Levo Gen 3 Carbon or alloy ?

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Sasquatch

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I’m about to purchase my first emtb and was going for a 2025 Specialized levo 3 comp carbon on sale for $4799 or a 2024 Levo 3 comp alloy at $4299 .
I was going with the carbon frame but im concerned about the durability especially where I intent to ride there are a lot of loose rocks on the trails.
Anyone here wish they had bought an alloy frame instead of carbon ?
 
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Have I seen that the Levo's are exceptionally heavy, my cutoff for an enduro setup is about 25kg did the 2024 weight go up in weight and curious what the overall weight is. Aside from weight and price, the reliability of the motor would be a primary objective if there have been improvements in the drive train.
 
Ndanger said:
Have I seen that the Levo's are exceptionally heavy, my cutoff for an enduro setup is about 25kg did the 2024 weight go up in weight and curious what the overall weight is. Aside from weight and price, the reliability of the motor would be a primary objective if there have been improvements in the drive train.
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What has this got to do with my post ?
 
Ndanger said:
Have I seen that the Levo's are exceptionally heavy, my cutoff for an enduro setup is about 25kg did the 2024 weight go up in weight and curious what the overall weight is. Aside from weight and price, the reliability of the motor would be a primary objective if there have been improvements in the drive train.
Click to expand...
Gen3 Levo’s are light, even the aluminium one.
 
I would definitely lean toward an aluminum frame is there was not a huge weight penalty. I actually like the compliance of the metal frames, and I would expect the metal frame to be less expensive and possibly more durable.
 
Sasquatch said:
Anyone here wish they had bought an alloy frame instead of carbon ?
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Well, this is 2025. Generally, carbon is going to be stronger, more durable, and lighter than an aluminum frame. It's like automobiles: There are some very nice, high end cars with cast iron blocks and steel bodies. But the overwhelming majority are going to be aluminum blocks and carbon fiber bodies. Get the modern materials. The dinosaurs went extinct for a reason.
 
RustyIron said:
Well, this is 2025. Generally, carbon is going to be stronger, more durable, and lighter than an aluminum frame. It's like automobiles: There are some very nice, high end cars with cast iron blocks and steel bodies. But the overwhelming majority are going to be aluminum blocks and carbon fiber bodies. Get the modern materials. The dinosaurs went extinct for a reason.
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I think you’re right . I went back to the bike shop yesterday and talked to one of the sales guys who was very knowledgeable. I told him my concerns and took a test ride on a carbon and an alloy frame and I’m going with the carbon !
 
RustyIron said:
Well, this is 2025. Generally, carbon is going to be stronger, more durable, and lighter than an aluminum frame. It's like automobiles: There are some very nice, high end cars with cast iron blocks and steel bodies. But the overwhelming majority are going to be aluminum blocks and carbon fiber bodies. Get the modern materials. The dinosaurs went extinct for a reason.
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I doubt a carbon fibre bike frame will survive a 12-mile wide asteroid hitting California at 60,000mph.
OK, neither would an alloy one, but using the dinosaur extinction event is a tiny bit over the top! :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
Carbon is lighter and has a weight to strength that is unrivaled. Given the choice at the same price I would definitely choose CF it is my favorite material for a lot of applications.

For my needs with value being a part of the equation, I would consider an aluminum frame if there was a significant price advantage at a weight that is appropriate for the type of riding I will be doing sort of < 25 kilos for a enduro setup.

Additionally I would also keep in mind that when I travel on the airlines, it would be less likely to have an issue being crushed in the process. I understand that CF is the strongest, Carbon fiber excels in high-performance, weight-sensitive applications where strength and stiffness are important. However, its higher cost can be a limiting factor.

Aluminum, on the other hand, offers a good balance of strength, weight, and cost, I like that it is less stiff and has some flex which I appreciate in a bike frame.
 
CF can fail suddenly and catastrophically, whereas alloy tends to give you warning and /or fail slowly, giving you some warning. Alloy can withstand punctures better and are more easily repairable. Despite that, in 17 years of riding I have never had a puncture of the frame from a flying rock, fence post or indeed anything intruding into the frame space (that I have noticed). Nor have I had any kind of failure of either an alloy or a CF frame. For the last 15 years I have only bought CF. I always put a double layer of helicopter tape on the underside of the down tube. On my current emtb, the battery cover does that job. I have had zero problems with CF frames. I just enjoy the lighter weight. :) I would buy CF without hesitation. :love:

I read somewhere that early CF frames had a tendency to start to feel "dead" after 7-8 years. But that was a long time ago and surely that failure mode has long since been designed out. (Not sure about Chinese frames that may be rejected frames from the major manufacturers; or is that another myth?) :unsure:
 
"CF can fail suddenly and catastrophically" tis only a minor technicality :)

So... speaking of that potential. A carbon tube with the same strength and the same dimensions of an aluminum counterpart would be something so light and thin, that you could easily push your foot on it and crush. The kicker is, Carbon will spring back and be difficult to easily view or detect since it has shape memory. An aluminum tube would be deformed and retain the dent, it will also fail in a less abrupt manner when over stressed.

