Levo Gen 3 Hayes A4s on 2022 turbo levo comp possible?

talecK

New Member
Apr 22, 2023
2
0
Canada
LBS says it shouldn’t be a problem but I see a few threads online of people who say the 5.5mm hose won’t fit in the rear routing and now I’m doubting :(

Has anyone gotten this to fit in any of the specialized’s internal routing?

If not, what workarounds would you recommend? (jagwire 5mm w/ adapter, removing cable housing, etc).
 

Barnicles

Member
Aug 8, 2020
57
20
Uk
I've just had some fitted on my gen 3 alloy and the LBS said it was very tight. I had also read online about it being a pain which was why i decided to give the bike to a shop to have them fit the brakes instead of trying myself. Massive improvement over the Code R!!
 

talecK

New Member
Apr 22, 2023
2
0
Canada
Thanks for confirming! Excited to get these things on soon.

Did you guys end up just using your stock sram rotors in your setup or swap for something else?
 

xiaochew

Member
Feb 8, 2023
22
3
Singapore
Hi. I’m using dominion a4 with 220 sram roto.r. Hope it’s help u.

IMG_2236.jpeg IMG_2237.jpeg IMG_2238.jpeg IMG_2240.jpeg
 

Endoguru

Active member
Aug 21, 2019
142
131
Usa
LBS says it shouldn’t be a problem but I see a few threads online of people who say the 5.5mm hose won’t fit in the rear routing and now I’m doubting :(

Has anyone gotten this to fit in any of the specialized’s internal routing?

If not, what workarounds would you recommend? (jagwire 5mm w/ adapter, removing cable housing, etc).
On my Kenevo SL I was able to get the hose installed with a lot of trouble. It took me over 2 hrs. Getting the hose back out is nearly impossible. You have to pull so hard the internal routing tube gets pulled through the frame and I ended up having to wrap the hose around a small steel bar to get enough leverage to pull It out, which destroys the brake hose. I love the A4 brakes, but they are unusable for Specialized internal routing. Maybe other brands have better luck.
 

ebikerider

Active member
Oct 1, 2019
706
479
Australia
On my Kenevo SL I was able to get the hose installed with a lot of trouble. It took me over 2 hrs. Getting the hose back out is nearly impossible. You have to pull so hard the internal routing tube gets pulled through the frame and I ended up having to wrap the hose around a small steel bar to get enough leverage to pull It out, which destroys the brake hose. I love the A4 brakes, but they are unusable for Specialized internal routing. Maybe other brands have better luck.
I had no trouble removing my Hayes Dominion brake lines on my KSL. Yes it was firm putting them on but it stands to reason that the force to remove shouldn't be greater than the force to install unless something else was at play eg you damaged the hose outer on installation. Your blanket statement saying they aren't usable on the Specialized frames isn't correct.
 

Endoguru

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Aug 21, 2019
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Ma
I had no trouble removing my Hayes Dominion brake lines on my KSL. Yes it was firm putting them on but it stands to reason that the force to remove shouldn't be greater than the force to install unless something else was at play eg you damaged the hose outer on installation. Your blanket statement saying they aren't usable on the Specialized frames isn't correct.

You are correct that a blanket statement isn’t true. It may seem to stand to reason that taking out should be the same as installin, but that isn’t necessarily true either. Ask any mechanic. I have been working on my own bikes since the early 80’s. I have never had anything close to the difficulty of removing and installing the A4 brake hose. Maybe Specialized has different suppliers for the internal routing tube, I don’t know. I should have never installed the brakes in the first place as was obvious the fit was not right as it was so difficul. But I already owned the brakes and they are my favorite. I would suggest anyone looking to install them not to continue if the hose does not push through the tube fairly easily.
 

xiaochew

Member
Feb 8, 2023
22
3
Singapore
I had no trouble removing my Hayes Dominion brake lines on my KSL. Yes it was firm putting them on but it stands to reason that the force to remove shouldn't be greater than the force to install unless something else was at play eg you damaged the hose outer on installation. Your blanket statement saying they aren't usable on the Specialized frames isn't correct.
mine work too . not issue and i install on sl than transfer to levo gen 3
 

eTrax

Member
Oct 17, 2019
44
24
USA - West Coast
So it might work also with Sram hoses? Just cut the hose and change to Shimano banjo?
I think he meant the Shimano banjo fits onto the Hayes caliper.

The Jagwire Banjo kits might work with the Shimano hose.

I am wondering if the factory used different tubing diameter at some point. My Gen3 was built early for that MY and the Hayes Hose was an absolute no go to the rear. You would have to completely remove the noodle, feed the hose somehow , then re-run the noodle and hose.

I do know Jagwire makes a hose banjo kit for the Hayes and many others.
 

Doomanic

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Has anyone tried a SRAM hose on a Dominion caliper?
 

Doomanic

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I had a response from Hayes USA;

You cannot use SRAM hose on our brakes. They are not cross compatible.

Some customers have noted slightly enlarging those holes as they enter and exit the frame or using 3rd party hose like Jagwire brand.

Seems very recent that specialized switched something up and made these just a wee smaller.

I also enquired about Hope 2.3mm eBike rotors;

We recommend a max thickness of 1.95mm and a min of 1.75mm for best performance.

2.3mm will be a tight squeeze and we would not recommend that. 2.0mm should not be an issue.

Finding a matching pair of 2mm rotors is proving to be difficult.
 

Doomanic

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Sounds like it, yes. I'm going to try and feed the Hayes hose through first though.
 

Barnicles

Member
Aug 8, 2020
57
20
Uk
I had a response from Hayes USA;



I also enquired about Hope 2.3mm eBike rotors;



Finding a matching pair of 2mm rotors is proving to be difficult.
Have you looked at the Galfer wave ebike discs? I'm running them with the Hayes and they seem decent!
 

Doomanic

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I'm currently faltering...

I also have a set of SLX 4 pots, brand new, that will be easier to fit. I just can't decide which to go for. 🤷‍♂️
 

eTrax

Member
Oct 17, 2019
44
24
USA - West Coast
any float rotor can advise. I tried hope 220 rotor. The calliper will hit he rotor washer
The Magura MDR-P is floating(sometimes too much) and I believe 2mm thick.

One thing to keep in mind is the friction ring height. Dominion run ~14.5mm while Shimano and Formula are about ~13.5 so your loosing ~1mm of friction surface. Magura is 16mm height so should be a good match.
 

xiaochew

Member
Feb 8, 2023
22
3
Singapore
The Magura MDR-P is floating(sometimes too much) and I believe 2mm thick.

One thing to keep in mind is the friction ring height. Dominion run ~14.5mm while Shimano and Formula are about ~13.5 so your loosing ~1mm of friction surface. Magura is 16mm height so should be a good match.
Tks
 

travo

Member
Nov 2, 2018
15
6
bracknell
Just as a perhaps helpful aside, the Dominions work just fine with Shimano hoses. The banjo end is the same, just need to use clean hoses with DOT, and use the Hayes fixings at the lever end.
I know its a bit of an old thread, but I'm tring to fit Dominions (A4's) to my gen 2 Levo SL and theres no way the hayes hose will fit through the rear chainstay holes, could you tell me which shimano hose you used? was it the newer sm-bh90 (smaller internal dia) or th older bh59? and is there no issue at the lever end using the hayes olive/inserts as they're a bigger dia than the shimano stuff?
cheers
 

Doomanic

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That does surprise me. I got the hose through the chain stays of my KSL with no trouble at all. Have you tried a lube of some description?
 

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