Levo Gen 3 Cascade Link 2022+ Levo Long Shock Kit

The washer/spacer things I'm thinking can be seen in this thread here.

Levo Gen 3 - Shifting rear bearing in link

Anyone else having issues with the rearmost bearing in the link slipping so that it's not fully seated? I'm referring to the bearing where the link connects to the seatstay. It doesn't move much, maybe 0.1-0.2mm, but it's enough that the link then rubs on the seatstay, and makes noise on every...
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I guess if they were missing it would maybe make a difference but even then probably not as much as it seems your linkage is off.
 
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Just took these pics of my 2023 levo carbon with the long travel cascade link and my Fox x float 230 x 65 set-up and I have probably got 4mm of space between the frame and the link body. Also have the rear chainstay flip chip in the high position.
 
Greeno said:
Yes STLA-0001 stamped underneath
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Yours looks like a carbon frame. Most of the incompatibility issues I’ve seen online were with alloy frames. Could be confirmation bias though. I’m still wondering if I got a previous link version or not. I’ll just patiently wait for cascade to get back to me.
 
Jroehlk106 said:
Reviving an old thread here. I bought a new 2023 alloy levo s5. First ebike! Love it! I bought the cascade long travel link. I followed this thread very closely. I don’t expect any issues even verified compatibility with cascade components and the alloy frame since there were 2 versions.

Installed the link, founds that link is fine upon full compression/ bottom out with a fox x2 however with full extension the link makes contact with the seat tube. Pics attached. Just a little confused as the bike is an s5. Wondering if I’m missing something

Happy holidays View attachment 171744
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So I have a Levo 4 S4 with the long shock linkage and an Ohlins TTX2 230x65 shock and it sits as close to the frame as yours does. I don’t know if it’s actually hitting or not. I wondered if I did something wrong on install but it works perfectly other than where it sits at full extension. I’m snap some pics as well.
 
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PeterHenric said:
Pics of my 2026 Levo 4 S4
View attachment 171819View attachment 171820View attachment 171821View attachment 171822
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interesting Yeah looks just like mine as far as clearance. I rode it yesterday, doesn't seem to make contact with the frame consistently however I was riding some pretty gnarly stuff yesterday and undoubtedly heard it make contact with the seat tube once in a section with repeated hits. I did get a reply from cascade and the solution was that I need to use an offset bearing for it to have better clearance. So i bought one to see if it makes a difference. Somewhat disappointed with that being the solution. Also was told this issue is "rare" which is appearing to be a complete load of BS.
 
@Jroehlk106 I got a response from Cascade yesterday as well and they said to check and make sure the shock is actually a 230x65. There are some mfgs whose tolerances aren’t that tight and the shocks are actually longer than they are supposed to be. I’ll be checking the eye to eye length when I get back from this trip.
No mention of an offset bearing was made to me. Is that because we have different year bikes?
 
PeterHenric said:
@Jroehlk106 I got a response from Cascade yesterday as well and they said to check and make sure the shock is actually a 230x65. There are some mfgs whose tolerances aren’t that tight and the shocks are actually longer than they are supposed to be. I’ll be checking the eye to eye length when I get back from this trip.
No mention of an offset bearing was made to me. Is that because we have different year bikes?
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this is a possibility. However, I am not privy to buy a new shock just to see if it makes cascade's link more compatible with the bike. If I'm going to buy a new shock, I might as well just buy a coil for the original link. I have a float x2 that is older, and FOX's QC isnt the best so it very well could be the issue that there is some sort of extra travel even though it is a 230x65 shock
 
I'm curious to hear opinions from people who've had the long shock kit long enough for the honeymoon to truly wear off (say, bare minimum six months, preferably a year), especially people who ride advanced bike park trails. I feel like a lot of the reviews might have confirmation bias in the early days because of the high cost of entry.

What do you think of the long shock mod now? Would you take it on the same tech trails as an acoustic enduro bike now? Does the bike lose anything in the process, or does it feel like it's being pushed to do something it's not really meant for? If you were faced with the choice of doing it over again, what considerations would push your decision one way or the other?

Thank you.
 
Gyre said:
I'm curious to hear opinions from people who've had the long shock kit long enough for the honeymoon to truly wear off (say, bare minimum six months, preferably a year), especially people who ride advanced bike park trails. I feel like a lot of the reviews might have confirmation bias in the early days because of the high cost of entry.

