Levo Gen 2 27.5 Fox 40 on Levo?

[Telewacker]

I have a 2020 Levo Turbo Expert with the Cascade Levo link giving me 158mm rear travel, a Fox 38 with 170mm travel with a mullet wheelset and the flip chip set in the high position. A lot of the riding I do is steep, rocky, and technical. I have a Canfield The One set up as a 26 x 27.5 mullet with a Fox 40 and stuff that I ride on that bike I just don't feel comfortable doing on the Levo. The thought occured to me to put the 27.5 Fox 40 and wheel on my Levo and setting it up for the same or slightly slacker HA. Is there any reason not to try this? Head tube strength? Or something I'm not considering?

 

[Lightme]

I have a 2020 Levo Turbo Expert with the Cascade Levo link giving me 158mm rear travel, a Fox 38 with 170mm travel with a mullet wheelset and the flip chip set in the high position. A lot of the riding I do is steep, rocky, and technical. I have a Canfield The One set up as a 26 x 27.5 mullet with a Fox 40 and stuff that I ride on that bike I just don't feel comfortable doing on the Levo. The thought occured to me to put the 27.5 Fox 40 and wheel on my Levo and setting it up for the same or slightly slacker HA. Is there any reason not to try this? Head tube strength? Or something I'm not considering?

Bb will be crazy low, and the front end quite high. I wouldn’t do it. But if do, send pics!

 

[Telewacker]

Bb will be crazy low, and the front end quite high. I wouldn’t do it. But if do, send pics!

How can the front end be higher and the bb lower?

 

[j1e]

Other than possible/likely warranty violation I can't think of any negatives...

Would of course have to ensure frame is safe with bars fully turned.

 

[Telewacker]

Other than possible/likely warranty violation I can't think of any negatives...

Would of course have to ensure frame is safe with bars fully turned.

True. The fork does have good rubber bumpers.

 

[Alexbn921]

The carbon fiber on the sides of the headtube needs to be reinforced to handle even a bumper impact.
As long as you never crash it you will be fine.
Otherwise I would avoid a DH fork.

Also DO NOT run it at 200mm. That's way too much stress on a headtube designed for 150mm of travel.

 

[Telewacker]

The carbon fiber on the sides of the headtube needs to be reinforced to handle even a bumper impact.
As long as you never crash it you will be fine.
Otherwise I would avoid a DH fork.

Also DO NOT run it at 200mm. That's way too much stress on a headtube designed for 150mm of travel.

Ok. Though the bike was specd for 160. But yeah it's not worth the risk.

 

[R120]

Hate to say it but your tying to fit a swore peg into a round hole - I would get a bike better suited to, the terrain your riding, otherwise your just throwing good money after bad.

I have lost count of the people I know who have spent money trying to make a Levo into a more DH focused bike, and eventually thrown in the towel and bought a Kenevo or similar.

 

[Telewacker]

Hate to say it but your tying to fit a swore peg into a round hole - I would get a bike better suited to, the terrain your riding, otherwise your just throwing good money after bad.

I have lost count of the people I know who have spent money trying to make a Levo into a more DH focused bike, and eventually thrown in the towel and bought a Kenevo or similar.

Yeah I can see that. It was just a thought.

 

[Mikerb]

I agree with @R120 . You have to accept the limitations of the Levo ( gen2) which is a brilliant trail bike but just throwing huge downhill forks at it will not transform it into a fully competent gravity bike. I changed the original ( pretty poor) Revelation forks on my Comp to a 160mm Lyric Ultimate and that certainly enhanced its capabilities but it is still too short in the reach and overall wheelbase to tackle the more extreme gravity runs.................for that I use my Whyte e180RS which just eats it up!

 

[Telewacker]

I agree with @R120 . You have to accept the limitations of the Levo ( gen2) which is a brilliant trail bike but just throwing huge downhill forks at it will not transform it into a fully competent gravity bike. I changed the original ( pretty poor) Revelation forks on my Comp to a 160mm Lyric Ultimate and that certainly enhanced its capabilities but it is still too short in the reach and overall wheelbase to tackle the more extreme gravity runs.................for that I use my Whyte e180RS which just eats it up!

Wish I had the funds to buy another ebike but I don't. Ultimately I'd want a long travel triple clamp fork bike with a not so long wheelbase for steep rocky technical trails with lots of tight switchbacks. My favorite local trails are this type of primitive nasty stuff and not really suited for either an Enduro or full on DH bike. My Canfield The One is pretty darn close to perfect. It just lacks a motor lol.

 

[Mikerb]

Unless you are hitting those descents at pro downhill speeds I doubt you would gain much benefit from a triple crown fork over something ike the Fox 38.

