Front end tweaks have transformed my Levo

[NathanNZ]

Most of my riding is on technical trails with lots of exposed rocks. I've never felt confident with the way my 2020 Levo Comp handles the rough stuff.

I swapped the front tyre for a Maxxis Minion DHF 3C ECO+ and increased the Lyric fork travel to 170mm, flip chip in low position.

The bike rides so much better now. Way more confident and stable over the rocks and holds more speed through the corners. I'm not sure how much is down to the tyre or fork but it's a massive improvement.

I'm running more sag than before so geometry won't have changed much, but the fork can track over the bumps more effectively.

Highly recommend cheap upgrade.

 

[Dee Scee]

on my 2017 levo i run 2.6 hillbilly and i love it. but when i got my fork serviced this summer, i upgraded the internals to the debonair and pushed the travel from 140 up to 160mm. weird thing is, the front tracks about as well as it did before, but feels more harsh. i’ve got it sagged past 30% and it only occasionally will push the o’ ring all the way up to the stop. i’ve read that the small bump compliance and feel of the debonair is supposed to be a noticeable improvement and with more sag (less air psi) and more travel, why does it feel stiffer and more harsh? ??‍

 

[steve_sordy]

on my 2017 levo i run 2.6 hillbilly and i love it. but when i got my fork serviced this summer, i upgraded the internals to the debonair and pushed the travel from 140 up to 160mm. weird thing is, the front tracks about as well as it did before, but feels more harsh. i’ve got it sagged past 30% and it only occasionally will push the o’ ring all the way up to the stop. i’ve read that the small bump compliance and feel of the debonair is supposed to be a noticeable improvement and with more sag (less air psi) and more travel, why does it feel stiffer and more harsh? ??‍

Check the air side leg for the presence of tokens. If there are any, experiment by removing first one, then maybe a second.

 

[Dee Scee]

thanks steve - perhaps my lbs tried to be helpful and added a token or 2 when they serviced it. so, that could be it. but, even so, the tokens affect the last part of the travel ya? and where im feeling the harshness is in the initial, small bump high speed damping area...
i think you make a good point though. i need to recheck the basics and verify my baseline settings. thanks for the help!

 

[ebikerider]

on my 2017 levo i run 2.6 hillbilly and i love it. but when i got my fork serviced this summer, i upgraded the internals to the debonair and pushed the travel from 140 up to 160mm. weird thing is, the front tracks about as well as it did before, but feels more harsh. i’ve got it sagged past 30% and it only occasionally will push the o’ ring all the way up to the stop. i’ve read that the small bump compliance and feel of the debonair is supposed to be a noticeable improvement and with more sag (less air psi) and more travel, why does it feel stiffer and more harsh? ??‍

Sounds like you are not running enough pressure if you are sagging more than 30% so you'll be riding with the bike in the mid stroke more than not where the progression ramps up hence it'll feel harsher on small stuff.
How much psi have you got in there and what do you weigh?

 

[KenX]

I changed from 160mm to 170mm on my Yari Debonair, all tokens out and a lower leg service, 80psi gives me a super plush ride and 30% sag

 

[ifu03558]

I did similar, 170mm airshaft in my Lyriks and my hope wheels with Michelin Enduro tyres. Makes it into a proper enduro bike, loving it on the steep tracks here in Scotland.

 

[onabike]

I recently swapped the stock 150mm Pike on my 2019 Expert (black and green one) for a DVO Diamond 160mm (black with some green, nice). Major improvement. The Pike offered very little adjust-ability and I had struggled finding a good setup for it. Put the DVO on it, set it to recommended sag and left it pretty much wide open on HSC and LSC and it feels perfect. Highly recommend this fork. I had one from another bike and just went for it, turned out awesome. Plus bumping the travel 10mm improves the ride without going nuts. Cool fork, the OTT adjustment is a clever design to tune the first bit of travel as plush as you want. Integrated fender looks clean too. I think you can find the fork on sale easy too. Additionally, Rev Grips work out well, considering I put more miles and hits on the hands than on "normal bike" rides.

