Levo SL Gen 1 Specialized cable routing - help!! (Levo SL)

[p3eps]

I’m sitting here trying to swap my rear brake over.

I’ve pulled the original one out, and am now trying to feed the new one in - from the rear end.
The hose won’t go in more than about 20cm without getting stuck.
Looks like the channel from the frame to the rear triangle doesn’t line up at the brake side.

I can shove my brake hose from the rear mech slot and make it appear at the top of the frame... so it’s just this channel.

I’ve tried pushing the hose from top to bottom too, and it sticks at about the same place.

What do I do?
I’m thinking the only way to get into that part is to disconnect the chain stay from the frame? In order to do that, I think I need some sort of special tool for removing the crank / front chain ring etc. It says “cassette tool - 20Nm - LH Thread” on it.

Can any of you guys who’ve stripped down their SL offer any assistance?! My bike is looking pretty sorry for itself just now ?

 

[Blinkie]

can you drop the motor out and take it from there? I seem to remember it was said on a video undo front 2 bolts and motor will drop to allow you to remove battery.

I'm guessing some sort of internal clip/guides to stop hose rattling about.

 

[Zimmerframe]

What the hell are you doing put a rear brake on there ! You could save 300g ? if you don't bother with it !

Have you tried the desperate .. pull cable back 5cm and rotate 10 degrees - try again .. re-try 35 times ??

Or the "make a tiny cone to screw in the end of the hose" method, so it hopefully finds it's way round some blockages ?

 

[p3eps]

What the hell are you doing put a rear brake on there ! You could save 300g ? if you don't bother with it !

Have you tried the desperate .. pull cable back 5cm and rotate 10 degrees - try again .. re-try 35 times ??

Or the "make a tiny cone to screw in the end of the hose" method, so it hopefully finds it's way round some blockages ?

It’s only 242g, so I figured it was worth it. ?
Yup, tried rotating in all directions, and tried pushing some thinner wire up - but it gets stuck too.

can you drop the motor out and take it from there? I seem to remember it was said on a video undo front 2 bolts and motor will drop to allow you to remove battery.

I'm guessing some sort of internal clip/guides to stop hose rattling about.

There’s definitely some form of cable sleeve that runs from top to bottom, as you can see it if you take the TCU out. There must be 2 (one for the rear triangle and one for the frame) that link together - and it seems mine aren’t linked!

Was there a video of the motor dropping? I’d also need to know the torque settings for tightening them back up.
Sounds a bit drastic - but may be the only way!

 

[Blinkie]

Was there a video of the motor dropping? I’d also need to know the torque settings for tightening them back up.

it was discussed how to remove battery when flying with bike rather than a vid of how to do. Just do them up British Standard tight then back off a 1/4 turn

I'm sure the torque settings are in the manual

 

[p3eps]

I'm sure the torque settings are in the manual

First time I’ve opened it...

Found the video - it’s with Rob discussing the bike with Marcus. I’ll give it a try later. Hopefully it opens access to what I need!

 

[p3eps]

So I dropped the motor - it’s actually 4 bolts, plus loosen 2 to make it ‘swing’ down.
This didn’t help me out any with the cable routing.

Now that the motor was dropped, the crank sat lower and I could get at the chainstay FSR bolts. I took them out, and then the ones beside the wheel - so the chainstay and seat stay were separate.
I tugged about a bit, but am still absolutely lost. Something has gone wrong inside, and there doesn’t seem to be any way of seeing what.

The shifter side has an obvious ‘tube’ sticking out the hole. The brake side does not. Seems like the brake side had fallen inside and is blocking anything getting past.

The frame is now fully reassembled, and I’ll be dropping it off at the shop tomorrow for them to investigate. This ‘should’ have been a fairly simple procedure (running the brakes - not necessarily bleeding them!!), and I’ll be requesting whatever work is required to fix this is done under warranty.

 

[salko]

I know this will not help you now, but next time you rerouting the cables through the frame you might want to use your old cable to pull new cable in using some kind of a barb connector, it makes this process of replacing cables/hoses so much easier ... I hope you get this sorted asap ...

 

[p3eps]

I know this will not help you now, but next time you rerouting the cables through the frame you might want to use your old cable to pull new cable in using some kind of a barb connector, it makes this process of replacing cables/hoses so much easier ... I hope you get this sorted asap ...

I understand the principle, but don’t get how it would work in this scenario?
I removed the hose from the lever end, and then snipped off the olive.
I pulled the SRAM hose from the piston end out...
I then ‘tried’ to insert the Magura hose from the piston end pushing it up through the internal routing sleeve.

I guess for the barb connected to work, I’d have to cut the SRAM hose at the piston end, and then pull from the lever - with the Magura hose attached?

 

[salko]

I guess for the barb connected to work, I’d have to cut the SRAM hose at the piston end, and then pull from the lever - with the Magura hose attached?

