Best suspension to upgrade my 2020 turbo levo expert

[Joe Wright]

Hi Forums,

I’m In need of some opinions for some upgrades on my 2020 turbo levo expert...I love the bike however the 36 performance and DPS rear shock doesn’t seem quite to cut it for being an 80kg rider....does anyone feel the same? I’m looking at maybe a coil shock on the rear and possibly the new fox 38 up front...what’s everyone’s opinion for my bike? And maybe even ohlins?

thanks Joe

 

[steve_sordy]

I believe the forum members could be more helpful if you said what symptoms led to your current suspension not quite cutting it.

 

[TPEHAK]

Best suspension upgrade is proper adjustment of the suspension.

 

[Joe Wright]

I believe the forum members could be more helpful if you said what symptoms led to your current suspension not quite cutting it.

Thankyou for the response, I find when I set the correct sag I’m constantly bottoming out the suspension too often, I’ve tried installing an additional token which has definitely helped however I find the suspension too hard at the progressive end of the stroke, also it gives me really bad arm pump, I’ve tried adjusting my bars and brake positioning which hasn’t seemed to help (front) rear I think is fine and I’m still adjusting the rebound a little bit to find how I like it for jumps

 

[Sidepod]

Get on to you-tube and watch the Dialed series with Jordi from Fox so you can full understand what/how suspension works. Then set up your bike properly.

 

[Mteam]

80kg is not on the too heavy side - so I think you should just be able to tune the forks you've got to work better for you using the built in adjustments.

I'm 80kg also and I get nowhere near bottoming the same fork out with 30% sag and no additional tokens on most riding.

 

[Rusty]

Thankyou for the response, I find when I set the correct sag I’m constantly bottoming out the suspension too often, I’ve tried installing an additional token which has definitely helped however I find the suspension too hard at the progressive end of the stroke, also it gives me really bad arm pump, I’ve tried adjusting my bars and brake positioning which hasn’t seemed to help (front) rear I think is fine and I’m still adjusting the rebound a little bit to find how I like it for jumps

I am half your weight again and can tune those forks to work very well.

My suggestion is that you go to a suspension tech tha tknows his stuff and have the bike configured for you. Adjusting fluid levels can have huge benefits - more so when adding a token or two. Hell, I suggest to anybody that once they have owned a bike for 3 - 6 monthsdeppending on how much they ride that they have a full suspension service. Most of my bikes the fluid is trashed by that time and needs replacing anyways.

 

[Ian Davis]

I'll happily swap you my 2020 35s gold and deluxe rear ill even throw in a mars bar and kit kat

 

[Mcharza]

Hi Forums,

I’m In need of some opinions for some upgrades on my 2020 turbo levo expert...I love the bike however the 36 performance and DPS rear shock doesn’t seem quite to cut it for being an 80kg rider....does anyone feel the same? I’m looking at maybe a coil shock on the rear and possibly the new fox 38 up front...what’s everyone’s opinion for my bike? And maybe even ohlins?

thanks Joe

If you don't want to change fork and shock, better way is to fine tune what those.
Diaz Suspension Runt can help a lot of your fork and maybe Cascade Components rear link helps your rear (more travel, more progressive).

I have both and made the suspension much better. And much cheaper than replacing them with a new one.

 

[steve_sordy]

There is a thread on this Forum placed by @Gary that gathered together the best ideas and links for suspension setting. I'll have a quick look and if I can find it I'll add it here:
Nope, I'm obviously using the wrong search terms.

This is one of them though. Very good, takes you from the basics in easy steps right up to beyond maybe where you might want to go.

Bikerumor Suspension Setup Series: Full Series PDF - Free Download!

Last week, we wrapped up our six-part suspension setup series. But, we realize it’s not always practical to hunt down the particular session you need,…

bikerumor.com

 

[Rosemount]

SUSPENSION SET-UP GUIDES AND INFO

• Thread starterGary
• Start dateNov 11, 2018
• Tagssuspension

REPLY

• Forums

Suspension set-up guides and info

@Rob Hancill There are a lot of threads on the forum asking questions about suspension set-up. I think it would be good to sticky a guide to suspension set-up for all users to easily find. @steve_sordy just posted an excellent and fairly thorough PDF guide to suspension set up in the commencal...

www.emtbforums.com

There you go Stevie . ?

 

[Gary]

Thankyou for the response, I find when I set the correct sag I’m constantly bottoming out the suspension too often, I’ve tried installing an additional token which has definitely helped however I find the suspension too hard at the progressive end of the stroke, also it gives me really bad arm pump, I’ve tried adjusting my bars and brake positioning which hasn’t seemed to help (front) rear I think is fine and I’m still adjusting the rebound a little bit to find how I like it for jumps

If you're bottoming out too often you havent set "corect" sag for the spring curve at your weight. .
The best upgrade here is knowledge. Not wasting more money on more expensive suspension components you clearly don't understand how to set-up.
Have a good long read of the thread linked to above. EVERYTHING you require is on the first post.

 

[Rosemount]

If you're bottoming out too often you havent set "corect" sag for the spring curve at your weight. .
The best upgrade here is knowledge

Or he is hucking to flat ground a lot ...
Getting air suspension to feel supple on small bumps and able to huck to flat without bottoming out is the never ending quest .

 

[Gary]

If you're that sort of rider who hucks to flat a lot, it stands to reason you'd be running a higher spring rate (less sag) or a steeper spring curve. Or both.
a coil shock or a larger stanchion fork isn't going to solve a bottoming out issue unless you address spring rate.

 

[Zimmerframe]

I'll happily swap you my 2020 35s gold and deluxe rear ill even throw in a mars bar and kit kat

We don't want this deal falling apart at the last second due to a technicality, are you wanted a two finger kit kat or a four finger kit kat ?

 

[veryoldfart]

I am 80kg rider and I had my 2019 Turbo Levo Carbon upgraded to have Fox 36 Kashima/Factory e-bike forks fitted.

With 30% sag , never had a problem bottoming-out the forks, once properly set-up (ie incl. compression and rebound) even though I have ridden some big drop-offs in the Alps and Lakes....

This year, I also managed to get hold of a 2021 Fox Factory DPX2 and fitted that in place of the stock DPS. IMO that upgrade has given the bike a more sure-footed/"planted" feel, whilst being more responsive to changes of terrain/angle etc

Pretty sure your problem is not the forks- my Fox 36's are very robust.

 

[Sidepod]

Set it up as per the factory recommendation. 99% of riders will never need anything other than this.