Years ago CF was introduced in hang glider frames to reduce the weight of the aluminum tubes for frames and leading edges. A 79 pound airframe was 45 pounds which is a huge advantage in all aspects of performance since you could fly a smaller glider which gave an advantage to sink rate / climb and overall reynolds numbers. Higher Reynolds numbers indicate turbulent flow, which is crucial for efficient flight performance. The catch was when I returned a glider to the factory that produced it after test flying it I got a rather disturbing update. The glider had at some point been run over by a car and crushed the outer portion of the leading edges. When you run your hand down the tube during a pre-flight the damage was not detected because it went back to its original shape. So, yes CF is an amazing material, I also find a place for alloy as well.
 
RustyIron said:
carbon is going to be stronger, more durable, and lighter than an aluminum frame.
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Ai answer -

While a carbon fiber frame is generally lighter and has a higher tensile strength than aluminum, it's not always more durable or stronger overall, especially when considering impact resistance. Aluminum frames tend to be more resistant to dents and dings and can withstand sudden impacts better, while carbon fiber can crack under a hard hit.

Keywords here would be 'sudden impacts' and ''hard hits' ;)
 
steve_sordy said:
I doubt a carbon fibre bike frame will survive a 12-mile wide asteroid hitting California at 60,000mph.
OK, neither would an alloy one, but using the dinosaur extinction event is a tiny bit over the top! :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
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So sayeth the rider from the Pleistocene!

In the interest of fairness and honesty, aluminum parts are more durable than back in the days when we were riding stegosaurs.
 
Always had Alloy Frames. Got a carbon frame on my latest bike. Wrapped in Invisiframe. Looks great. Lightness feels great. It has improved my abilities. Just fantastic.

Will never buy alloy again on my No.1 bike.
 
Sasquatch said:
I’m about to purchase my first emtb and was going for a 2025 Specialized levo 3 comp carbon on sale for $4799 or a 2024 Levo 3 comp alloy at $4299 .
I was going with the carbon frame but im concerned about the durability especially where I intent to ride there are a lot of loose rocks on the trails.
Anyone here wish they had bought an alloy frame instead of carbon ?
Click to expand...
High Rock Ruti

Yes, broke the seat stay on original Pivot Shuttle, cost $700 took 4 weeks. After repairing a bent aluminum wheel with a pair of pliers I'm a believer in alloy as good choice for bikes.

Warm Regards Ruti
 
Good choice on the carbon pick imho.
I just got a 22 Levo expert which is carbon and I went back and forth on material choices to. Yesterday I purchased insurance from Velosurance/ Martel to cover damage just in case I destroy my frame. Peace of mind was worth it for me. 200 deductible and 212 a year was a bit much but better than shelling out 4K if I ball it up. Have fun with the new ride- great bikes.
 
Romney said:
Lifetime warranty on both,, carbon stock may have better components. Both are good bikes but if you have a want for carbon go for it!
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There wasn’t much price difference between the carbon and alloy but the carbon bits were an upgrade and I could tell just in the parking lot how much better the brakes are .
 
Romney said:
Lifetime warranty on both,, carbon stock may have better components. Both are good bikes but if you have a want for carbon go for it!
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Reply to OP:
Currently own a 2022 Levo 3 Comp Alloy and after just under 5000 miles it’s been a good bike.
My neighbor and riding buddy has a 2023 Levo 3 Comp Carbon and after around 1500 miles it’s been a good bike as well.
The only difference between our bikes from that vintage, aside from the frame material, was that the carbon bike came with the digital TCU vs the LED one, and was fitted with CODE RS brakes vs CODE R.
Both bikes are size S3, and the alloy one weighed just under 53 lbs stock vs just over 50 lbs for the carbon. So weight difference for Comp in size S3 was around 2.5 lbs.

Reply to Romney:
I was having a warranty related discussion with a Specialized Corporate store manager and he advised me that the Levo frame warranty was lifetime for the front triangle only! The rear triangle was warrantied only for 1 year. That’s right, not even 2!
Although that sounded far fetched, I wasn’t going to continue my less than constructive discussion with him any longer. However, if he was correct, I will be done with Specialized as far as new bike purchases at anything near MSRP.
I’ll either buy new at >50% markdown, or lightly used for about the same. This way, I won’t let any reneging of warranty coverage get under my skin.
I’ll just either repair on my own dime if feasible, or dump and move on.
 
