Levo SL Gen 1 Official Levo SL Thread

[sp00n]

Can anyone with a Levo SL in size S (and possibly M as well?) measure the size of the fork steering limit bumper? I want to the replace the one on my Kenevo S2 with a smaller one to get back some of the missing left to right movement, and the one on the Levo SL seems to be a bit smaller.
But I'd need to know the bore diameter, the width and the height of it to see if it fits and is actually smaller (in metric if you don't mind ?).

Levo SL:

LEVO SL FRK BUMPER KIT, FOR SMALL + MEDIUM SIZE ONLY

LEVO SL FRK BUMPER KIT, FOR SMALL + MEDIUM SIZE ONLY

webshop.bestbike.de

Kenevo (and apparently also on the normal Levo without SL?):

LEVO G2 ,FRK BUMPER KIT (BUMPER, PLATE,W/M5X0.8 X 18 BOLTS)

LEVO G2 ,FRK BUMPER KIT (BUMPER, PLATE,W/M5X0.8 X 18 BOLTS)

webshop.bestbike.de

 

[Goodey]

Hi guys.

I'm looking to sell my SL. Where is the best place to list it do you think? Ebay is so expensive.. im not really sure where...

Any help appreciated

 

[KnollyBro]

Pinkbike.com

 

[DarrenCC]

Hi guys.

I'm looking to sell my SL. Where is the best place to list it do you think? Ebay is so expensive.. im not really sure where...

Any help appreciated

I listed my SL on Pinkbike, here and eBay. I had easily 90+% of the interest and enquiries via eBay, a small handful from here and only one from Pinkbike. Look out for the selling offers on eBay which make a big difference to the potential fees, or do what a lot of people do and sneak your phone number into a photo…

 

[KnollyBro]

That's interesting. Pinkbike is very active in North America and especially here in BC. If I put something up for sale and its reasonably priced, its sold in a week. I also get enquiries from across Canada and the US if I am willing to ship it. Then again, for every transaction, 3 out of 5 enquires are low ballers. Shipping is the biggest frustration as it takes time and people don't want to pay. Is Pinkbike not that popular in your area?

 

[Goodey]

Mine has been on pinkbike and only been offered a couple of swaps to which I didn't really care for.. I would try ebay but its expensive on there for listing . Good advice about the promotions Darren ??.

 

[apac]

That's interesting. Pinkbike is very active in North America and especially here in BC. If I put something up for sale and its reasonably priced, its sold in a week. I also get enquiries from across Canada and the US if I am willing to ship it. Then again, for every transaction, 3 out of 5 enquires are low ballers. Shipping is the biggest frustration as it takes time and people don't want to pay. Is Pinkbike not that popular in your area?

Pinkbike not a U.K or European thing.

 

[DarrenCC]

That's interesting. Pinkbike is very active in North America and especially here in BC. If I put something up for sale and its reasonably priced, its sold in a week. I also get enquiries from across Canada and the US if I am willing to ship it. Then again, for every transaction, 3 out of 5 enquires are low ballers. Shipping is the biggest frustration as it takes time and people don't want to pay. Is Pinkbike not that popular in your area?

I’m in the UK. I have bought a bike through Pinkbike but I think many people will just default to eBay

 

[p3eps]

eBay did a load of ‘£1 max final value fee’ days earlier in the year, where even if you sold something for £5k, you only paid £1.
The last one they did (a couple of weeks back) was £2 max… which is still decent on a high value item rather than their usual 10%.

Keep watching, they pop up every now and again, and area great time to sell!

 

[boBE]

SL Range anxiety? Not here: I rode 27 miles (flat trails, eco mode) and still had 6 bars left. The bike should be good for 50+ miles like that. It was also 90 degrees and sunny that day.

 

[celbii]

Selling my spare 32T chainring I never used from wolftooth on my SL. I put the 34T on and have never had a reason to change so its just sitting around. Paid $65 asking $50 shipped PM me.
94 mm BCD for SRAM XO1, X1, GX, and NX Crankset × 1
32T / Drop-Stop A

 

[kmag]

Do any other users get rear brake harmonics/ severe vibrations?
I changed my brakes over to Hayes dominions with a 2mm x 203 rotor. And then started getting terrible vibrations through the frame.

