TCU - Removal for inspection - alloy Levo 2019

[Joss]

Hello,
Is the TCU as easy to remove as it appears? I.e. remove the small bolt and lift out? Reason I ask is when my bike arrived on Saturday the remote was mounted to the right-hand end of my handlebars, not by the left-hand grip as expected. Not a huge problem in itself but when I looked at swapping it over, the cable wasn't long enough. This surprised me as every other Levo I've seen had the remote on the left. So, I just want to have a poke inside and see if there's a load of spare cable caught up in there.

I had a few other issues with this bike but I think I'm resolving most of them now. The only other two enduring concerns are 1) walk mode seemed to pack in almost immediately and seems unresponsive now, and 2) no foam thingy has been installed to limit dirt ingress into the motor housing (I thought this was a Specialized-issued fix for the "problem").

Thanks.
Joss

 

[Indigo]

I believe, it's a Torx T10 screw. Remove screw, slide TCU forward as you gently lift up front end.

 

[Joss]

Thanks very much. I was concerned I'd upset something by whipping it out on a whim, generating hours and hours of work getting everything back together!!

 

[Paul Mac]

No, it's a 2 minute job, undo the one bolt holding it and the it pulls out.
It has enough cable that you can pull it out a couple of inches without disconnecting.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Reason I ask is when my bike arrived on Saturday the remote was mounted to the right-hand end of my handlebars, not by the left-hand grip as expected.

Hey Joss, where did you get the bike from? Weird that they've put it on the wrong side. I beleive that you need a firmware update also to sort out the walk assist (there was quite a big difference when mine was updated). Have a look in mission control app on your phone for current FW and maybe @Specialized Rider Care can let you know if its the latest.

Cheers,
Rob.

 

[Joss]

Hey Joss, where did you get the bike from? Weird that they've put it on the wrong side. I beleive that you need a firmware update also to sort out the walk assist (there was quite a big difference when mine was updated). Have a look in mission control app on your phone for current FW and maybe @Specialized Rider Care can let you know if its the latest.

Cheers,
Rob.

Thanks Rob.
Well, if Mr. Rider Care is looking, the firmware versions listed on the app are as follows:
Motor 6.0.0
Display 13.a
Battery 0.3.1

Bought the bike from Edinburgh Cycles, mail order. My LBS (Bikescene) is very good and are Specialized retailers but having them review the bike would carry a not-insignificant cost. It'd be good to know I needed something doing before I take it to them.
It's not the only issue with the bike as supplied: the dropper cable was in a right tangle within the frame and I couldn't insert the post far enough. Long story short - several inches needed trimming. Also no retro-fit foam seems to have been installed within the motor housing (itself the 3-bolt variety which I believe is only replaced with the 4-bolt unit following motor issues?). There are a couple of other niggles: overall I suspect this bike has been in stock for a while, used as a display model and never updated in line with Specialized's recommendations.

A shame but no insurmountable problems. Just irritations and disappointments.

 

[Joss]

Thanks for the help so far. As you will all know, the TCU came out without fuss or incident and revealed about 18ft, give or take 17’6”, of spare remote cable so that’s that particular riddle solved!

Onto the next....

For the record, whilst slightly irritated by all this, I wouldn’t buy a bike at this value without a certain willingness to “get involved”. I’m just pleased that the lessons so far have proved easy and, more importantly, cheap to learn! Steadily building my knowledge and familiarity with the bike. I’m never truly happy until I’ve learned how everything goes together and how it all works. It’s the engineer in me!

 

[Paul Mac]

Thanks Rob.
Well, if Mr. Rider Care is looking, the firmware versions listed on the app are as follows:
Motor 6.0.0
Display 13.a
Battery 0.3.1

Bought the bike from Edinburgh Cycles, mail order. My LBS (Bikescene) is very good and are Specialized retailers but having them review the bike would carry a not-insignificant cost. It'd be good to know I needed something doing before I take it to them.
It's not the only issue with the bike as supplied: the dropper cable was in a right tangle within the frame and I couldn't insert the post far enough. Long story short - several inches needed trimming. Also no retro-fit foam seems to have been installed within the motor housing (itself the 3-bolt variety which I believe is only replaced with the 4-bolt unit following motor issues?). There are a couple of other niggles: overall I suspect this bike has been in stock for a while, used as a display model and never updated in line with Specialized's recommendations.

