Levo SL Gen 1 To people who changed their suspension on their 2020 Levo SL?

[apac]

I was wondering what type of trails do you mostly ride? I have often wondered how to put into words the feeling of a difference of 10mm in fork travel in terms of one degree slacker or less? How big is too big for a fork?

I have no idea how big is too big. As the geometry on the SL is quite conservative 1 degree isn't going to change things too much. I recently changed the flip chip to the high position and there is a noticeable difference to how the bike Sits more upwards in comparison to the low positioned flip chip which the bike comes set at.
I ride constantly changing terrain with lots of natural obstacle features. Roots, rocks, technical climbs and single track exposed mountain. Never more than 4 foot in the air.

 

[CJaMTB]

I see you run your SL with a mullet setup using a 160 fork. Did you have issues at 170mm? What kind of trails do you like to ride?

I haven't tried 170mm and wouldn't. For me, I wouldn't want the seat tube any slacker than it currently is. I run the chip in the High position and run 160mm cranks. My rear shock is set supple but poppy (Cane Creek DBAirIL) and I run my fork (Lyrik Ultimate 2022) with HSC fully open and LSC a couple of clicks from open, with rebound just a little faster than mid setting. Most of my riding is on relatively steep and tech singletrack, often rocky and rooty with some v.fast and loose chutes, abrupt G-outs at the exits, and some 4-6ft drops, occasionally bigger, with varying transitions (from flat to perfectly naturally sculpted). I also ride a few park days, with 30ft gaps, fast and well sculpted berms, doubles, hips, etc. I ride events such as the 'Ard Rock Enduro, which is a 5-6hr ride, 40+kms, 2,000+m of descending, and some brutal transitions, hence the seat tube angle's importance to me. I hope that helps, though feel free to ask for any other info...

 

[KnollyBro]

I haven't tried 170mm and wouldn't. For me, I wouldn't want the seat tube any slacker than it currently is. I run the chip in the High position and run 160mm cranks. My rear shock is set supple but poppy (Cane Creek DBAirIL) and I run my fork (Lyrik Ultimate 2022) with HSC fully open and LSC a couple of clicks from open, with rebound just a little faster than mid setting. Most of my riding is on relatively steep and tech singletrack, often rocky and rooty with some v.fast and loose chutes, abrupt G-outs at the exits, and some 4-6ft drops, occasionally bigger, with varying transitions (from flat to perfectly naturally sculpted). I also ride a few park days, with 30ft gaps, fast and well sculpted berms, doubles, hips, etc. I ride events such as the 'Ard Rock Enduro, which is a 5-6hr ride, 40+kms, 2,000+m of descending, and some brutal transitions, hence the seat tube angle's importance to me. I hope that helps, though feel free to ask for any other info...

Thanks for your candid response. I find there is a great deal of heartfelt and anecdotal "knowledge" on these forums that is very much relative to riding area, skill, disposable income and of course, age. We seem to ride on a similar type of trail with the exception of your interest in events and long hours in the saddle. My interest is more towards shorter DH riding (3-4 hours) so a slacker seat tube angle is not that important to me as I prefer to ride up FSRs over climbing trails (ha... I guess that could be a contributory factor!) although my wife has the exact same bike setup (Ohlins TTX 22m coil shock/Cascade link, RXF 36 170mm fork ) as I have and she rips up our climbing trails! I just wonder why so many people use air shocks instead of coil shocks. Is the weight savings the most important factor? I had my shock's shim stack modified (HSC) to improve its progression on big hits and it seems to work very well with the Cascade link.

 

[CJaMTB]

Thanks for your candid response. I find there is a great deal of heartfelt and anecdotal "knowledge" on these forums that is very much relative to riding area, skill, disposable income and of course, age. We seem to ride on a similar type of trail with the exception of your interest in events and long hours in the saddle. My interest is more towards shorter DH riding (3-4 hours) so a slacker seat tube angle is not that important to me as I prefer to ride up FSRs over climbing trails (ha... I guess that could be a contributory factor!) although my wife has the exact same bike setup (Ohlins TTX 22m coil shock/Cascade link, RXF 36 170mm fork ) as I have and she rips up our climbing trails! I just wonder why so many people use air shocks instead of coil shocks. Is the weight savings the most important factor? I had my shock's shim stack modified (HSC) to improve its progression on big hits and it seems to work very well with the Cascade link.

Funnily enough, I've been pondering a coil and Cascade link. Thing is, I really do like the ramp up I can get from my DBAir IL, which is also able to deliver really decent levels of traction (combined with the fairly linear stock link). I was injured, whilst serving in the military, and now my legs really struggle to support me on big hits. The bottomless feel I can get from the Levo SL and CC shock is just magic for me. I love descending, fast and tech, but I can't support myself for more than a couple of minutes at a time. In that respect, our needs are quite different I guess. Given my short descents, I never struggle with fade on an air shock, but I'm also a bike mechanic by trade and so it's in my nature to tinker!