I have tried 5 different brake adapters, 2 different rotors and 3 different sets of pads. Semi metallic,sintured and MTX ceramic. I’ve put loctite anti vibration grease on the back of the pads, tried to change the angle of the brake hose.
Some of these helped, and most had no effect.

I’ve thought of going back to a 180 rotor. But with the supply chain issues. I’ve not been able to locate a matching trickstuff or Galfer 2mm x180

Other than this issue, this bike is amazing

 

[SquireRides]

Another failed attempt to use my two Range Extenders...

I expanded last year's 60 miler to a 85 mile gravel route (OS Map).

That 60 miler was meant to be my two-range-extender ride. After all, I had invested in two to give me 640 Wh, comparable to most other eMTBs out there. It wasn't needed though. I used just 389Wh.

But 85 miles, right? Definitely a two range extender ride!

Uh no. I used 355Wh.

Only as i type this i realise I used less battery. So... how? I lost 20 lbs since last year. Probably a bit fitter too. I don't use my eMTB to razz around on these very long rides (11 hours elapsed) but to prop up my own fitness so I can go the distance. So I was in Eco for half the ride, Trail the other (hillier) half, and 'off' for a few miles on the tow path (honestly, on the flat Eco just adds noise, not much assistance).

Also, my butt has much less range than my Levo+RE. Very sore today...

So I think that's it. I no longer have even a theoretical use case for two REs. Wonder what I can sell one for?

 

[levity]

@SquireRides - now you can turn up your power settings , go faster and have more fun!

I try to adjust my SL power settings so that I end each ride with 10-20% battery. (do occasionally need to readjust the levels mid ride to prevent having to limp home ?).

 

[kmag]

Kind of hard to say on the forum man.

it’s not the rotors being bigger.

did you break the rotors in properly? did you break the pads in properly? Lots of high speed 30-5kmph braking runs?

for sure the pad is centered on the braking area of the disk? I can see this happening if the pad is too high/low/off center.

Thanks for the reply, Yes the rotors and pads have been bedded in properly.
I have been using the same setup on my spesh enduro with no hiccups.

I am trying to figure out if this a brake problem or a frame problem? Are others on here running 203 rotors with no problemS?

 

[A1000]

After 10 years of using my vintage 2009 Stumpjumper I'm potentially in the market for a Levo SL to be able to keep up with my teenage son. Having tried the Levo SL it felt pretty comfortable and the option of being able to put it on the car roof for short trips is a real attraction. I have a couple of options in play:
1) 2020 Levo SL Expert Carbon
2) 2021 Levo SL Comp Carbon

The 2020 Expert is £600 more than the 2021 Comp carbon but am I better off taking the cash and selectively upgrading the Comp over time or will the Expert give a better ready to ride offer? My riding is mostly trail & DH and not massively aggressive. Advice and thoughts appreciated

 

[CjP]

Personally I’d take the Comp and upgrade to a bigger fork and shock straight away if your into enduro /DH.
36 will be fine but 38 would be better. Same for the rear. While the stock components will be fine for most situations, I enjoyed having the right suspension for those nasty sections that pop up. You will be looking for more aggressive trails now that you have the extra leg power.
While your at it add some travel to the front so it sits around 160/170mm and slackens the HA a bit. The rear you can use a cascade link with a bit of over stroke for a tad more progression/travel.
Brakes are good enough with decent pads but you can upgrade the disc size at the same time for that bit of extra heat resistance. Or just throw on a set of bigger, better, blingier brakes cause why not.
Rims and drivetrain are fine, upgrade as they break.
It’s a rabbit hole and depends how deep your pockets are and how you ride.
The stock bike is more than capable for most situations so in the end it’s up to you.

 

[Pdoz]

Two different opinions from the same bike . For that price difference, the expert is better value if you think you will be happy at that performance level.

I bought christians bike used but with all the brand new original bits put back on. What would he know about trying to keep up with teenage kids - he's the bztrd the teenagers are trying to catch.

