some issues getting full travel out of the DVO with 30% sag.

I ran it with one positive and one negative volume spacer. I also made my own 2.5mm travel spacer from a 5mm travel spacer (sine 2.5mm is on B.O.) since 210x55mm seems to come just too close to hitting (yoke to frame). I may be too conservative on this but better safe than a cracked frame. While the travel spacer doesn't go in the positive volume space of the DVO I think it might be reducing the overall internal volume enough to affect the progressive nature of the shock. I'm running 170 psi and weigh 145 lbs plus gear with 170 psi in the bladder. Anyone out there using the DVO Topaz T3 on the SL care to comment?

The included pics show about how much clearance there is with the 210x52.5mm DVO shock bottomed out. This is about 2.5 mm clearance, which is why I didn't want to risk using a 210x55mm. Flip chip is in the low position. Thanks

 

[Blownoutrides]

Does anyone have insight into the 2023 refresh of the Levo SL. If the usual Specialized cycle continues we should see it released this coming spring. Any nuggets of information would be great!

Saw the specialized guys doing shock tuning laps on the new Levo SL down in Santa Cruz last week. Didn’t get a close look but it was white LOL.

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

can anyone recommend crank arm boots that will fit the levo sl stock aluminum crank arms. If not I guess I’ll just buy a few from from Amazon to see which ones fit and send back the others. Thanks

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

The Levo SL Expert carbon 21/22 model comes with the Roval Traverse Alloy 29 wheelset which weighs 1870g, has a DT Swiss 370 rear hub. You would only be saving 200g for your $1400, could do the same with a different tyre construction.
Full spec of the Roval Traverse Alloy wheels here

I have the new Roval Control CF wheels installed now. The stock roval with tape and valve come to:

frt=934g
rear= 1030g
total=1964g (not sure why I didn't get 1870g but I saw the 1947g range for these listed elsewhere so I'm not far off)

The new CF wheels with tape and valves are:

frt=706g
rear=790g
total=1496g

Savings=468g Cost: $1350....yes a bit much but very nice wheels. The bike now weighs 38.3 lbs and is so easy to pedal without power or on ECO or lift up on my bike rack. The original dealer (I'm the 2nd owner at 150 miles) sent me the slightly used Roval wheels along with a 10-50t X01 very light cassette for free when he found my bike had Shimano wheels! The 10-52t would have been better but he did upgrade from the Shimano 10-51t (600g) cassette (the x01 is only about 358g) and new 6 bolt rotors too.

I did opt to put the Lyrik Ultimate and DVO Topaz T3 (210mmX52.5mm) from my Focus Jam2 on it since I was able to save some weight and they are both very comparable (or even slightly better) to the Fox 36 Grip2 and dpx2 that was stock on the bike. The bike feels very smooth, plush while very controlled. It's very responsive on the trails as well. I'm not sure if I'll sell the old Rovals or the Fox components and may keep them around as spares.

 

[boBE]

I have the new Roval Control CF wheels installed now. The stock roval with tape and valve come to:

frt=934g
rear= 1030g
total=1964g (not sure why I didn't get 1870g but I saw the 1947g range for these listed elsewhere so I'm not far off)

The new CF wheels with tape and valves are:

frt=706g
rear=790g
total=1496g

Savings=468g Cost: $1350....yes a bit much but very nice wheels. ...snip

$1350 to save about the weight of a full water bottle. Yes, it is rotating weight so that counts for more and if you have the $$$ then why not?

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

$1350 to save about the weight of a full water bottle. Yes, it is rotating weight so that counts for more and if you have the $$$ then why not?

I'll be 73 in March and came to the conclusion that I saved the maximum I could for so many years and worked since I was 13 years old (family business) for this time now BEFORE I leave this earth! I denied myself lots of things along the way too. Growing up we didn't suffer for the basics but luxury things were way out of reach for our family.

My Focus was a great 1st ebike at a USA fire sale of Focus bikes in 2019 ($4200.) and 6000 miles later I'm ready for another. I do all my own work too as a former motorcycle mechanic and then mechanical engineer so I have probably saved a lot over what others have to spend to maintain their ebikes.

