I just snapped my Levo rear hub axle R120

outerlimits

E*POWAH BOSS
Founding Member
Feb 3, 2018
1,241
1,574
Australia
My Levo’s rear hub axle inner.
The freehub no longer is attached to the hub. Guess I was putting down too much power even tho I have Turbo dialed back to 80%.
Toast after 6100km and 15 months.
Hope it’s covered under warranty.



5D0BE0CF-3CA9-4563-8251-D716101784CC.jpeg
 

thewildblue

Active member
Feb 14, 2019
136
110
Bucks
My friends hub did the same, He likes his extreme climbs, so the original lasted about a 1000 miles. He then upgraded his wheels but got the hub changed under warranty to a hope one.
 

Sandy

New Member
Jun 5, 2019
85
36
Scotland
I see so many posts about failures and replacing parts like the cassette. I come from buying cheap Halfords bikes, things like the cassette never wore out, the rest of the bike fell apart first and you just bought a new bike when they got baggy.

Now i see people replacing fork for £500+, £1000 wheels etc i'm getting a bit worried lol
 

SleepyWill

New Member
Jun 19, 2019
11
12
Chichester
Sandy, it's worth remembering that people who haven't had a problem aren't posting that they haven't had a problem. Halfords make fantastic bikes, but their rates of failure (anecdotal, in my experience) are no different to any other major manufacturer, but people don't expect Halfords cheap bikes to last nor receive any customer support from them if a failure does happen (Halfords have excellent customer support, but that's usually a surprise).

You might still be wondering what exactly have you paid for if there is no difference in failure rates? Simply quality of design. While the quality of engineering might be on a par, you are paying for better designed components across the bike. I've seen halfords bikes break after hitting an awkward shaped rock at a high speed, there's a reason that the mountain bike instruction manual you get with them warns you not to do any mountain biking. Now imagine sticking the power assistance motors into one, those breakages will skyrocket. Meanwhile, my Merlin rolled right over that same rock every day without breaking a sweat. Usually at higher speeds than the Halfords rider could manage. My new specialized will do the same.
 

outerlimits

E*POWAH BOSS
Founding Member
Feb 3, 2018
1,241
1,574
Australia
Yeah put the new 160 Lyrik on mine because it had the Rockshox Rev on
I had the 32mm Reba, and when the stanchion separated from the csu and leaked air it was replaced under warranty. I’m now running some Yari’s with some sweet mods. Much stronger.
 

Sandy

New Member
Jun 5, 2019
85
36
Scotland
Sandy, it's worth remembering that people who haven't had a problem aren't posting that they haven't had a problem. Halfords make fantastic bikes, but their rates of failure (anecdotal, in my experience) are no different to any other major manufacturer, but people don't expect Halfords cheap bikes to last nor receive any customer support from them if a failure does happen (Halfords have excellent customer support, but that's usually a surprise).

You might still be wondering what exactly have you paid for if there is no difference in failure rates? Simply quality of design. While the quality of engineering might be on a par, you are paying for better designed components across the bike. I've seen halfords bikes break after hitting an awkward shaped rock at a high speed, there's a reason that the mountain bike instruction manual you get with them warns you not to do any mountain biking. Now imagine sticking the power assistance motors into one, those breakages will skyrocket. Meanwhile, my Merlin rolled right over that same rock every day without breaking a sweat. Usually at higher speeds than the Halfords rider could manage. My new specialized will do the same.

Indeed, I see the same on the car forums I frequent. ebikes are not my first electric rodeo, I drive an electric car. the sparkie bits with the magic blue smoke have all been 100% reliable. Last night I was changing drop links (well 1 because it too hours because garage mullered the old one under warranty). These are common failure parts so cheap and easy to replace.

I guess I just never did much in the way of mileage on previous bikes, hence never even considered replacing things like cassette. I plan on keeping my Levo for a number of years, and I like to keep things nice so I will change these parts when necessary.
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,185
Surrey
What hubs are they? The cheapo Roval ones in the lower end Levos? Or something decent.
 

AndyActual

Member
May 24, 2018
18
28
UK
I had exactly the same last Dec mate. It was replaced under warranty, however it took several weeks which is the standard Evans Cycles customer service.