So far, I've replaced the fox 34's with 36 x 160's, I think I preferred the geometry at 150 mm and will either fit a 150 airspring or go back to the slightly lighter 34's. Truth is, the 36 are more for ego than need in my case, but if I went back to the 34's my teenage daughter would steal these 36's and I'd be even further behind her.

I keep looking at the rear shock and thinking I deserve to upgrade it. Again, ego rather than need, but the expert comes with a better shock. That is either a bonus or disadvantage depending on your ego / inner accountant. There is no way I could justify upgrading from a dpx2 , but if christian was to send me a pm offering whatever blinged up bit of magic he had fitted to my bike, my inner accountant would have a very difficult time arguing with my ego and the dps would be sitting on a shelf. I'd also be open to pm's from anyone with an expert wanting to sell their shock.....

I'm looking at the rear wheel weight and thinking that nx cassette needs to go. This is one area the Comp is potentially better - having a shimano hg hub I should be able to swap to something cheaper / lighter / stronger than the stupid 12 sp , and I'm thinking that spare shimano xt 11 sp sitting on my shelf will save 400 gms. But that stupid 12 sp really is nice ..... I guess if you like sram and don't mind paying silly $ for cassettes the expert already has a lighter cassette AND you can move to sram whatever speed later.

For insight into christian , this is how he set the bike up

And this is the same bike in old man trying to keep up with teenage daughter mode. Nb I've even removed that shorter renthal stem of christians and gone back to the original specialized stem!

 

[kmag]

Post a pic.

 

[A1000]

Personally I’d take the Comp and upgrade to a bigger fork and shock straight away if your into enduro /DH.
36 will be fine but 38 would be better. Same for the rear. While the stock components will be fine for most situations, I enjoyed having the right suspension for those nasty sections that pop up. You will be looking for more aggressive trails now that you have the extra leg power.
While your at it add some travel to the front so it sits around 160/170mm and slackens the HA a bit. The rear you can use a cascade link with a bit of over stroke for a tad more progression/travel.
Brakes are good enough with decent pads but you can upgrade the disc size at the same time for that bit of extra heat resistance. Or just throw on a set of bigger, better, blingier brakes cause why not.
Rims and drivetrain are fine, upgrade as they break.
It’s a rabbit hole and depends how deep your pockets are and how you ride.
The stock bike is more than capable for most situations so in the end it’s up to you.

Thanks @Christian much appreciated. It's so easy to be draft by the potentially false baseline of the 2020 Expert looking so much cheaper than a 2021 Expert. It's a good point about looking for more agressive trails as the real cap with my Stumpie is that after a couple of hours and a few circuits the climb back to the top is significant so an EMTB extends the ride. Suspension is certainly something to look at and when I tested the SL the brakes felt soft. They were OK but certainly a diferent feel so your thoughts there maybe an option. Atleast with the SL the carbon frames are all consistent! Thanks again.

 

[A1000]

Two different opinions from the same bike . For that price difference, the expert is better value if you think you will be happy at that performance level.

I bought christians bike used but with all the brand new original bits put back on. What would he know about trying to keep up with teenage kids - he's the bztrd the teenagers are trying to catch.

So far, I've replaced the fox 34's with 36 x 160's, I think I preferred the geometry at 150 mm and will either fit a 150 airspring or go back to the slightly lighter 34's. Truth is, the 36 are more for ego than need in my case, but if I went back to the 34's my teenage daughter would steal these 36's and I'd be even further behind her.

I keep looking at the rear shock and thinking I deserve to upgrade it. Again, ego rather than need, but the expert comes with a better shock. That is either a bonus or disadvantage depending on your ego / inner accountant. There is no way I could justify upgrading from a dpx2 , but if christian was to send me a pm offering whatever blinged up bit of magic he had fitted to my bike, my inner accountant would have a very difficult time arguing with my ego and the dps would be sitting on a shelf. I'd also be open to pm's from anyone with an expert wanting to sell their shock.....

