Levo SL Gen 1 Official Levo SL Thread

[CJaMTB]

WHAT A BIKE!!!

If I've attached the right files, you'll hopefully see my support settings (to suit my injuries/disability), my ride distances from today, and the remaining charge when I got home. Of this, approximately 18-19kms was offroad, on rough moorland, granite bedrock, and woodland singletrack, using mainly Eco and Trail. The rest is on roads using Turbo. I took my range extender, turns out I didn't actually need to! Unbelievable range on this bike. When all the PR blurb was released, I genuinely thought Spesh had oversold it. If anything they undersold it by quite some margin.

God I hope the reliability is good...

 

[boBE]

WHAT A BIKE!!!

If I've attached the right files, you'll hopefully see my support settings (to suit my injuries/disability), my ride distances from today, and the remaining charge when I got home. Of this, approximately 18-19kms was offroad, on rough moorland, granite bedrock, and woodland singletrack, using mainly Eco and Trail. The rest is on roads using Turbo. I took my range extender, turns out I didn't actually need to! Unbelievable range on this bike. When all the PR blurb was released, I genuinely thought Spesh had oversold it. If anything they undersold it by quite some margin.

God I hope the reliability is good...

You're making me feel bad, 479 calories in 1:17! I only burned 213 calories today in 1:08 running in Eco, maybe it's my elevation gain of 10 meters, all on pavement (Florida coastal area).

 

[jcmonty]

Do you know if they can/will ship to the UK?

I believe so, but reach out to them. They are super responsive

 

[p3eps]

You're making me feel bad, 479 calories in 1:17! I only burned 213 calories today in 1:08 running in Eco, maybe it's my elevation gain of 10 meters, all on pavement (Florida coastal area).

How’s this?! All in Eco 40/50.

 

[p3eps]

I asked J-Techsuspension today about fitting a MegNeg to a Super Deluxe and setting it up prior to shipping. Not an issue.
It would arrive in a ‘plug and play’ state pre-set for me.

Apparently the new 2021 version will be out in a couple of weeks. Maybe best to wait.
They still recommend the Cane Creek CCDB Air IL.

 

[boBE]

How’s this?! All in Eco 40/50.

View attachment 31658

Wow! 3020 calories is more than a day's worth! The nearest 1000m mountain is about 8 hours away but we plan to go there in Autumn.

 

[Manitunc]

You're making me feel bad, 479 calories in 1:17! I only burned 213 calories today in 1:08 running in Eco, maybe it's my elevation gain of 10 meters, all on pavement (Florida coastal area).

Where in Florida are you. I’m in Jupiter. Not many sLS here.

 

[crazymelki]

thats not true....Use a chest strap heart-rate monitors for calories with your Garmin. And your right body wheigt is also important.

 

[dasurpha]

I don’t agree. And there’s a significant difference between my specialized calories and Garmin! Garmin is calculating based off a normal bike. it’s like hiking and hiking with someone pulling you. I could just be out of shape and someone pulling me with the same heart rate of me doing it alone and in shape.

attached are the same rides from Garmin and specialized. Difference of about 300 cal.

I think you are right. The difference however is not fully matching the power consumption of the battery (128wH equals to ~110kcal).

Any calculation is always approximate and based on multiple factors. When I play badminton with my friend - we are pretty equally average players - I burn about 60-70% more calories than him, while I do weight about 40% more than him and we are both using Apple Watch.

 

[p3eps]

You have to use specialized apps calculation for calories. Garmin thinks you’re on a normal bike.

Garmin knows I’m on an ebike. I picked the ebike category, which is why my ride is titled ebike. If I use my regular bike, it doesn’t say ebike - or display the ebike battery etc.
I also have a HRM on.

 

[p3eps]

Not trying to throw down here. Just making sure there’s an understanding that Garmin does not know how much the bike is doing at this point.
Can we see what the spec app calculated vs what Garmin calculated?

unless you’re running this:

Connect IQ Store | Watch Faces and Apps | Garmin

apps.garmin.com

I have this on - which is why it shows my support level when riding. Used it on my previous 820 too.

I only use the Spesh app for setting the Eco / Trail / Turbo values. I don’t use it for logging my rides. I also don’t pair my HRM with my phone, as it seems to randomly disconnect from the Garmin if I have it paired with my phone too.

I’m tempted to try BLEvo though, as it gets some good reviews.

 

[Killswitch73]

I asked J-Techsuspension today about fitting a MegNeg to a Super Deluxe and setting it up prior to shipping. Not an issue.
It would arrive in a ‘plug and play’ state pre-set for me.

Apparently the new 2021 version will be out in a couple of weeks. Maybe best to wait.
They still recommend the Cane Creek CCDB Air IL.

