Levo Gen 3 Specialized Gen 3 2022 Levo Megathread!

[rydeezie]

Well just had some good news from the dealers. Specialized have approved fitment of a new motor. Its a worrying thing though that there's something a miss with these motors. They seem to be failing at an alarming rate.
Just hope the new one isn't louder.

My new replaced motor was loud so they approved a 3rd motor and replaced the following week. Super quiet now

 

[Repsol]

My new replaced motor was loud so they approved a 3rd motor and replaced the following week. Super quiet now

Did you ever get told what is causing this issue with their motors.
Something is obviously a miss with them?

 

[rydeezie]

Did you ever get told what is causing this issue with their motors.
Something is obviously a miss with them?

No I did not. LBS just said Specialized approved replacement. Good enough for me

first motor lasted almost a year before it got louder. If the current motor lasts about the same time then I’ll just consider it my yearly maintenance. At least they are approving replacement before the motor totally goes out. Motor gets it’s own 2 year warranty

 

[Mike640]

My new replaced motor was loud so they approved a 3rd motor and replaced the following week. Super quiet now

Even if you ride this new one for a long time on Turbo, it get louder?

 

[Mike640]

Did you ever get told what is causing this issue with their motors.
Something is obviously a miss with them?

I dont think this is really an issue, because on the next day is fine and with no problems at all...

 

[rydeezie]

Even if you ride this new one for a long time on Turbo, it get louder?

No, the new motor does not get louder. No matter the setting, distance or elevation

i rode with 2 700wh batteries on Sunday. Full turbo the whole time. Did 45 miles. Super quiet

my new motor on my Kenevo is just as quiet.

both quiet motors have a production date of October 2021.

 

[rydeezie]

I dont think this is really an issue, because on the next day is fine and with no problems at all...

Once my original motor started getting loud it would keep getting louder. The 2nd motor was loud from the start. 3rd motor is always quiet (i made a recording of how quiet it is in case i need to prove it to my LBS in the future)

 

[Repsol]

No, the new motor does not get louder. No matter the setting, distance or elevation

i rode with 2 700wh batteries on Sunday. Full turbo the whole time. Did 45 miles. Super quiet

my new motor on my Kenevo is just as quiet.

both quiet motors have a production date of October 2021.

That's reassuring as I was thinking about getting a spare battery and riding it in turbo more.
Some of my mileage on this faulty motor was even with it switched off. My last ride I beat my previous best of 37mile and did 40mile, I rode back on mostly trail and turbo.
I was beginning to think is it because it was been run like this which may have contributed to it failing, yet it doesn't say nothing in the owners manual not to use turbo all the time.
What settings did you have shuttle and acceleration at ?

 

[rydeezie]

That's reassuring as I was thinking about getting a spare battery and riding it in turbo more.
Some of my mileage on this faulty motor was even with it switched off. My last ride I beat my previous best of 37mile and did 40mile, I rode back on mostly trail and turbo.
I was beginning to think is it because it was been run like this which may have contributed to it failing, yet it doesn't say nothing in the owners manual not to use turbo all the time.
What settings did you have shuttle and acceleration at ?

on the first motor i had turbo at 85/100, shuttle zero, acceleration 40%. Trail and eco factory

currently i reset everything to factory

I owned a gen2 levo, two 2020 Kenevos, a levo sl, and now a gen3. I have gone through about 10 Brose motors total over the years at this point I don’t care about preserving the motor. They all lasted about 1200 to 1500 miles which is not much if just riding 1 bike for the year. Since May 2020 i am able to switch between 3 bikes within the year (2 ebikes, 1 DH bike) so my 3,500-4,000 yearly miles is spread out between the 3. If all is the same this year then each motor will take about a year to reach 1200 to 1500 miles.

so basically with the warranty, i ride without worries

as for using an extra battery, i just take one from the other bike. I have extra bash guards and just switch them depending on the bike I’ll use. I usually just use 2 batteries on weekends

 

[Repsol]

This is quite interesting, maybe specialized should start doing the same upgrade.

 

[Duke]

Any fellow chunkers, I'm 112kg and even at 280 psi the rear shock sag was 20mm where as the fox site said it needs to about 13mm for 25% sag. What are my options here? New shock or just suck it up?

1. It is fine when you reach 30% sag if you like it not so stiff then you are around 16.5 mm.
2. Ad one or two volumespacers. The one thing they do is to give you more endprogression but the other thing is that you can reduce your pressure a little (around 10 psi per spacer) for the right sag, that means if you keep the preasure, you will get a little less sag.

For my case i'm at 102 kg full dressed with backpack and i ride 265 with no additional spacers on my expert 2022.