Yes exactly. But if you for some reason don't want to cut the old hose at caliper end you can also pull a spare temporary hose (or wire or something similar) with this barb connector from lever end while pulling old hose out and then use this temporary hose to pull new hose in ...

 

[p3eps]

Yes exactly. But if you for some reason don't want to cut the old hose at caliper end you can also pull a spare hose (or wire or something similar) with this barb connector from lever end while pulling old hose out and then use this temporary hose to pull new hose in ...

As you said... to late now!
Can’t see this being an easy fix. ?

 

[Blinkie]

2020 Specialized Levo SL alloy custom build thread - EMTB Forums

does this help

 

[Zimmerframe]

I just did the same as @salko said on my Kenevo, cutting the SRAM hose as close to the rear caliper as possible and using it to pull/push the new Shimano hose through (the shimano hose is slightly thicker than the SRAM hose for reference).

It was obvious from your first post that it was too late to do this in your case, but as they'd managed to thread the hose at the factory, it must be possible one way or another.

Next time Lidl's have one of those cheap super tiny explorer cam things on offer, you should buy one just for fun !

There's probably some cunning trick using an airline or something to push it through .. but I don't know what

 

[Zimmerframe]

How about you airline a small thread into the hole, keep blasting air through the hole and slowly feed in thread and the thread should find it's way to the exit with the exiting air ??

 

[p3eps]

2020 Specialized Levo SL alloy custom build thread - EMTB Forums

does this help

This was the first thread I checked when it I couldn’t get it through!

I was way out of my depth disconnecting the linkages... and I think I’ll just leave it to the guys who do this for a living!!
It’s all ready to go in the car in the morning, and I’ll drop it off at lunch time.

 

[p3eps]

Update on this...

I took the frame to the shop I purchased the bike from on my way home from work this evening.
I explained what had happened, and the length I’d gone to to try and fix.
The tech asked if any of the internal tubing had fallen out when I had the rear pivots undone. No... but it gave me an idea!

We undid the bottom rear FSR pivot, and were able to ‘look into’ the chainstay’from the back end. We could immediately see that the internal tube was not lined up with the insertion hole. It was about 2cm too far back.

When I was pushing my hose in, it wasn’t even going into the internal tuning - it was just going inside the frame... and then hitting the outside of the tubing which is what was preventing it going further.

Tomorrow they’re going to call Specialized and see what they recommend... whether the part can be re-seated (not sure if possible?), or whether the chainstay should be replaced with a new one with pre-fitted tubing.

They will call and let me know. Hopefully I’ll have an answer one way or another tomorrow.

 

[ImSundee]

Update on this...

I took the frame to the shop I purchased the bike from on my way home from work this evening.
I explained what had happened, and the length I’d gone to to try and fix.
The tech asked if any of the internal tubing had fallen out when I had the rear pivots undone. No... but it gave me an idea!

We undid the bottom rear FSR pivot, and were able to ‘look into’ the chainstay’from the back end. We could immediately see that the internal tube was not lined up with the insertion hole. It was about 2cm too far back.

When I was pushing my hose in, it wasn’t even going into the internal tuning - it was just going inside the frame... and then hitting the outside of the tubing which is what was preventing it going further.

Tomorrow they’re going to call Specialized and see what they recommend... whether the part can be re-seated (not sure if possible?), or whether the chainstay should be replaced with a new one with pre-fitted tubing.

They will call and let me know. Hopefully I’ll have an answer one way or another tomorrow.

Can you get a gear cable into the hole going in reverse? you can use that to fish through the hydro cable.

 

[p3eps]

Can you get a gear cable into the hole going in reverse? you can use that to fish through the hydro cable.

Nothing goes through either way I’m afraid. There must be 2 different sections - that don’t meet in the middle!

 

[Blinkie]

Update on this...

I took the frame to the shop I purchased the bike from on my way home from work this evening.
I explained what had happened, and the length I’d gone to to try and fix.
The tech asked if any of the internal tubing had fallen out when I had the rear pivots undone. No... but it gave me an idea!

We undid the bottom rear FSR pivot, and were able to ‘look into’ the chainstay’from the back end. We could immediately see that the internal tube was not lined up with the insertion hole. It was about 2cm too far back.

When I was pushing my hose in, it wasn’t even going into the internal tuning - it was just going inside the frame... and then hitting the outside of the tubing which is what was preventing it going further.

Tomorrow they’re going to call Specialized and see what they recommend... whether the part can be re-seated (not sure if possible?), or whether the chainstay should be replaced with a new one with pre-fitted tubing.

They will call and let me know. Hopefully I’ll have an answer one way or another tomorrow.

Been resolved?

 

[p3eps]

Been resolved?

Collected it last night. Took the tech 6 hours to fix! No real explanation as to how it happened.
Rear brake now routed, but I felt so crap when I got home, I just put the kids to bed and went to my own bed at about 19.30!

