Levo Gen 2 Turbo Levo - Creaking Cranks

[Grannyjones]

I get loud creaking sounds coming from the cranks. The noise is coming from both seated and standing pedalling. The higher the torque going through the cranks, the louder the creaking. It is very loud. It can still be head in a noisy environment. e.g. Wind. Road Traffic.
Possibilities -
Seat Post & where it sits in the frame needs cleaning - haven't tried anything yet - but I think that the noise persists when standing pedalling rules this out
Pedals - Swapped them for another pair, the noise persists
Cranks - Have taken the cranks off, cleaned and added a small amount of grease and the noise persists
Motor/Motor Mount - The still noise persists with the motor turned off
Front wheel - swapped it with another wheel from my Stumpjumper - the noise still persists
Chainring bolts - Taken all 4 bolts out and cleaned and regreased - the nosie still persists
Pivot bearings - Checked with shock and rear wheel removed - all Okay


Anything else it could be ?

 

[Snrbrtsn]

Front wheel bearing?
Shimano HB-MT400 Front Hub, was fitted to my21 Levo, to put politely, their very poor!
On strip down the adjustment cones were pitted whilst wheel race appears good, I assume the bearings and cage are shot!
A very cheap hub, that would be best fitted to an Argos bike.


I had exhausted your list
The alternative is motor, though I’d favour the above!
Ive since fitted a DT Swiss front wheel

 

[Denpot29]

I had this, turned out to be motor mounts. Creaks very loudly especially when under power mainly from starting off.

 

[crazyethnic]

it's a motor mount the motor will have to be dropped out, I had it on my 2019 expert.

 

[Grannyjones]

It still does it with the motor off - Could it still be the motor ?

 

[RebornRider]

Watching with interest! I have the same issue with my '19 Levo. Ruled out headset, dropper, seat, loose bolts. Does anyone know if parts need to be replaced, or just remove the motor, clean, and reinstall? I'm guessing new motor mount bolts are a good idea, but I don't see how the new bolts themselves would change the creak.

 

[Alexbn921]

The bump on the drive side is for motor clearance and it tends to rub on motor. I ended up pulling the motor and adding some thermal pads that fixed the noise.

 

[Mikerb]

Your description suggests the creak occurs when you increase torque on the cranks. That torque delivers torsional forces to the BB ( in this case of course it is the motor bolted into the bottom of the frame) so tt could be motor mounts. If so the most likely place to develop a creak is where the back of the bolt head sits against the motor case. So just loosening each in turn sufficient to brush between those faces and push in a little grease would resolve it.
That torsional force is also delivered to the rear wheel and that is held square to the front triangle with pivot bearings. So alternatively you could have a worn pivot bearing. Try removing the back wheel and the bottom shock bolt and test the movement of the rear triangle.
Whilst you have the rear wheel out also check the bearings in the rear hub.

 

[Jersey Skier]

I get loud creaking sounds coming from the cranks. The noise is coming from both seated and standing pedalling. The higher the torque going through the cranks, the louder the creaking. It is very loud. It can still be head in a noisy environment. e.g. Wind. Road Traffic.
Possibilities -
Seat Post & where it sits in the frame needs cleaning - haven't tried anything yet - but I think that the noise persists when standing pedalling rules this out
Pedals - Swapped them for another pair, the noise persists
Cranks - Have taken the cranks off, cleaned and added a small amount of grease and the noise persists
Motor/Motor Mount - The still noise persists with the motor turned off


Anything else it could be ?

I would think you'd still have a creak from the motor mounts even if the motor is turned off.

 

[#lazy]

Front wheel bearing?
Shimano HB-MT400 Front Hub, was fitted to my21 Levo, to put politely, their very poor!
On strip down the adjustment cones were pitted whilst wheel race appears good, I assume the bearings and cage are shot!
A very cheap hub, that would be best fitted to an Argos bike.


I had exhausted your list
The alternative is motor, though I’d favour the above!
Ive since fitted a DT Swiss front wheel

Do a wheelie and stop the front wheel moving with brake , if it still creaks it ain’t the front wheel bearing’s . Could be a warm crank spline !