What do you think of the long shock mod now? Would you take it on the same tech trails as an acoustic enduro bike now? Does the bike lose anything in the process, or does it feel like it's being pushed to do something it's not really meant for? If you were faced with the choice of doing it over again, what considerations would push your decision one way or the other?

Thank you.
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You expect someone to answer all those questions? Why not ask 1…….?

Cascade links with the right shock on the right bike are so frighin awesome.
Love everything about mine.
IMG_5815.jpeg
 
Gyre said:
I'm curious to hear opinions from people who've had the long shock kit long enough for the honeymoon to truly wear off (say, bare minimum six months, preferably a year), especially people who ride advanced bike park trails. I feel like a lot of the reviews might have confirmation bias in the early days because of the high cost of entry.

What do you think of the long shock mod now? Would you take it on the same tech trails as an acoustic enduro bike now? Does the bike lose anything in the process, or does it feel like it's being pushed to do something it's not really meant for? If you were faced with the choice of doing it over again, what considerations would push your decision one way or the other?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Erm...

Mine feels good a year later. I've forgot how it felt without it though tbh.
 
Had the long travel link for about 1 1/2 yrs now and all I know is I use up all that extra travel on most rides.
55mm to 65mm which is a little under 1/2” but doesent bottom out and running the Fox X2 float shock and so far so good. No intentions on changing the setup I currently have anytime soon.
But I am seeing quite a bit more Amflow‘s in the field.
 
Gyre said:
I'm curious to hear opinions from people who've had the long shock kit long enough for the honeymoon to truly wear off (say, bare minimum six months, preferably a year), especially people who ride advanced bike park trails. I feel like a lot of the reviews might have confirmation bias in the early days because of the high cost of entry.

What do you think of the long shock mod now? Would you take it on the same tech trails as an acoustic enduro bike now? Does the bike lose anything in the process, or does it feel like it's being pushed to do something it's not really meant for? If you were faced with the choice of doing it over again, what considerations would push your decision one way or the other?

Thank you.
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Theres definitely a noticeable improvement from the stock travel and linkage performance. The trails behind my house have drops, rock gardens, jumps and general rough and dry. we also have flow. I will say I do appreciate the fact the BB is higher due to the rocks and potential pedal strikes that exist on said trails. Im not entirely convinced it is worth the money due to having to buy an offset bushing to make it compatible even though it is marketed as something that is bolt on, directly compatible with my frame type and size. I had these same issues with a megatower link a few years ago. So for me, cascade components has been more hastle than its worth. Im not going back now, but i probably could have achieved similar performance on this levo with an EXT or other high quality coil

edit: ill also point out CC return policy is very specific, 14-day period and the recommended offset bushing is ordered from the UK. Theres's restocking fee, and if the item has been used the return can be denied (how else would you ensure compatibility without use at least 1 time?). Just a lot of hoops to jump through for a 400$ part that is MAYBE compatible
 
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I don’t have a year or more on the link but I am a fan. It isn’t life changing but that little extra bit of travel is nice. If you’re on a budget I would suggest spending your money elsewhere. If you have 6-800 to burn, I’d recommend it.
 
Gyre said:
I'm curious to hear opinions from people who've had the long shock kit long enough for the honeymoon to truly wear off (say, bare minimum six months, preferably a year), especially people who ride advanced bike park trails. I feel like a lot of the reviews might have confirmation bias in the early days because of the high cost of entry.

What do you think of the long shock mod now? Would you take it on the same tech trails as an acoustic enduro bike now? Does the bike lose anything in the process, or does it feel like it's being pushed to do something it's not really meant for? If you were faced with the choice of doing it over again, what considerations would push your decision one way or the other?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

I didn't come to ride the stock link vs the long shock kit back to back but I think its an improvement but the downside is the higher bb. It's also an advantage because with the stock low bb I had a lot of pedal strikes and the Rock guard fell apart.

But I need to ride the shock with over 30% of sag to get in a place where the higher bb isn't too noticeable in steep sections and messes with my confidence.

I added an offset bushing but it doesn't alleviate the higher bb fully.

Ideally I would have ridden the long shock kit back to back with the standard cascade link.

The stock link is fine for mellower trail riding but it's not enough for fast and rough Enduro trails.
 
BikeBert said:
For those looking for an advice regarding spring rate - don't take anything for granted and don't trust anyone ;)

Recommended spring rates are way off even on Cascade Components website!
According to their info, I should use use 550 lbs/in spring for my 85kg [187 lbs].