It was replaced with a Hope Pro hub which is satisfyingly loud freewheeling.
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,361
8,587
Lincolnshire, UK
There is a thread on this exact same problem that was posted in the last few days. I think it was a Speccy too. I'm pretty sure that if one goes, others will go too (because I suspect a design problem).

Mine went on a Whyte T130C RS after less than 200 miles. The aluminium hub shaft was replaced with a steel one, no further problems
 

Al Boneta

Dark Rider
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 18, 2018
1,351
2,602
California
Ebikes wear out components faster than regular bikes. Especially chains and cassettes.
Don’t get in your head that a more expensive cassette or chain will be more durable. In my experience at my shop this is often not the case.
The Formula hub they use on the base Roval wheels are used on Bulls, Haibikes and several others. Sram uses this hub as well.
In my experience I have seen more failures on Kenevos ridden at bikeparks than Levo base and comp models. But I have seen the same failures on other brands I sell as well, so it’s hardly isolated to Specialized. The only reason I see more Specialized failures is because we sell Levos at a 20 to 1 ratio against all of the other bikes we sell combined.
I don’t think the Formula hub was designed as a purpose built Ebike hub and while there are failures more of them have not failed.
We sell a lot of DT Swiss Hybrid hubs as an upgrade. It’s certainly not the lightest hub, but it has proven bulletproof in my experience.
14C96B07-0B36-483D-A510-02834F4C57D8.png
 

outerlimits

E*POWAH BOSS
Founding Member
Feb 3, 2018
1,241
1,574
Australia
It’s on the base model 2018 Levo so by the sound of it, would probably be a formula hub.
Went in the shop today and they said will probably just replace the axle.
As long as it’s fixed under warranty, then I can’t ask for more.
Had hopes on my last bike and no dramas.
If I break something wheel wise not under warranty then I’ll just build a new set.
 
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R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,185
Surrey
Can you change your thread tile to I just snapped my Levo's rear hub - I keep clicking on this thread thinking you broke the bike in two!
 

outerlimits

E*POWAH BOSS
Founding Member
Feb 3, 2018
1,241
1,574
Australia
Can you change your thread tile to I just snapped my Levo's rear hub - I keep clicking on this thread thinking you broke the bike in two!
There you go, I just added extra words for extra special people.
Thanks
 

Tim69

Well-known member
Feb 25, 2019
180
210
Israel
Ebikes wear out components faster than regular bikes. Especially chains and cassettes.
Don’t get in your head that a more expensive cassette or chain will be more durable. In my experience at my shop this is often not the case.
The Formula hub they use on the base Roval wheels are used on Bulls, Haibikes and several others. Sram uses this hub as well.
In my experience I have seen more failures on Kenevos ridden at bikeparks than Levo base and comp models. But I have seen the same failures on other brands I sell as well, so it’s hardly isolated to Specialized. The only reason I see more Specialized failures is because we sell Levos at a 20 to 1 ratio against all of the other bikes we sell combined.
I don’t think the Formula hub was designed as a purpose built Ebike hub and while there are failures more of them have not failed.
We sell a lot of DT Swiss Hybrid hubs as an upgrade. It’s certainly not the lightest hub, but it has proven bulletproof in my experience.
View attachment 15239
Hi Al, I really respect your comments and experience, so I would like to ask :
For my 2018 Kenevo, would this DT hybrid hub be your hub of choice?? Or maybe a Hope? If so what model..
Thanks for your advice!?
Tim
 

Al Boneta

Dark Rider
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 18, 2018
1,351
2,602
California
Hi Al, I really respect your comments and experience, so I would like to ask :
For my 2018 Kenevo, would this DT hybrid hub be your hub of choice?? Or maybe a Hope? If so what model..
Thanks for your advice!?
Tim
DT Hybrid hubs are our go to hub for Emtb wheel builds at the shop. Just make sure you use Alpine3 spokes as they are the strongest at the j-bend
 

SteveRS

Member
Jun 9, 2022
107
75
British Columbia Canada
Cassettes, like chains and other wearing bits, are consumables and just the price of admission. Axles are not. It's pretty clear that ebikes need some drivetrain parts to be of higher strength and quality if they're expected to last.
This looks like a great rear hub by Spank Industries. It is EMTB specific with a steel freehub.
 

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