I Ordered the Cane Creek DBair IL from them yesterday ,, couldnt pass it up for £333 shipped , tuned to my liking with added hardware .

 

[p3eps]

I Ordered the Cane Creek DBair IL from them yesterday ,, couldnt pass it up for £333 shipped , tuned to my liking with added hardware .

I’ll look forward to your thoughts on it then - and how it compares to your Super Deluxe coil.
That is a very good price! I’m almost tempted just to go for it and give it a try!

 

[Killswitch73]

I’ll look forward to your thoughts on it then - and how it compares to your Super Deluxe coil.
That is a very good price! I’m almost tempted just to go for it and give it a try!

Its only a temp shock for me so when ive lost a about 15kg i can put my coil back on .. but with the weight saving from the air shock and if l like it then i might not go back to the coil . massive adjustments on the cane creek , J-tech also turn the air can to an angle so the can is at the bottom flip chip and the adjustments and lever is at the top .. i also went for the 55mm stroke .. ordered the 52.5 stumpjumper version but put in comments to uprade to 55mm as instructed by james via email .

 

[boBE]

Where in Florida are you. I’m in Jupiter. Not many sLS here.

JAX. Afaik I got the first SL in the area, the LBS even put photos of it on their Facebook page.

 

[jcmonty]

For those with the Garmin - you need to add the bikes' power meter as as sensor. I have an Edge 530 and get accurate calorie readings due to that setting. It's separate from the Ebike fields. There is also a cadence sensor to be added as well. You can test to see if this is working by looking at the power reading on the Garmin (assuming all garmins are the same here , may vary by model). If you turn off the bike support, while keeping the bike on, and you see power readings still - you are good to go! I am actually not even sure that the garmin will read the ebike power output.

I seem to average about 500 cal/hr of riding on the SL. It's up from about 300 or so on the Kenevo. Obviously support settings, weight, fitness all factor into that. In general, I am at about 170-180 weighted average watts

 

[p3eps]

Just for comparison, here’s a pre ebike ride of mine. If I search through my Garmin history, I could probably find many 2000+ calorie rides last year on my regular MTB.

Much less distance, and time - but the calories per hour are probably more.
I’m about 185kg kitted you, but have a very high active heart rate - which is why I burn lots of calories.

 

[dasurpha]

I don’t trust the Specialized app at all for calories. Did today 4h ride with average HR of 147. My Apple Watch gave me little short of 1500 active calories (total 2000) and Mission Control showed less than 900. That said, I did not have HR linked to MC.

Another learning today was that I cannot kill the battery. Burned down from 120% (with Extender) to 35. First two hours mainly Eco/Trail and for the last two Trail/Turbo (Turbo mainly for the last 15km stretch home on tarmac).

 

[dasurpha]

I’ve compared Apple Watch with my Suunto Spartan and the calories are consistently pretty close. When I do high-intensity training (like basketball) I burn about 800 calories per hour. I’m sure I burnt easily half of that today while biking...was so happy I have SL when I had to carry the bike steep stairs 15m upwards!

 

[Killswitch73]

I didn’t connect my bike to my watch until today with power meter and cadence . Before today i just used my own separate garmin Bluetooth speed and cadence sensor ..

photos of Yesterday’s ride from my own heart rate strap (mounted watch on handlebar) using just the garmin speed and cadence sensor .

Now I’ve learnt today that my watch can pick up the bikes power and cadence and speed but I will carry on using my own speed sensor which I think is more accurate than the speed sensor in the bike .

a bonus also that my watch displays the gear I’m in with AXS ..

 

[p3eps]

Installed BLEvo, and went for a ride. Both Garmin and BLEvo connected to HRM.

BLEvo: 26.43 miles, 2740ft Elevation Gain, 2hrs 42min, 2142 Calories.

Garmin: 27.36 miles, 911m Elevation Gain, 2hrs 42mins, 2032 Calories.

A small variation between the two... but BLEvo knows EXACTLY how much power the bike used and the calories are similar to the Garmin.

 

[Killswitch73]

Installed BLEvo, and went for a ride. Both Garmin and BLEvo connected to HRM.

BLEvo: 26.43 miles, 2740ft Elevation Gain, 2hrs 42min, 2142 Calories.

Garmin: 27.36 miles, 911m Elevation Gain, 2hrs 42mins, 2032 Calories.

A small variation between the two... but BLEvo knows EXACTLY how much power the bike used and the calories are similar to the Garmin.

Connect the garmin to the bike .. power meter and cadence . Both my watch and edge 1030 connected . I will go for a ride tomorrow and test BLEvo too as I’ve already got that installed on my phone from when I had the Kenevo .