Based on the info in this thread I collected data for comparison:
-@ Lasse - 500 lbs/in spring @82 kg [180 lbs] with Marzocchi Bomber CR / fork: ZEB Ultimate 170 mm
- @maramouse - 525 lbs/in spring @82 kg [180 lbs] with Öhlins TTX22 M.2 / fork: Fox 38 170 mm
- @cañonaco - 475 lbs/in spring @85 kg [190 lbs] with Rock Shox Super Deluxe
-@ goodaa - ??? lbs/in spring @85 kg [190 lbs] with Öhlins TTX22 M.2 / fork: Fox 38 170 mm

I got confused by the big difference in spring rates used by different bikers (475-525 lbs/in) and that recommended by Cascade (550 lbs/in). So I contacted Cascade Components directly and even showed them the data I collected [above]. They confirmed the recommendation twice: "It should still be nice and supple, the 550 is the correct coil for your weight."

So based on their recommendation I ordered 548 lbs/in spring for my Öhlins TTX22m.2.
Guess what, I got the SAG 23% [15 mm]. The spring was extremely firm!
So I ordered another spring, this time 502 lbs/in and I got SAG 29% [19 mm].

I have no way to test the bike as it's snowing like crazy lately but I have a feeling that the Cascade linkage is more suited for air shocks and their progressive characteristics than for linear coil shocks. If my field tests will confirm this to be true, I will experiment with progressive spring, e.g. Cane Creek VALT.

Nevertheless, lesson learned [money lost]. Honestly, I am really disappointed in Cascade's recommendations, database/knowledge and their support. I understand that you cannot give 100% correct spring rate recommendation but I hoped for little more knowledge from the producer about their own product and base settings for the specific bike and specific rider. 23% SAG I got by using spring they recommended was not even close to expected 28-30% SAG (that they also recommend on their website).

There, learn from my mistakes and experimentation.
I will keep you updated after I get some time on the bike.

Below some photos of the shock, springs weight comparison and linkages:

View attachment 105295 View attachment 105296 View attachment 105297 View attachment 105298 View attachment 105299 View attachment 105300 View attachment 105301 View attachment 105302 View attachment 105303 View attachment 105304 View attachment 105305 View attachment 105306 View attachment 105307 View attachment 105308 View attachment 105309 View attachment 105310 View attachment 105311 View attachment 105312 View attachment 105313 View attachment 105314
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Hi @BikeBert ,

I know I reply to an old post, but you summarized the spring rates extensively.
I ordered a Cascade Long Link to my Levo Gen3, and a Fox DHX2 2026 (With the updated shaft). Now I`m looking for the correct spring rate. You mentioned that your weight is 85kg. Is this your ready to ride weight with all riding gear? I”m 85kg without my riding gear. I`m thinking between the 500 and the 550 and the Cane Creek 500-610 progressive spring. Did the 502 lbs/in spring work for you? Did you tried any progressive spring?
 
I too have found that I prefer the ride of a spring that is a lower rate than expected. Luckily I have 3 spring rates on hand so it wasn’t a matter of blowing more money on springs.

After much searching I’ve found that this is by far the most accurate “spring rate” calculator. It takes some work to get an accurate result and it’s a bit of a guessing game as it does not output the spring rate for you, but calculates the sag for a given rate. You need to put some time weighing things to get the best numbers. I got the weights for myself, my gear, my wheels and complete my bike to get this data. The screen shot below i
Includes figures for a S6 Levo with an E-storia shock.


1770648417333.png
 
electricbogaloo said:
I didn't come to ride the stock link vs the long shock kit back to back but I think its an improvement but the downside is the higher bb. It's also an advantage because with the stock low bb I had a lot of pedal strikes and the Rock guard fell apart.

But I need to ride the shock with over 30% of sag to get in a place where the higher bb isn't too noticeable in steep sections and messes with my confidence.

I added an offset bushing but it doesn't alleviate the higher bb fully.

Ideally I would have ridden the long shock kit back to back with the standard cascade link.

The stock link is fine for mellower trail riding but it's not enough for fast and rough Enduro trails.
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This was great input. I took the plunge and the raised BB height is really noticeable. Which offset bushing did you order?
 
The problem with an offset bushing like that is that it is well a bushing. The Levo gets some side play on the shock due to the design of the bike with the side arm.
 
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