Levo Gen 4 Levo EVO Rumor Thread – Longer Travel Levo Coming?

Specialized says that the Evo frame is unchanged from the Gen 4 Levo. A rear shock link is to be made available from Specialized that, when combined with a new 62.5 x 230 rear shock will convert the stock Gen4 Levo from 150 to 170, along with a new 180mm front fork constitutes the complete conversion to EVO. Good news!
 
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I thought the last couple of lines from the PB first ride artcle was interesting.
Now if only they could figure out how to knock 8-10 pounds of weight off this thing without affecting the power or range… Maybe someday, right around when the new Enduro gets released.
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Perhaps I'm reading to much into it but that seems like a hint. I don't think Specialized are done with the Endruo moniker but at the same time I see very little desire for analogue Enduro bikes these days. I could efinietly see them resrving that name for a new emtb. Maybe next year? Or autumn 2026?

 
DylanJM said:
I thought the last couple of lines from the PB first ride artcle was interesting.

Perhaps I'm reading to much into it but that seems like a hint. I don't think Specialized are done with the Endruo moniker but at the same time I see very little desire for analogue Enduro bikes these days. I could efinietly see them resrving that name for a new emtb. Maybe next year? Or autumn 2026?

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Idk but their new DH frame is sick af 😍
 
Levo 4 Evo announcement two days ago, why is the Internet still somewhat quiet...?
 
I’m tempted with the link and new shock but just going to 170 at the front to keep the geo a bit closer to stock.
 
Phil M said:
I’m tempted with the link and new shock but just going to 170 at the front to keep the geo a bit closer to stock.
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Whereabouts on the Spec website does it say you can buy the link as an upgrade for the original Gen 4 Levo? I'd be tempted too.
 
Phil M said:
I’m tempted with the link and new shock but just going to 170 at the front to keep the geo a bit closer to stock.
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You’ll get closest to Levo 4 geo with the link+shock, and a 180mm fork. A 170mm fork will steepen it.
 
Adasb said:
Whereabouts on the Spec website does it say you can buy the link as an upgrade for the original Gen 4 Levo? I'd be tempted too.
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www.specialized.com

Levo 4 EVO Shock Extension

Alloy shock extension kit that allows you to convert a standard Levo 4 to an EVO set-up. Installing the EVO extension along with a new 230x62.5mm rear s...
www.specialized.com www.specialized.com
 
Powerslider said:
You’ll get closest to Levo 4 geo with the link+shock, and a 180mm fork. A 170mm fork will steepen it.
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From what I’ve read/watched the back end doesn’t change as it’s all on the link.

So it would be no different to running a 180 with a stock back end, so slacker and a shorter reach…

If I used a 170 it would fit somewhere between stock and a 180 fork.. I don’t really need it slacker and I don’t want to shorten the reach too much. The 170 fork seems a perfect middle ground and will still work mint with the 170 back end.
 
DylanJM said:
Because Avinox.
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Avinox is one factor, but bad decisions from Specialized are also having a rather large impact on the popularity of this bike. They cleary misjudged the importance of a lighter & better looking bike

Levo 3 was a pretty decent looking bike if it wasn't for that very fat motor arear which was fixed on the Levo 4.

If Specialized kept their slim integrated battery strategy from the Levo 3, the Levo 4 would be lighter, better looking and I'm sure they wouldn't need to offer discounts already to move bikes.
 
Phil M said:
From what I’ve read/watched the back end doesn’t change as it’s all on the link.

So it would be no different to running a 180 with a stock back end, so slacker and a shorter reach…

If I used a 170 it would fit somewhere between stock and a 180 fork.. I don’t really need it slacker and I don’t want to shorten the reach too much. The 170 fork seems a perfect middle ground and will still work mint with the 170 back end.
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The link adds travel and necessarily raises the rear of the bike. Just like a Levo R, Levo 4, and Levo 4 EVO, you want the fork to have 10mm more travel than the rear; so a 180mm fork is what is recommended with EVO link. Even Specialized spells it out clearly on their site.
IMG_2575.webp
 
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Powerslider said:
The link adds travel and necessarily raises the rear of the bike. Just like a Levo 4, and Levo 4 EVO you want the fork to have 10mm more travel than the rear; so a 180mm fork is what is recommended with EVO link. Even Specialized spells it out clearly on their site.
View attachment 182562
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It'll be fine with a 170mm fork. It's not a big deal.
 