 

[KnollyBro]

Funnily enough, I've been pondering a coil and Cascade link. Thing is, I really do like the ramp up I can get from my DBAir IL, which is also able to deliver really decent levels of traction (combined with the fairly linear stock link). I was injured, whilst serving in the military, and now my legs really struggle to support me on big hits. The bottomless feel I can get from the Levo SL and CC shock is just magic for me. I love descending, fast and tech, but I can't support myself for more than a couple of minutes at a time. In that respect, our needs are quite different I guess. Given my short descents, I never struggle with fade on an air shock, but I'm also a bike mechanic by trade and so it's in my nature to tinker!

Interesting. When I was looking into a replacement for the stock shock, I asked about the DBAir IL and was told by Matt at Cane Creek that they do not recommend it for the Levo SL as the way the shock is mounted on the bike, it puts too much lateral stress on it causing the shaft to snap. He suggested the Kitsuma coil or the Air IL since it's thicker shaft can take the added stress without issues. I have run Cane Creek Air shocks for many years but got fed up with the cost of maintenance on CC Air shocks as every year I was spending $300+ per shock (general service plus I seem to have issues with the inner air can, reservoir and damper tube). 50+ days at the Whistler Bike park can be pretty hard on parts! I am hoping that switching to an Ohlins coil will be less cost in maintenance. So far, so good. I hope you have better luck than I had with your Cane Creek shock.

 

[apac]

Interesting. When I was looking into a replacement for the stock shock, I asked about the DBAir IL and was told by Matt at Cane Creek that they do not recommend it for the Levo SL as the way the shock is mounted on the bike, it puts too much lateral stress on it causing the shaft to snap. He suggested the Kitsuma coil or the Air IL since it's thicker shaft can take the added stress without issues. I have run Cane Creek Air shocks for many years but got fed up with the cost of maintenance on CC Air shocks as every year I was spending $300+ per shock (general service plus I seem to have issues with the inner air can, reservoir and damper tube). 50+ days at the Whistler Bike park can be pretty hard on parts! I am hoping that switching to an Ohlins coil will be less cost in maintenance. So far, so good. I hope you have better luck than I had with your Cane Creek shock.

this is the shock not recommended... The Coil DB iL. Due to the twist force given out by the Levo linkage it has a habit of snapping some coil shock shafts. As you can see below its quite thin. There are also other coil shocks that are not recommended, including fox dhx2. All air shocks are fine as they all have very thick shafts.

 

[Mcharza]

this is the shock not recommended... The Coil DB iL. Due to the twist force given out by the Levo linkage it has a habit of snapping some coil shock shafts. As you can see below its quite thin. There are also other coil shocks that are not recommended, including fox dhx2. All air shocks are fine as they all have very thick shafts.

View attachment 78839

And here's Fox DHX, image captured here

 

[teapeaage]

Hey everyone. Thanks for the tips and suggestions. I'm ready to pull the trigger on a 36 FOX 150mm.. I found one, unused, in matte black (I know, it's ridiculous but I actually appreciate the matte design of the bike and not sure I want to go with a shiny one..)

However- the offset on the fork is 44mm instead of 51mm. Should I be drastically worried? I think some of you are running Lyriks - those are 44mm I think (but you run 160mm intead of 150mm so maybe that affects the head angle enough?)

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[apac]

Hey everyone. Thanks for the tips and suggestions. I'm ready to pull the trigger on a 36 FOX 150mm.. I found one, unused, in matte black (I know, it's ridiculous but I actually appreciate the matte design of the bike and not sure I want to go with a shiny one..)

However- the offset on the fork is 44mm instead of 51mm. Should I be drastically worried? I think some of you are running Lyriks - those are 44mm I think (but you run 160mm intead of 150mm so maybe that affects the head angle enough?)

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

You won't be able to tell the difference between 51 and 44mm.... unless you have a much more sensitive arse than me.

 

[teapeaage]

You won't be able to tell the difference between 51 and 44mm.... unless you have a much more sensitive arse than me.

That's what I thought.. I don't do anything that gnarly and I'm sure I will see much more benefit of a 36 stanchion vs the 34 compared to couple mms offset difference.

Thank you!

 

[Pdoz]

Damn - my daughter scratched my dps, so it's leaking air. Unfortunately there aren's any fox x2's in Aus at the moment.

So question for those who know these things, am I better getting a rockshox superdeluxe ultimate, or a plain fox x ( removed unused from a stumpjumper evo) . Or do I treat myself to perhaps the sexy looking ohlins ttx2 that I will almost certainly set up wrong .

The honest truth is, the dps is perfectly adequate for me - sure, it's a bit harsh on small bumps and lacks mid stroke support , but I'm a cr@p rider and no fancy shock will change that.

I'm leaning towards the rockshox simply because it looks easier to set up , but I just know that the day I order it an x2 will become available and I'll forever feel stupid....