 

[mike172]

Mine got louder recently its also very gritty when I cycle the pedals backwards. Rest of my group complain they can hear it now when we go up hills

Had a few loose linkage bolts on mine this week. Enough to cause some knocking side to side. Also had to clean out my upper and lower shock bolts and the mounts and add some grease as I had a horrendous cracking sound when tilting the bike side to side i thought the frame was cracked. Finding I need to clean the upper and lower mounts out quite frequently

 

[rydeezie]

Mine got louder recently its also very gritty when I cycle the pedals backwards. Rest of my group complain they can hear it now when we go up hills

Had a few loose linkage bolts on mine this week. Enough to cause some knocking side to side. Also had to clean out my upper and lower shock bolts and the mounts and add some grease as I had a horrendous cracking sound when tilting the bike side to side i thought the frame was cracked. Finding I need to clean the upper and lower mounts out quite frequently

My friend has a 2020 Kenevo and the motor is quiet. There is a clicking sound the bike makes and LBS can’t figure out where it’s coming from. It clicks randomly. So his Kenevo is approved to get a new motor due to the clicking lol. I wonder if the clicking really is coming from the motor? I guess I’ll find out in a few days…

 

[iXi]

OK bit of a noob question. I took the rear wheel off then put it back on. When I torqued it up the torque wrench didn't click so stopped when it felt tight, now I can't undo the wheel. I try to loosen and it makes a few click click sounds and the Allen key moves maybe an 1/8 of a turn but it feels like it's tightening even more. Any ideas what I've done?

 

[rydeezie]

OK bit of a noob question. I took the rear wheel off then put it back on. When I torqued it up the torque wrench didn't click so stopped when it felt tight, now I can't undo the wheel. I try to loosen and it makes a few click click sounds and the Allen key moves maybe an 1/8 of a turn but it feels like it's tightening even more. Any ideas what I've done?

Over tightened

it will creek when trying to loosen

i grease the contact surfaces on mine

worst case you’ll need a new derailleur hanger or bolt, but I don’t think it will come to that point

just loosen counter clockwise (anti-clockwise) then apply a little grease next time and don’t over tighten

 

[rydeezie]

OK bit of a noob question. I took the rear wheel off then put it back on. When I torqued it up the torque wrench didn't click so stopped when it felt tight, now I can't undo the wheel. I try to loosen and it makes a few click click sounds and the Allen key moves maybe an 1/8 of a turn but it feels like it's tightening even more. Any ideas what I've done?

Another thing to mention check if your torque wrench is reading foot pounds or newton meters then torque down accordingly to the manual specs

make sure not to apply too much grease. Just a dab. Don’t want any of that stuff getting on the brake surfaces

 

[iXi]

Over tightened

it will creek when trying to loosen

i grease the contact surfaces on mine

worst case you’ll need a new derailleur hanger or bolt, but I don’t think it will come to that point

just loosen counter clockwise (anti-clockwise) then apply a little grease next time and don’t over tighten

When you say derailleur hanger damage. Do I need an allen key in both sides as I only loosened and tightened on the non drive side. That's how I've always done it with my other bike

 

[rydeezie]

When you say derailleur hanger damage. Do I need an allen key in both sides as I only loosened and tightened on the non drive side. That's how I've always done it with my other bike

Just loosen non drive side. I was thinking worst case like maybe the threads were crossed on hanger or damaged from over tightening. Like if something were to damage while breaking loose I would imagine it would be the hanger. The axle is strong. Hopefully no damage to the stays

I don’t know how much the axle was tightened. I mean is it to the point where you need to use PB Blast?

if unsure, take it to a bike shop. From your explanation it sounds like the axle is over torqued.

 

[mike172]

My friend has a 2020 Kenevo and the motor is quiet. There is a clicking sound the bike makes and LBS can’t figure out where it’s coming from. It clicks randomly. So his Kenevo is approved to get a new motor due to the clicking lol. I wonder if the clicking really is coming from the motor? I guess I’ll find out in a few days…

Maybe worth getting him to clean and grease the upper and lower shock bolts and everything they interface with. Mine seems very sensitive to any dirt or whatever getting in. Given how much the rear triangle flexes because of this stupid clevis mount I think that's what causes it.

 

[Mydriaze]

Hello everyone, i'm looking for a floor stand (don't know if it's the right term). Not a maintenance/repair stand. Something like this: (pretty neat by the way, it seems to be an official Specialized product?)

or like this:

Any suggestion?

 

[Gyre]

This one works pretty well and suits the general form factor you're looking for if you can find it in a more reasonable quantity:

Amazon.com: 3X BIKEHAND Fat Electric E Bike Bicycle Tire Floor Type Parking Rack Stand - for Mountain and Road Bike Indoor Outdoor Nook Garage Storage - Max Tire Width 4" : Tools & Home Improvement

 

[zorro77]

Hi has anyone tried Ohlins TTX1 Air on Turbo levo 22?