 

[RebornRider]

In my case it only creaks when I pedal. Not when coasting (likely not wheels or suspension). Creaks when standing and pedaling (likely not dropper or seat). Creaks when no-hands and pedaling (likely not headset).

 

[Mikerb]

you may be a ble to re-create the sound with the bike upside down on the bars and seat and then pull outward on one crank as hard as you can. Similarly, you can pull on the chain stay or seat stay sideways.

 

[#lazy]

Do a wheelie stood up and no handed , a creaky crank will be the least of your worries

 

[ebikerider]

How old is the drivetrain? A worn front chainring will make all sorts of noise.

 

[RebornRider]

How old is the drivetrain? A worn front chainring will make all sorts of noise.

I did the cassette, chain, and chainring shuffle about a month ago. Not to fix the creak, but because everybody was worn.

 

[ebikerider]

I did the cassette, chain, and chainring shuffle about a month ago. Not to fix the creak, but because everybody was worn.

Shuffle or replacement?

 

[RebornRider]

replacement

 

[ilostmypassword]

Does anything work on the Specialized eBikes?

 

[ebikerider]

Does anything work on the Specialized eBikes?

Briefly…..then you realise why it cost so much as they tend to be good with replacements

 

[Alexbn921]

It's the motor rubbing on the inside of the frame on the drive side!

 

[Grannyjones]

Can rule out the front wheel - swapped it with another wheel from my Stumpjumper - the noise still persists

The drive train is relatively new - full replacement in September and has had light use since

 

[Grannyjones]

I don't know what to do if it's related to the motor - return to Bike shop ?

Could still be something else though

Headset ? Would more likely to be creaking while moving over rough ground, not just specific to pedalling, if I'm right ?

 

[Grannyjones]

Your description suggests the creak occurs when you increase torque on the cranks. That torque delivers torsional forces to the BB ( in this case of course it is the motor bolted into the bottom of the frame) so tt could be motor mounts. If so the most likely place to develop a creak is where the back of the bolt head sits against the motor case. So just loosening each in turn sufficient to brush between those faces and push in a little grease would resolve it.
That torsional force is also delivered to the rear wheel and that is held square to the front triangle with pivot bearings. So alternatively you could have a worn pivot bearing. Try removing the back wheel and the bottom shock bolt and test the movement of the rear triangle.
Whilst you have the rear wheel out also check the bearings in the rear hub.

I'll try this

Pivot bearings - Checked with shock and rear wheel removed - all Okay

 

[Grannyjones]

It's the motor rubbing on the inside of the frame on the drive side!
View attachment 86338

That sounds like a design flaw, and if so it would have done it right from the start. Why would it only start doing this recently ?







I think a return to bike shop is the only solution. There is still a month left on the 2 year warranty.

 

[Alexbn921]

That sounds like a design flaw, and if so it would have done it right from the start. Why would it only start doing this recently ?

I think a return to bike shop is the only solution. There is still a month left on the 2 year warranty.

The clearance is very tight. sometimes some dirt gets in or the motor shifts slightly.

 

[jsharpe]

You might double check that your your cassette/hub/axel is still tight. Last year I developed a creak that sounded just as you described, only under load and swore it was coming from the crank. After unable to do anything about it on the trail, I took it in to the LBS where I purchased it and they isolated it to the cassette. Back at home it found it had simply worked loose after a recent service. It's been silent ever since.

 

[Martin DH]

I had this and it was driving me crazy.
it ended up being the motor mounts. When I took the motor out,I found that when they installed the replacement motor at the LBS they broke one of the parts of the motor casing that was holding it in place. Sent it back and they replaced the motor free of charge. The noise improved but was still there. Took the motor off on my own with the help of an official Specialized video that I found somewhere on this forum, and realized that they didn’t follow the basic guidelines for installation at the LBS (specially the greasing part, among others). So I did it myself and I put grease at the interface between the motor casing and the bike frame, as instructed.
solved the problem for good!

 

[crazyethnic]

motor mount.

 

[#lazy]

motor mount.

Thought I was lazy

 

[crazyethnic]

yes grease is the word.