Levo Gen 3 what hubs on Gen 3 Levo expert / able to change free hub?

[Sofaboy73]

after months of waiting for for my SC heckler order and no delivery date in sight, i'm considering cancelling and ordering a gen 3 turbo levo expert as there's a bit of stock around (already missed most of the summer riding, don't want to miss it all).

i don't get on with SRAM 12 spd drive trains at all, so would be looking to swap drive train from new to shimano XT and sell off the sram stuff while it's brand new.

can't find much Info on the traverse wheel though and if you can swap out the free hub from what would be an XD drive free hub (GX cassette on the the expert) to a micro spline free hub.

does anyone know if this can be done?

thanks

 

[chrismechmaster]

I have no idea to be honest but my local bike shop Berkshire bike will know for sure
(You may have heard of them )
But give them a quick call they will defo know

 

[RickBullotta]

Many of the Roval wheels use DT freewheels and engagement systems, if that helps.

 

[Cb750stu]

Yeah the Expert rear wheel is a ratchet style free hub so you would need something like this, the roval hubs are pretty much DT Swiss hubs

 

[Pauliemon]

XT will shift on a Sram cassette. Not as crisp as a full XT setup but ok. I'm like you, I switched over to Shimano on my Levo SL. But after riding my new Levo with Sram I wonder if it was worth it. Time will tell.

 

[boBE]

Someone on this forum switched to Shimano and had to change *everything* including the chainring.
I changed from SRAM 12 speed to 11 speed and only had to change *almost* everything (Levo SL). It does shift better.

 

[flash]

Throw on a GX AXS kit and you won't worry about XT anymore. I was a Shimano XT fanboy and still don't like Sram shifters. But AXS is something else.

Converting my Gen 3 Expert took all of about 5 minutes and the cable pulls easily from the bike without dropping the motor.

Gordon

 

[Pauliemon]

Throw on a GX AXS kit and you won't worry about XT anymore. I was a Shimano XT fanboy and still don't like Sram shifters. But AXS is something else.

Converting my Gen 3 Expert took all of about 5 minutes and the cable pulls easily from the bike without dropping the motor.

Gordon

Quit tempting me Gordon.

 

[KnollyBro]

after months of waiting for for my SC heckler order and no delivery date in sight, i'm considering cancelling and ordering a gen 3 turbo levo expert as there's a bit of stock around (already missed most of the summer riding, don't want to miss it all).

i don't get on with SRAM 12 spd drive trains at all, so would be looking to swap drive train from new to shimano XT and sell off the sram stuff while it's brand new.

can't find much Info on the traverse wheel though and if you can swap out the free hub from what would be an XD drive free hub (GX cassette on the the expert) to a micro spline free hub.

does anyone know if this can be done?

thanks

Altho I don't have much of a bias for SRAM vs Shimamo when it comes to drive trains, it have been my experience that the wheels they put on the Specialized bikes (maybe not the carbon wheels?) are pretty low end. With a 28 spoke, DT Swiss 370 hub, I have sold the wheelsets from the 4 Specialized emtbs I have bought and put on some better wheels. Your body weight, style of riding and the type of trails you like may not require a better quality wheel but if you are upgrading the drive train to shift better, you sound like a rider who may care about the longevity of the wheel. I am a fan of DT Swiss 511, 32 spoke or Raceface ARC 30 (cheaper) rims on Hope Pro 4 hubs for a decent setup but there are lots of other 32 spoke options. Wheels will of course come after you upgrade the crappy suspension and brakes but that is for you to discover! Hope you can enjoy the rest of your summer on a new bike!

 

[Sofaboy73]

it have been my experience that the wheels they put on the Specialized bikes (maybe not the carbon wheels?) are pretty low end. With a 28 spoke, DT Swiss 370 hub......

........Wheels will of course come after you upgrade the crappy suspension and brakes but that is for you to discover! Hope you can enjoy the rest of your summer on a new bike!

didn't realise the wheels were only 28 spoke. how 'soft' are the rims? i'm a fairly heavy rider ( 16 stone) and ride fairly aggressively on a lots of loose rocky downhils in the peak district. the OEM wheels on my old (sadly stolen) trek rail where terrible and had ruined the rear within a month of having the bike so maybe an upgrade to my preferred stans EX3 rim on hope pro 4's would be needed

noted on your comment on the brakes - i have a spare set of my preffred brakes (saints) that i was planning to swap out to, but don't get your comment on the suspension - Fox 38 and X2, both performance elite (ie top end dampers but without kashima) on the expert - have you had issues?

 

[KnollyBro]

didn't realise the wheels were only 28 spoke. how 'soft' are the rims? i'm a fairly heavy rider ( 16 stone) and ride fairly aggressively on a lots of loose rocky downhils in the peak district. the OEM wheels on my old (sadly stolen) trek rail where terrible and had ruined the rear within a month of having the bike so maybe an upgrade to my preferred stans EX3 rim on hope pro 4's would be needed

noted on your comment on the brakes - i have a spare set of my preffred brakes (saints) that i was planning to swap out to, but don't get your comment on the suspension - Fox 38 and X2, both performance elite (ie top end dampers but without kashima) on the expert - have you had issues?

And so the disappointment in Specialized OEM parts begins and upgrade list gets longer. This is why we bought a Kenevo SL and Levo SL Comps and didn't bother with the Expert as I knew I was going to change some things. I was told by my LBS that the stock wheels would not be suitable for the trails I ride, at my weight (190 lbs, Cushcore front and back at 20ish PSI) and my age (60). Other riders may find them functional. YMMV.
I actually kept the SRAM Code calipers and changed the levers to Code RSCs as Codes are the best brakes (my wife likes Saints, one of us is wrong ). The suspension sounds fine (I have a Fox 38 Factory on my KSL but it came with a Fox 38 Performance) but we prefer Ohlins and coils on our shocks (feel and maintenance costs). To each their own, for everything else, there is MasterCARD

 

[IronScott]

I’ve owned two Gen 3 Levos. All four wheels have dents from rock gardens and high speed chunky riding. Both rear wheels flatted and required tubes to get home. IME, they are way too soft for the weight of the bike. I’ve installed a CushCore now and expect that to mostly resolve the issue. Cheaper than buying new wheels.

I’m under 70kg as a reference point.

 

[Tony4wd]

I found SRAM 12 speeds annoyingly difficult to keep working smoothly but the AXS GX upgrade kit fixed everything - it works perfectly.

 

[veryoldfart]

On my S works Gen 3, I run SC Reserve rims built on CK hubs with Shimano 1*11 (XT shifter, chain & derailleur) but std chainring.

Shifts perfectly.

Great wheels built to last.