Feeling a bit more human today... so can hopefully attach the lever and bleed them.
My Lyric Ultimate is due to be with me in the next couple of hours, so I have that to swap too. Also got a DHF and DHR II in the post yesterday... so plenty to keep me busy!!

 

[ImSundee]

did they say what happened/did they do anything to stop it happening again?

Also did you pay for the techs time? or warranty cover it?

 

[p3eps]

did they say what happened/did they do anything to stop it happening again?

Also did you pay for the techs time? or warranty cover it?

They tried to charge me 2 hours labour (£120), but I ended up paying £15 - which was classed as a "cable routing fee".
The tech had gone home by the time I got in - but I'll ask him exactly what he did next time I see him.

 

[Blinkie]

They tried to charge me 2 hours labour (£120),

no wonder fat mike is loaded

 

[p3eps]

I don't want to state the obvious but saving some money on bike shop labour sometimes isn't worth the headache is it.... ?

It’s nothing to do with saving money. It’s about learning to do the jobs yourself.
I fitted the brakes, cut the hoses and bled them without any issues - simply by watching YouTube videos.
Taking the bike to the LBS is a pain, is time consuming and also means I’m without it for a period of time.

I don’t think my experience was a normal one. The brake hose ‘should’ have just pushed from the rear and popped out the headset area in 5 seconds - but there was something wrong with the internal routing.
If that’d been normal, my job would have gone fine.

Maybe would have taken me slightly longer as I watched the videos and learned on the job. At least now I know how to bleed my brakes, and there’s a good chance I’m going to trim the hoses even shorter now I’ve changed my fork / stem / spacers.

I’m an ex instrument technician, so am quite capable of following instructions and operating tools. I’m quite a hands on person. Unfortunately there were no instructions for what happened with the frame as it doesn’t seem to be reported as happening to anyone else!!

I’ve had my bike less than 3 weeks, and have fitted invisiframe, changed the shifting to AXS and indexed, changed the fork, stem, bars, brakes, tyres and made them tubeless.
Very few of these things I’ve any experience of in the past - but all can be done fairly simply by following instructions / videos!
YouTube has unearthed a whole new generation of ‘home mechanics’!!

 

[CjP]

It’s nothing to do with saving money. It’s about learning to do the jobs yourself.
I fitted the brakes, cut the hoses and bled them without any issues - simply by watching YouTube videos.
Taking the bike to the LBS is a pain, is time consuming and also means I’m without it for a period of time.

I don’t think my experience was a normal one. The brake hose ‘should’ have just pushed from the rear and popped out the headset area in 5 seconds - but there was something wrong with the internal routing.
If that’d been normal, my job would have gone fine.

Maybe would have taken me slightly longer as I watched the videos and learned on the job. At least now I know how to bleed my brakes, and there’s a good chance I’m going to trim the hoses even shorter now I’ve changed my fork / stem / spacers.

I’m an ex instrument technician, so am quite capable of following instructions and operating tools. I’m quite a hands on person. Unfortunately there were no instructions for what happened with the frame as it doesn’t seem to be reported as happening to anyone else!!

I’ve had my bike less than 3 weeks, and have fitted invisiframe, changed the shifting to AXS and indexed, changed the fork, stem, bars, brakes, tyres and made them tubeless.
Very few of these things I’ve any experience of in the past - but all can be done fairly simply by following instructions / videos!
YouTube has unearthed a whole new generation of ‘home mechanics’!!

A thin plastic flexible rod with some fishing wire attached to the front of it allows you to manipulate the front of the wire around hard to reach places.

 

[ruppia]

Hi guys.

I've read the whole post but can't figure out what the problem had been.
Over the weekend I want to change my brakes, from Sram G2 to Shimano XTR and I'm really scared about the potential problem on this one.
Can you please help me before I go crazy ?

Luca

 

[p3eps]

Hi guys.

I've read the whole post but can't figure out what the problem had been.
Over the weekend I want to change my brakes, from Sram G2 to Shimano XTR and I'm really scared about the potential problem on this one.
Can you please help me before I go crazy ?

Luca

In this case, the rear routing inside my frame had come loose and moved.
When I was feeding the cable in the rear, it was going into the frame - not into the routing... hence it wouldn’t get very far!

Solution was to take the rear triangle off and sort the plastic routing (tubing) inside.

 

[levity]

Can you please help me before I go crazy ? Luca

See post #3068 here

Levo SL Gen 1 - Official Levo SL Thread

Levo SL on diet with main battery installed, without pedals 31lbs 12oz

www.emtbforums.com

 

[ruppia]

Thanks.. during weekend i will try

Luca

 

[Zimmerframe]

I don’t use breaks and just put my foot in the back tire.

Surely your floppy third leg just drags along the floor and acts as a brake anyway ?

When it's not painfully getting caught in the derailleur anyway .