A shame but no insurmountable problems. Just irritations and disappointments.

You will learn quite quickly, that will end up knowing a lot more about the bike than the actual dealers! ?

 

[Joss]

You will learn quite quickly, that will end up knowing a lot more about the bike than the actual dealers! ?

Haha, certainly looks that way!

 

[Specialized Rider Care]

Can confirm that is our original as-built firmware, we have a later motor/TCU FW update for your bike which will ensure walk-assist and shuttle-mode operate correctly - plus a number of other small improvements. Definitely worth getting your bike updated - sorry that this wasn't done by the dealer before shipping and that your experience wasn't quite as it ought to have been. I've taken the liberty of showing this thread to the UK support team, will PM you once they have a suggested route to resolve.

 

[mintakax]

Can confirm that is our original as-built firmware, we have a later motor/TCU FW update for your bike which will ensure walk-assist and shuttle-mode operate correctly - plus a number of other small improvements. Definitely worth getting your bike updated - sorry that this wasn't done by the dealer before shipping and that your experience wasn't quite as it ought to have been. I've taken the liberty of showing this thread to the UK support team, will PM you once they have a suggested route to resolve.

Is it possible for you to pass this info to the US support team also ? My 2019 Levo Comp FW was not updated when I bought my bike. Also three Colorado specialized dealers I spoke to had no idea of the foam insert mod for the motor cover issue. The dealer that fixed mine said that there was no foam pieces available from Specialized and that I had to procure my own foam (which I did). It would be really nice if these dealers were up to speed on the Levos. I understand that its all new tech and I'm not complaining, just trying to raise awareness.

 

[randycpu]

Can confirm that is our original as-built firmware, we have a later motor/TCU FW update for your bike which will ensure walk-assist and shuttle-mode operate correctly - plus a number of other small improvements. Definitely worth getting your bike updated - sorry that this wasn't done by the dealer before shipping and that your experience wasn't quite as it ought to have been. I've taken the liberty of showing this thread to the UK support team, will PM you once they have a suggested route to resolve.

@Specialized Rider Care :

What is the expectation regarding the cost of "mandatory" firmware updates while the bike is under warranty? Should the dealer be doing this free of charge?

 

[Specialized Rider Care]

@Specialized Rider Care :

What is the expectation regarding the cost of "mandatory" firmware updates while the bike is under warranty? Should the dealer be doing this free of charge?

Fair question @randycpu - for the record "mandatory" is probably not the right word - let's go with "recommended." After all, firmware updates are performance rather than safety related. With this in mind, let's talk about FW (firmware) updates before and after you buy the bike.

Before purchase: a) not all bike components with FW are updated at production and b) it takes two months for bikes in some parts of the world to get from production to your LBS, so even if we did update everything at production, FW can still change in that time. Real-world scenarios are that bikes additionally may sit in a warehouse for several weeks and on a retailer shop floor for a few weeks too. Hence, yes our expectation is that each bike is fully updated at the retail store as part of the handover process before it is given to you. It takes no more than 10 minutes and guarantees you are getting the latest specification - if a retailer forgets to update FW everyone would all take a fairly dim view of them then charging you for this service at a later date.

After purchase: FW can and does change - last year we designed new functionality into our Mission Control app but it required a battery FW update to enable some riders to use it. We don't charge retailers for FW, but anything they do for you in-store comes at a cost to them plus some bikes require a Specialized tool to update FW. Some retailers choose to perform a few minor services without charging for labour, others charge a fair price to account for their time. Both seem reasonable to us - typically these costs/services are based on relationship. There's also the scenario where a rider demos a bike in retailer A, buys from retailer B because the price is better, and then goes back to retailer A 6 months later seeking warranty service or a FW update. Retailers (many are forum members) will understandably have mixed feelings about this and it isn't our place to tell them how to run their business.

Two final thoughts on this topic:

1) A good LBS will really struggle to see a bike come into store that could do with a service, simply run a FW update and watch it go out again - they're going to do their best to help you look after your pride & joy and most likely charge you a fair price to do this. Good service always costs, but it usually costs less than bad service...

2) Over the air FW updates are more convenient for the rider. We know this, it's on our road-map but this is functionality that needs extensive design & testing - plus not all bikes have enough on-board memory to actually support it. Can't give you a timeline yet, but we're working on it.