16Rally said:
Reply to OP:
Currently own a 2022 Levo 3 Comp Alloy and after just under 5000 miles it’s been a good bike.
My neighbor and riding buddy has a 2023 Levo 3 Comp Carbon and after around 1500 miles it’s been a good bike as well.
The only difference between our bikes from that vintage, aside from the frame material, was that the carbon bike came with the digital TCU vs the LED one, and was fitted with CODE RS brakes vs CODE R.
Both bikes are size S3, and the alloy one weighed just under 53 lbs stock vs just over 50 lbs for the carbon. So weight difference for Comp in size S3 was around 2.5 lbs.

Reply to Romney:
I was having a warranty related discussion with a Specialized Corporate store manager and he advised me that the Levo frame warranty was lifetime for the front triangle only! The rear triangle was warrantied only for 1 year. That’s right, not even 2!
Although that sounded far fetched, I wasn’t going to continue my less than constructive discussion with him any longer. However, if he was correct, I will be done with Specialized as far as new bike purchases at anything near MSRP.
I’ll either buy new at >50% markdown, or lightly used for about the same. This way, I won’t let any reneging of warranty coverage get under my skin.
I’ll just either repair on my own dime if feasible, or dump and move on.
Click to expand...
A registered Specialized frame is warrantied for life. This includes the seatstays and chainstays as listed on Specialized warranty page.
 
Warranty is for factory defects they say . If you crash or for wear and tear it's a different story. Saying that I rode with a loose headset and wore the headset on my carbon frame. I got a new frame so work that one out. A good dealer can go a long way to help a claim or hinder it as many have testified on here. Also some dealers have a lot of clout . My new frame was in dealers before they had even received my damaged one . I had sent a video showing the amount of play when the bearing was in position in the top part of headset. Good luck.
 
De$lo( said:
A registered Specialized frame is warrantied for life. This includes the seatstays and chainstays as listed on Specialized warranty page.
Click to expand...
I certainly hope you are correct. I for one, being the frugal person that I am, have only convinced myself to buy MTBs new for the price of a nice motorcycle, or even, in some instances, close to the price of an entry level car, based on the lifetime warranty coverage!

The aforementioned Specialized corporate store is less that 5 minutes from my house but based on my past experiences with both corporate stores in my area, I will drive farther to another LBS which has proven to be way more accommodating on numerous occasions. Especially now that my bike is a few months out of the 2-year warranty (bought new, by me, in March of 2023).

However, If I ever experience a frame related failure, I will attempt a warranty claim to see how they respond. But, based on my difficulties with them over relatively inexpensive warranty repairs during my 2-year warranty period, which I'm sure we all agree to be undisputed, I'm not very optimistic on the lifetime frame warranty thing.
 
Ndanger said:
Years ago CF was introduced in hang glider frames to reduce the weight of the aluminum tubes for frames and leading edges. A 79 pound airframe was 45 pounds which is a huge advantage in all aspects of performance since you could fly a smaller glider which gave an advantage to sink rate / climb and overall reynolds numbers. Higher Reynolds numbers indicate turbulent flow, which is crucial for efficient flight performance. The catch was when I returned a glider to the factory that produced it after test flying it I got a rather disturbing update. The glider had at some point been run over by a car and crushed the outer portion of the leading edges. When you run your hand down the tube during a pre-flight the damage was not detected because it went back to its original shape. So, yes CF is an amazing material, I also find a place for alloy as well.
Click to expand...
Now I know why my alloy framed bike won't fly. Many thanks. :)
 
Ndanger said:
"CF can fail suddenly and catastrophically" tis only a minor technicality :)

So... speaking of that potential. A carbon tube with the same strength and the same dimensions of an aluminum counterpart would be something so light and thin, that you could easily push your foot on it and crush. The kicker is, Carbon will spring back and be difficult to easily view or detect since it has shape memory. An aluminum tube would be deformed and retain the dent, it will also fail in a less abrupt manner when over stressed.

Years ago CF was introduced in hang glider frames to reduce the weight of the aluminum tubes for frames and leading edges. A 79 pound airframe was 45 pounds which is a huge advantage in all aspects of performance since you could fly a smaller glider which gave an advantage to sink rate / climb and overall reynolds numbers. Higher Reynolds numbers indicate turbulent flow, which is crucial for efficient flight performance. The catch was when I returned a glider to the factory that produced it after test flying it I got a rather disturbing update. The glider had at some point been run over by a car and crushed the outer portion of the leading edges. When you run your hand down the tube during a pre-flight the damage was not detected because it went back to its original shape. So, yes CF is an amazing material, I also find a place for alloy as well.
Click to expand...
Well the aluminium one i crashed off The Cairnwell mountain at Glenshee in the 70s certainly never flew again but neither did I , well not in a Hang Glider
 
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