DylanJM said:
It'll be fine with a 170mm fork. It's not a big deal.
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I’ve seen a few bikes with the Cascade link on various forums and they all seem to be running a 170mm fork.

I had a chat with my LBS about the link, he’s been trying to get me to buy the turd brown bowling ball S-Works frame he’s had on the wall since it was released. He was saying the Spesh link only raises the progression to 13%, stock progression is 12%. The Cascade link raises the progression to 30%, much better if you’re planning to run a coil.
 
The Levo 4, Levo R, and Levo EVO all run a fork with 10mm more travel than the rear suspension. If you want the geo to be as close to stock as possible while using the EVO link, a 180mm fork is required; just like the EVO comes with. Sure you can put a 170 fork on but you’re going to steepen the geo 4° from intended.
 
Powerslider said:
The Levo 4, Levo R, and Levo EVO all run a fork with 10mm more travel than the rear suspension. If you want the geo to be as close to stock as possible while using the EVO link, a 180mm fork is required; just like the EVO comes with. Sure you can put a 170 fork on but you’re going to steepen the geo 4° from intended.
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You mean 0.4 degrees surely? You can also comensate by running a small amount more pressure in the 170mm fork.
 
170/170….f/r, here, and I smash steep black diamond terrain. Like really steep. I am the rider who flys by that group looking at a feature to see if it’s rideable, (hint.. it is get low, get speed, hang on🥰)
Stock short geo settings. I feel confident and stable at every speed, and in the air. Maybe I’ll mess with the geo someday, maybe not.
I’m confident there’s no feature (sans Hardline 100ft drops or expressly pro level 40-90ft gaps) that me bike and I can’t hit smoothly.
 
Well at least my lbs was right about longer travel Levo last year. Sadly I threw a leg over an s2 at the shop and the boys were not happy. Standover with a 180mm fork is way to high for the small and medium sizes imo. Shop told me the linkage it coil “ friendly “, it does come with an x2 that’s supposed to be more linear. My s3 Kenevo has a stand over of 32 inches, the Levo evo is more than that.
 
Powerslider said:
The link adds travel and necessarily raises the rear of the bike. Just like a Levo R, Levo 4, and Levo 4 EVO, you want the fork to have 10mm more travel than the rear; so a 180mm fork is what is recommended with EVO link. Even Specialized spells it out clearly on their site.
View attachment 182562
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Cheers for that

Looking at the BB heights it’s 350 for the 4 and 356 for the Evo

So it’s only added 6mm with 20mm more fork on the front… that says to me that running the longer Evo link isn’t bringing the back end of the bike further down at static. Bearing in mind it’s just the yoke that’s being replaced, you can see how it sits way closer to the seat tube. I think the travel comes from the wheel moving further upwards than being lower static else the BB height would be way higher.

I know you need to run a 180 fork to turn the Levo into the Evo but I’m not trying to make an Evo, I’m just trying to run more without throwing out the stock geo too much.

This is just a discussion btw, not trying to argue.
 
Powerslider said:
The Levo 4, Levo R, and Levo EVO all run a fork with 10mm more travel than the rear suspension. If you want the geo to be as close to stock as possible while using the EVO link, a 180mm fork is required; just like the EVO comes with. Sure you can put a 170 fork on but you’re going to steepen the geo 4° from intended.
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Intended on the Evo yeah…

But 0.4 steeper on the Evo is 64degs, which is still slacker than the stock 4 which is 64.5.. and I’m assuming the reach will be somewhere between the Evo at 495 and the 4 at 505 which would be ideal for me as I don’t want it too short.
 
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