 

[Jeff McD]

Hey Dscee try 2 things: let all of the air out of the fork and compress it all the way down to bottom out, and then as you pump the air back in stop about 3 times and cycle the fork through its range completely. The first time you will bury the fork all the way down but as you put more air it won't. This balances the positive and negative air springs.
Second thing is to check your rebound damping knob. If the fork is over damped it will feel like it is dead and not giving you any suspension because it is simply packing down. Because you changed the fork travel you may have to use a different rebound damping setting. Start in the middle of the settings range and go one click at a time counter clockwise to make it gradually more active until it gets too bouncy/pogo-ey and then go back one or two clicks. It might've gotten inadvertently changed at the shop when they did the servicing.
Worth a try.

 

[NathanNZ]

Also worth checking your tyre pressure. I'm running 22 front 25 rear. Seems a good balance between rolling resistance, grip and comfort.

 

[ebikeZA]

Most of my riding is on technical trails with lots of exposed rocks. I've never felt confident with the way my 2020 Levo Comp handles the rough stuff.

I swapped the front tyre for a Maxxis Minion DHF 3C ECO+ and increased the Lyric fork travel to 170mm, flip chip in low position.

The bike rides so much better now. Way more confident and stable over the rocks and holds more speed through the corners. I'm not sure how much is down to the tyre or fork but it's a massive improvement.

I'm running more sag than before so geometry won't have changed much, but the fork can track over the bumps more effectively.

Highly recommend cheap upgrade.

Your head angle ? Must be close to 65 with the chip in low and a 170mm ... I think I will probably just up my travel from 150 to 160 ...

 

[ifu03558]

Slacker headangles are better for descending on steeper stuff, 65 degrees isnt that slack these days. Most enduro bikes will be around that or even slacker.

 

[NathanNZ]

Your head angle ? Must be close to 65 with the chip in low and a 170mm ... I think I will probably just up my travel from 150 to 160 ...

Yes it's a bit slacker which has made it more stable and predictable over the rocks. Also running more sag means it's not much different. The bike so climbs easily with the motor so not an issue here. I have found I have to get my weight a bit further forward to keep the front wheel down on really steep climbs.

 

[High Rock Ruti]

High Rock Ruti

2019 Turbo Levo

Just installed cushcore's in my 29s was able to lower the pressure to the mid teens the bike rides incredibly plush great grip on slow speed technical allows for small pump compliance it's smooth baby smooth.

 

[gimmick_82]

High Rock Ruti

2019 Turbo Levo

Just installed cushcore's in my 29s was able to lower the pressure to the mid teens the bike rides incredibly plush great grip on slow speed technical allows for small pump compliance it's smooth baby smooth.

i did the same, I'm running 17psi now. super plush. very nice!

 

[tabrat]

i did the same, I'm running 17psi now. super plush. very nice!

Yeah I think Cushcore really helps al lot and I scrapped the specialized and put on Maxxis Assegai (rockin front tire) in front and Aggressor in rear. Really nice now. Next step I am upgrading stem (SQ Lab 80x) and handlebars (Spank vibrocore) since I have a really long torso and I feel compressed...see how that goes. Not sure I love the Rockshox Pike front fork but I am still tinkering with it and already increased to 160mm.

 

[High Rock Ruti]

Yeah I think Cushcore really helps al lot and I scrapped the specialized and put on Maxxis Assegai (rockin front tire) in front and Aggressor in rear. Really nice now. Next step I am upgrading stem (SQ Lab 80x) and handlebars (Spank vibrocore) since I have a really long torso and I feel compressed...see how that goes. Not sure I love the Rockshox Pike front fork but I am still tinkering with it and already increased to 160mm.

High Rock Ruti

Just installed Maxis the heaviest strongest I could buy, don't you just hate walking your 50 pound bike back to the car! Incredible tires, I don't know where they find traction on the leaf covered single track here outside of Boston, no "slip sliding away"