I'm looking at the rear wheel weight and thinking that nx cassette needs to go. This is one area the Comp is potentially better - having a shimano hg hub I should be able to swap to something cheaper / lighter / stronger than the stupid 12 sp , and I'm thinking that spare shimano xt 11 sp sitting on my shelf will save 400 gms. But that stupid 12 sp really is nice ..... I guess if you like sram and don't mind paying silly $ for cassettes the expert already has a lighter cassette AND you can move to sram whatever speed later.

For insight into christian , this is how he set the bike up

View attachment 69213


And this is the same bike in old man trying to keep up with teenage daughter mode. Nb I've even removed that shorter renthal stem of christians and gone back to the original specialized stem!

View attachment 69214

@Pdoz thanks for the insights, I guess we are both used to eating our children's dust on the trails! and it will only get worse as they get better and better hopefully but certainly worth the challenges as it's been a great join activity during lockdown. My head is saying that the based Comp will be more than enough bike for me initially and then gradually upgrade rather than go all in on the Expert and then still find components that don't quite fit for me.

I still love my Stumpie which has always been fitted with Shimano drivechain and which has lasted extremely well although parts are becoming difficult to find with the current supply chain issues globally. I had to replace the chainrings due to wear and found the front derailleur had no/limited adjustment to take a larger ring so had to wait for an exact match which took a few weeks. It's a great bike which may well get handed down/used as a spare but extending my rides with a little assistance is becoming attactive.

My thinking is that once I have landed on the Comp or Expert to ride is in base spec for a while and then see what works and what doesn't feel right whcih is where the ideas from these forums is great to know what to look for and what the options are in order to get the head, heart, ego & wallet in balance! Thanks for the post and pictures it all helps!

 

[Pdoz]

@Pdoz thanks for the insights, I guess we are both used to eating our children's dust on the trails! and it will only get worse as they get better and better hopefully but certainly worth the challenges as it's been a great join activity during lockdown. My head is saying that the based Comp will be more than enough bike for me initially and then gradually upgrade rather than go all in on the Expert and then still find components that don't quite fit for me.

I still love my Stumpie which has always been fitted with Shimano drivechain and which has lasted extremely well although parts are becoming difficult to find with the current supply chain issues globally. I had to replace the chainrings due to wear and found the front derailleur had no/limited adjustment to take a larger ring so had to wait for an exact match which took a few weeks. It's a great bike which may well get handed down/used as a spare but extending my rides with a little assistance is becoming attactive.

My thinking is that once I have landed on the Comp or Expert to ride is in base spec for a while and then see what works and what doesn't feel right whcih is where the ideas from these forums is great to know what to look for and what the options are in order to get the head, heart, ego & wallet in balance! Thanks for the post and pictures it all helps!

I just realised you're riding a 2009 stump jumper ? Second from left in this pic of my fleet from 2018?

Ok, in that case you are in for a major surprise at how much bikes have improved !! In the nicest possible way......that thing was evil!

You will be blown away by the performance / handling etc of the base model comp. Enjoy

 

[A1000]

I just realised you're riding a 2009 stump jumper ? Second from left in this pic of my fleet from 2018?

View attachment 69238



Ok, in that case you are in for a major surprise at how much bikes have improved !! In the nicest possible way......that thing was evil!

You will be blown away by the performance / handling etc of the base model comp. Enjoy

? there's a few of them still around and I even saw a few going for £650 on Pinkbikes recently which isn't bad after 12 years and considering it was £1000 new! Crazy bike market at the moment.

Having trialed an SL Comp I was certainly a multi-generational shift in feel/performance. My 2009 Stumpie has just had it's drivetrain relifed, brakes and suspension serviced so is good for a few more years yet and it's the robustness of the bike that brings be back to Specialized, even with their premium prices. Just hope they support the eMTBs in the same way over time with motor and battery availability. Thanks for the picture.