 

[p3eps]

Connect the garmin to the bike .. power meter and cadence . Both my watch and edge 1030 connected . I will go for a ride tomorrow and test BLEvo too as I’ve already got that installed on my phone from when I had the Kenevo .

Will have to try mine again, as last time I had cadence from the bike, it just displayed 89 all the time!

 

[CJaMTB]

Its only a temp shock for me so when ive lost a about 15kg i can put my coil back on .. but with the weight saving from the air shock and if l like it then i might not go back to the coil . massive adjustments on the cane creek , J-tech also turn the air can to an angle so the can is at the bottom flip chip and the adjustments and lever is at the top .. i also went for the 55mm stroke .. ordered the 52.5 stumpjumper version but put in comments to uprade to 55mm as instructed by james via email .

You can change the eyelet alignment yourself, you just have to grab the air can and twist. The shaft is free to rotate, so you can realign the eyelets or misalign them at will.

 

[Killswitch73]

You can change the eyelet alignment yourself, you just have to grab the air can and twist. The shaft is free to rotate, so you can realign the eyelets or misalign them at will.

Yes all air cans can be .. not the adjustment side with all the controls as it’s parallel to the eyelet . They alter this in the workshop for it to fit until the frame as the a dual (gold screws) have to be turned to stop it from hitting the frame as it’s too wide . See pic the shaft side eyelet can’t be twisted so it moves the hsc/lsc duals , the 90 degree angle has to be done in shop .. this is what I was told and I believe them .. the air can side can’t go on top eyelet as it’s to big .

 

[CJaMTB]

Yes all air cans can be .. not the adjustment side with all the controls as it’s parallel to the eyelet . They alter this in the workshop for it to fit until the frame as the a dual (gold screws) have to be turned to stop it from hitting the frame as it’s too wide . See pic the shaft side eyelet can’t be twisted so it moves the hsc/lsc duals , the 90 degree angle has to be done in shop .. this is what I was told and I believe them .. the air can side can’t go on top eyelet as it’s to big .

The DBIL Coil didn't need any workshop alterations to fit, I was able to adjust it myself. Why is the air shock different?

 

[CJaMTB]

Anyone here actually running a Mullet on their SL? I ran my Levo as a Mullet and loved it. After a few rides on my SL, including some steep, techy stuff and a few big drops, I'm thinking of Mulleting(?) my new bike. I'm cautious because of the 165mm cranks (I run these due to knee injuries and will be doing the same to my SL as soon as pos), which can't currently be replaced. Why do it then? Because at 168cm (5'6") tall, on a size M frame, I'm already getting fed up of hitting my ass with the wheel, plus the wheel fouls the Cateye saddle clamp when the seat post is dropped and it hits full compression. The bike also feels just a touch less nimble in the back.

Open to thoughts but mostly want to hear from people running this setup already.

 

[jcmonty]

Anyone here actually running a Mullet on their SL? I ran my Levo as a Mullet and loved it. After a few rides on my SL, including some steep, techy stuff and a few big drops, I'm thinking of Mulleting(?) my new bike. I'm cautious because of the 165mm cranks (I run these due to knee injuries and will be doing the same to my SL as soon as pos), which can't currently be replaced. Why do it then? Because at 168cm (5'6") tall, on a size M frame, I'm already getting fed up of hitting my ass with the wheel, plus the wheel fouls the Cateye saddle clamp when the seat post is dropped and it hits full compression. The bike also feels just a touch less nimble in the back.

Open to thoughts but mostly want to hear from people running this setup already.

Funny - I just did this yesterday:

Should be going on a ride shortly. I have been wanting to experiment for a while . Rear wheel is a 27.5 Santa Cruz Reserve 37 with a 2.5 Maxxis Aggressor.

Bottom bracket dropped from ~348mm to ~335mm. HTA is right around 65 deg. Note - I am running an offset bushing but had to switch my flip chip to "HI". This should be equivalent to a stock setup in "low" before the mullet from that perspective. I am also running 160mm fork

I will report back after I have some time on it. I don't expect this to be permanent, but thought I would give it a whirl.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Just went and bought a Range Extender.

I can keep up with full fat ebikes where I ride (I just need to use more Turbo) but am totally happy that this bike can ride all day with other eebs.

 

[simonk]

Just went and bought a Range Extender.

I can keep up with full fat ebikes where I ride (I just need to use more Turbo) but am totally happy that this bike can ride all day with other eebs.

View attachment 31785

£299 for the RE I can stomach. Having to buy the cable it needs separately is taking the piss a bit I think. And £40 for the Y charging cable is... ?