 

[Olivier Clg]

Hi has anyone tried Ohlins TTX1 Air on Turbo levo 22?

According to Ohlins website it seems to be the TTX2 Air for the Gen3

 

[zorro77]

According to Ohlins website it seems to be the TTX2 Air for the Gen3

Are you sure??? Levo 22 is more progressive than 2019 but is linear

TTX1 Air
Our twin-tube damping technology in a compact, single-can package designed for more linear suspension systems

TTX2 Air
Our twin-tube damping technology in a double-can, higher volume, air spring shock designed for more progressive suspension systems

 

[zorro77]

I just phoned Andreani (Ohlins Italia) very nice, they said that TTX2 air is not good for Turbo Levo, but did not know if it was good or not for Gen 3

 

[Repsol]

Not having much luck with my levo turbo comp carbon. Had new motor fitted last week under warranty and its having to have another fitted, the torque converter has gone. This is absolutely shocking these Brose motors are failing, its not really Specialized at fault its bloody Brose.
I'm beginning to wonder if all these motors that are replaced and sent back to Brose result in everyone getting a reconditioned one instead of a brand new one out of the box?
Where is Brose's quality control in doing these motors, I think we as the cycling community are getting absolutely ripped off and the raw end of the deal.
If it was a car manufacturer they'd either be a recall or they'd be facing a lawsuit especially over in America, like what happened with Audi and the oil consumption issues with the TFSI engine.

 

[CJaMTB]

Not having much luck with my levo turbo comp carbon. Had new motor fitted last week under warranty and its having to have another fitted, the torque converter has gone. This is absolutely shocking these Brose motors are failing, its not really Specialized at fault its bloody Brose.
I'm beginning to wonder if all these motors that are replaced and sent back to Brose result in everyone getting a reconditioned one instead of a brand new one out of the box?
Where is Brose's quality control in doing these motors, I think we as the cycling community are getting absolutely ripped off and the raw end of the deal.
If it was a car manufacturer they'd either be a recall or they'd be facing a lawsuit especially over in America, like what happened with Audi and the oil consumption issues with the TFSI engine.

This is why I just couldn't justify spending my hard earned on a Gen 3 or Kenevo, going with an alternative-motor-using-brand for my current long travel rig (which ironically was delivered with a non-functioning motor!). I love the Spesh eMTBs and have owned several, still have a Levo SL, but the reliability is what drove me away after 5yrs. It seems shocking that a company that charges such a premium for their bikes, is still having this issue after years in which to get it rectified.

 

[flash]

I agree that Brose need to pick up their game. But I also know someone having a warranty punch up with Shimano who say the motor was de-restricted. It wasn't (I ride with him so I'm sure) and now it's been MONTHS trying to get it sorted. At least Specialised, to their credit, don't do that bullshit and riders are back in a week or two.

Gordon

 

[rydeezie]

I agree that Brose need to pick up their game. But I also know someone having a warranty punch up with Shimano who say the motor was de-restricted. It wasn't (I ride with him so I'm sure) and now it's been MONTHS trying to get it sorted. At least Specialised, to their credit, don't do that bullshit and riders are back in a week or two.

Gordon

I agree specialized rider care service has been great with quick turnaround

i have to assume no matter what brand motor i have that there is a chance i will break the motor. maybe more often with the brose. So I just treat the motor like any other bike part that eventually wears out and get it replaced under warranty. I actually prefer to get a new fresh motor after 1200-1500 miles of use

don’t get me wrong, I would like a motor that lasts. But if the motor lasts more than 2 years then I’ll be riding a motor with no warranty. The warranty also helps the resale value. I just haven’t found, in my opinion, a better emtb for me right now. Maybe the Yeti 160e, but I have a pet peeve about frame cutouts. And what is their turn around time in motor replacement? Because i can probably break it

overall for me, looking at the pros and cons, the motor issue is a minor thing i can deal with. The Levo is just badass. I can’t speak for anyone else in other parts of the world as they may have different experiences with how motor issues are handled. I’ll take 3-7 days downtime vs months without a bike.

my friend with a trek took 3 months to get a replacement bosch motor. buddy with a norco took over a year to get a replacement ebike frame (not motor related but still out of a bike). Yt decoy took several months to get a motor replacement.

i do hope specialized and brose make improvements. If it weren’t for their warranty and great service I’d probably be riding a Kenevo SL and a full powered ????

 

[zorro77]

Where can I find a base setup (compression and rebound h/l) of Kitsuma Air for Turbo Levo?