What I'm saying is that this is my bucket list bike, lol. And I wanted a bike light enough to be able to practice many trials type skills (rode observed trials in the 70's) I could not on my Focus Jam2 with it's longer wheelbase, heavier weight (7 1/2 lbs heavier) and long chain stays. And there's a huge benefit for a skinny senior citizen like me lifting this bike on the bike rack, pushing thru impossible sections or just lifting the bike up onto the work stand. As for that water bottle, it's that PLUS the heavier wheels since it's not like if I kept the heavy wheels I could do away with water (in the hydration pack not the bottle). And yes lighter wheels are noticeable in many situations. I put a light set of I9's on my 1st bike, Anthem 2 and it made an instance and positive change to how the bike felt on the trails.

 

[Blownoutrides]

Cross posting this from the KSL thread in hopes of getting some feedback.

Anyone ever hear of a bent SL crank/motor spindle?

On my 3rd set of alloy Praxis cranks (warranty… they’ve been great about it) and just realized the this newest set of crank arms feels bent right out of the gate.

It’s not the pedals - cross checked those on my other bike.

There’s a healthy about of huck to flat in my zone, but never bent a pedal or crankset before the KSL. Pedaling with a bent setup is starting to graduate from annoyance to a real pain in my knees so definitely want to get this sorted.

 

[chamaruco]

Some pics?

 

[Blownoutrides]

Some pics?

Added!

 

[boBE]

I'll be 73 in March and came to the conclusion that I saved the maximum I could for so many years and worked since I was 13 years old (family business) for this time now BEFORE I leave this earth! I denied myself lots of things along the way too. Growing up we didn't suffer for the basics but luxury things were way out of reach for our family.

My Focus was a great 1st ebike at a USA fire sale of Focus bikes in 2019 ($4200.) and 6000 miles later I'm ready for another. I do all my own work too as a former motorcycle mechanic and then mechanical engineer so I have probably saved a lot over what others have to spend to maintain their ebikes.

What I'm saying is that this is my bucket list bike, lol. And I wanted a bike light enough to be able to practice many trials type skills (rode observed trials in the 70's) I could not on my Focus Jam2 with it's longer wheelbase, heavier weight (7 1/2 lbs heavier) and long chain stays. And there's a huge benefit for a skinny senior citizen like me lifting this bike on the bike rack, pushing thru impossible sections or just lifting the bike up onto the work stand. As for that water bottle, it's that PLUS the heavier wheels since it's not like if I kept the heavy wheels I could do away with water (in the hydration pack not the bottle). And yes lighter wheels are noticeable in many situations. I put a light set of I9's on my 1st bike, Anthem 2 and it made an instance and positive change to how the bike felt on the trails.

I get you! First thing I did to my SL was change to 27.5" wheels, then a 34T chainring, after that I changed from 12 to 11 speed to get a closer range cassette (which needed machining to fit). All things that cost $$$ and were not necessary, "it's not about need, it's about want".

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

I get you! First thing I did to my SL was change to 27.5" wheels, then a 34T chainring, after that I changed from 12 to 11 speed to get a closer range cassette (which needed machining to fit). All things that cost $$$ and were not necessary, "it's not about need, it's about want".

Yeah I think you're right. Still get some buyers remorse. Old habits are hard to break but that passes, lol. And I don't think 12 speeds make any sense on ebikes. I often found myself double shifting on my Focus and this SL as well. My Anthem had 27.5" wheels and if I had kept the I9's I had I would be trying them now.

 

[toii]

I'll be 73 in March and came to the conclusion that I saved the maximum I could for so many years and worked since I was 13 years old (family business) for this time now BEFORE I leave this earth! I denied myself lots of things along the way too. Growing up we didn't suffer for the basics but luxury things were way out of reach for our family.

Wow, good on you for still riding at age 72. I hope I can do that too. These bikes cost ludicrous amounts of money but give us a lot of pleasure. No point dying with millions and not enjoying the fruits of your labour!

 

[AaronMc]

Looking at changing my forks to Lyrik Ultimate 160mm. The 42mm offset is cheaper than the 51mm. Is there going to be much difference by going this route or best sticking to 51mm?

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

Looking at changing my forks to Lyrik Ultimate 160mm. The 42mm offset is cheaper than the 51mm. Is there going to be much difference by going this route or best sticking to 51mm?

I am running the 150mm Lyrik Ultimate 2021 and 51mm offset. I originally put this on my Focus with 64.5 deg fork angle and I stuck with the 51mm offset because I like riding switchbacks up and down and I'm not really a fast down hillers. I am too cautious for that, lol. The 51mm is less likely to flop over on turns although 66 deg fork angle is conservative and won't flop over like a 64 deg angle. I think if you do a bit of fast down hilling or faster technical rides then the 42 mm might be a better match for you but the differences are small and hard to compare so this is all "in theory".