 

[Coolcmsc]

So, couldn’t agree more about the Levo I had vs the longer travel eeb I’m in now:- make the best of the Levo and don’t put on anything more than you have - some say 170 is the max before you loose more than you gain….. Its a competent bike and you can have masses of fun on it….
Whilst you sort your conundrum, have you considered some 1:1 coaching? You know, like the pro‘s have so must be of value for the rest of us too
You may well find that the Levo becomes a somewhat more wieldy beast in a wider range of environments. The key benefit might be learning to manage that slightly tippy forward feeling (did I say OTB?) the Levo has on the steeper stuff.
Lastly, I didn’t do this, but I’ve heard from riders I meet that making it MX is a wheeze and you say yourself you’ve experienced that.

 

[Telewacker]

Unless you are hitting those descents at pro downhill speeds I doubt you would gain much benefit from a triple crown fork over something ike the Fox 38.

Having a bike with a Fox 40 I know exactly what it feels like. Here it's not an issue of speed so much as stiffness and travel at slow speeds in nasty rock gardens. The 40 is just more stable and capable.

 

[Telewacker]

So, couldn’t agree more about the Levo I had vs the longer travel eeb I’m in now:- make the best of the Levo and don’t put on anything more than you have - some say 170 is the max before you loose more than you gain….. Its a competent bike and you can have masses of fun on it….
Whilst you sort your conundrum, have you considered some 1:1 coaching? You know, like the pro‘s have so must be of value for the rest of us too
You may well find that the Levo becomes a somewhat more wieldy beast in a wider range of environments. The key benefit might be learning to manage that slightly tippy forward feeling (did I say OTB?) the Levo has on the steeper stuff.
Lastly, I didn’t do this, but I’ve heard from riders I meet that making it MX is a wheeze and you say yourself you’ve experienced that.

By MX do you mean mullet?

 

[Gary]

Mullet Cycles weren't happy about the use of their brand name in conjunction with mixed wheelsizes so most brands are now calling the configuration "mx"

 

[Telewacker]

Mullet Cycles weren't happy about the use of their brand name in conjunction with mixed wheelsizes so most brands are now calling the configuration "mx"

Hadn't heard that. I hear the term mullet all the time. Yes I have a 27.5+ rear wheel with a 29 front. My Canfield which is a 26" wheel bike has a 27.5 Fox forty with a 27.5 x 2.8 front tire too. Mullets make total sense with the bigger front wheel to roll over stuff and the smaller more nimble rear wheel. The plus tire helps with traction too.

 

[Gary]

I have a 2020 Levo Turbo Expert with the Cascade Levo link giving me 158mm rear travel, a Fox 38 with 170mm travel with a mullet wheelset and the flip chip set in the high position.

How can the front end be higher and the bb lower?

It won't be. Lightme was talking rubbish.
Swapping out a 170mm 38 and 29" wheel for your 200 mm 40 and a 27.5 wheel will actually give you a pretty similar stack height and dual crown forks being axle to crown height adjustable via lowering or raising the stanchions in the crowns means you should be able to run them without altering geometry by very much at all nevermind giving you a crazy low BB. Bar height won't be an issue either as a direct mount stem bolted to a top crown isn't hugely taller than most conventional stems with a couple of spacers below. But even if it were slightly higher a lower rise bar can sort that out. It will steer slightly differently though as the different wheelsize and offset will have an affect on that. (not hugely though)
The fairly similar axle to crown heights will also mean similar leverage forces going through the headtube and being dealt with through the frame. The only issue I see is that your Levo isn't warrantied for use with a dual crown so if the frame is damaged by them you'll have no warranty..
I don't actually think it's going to help your issue with tight steep technical rocky switchbacks though.

 

[Telewacker]

It won't be. He's talking rubbish.
Swapping out a 170mm 38 and 29" wheel for your 200 mm 40 and a 27.5 wheel will actually give you a pretty similar stack height. So dual crown forks being axle to crown height adjustable you should be able to run them without altering geometry at all nevermind all giving you a crazy low BB. Bar height won't be an issue either as a direct mount stem bolted to a top crown isn't hugely taller than a conventional stem with a couple of spacers below it. (But even if it were slightly higher a lower rise bar can sort that out)
similar stack height will also mean similar leverage forces going through the headtube.

I don't actually think it's going to help your issue with tight steep technical rocky switchbacks though.


The only issue I see is that your Levo isn't warrantied for use with a dual crown so if the frame is damaged by them you'll have no warranty..

That's exactly what I was thinking. The geometry could be made the same by adjusting the crown height. Yes the warranty issue is a problem and as another person pointed out the head tube lacks the reinforcement a frame designed for a triple clamp should have. The stiffness and extra travel would be a plus in the nasty rocks however. Sections I ride confidently with my Canfield with the 40 give me trouble on the Levo with the 38. But it's too risky putting that fork on this frame.