Rohloff Speedhub Conversion - Specialized Levo Expert

[paulmoir]

Wow. Nice work. How is the twist grip working out compared to stabbing a button for gear shift?

No problem and I prefer it to a trigger shift, but I’ve been using SRAM and Rohloff twist shifters for 15 years as a preference. In the end it’s a personal preference. I like grabbing a handful of gears easily with the twist shift.

 

[paulmoir]

Hi Paul - I (and, I'm sure, others) would be interested in the details of this conversion on your Levo. I appreciate your desire to offer information via email, but additional photos and problems/solutions on custom builds are always interesting reading - please consider posting for all!

Sorry it took so long to respond... been busy with other work (that pays). I've put together what I think may answer your questions and hopefully the many others that have asked various questions as well. It is a PowerPoint which you can stop and pause, or I can send it in a pdf. Cheers Paul.

 

[Pabloaguas]

Hi, I am new to the forum but have been watching EMTB reviews and reading the forum comments for a little while now. I just bought my first ebike, a new 2019 Turbo Levo Expert a few weeks back and I absolutely love it. I am also the Rohloff distributor for Australia... so after listening to and feeling some of the gear changes with the derailleur on an emtb (and I am a competent shifter), I decided to do a little personal "conversion" project.

I called the project, Project Lero (Levo-Rohloff). Only fitted the Rohloff last Friday, tested it Saturday and Sunday on two trail terrains (one rocky/loose, the other hard packed flowy single track - both dry). I also upgraded the rims to 32-hole DT Swiss HX531 and added a DT Swiss 350 Hybrid boost front hub... add the Rohloff to the rear wheel, remove the trigger shift/cassette/derailleur and it is exactly 23kg (1.5kg heavier). So far there is certainly no disadvantage... single chain line, clean and quiet and easy to shift with 14-speeds, a twist shift and 526% gear range. Left the 32T steel sprocket on the front and have a 16T steel rear sprocket on the Rohloff at the rear. Added another 10psi to the rear shock, left the forks the same and it's as fast and as balanced as it was with the derailleur at 21.5kg. I'm 61, but still ride pretty quick and from what I can see over a number of trail sections recorded on Strava… it is either the same time or maybe a little quicker.

Have a look at the video, it shows more than I can describe.

Paul, what tools did you use to face the dropout?