 

[Rich the gasman]

Have a look 2nd hand mate, there’s over 20 SLs on eBay, I sold my comp cheap, defo a bargain to be had on the SLs

 

[DarrenCC]

After 10 years of using my vintage 2009 Stumpjumper I'm potentially in the market for a Levo SL to be able to keep up with my teenage son. Having tried the Levo SL it felt pretty comfortable and the option of being able to put it on the car roof for short trips is a real attraction. I have a couple of options in play:
1) 2020 Levo SL Expert Carbon
2) 2021 Levo SL Comp Carbon

The 2020 Expert is £600 more than the 2021 Comp carbon but am I better off taking the cash and selectively upgrading the Comp over time or will the Expert give a better ready to ride offer? My riding is mostly trail & DH and not massively aggressive. Advice and thoughts appreciated

I had a Levo sl Carbon comp and absolutely loved it. Get an orbea rise, it’s even better and weighs the same. It’s perfect for either keeping up with my teenage son or my riding buddies on their full fat bikes. For the money you’re spending you will get a better spec too. Did I say get one yet? Orbea Rise, get one…

 

[A1000]

Have a look 2nd hand mate, there’s over 20 SLs on eBay, I sold my comp cheap, defo a bargain to be had on the SLs

Thanks for the idea, I hadn't thought of ebay for something of this value and nature. After checking it and filtering down to the right size the number of options dwindles and I was surprised the fuzziness of the descriptions of what was included and photos for something of this value so none of the options felt quite right.

A number of the bikes stated that they had just had the motor replaced under warranty at 14 months or ~500 miles. I hadn't picked up any big issues with the motor. Have I missed something or is it just coincidence that a high % of SLs for sale had had the motor replaced?

 

[A1000]

I had a Levo sl Carbon comp and absolutely loved it. Get an orbea rise, it’s even better and weighs the same. It’s perfect for either keeping up with my teenage son or my riding buddies on their full fat bikes. For the money you’re spending you will get a better spec too. Did I say get one yet? Orbea Rise, get one…

I have been considering the Rise partly from the perspective of the level of components for the money. I had felt that while the motor was almost 2x the Nm it didn't translate into necessarilly into the same feeling of power and that the purpose designed Specialized system was perhaps more optimised. I had also picked up that the Specialized rider support had the edge over Orbea's here in UK. What are people's thoughs as I'm sure you've all looked at/considered the alternatives to the SL?

 

[kmag]

Those just look like you’d get pulsating on any brake system.

I’ve also used formula and trickstuff rotors. And get harmonics/ vibrations.

I get what your saying about the pulsing on these galfer’s though. ( it’s not the pulsing that is the problem)

Maybe there is something up with my seatstay. I’ll see what spesh says.

 

[DarrenCC]

I have been considering the Rise partly from the perspective of the level of components for the money. I had felt that while the motor was almost 2x the Nm it didn't translate into necessarilly into the same feeling of power and that the purpose designed Specialized system was perhaps more optimised. I had also picked up that the Specialized rider support had the edge over Orbea's here in UK. What are people's thoughs as I'm sure you've all looked at/considered the alternatives to the SL?

The power delivery is fantastic if you are a spinner and very tuneable via the Shimano app. As I say, I loved my SL but have no regrets about changing it for the Rise. The specialized top tube button and battery led are better but that’s about all I miss. If you do decide to test a Rise, make sure it is set in Profile 2 and the torque slider is maxed on the turbo setting just so you can see exactly what the full power difference is compared the Levo sl. Profile 1 is the factory setting I believe and is optimised for battery and range longevity. If doesn’t feel much different to the SL and I can’t imagine ever going back to it from profile 2 to be honest. Battery range is fantastic even without a battery extender.

 

[boBE]

The power delivery is fantastic if you are a spinner and very tuneable via the Shimano app. As I say, I loved my SL but have no regrets about changing it for the Rise. The specialized top tube button and battery led are better but that’s about all I miss. If you do decide to test a Rise, make sure it is set in Profile 2 and the torque slider is maxed on the turbo setting just so you can see exactly what the full power difference is compared the Levo sl. Profile 1 is the factory setting I believe and is optimised for battery and range longevity. If doesn’t feel much different to the SL and I can’t imagine ever going back to it from profile 2 to be honest. Battery range is fantastic even without a battery extender.

Power out = power in (minus some losses). If we want 60 NM we have to accept that battery drain will be 1.7x that of 35 NM and range will be 58%.