Levo Gen 2 Turbo Levo wheels weight savings

[TonyBalony]

Seeing all the low weights in the weight-topic started by Rob Rides (Specialized Turbo Levo and Kenevo Weight) I want some of that action as well...

My bone stock XL sized Turbo Levo 2020 weighs in at 24.1kg or roughly 53lbs. Far more than some of the weights over in that topic.

I calculated to be able to save almost 1kg with small parts and tires, but thought a big saving should be able to come from carbon wheels. The Roval Traverse 29 wheelset only weigh 1870grams, and if I check out carbon wheel sets they come in at 1500-1700 grams, so not all that much weight saved but a lot of money spent.

Am I missing something, did I check something wrong? And where would you focus on big weight savings?

 

[MrSimmo]

Carbon wheels aren't actually a lot lighter than alloy wheels these days (depending on brand etc). For example I had SunRingle Charger Pro SL alloy wheels on my previous bike which weighed only 50g a wheel more than the carbon equivalent at a fraction of the cost.

BUT - with wheels and tyres we're talking about rolling mass/weight rather than static mass so you most likely will be able to notice the weight difference in riding characteristics of the bike. But, because there is such an epic difference in price between alloy and carbon; i'd recommend its worth riding a bike with a carbon wheel-set before you fork out.

There are non weight penalties with carbon as well; if you dent an alloy wheel with a rock smash etc; you can ride home most likely and unless you've totally trashed the rim, you probably could get it repaired. But with carbon you may as well throw the wheel/rim away (some people do repair carbon wheels but I wouldn't recommend it).

If you really want to save weight by the gram, wheels and tyres are the place to do it; but the extra cost of doing so makes it prohibitive for most. Tyre weight is just as important and you could save significantly through swapping those out.

 

[TonyBalony]

I understand and agree. But was actually hoping I have overlooked something, like 1870 is not true for the alloy SET, and there is a holy grail carbon set which is MUCH MUCH lighter, then I will consider and fork out for those.

Tires etc will not be forgotten in this quest.

 

[MrSimmo]

I understand and agree. But was actually hoping I have overlooked something, like 1870 is not true for the alloy SET, and there is a holy grail carbon set which is MUCH MUCH lighter, then I will consider and fork out for those.

Tires etc will not be forgotten in this quest.

Honestly dont know ref the Rovals, they claim large manufacturing tolerances which means they could vary dramatically; i the 1870 the weight you weighed at or the stated weight?

ENVE wheels are typically very light if thats useful?

 

[TonyBalony]

1870 is what they state for the set.

I'll look into ENVE

 

[apac]

1870 is what they state for the set.

I'll look into ENVE

you can build your own whee sets here... carbon mountain bike wheelset-mountain wheel,mtb wheel,mountain bike carbon wheel,carbon mtb wheels,carbon mtb wheelset Light-Bicycle They are highly regarded as far as quality, very cheap compared to buying retail, but you'll have to order from China and wait about 5 weeks from production to delivery. If you go for rims which are 27mm or less inner diameter and choose the right hubs and spokes you can save quite a bit of weight. Try playing around with wheelset build pages.

 

[flash]

1870 is light for an all mountain/enduro bike wheel set. Sure you can go lighter but unless you're riding mellow cross country you're probably going to go to something that's not sturdy enough, if you really go to town on wheel weight. You'll prbably save more weight just going tubeless. Or using lighter spokes.

In wheels the cassette is often the biggest/easiest weight saving. Not sure what's on your bike but my NX casette weighs over 600 grams. I can take 200 off just by changing cassette and hub driver, which is what I'm doing.

Gordon

 

[ofcounsel]

The wheelset off my Levo Expert is a claimed 1870g, but when I weighed mine, they came in right at 2000g with rim tape.

I had a set of Nobl TR37's built up with a set of Industry Nine 1/1 hubs. They came in a 1769 with rim tap. Not huge weight savings, but they're also pretty robust rims.

Swapping the cassette to something like an XX1 is going to give you a bigger bang for the buck.

 

[Bigtuna00]

Seeing all the low weights in the weight-topic started by Rob Rides (Specialized Turbo Levo and Kenevo Weight) I want some of that action as well...

My bone stock XL sized Turbo Levo 2020 weighs in at 24.1kg or roughly 53lbs. Far more than some of the weights over in that topic.

I calculated to be able to save almost 1kg with small parts and tires, but thought a big saving should be able to come from carbon wheels. The Roval Traverse 29 wheelset only weigh 1870grams, and if I check out carbon wheel sets they come in at 1500-1700 grams, so not all that much weight saved but a lot of money spent.

Am I missing something, did I check something wrong? And where would you focus on big weight savings?

As others have said, carbon wheels may not be significantly lighter than aluminum. It really depends on the wheel build, but you also shouldn't be slapping superlight XC rims on your Levo You can plan on a 100-300g savings IMO. Pay attention to hub weights too though, that can make a big difference.

You will relatively easily be able to save 2-3 lbs, but you're not gonna get into the 40's with that bike without absurd spending. I have a 2019 Expert, which is supposed to be 47ish stock. I'm sitting at 48.2 lbs with no stock parts except the frame and headset Even with carbon everywhere (bars, stem, cranks, wheels) I've managed to have a net gain (likely due to coil shock, heavier fork, and 2.6 tires).

1870g for the Traverse Aluminum wheels is "possible", I had a set that was 1835g, but that was 142+ spacing, not boost. With boost spacing, ~2000g sounds more likely. With that being said, Specialized's claimed weights are complete BS. I've never found anything they sell to weigh what they claim. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't pathological. It's like they just deduct 5-10% from everything...

Other thoughts:

• You can save ~200g on the dropper with a KS LEV carbon. But KS doesn't have the best reputation. I have one on my XC/backup bike, it works fine, but I don't ride that bike very much
• You can save 100g with carbon Praxis cranks
• You can save ~150g with carbon bars
• You can save ~100g with an Enve carbon stem (but those are NOT cheap)
• You can save up to 400g via tires but it may seriously compromise performance
• You can save ~100g on the cassette but 1) X01 and XX1 cassettes are expensive and 2) it's an e-bike, you're going to eat cassettes..

you can build your own whee sets here... carbon mountain bike wheelset-mountain wheel,mtb wheel,mountain bike carbon wheel,carbon mtb wheels,carbon mtb wheelset Light-Bicycle They are highly regarded as far as quality, very cheap compared to buying retail, but you'll have to order from China and wait about 5 weeks from production to delivery. If you go for rims which are 27mm or less inner diameter and choose the right hubs and spokes you can save quite a bit of weight. Try playing around with wheelset build pages.

You have two options when ordering from LB: you can order from China or North America. The lead time from North America is sometimes less. I realize this may not help those of you in the EU, just wanted to point it out for others who might miss it.

I'm running the LB EN932 rims and have been very happy with those so far. But this is not "super light", 1870g for the set. However they are 30mm wide and super strong.

Swapping the cassette to something like an XX1 is going to give you a bigger bang for the buck.

The X01 cassette is actually lighter (and cheaper!) than XX1. It's because the XX1 cassette has some kind of coating on it.

 

[apac]

I'm waiting on a set of light bicycle AM28 rims with industry nine hubs. Should be 1600g. I tried to go for a fairly budget conscious set.