Levo SL Gen 1 Official Levo SL Thread

Streddaz

Active member
Jul 7, 2022
239
333
Tasmania
Doesn't it have a torque sensor, so the harder you push on the pedals, the more assist you get?
Yes (depending on the settings), but it is not going past 35 n*m.
And the motor is most efficient at around 80rpm, so at the lower rpm (standing up and cranking for instance) it cannot produce full power no matter how hard you push on the pedals. It is just a small motor, but the benefit is that you have a pretty efficient bike, so your range is quite good for the battery size.
 

Migrant

New Member
Mar 9, 2023
1
9
Norcal
First mtb, first ebike. Enjoying the ability to dial in my effort on hills.
98BE7A57-A60F-4124-A53F-D8B1C512DE68.jpeg
 

Streddaz

Active member
Jul 7, 2022
239
333
Tasmania
Did my biggest Ebike ride on the SL on the weekend.

Still impressed with the range I can get out of this thing.

90% single track, rode in eco or off as much as possible but only off on the flat or down hill sections. Still used boost for a few tough climbs and trail on the less steep sections.
1681173556127.png


This was at the end of the ride. 27% left!
1681173595813.png
 

Pete N

Active member
May 10, 2020
188
125
Surrey
That’s more than enough distance for any of us on an E-Bike. Looks like a great ride.
The SL is a fantastic bike, the most natural feeling if you want it to feel like an analogue bike. Great amount of assistance but descends almost like a non E-Bike.
I really enjoy mine and the motor noise becomes background noise only. All E-bikes make a motor noise, they are just all different, albeit the SL is a definitely higher pitched and took a little getting used to.
It’s a very quiet descender though which is more important to me.
I’m toying with a FF Gen 3 Levo for family use though, also looks a great bike now.
I alternate my Levo SL with my Epic Evo. It means I get out on every day off whereas before I would probably ride less. It’s different so gets me out more.
There is a Specialized Test Centre close to me. The shop workers mainly prefer the SL’s to the FF. We don’t live in mountains though.
 

Streddaz

Active member
Jul 7, 2022
239
333
Tasmania
That’s more than enough distance for any of us on an E-Bike. Looks like a great ride.
The SL is a fantastic bike, the most natural feeling if you want it to feel like an analogue bike. Great amount of assistance but descends almost like a non E-Bike.
I really enjoy mine and the motor noise becomes background noise only. All E-bikes make a motor noise, they are just all different, albeit the SL is a definitely higher pitched and took a little getting used to.
It’s a very quiet descender though which is more important to me.
I’m toying with a FF Gen 3 Levo for family use though, also looks a great bike now.
I alternate my Levo SL with my Epic Evo. It means I get out on every day off whereas before I would probably ride less. It’s different so gets me out more.
There is a Specialized Test Centre close to me. The shop workers mainly prefer the SL’s to the FF. We don’t live in mountains though.
That type of ride is the equivalent for me of a 40 something km ride on a normal bike. It was fairly tough going in places, while restricting the assistance and I was feeling pretty tired at the top of the climb. The thing I really like, is by resisting the higher assistance settings early in the ride, you have this reserve of battery at the end of the ride when you are getting tired. It's nice to have that backup at the end so the last bit isn't a painful slog.
 

dixie

Member
Apr 16, 2019
50
13
isle of wight
I just got an SL comp about a week ago, took to bike park yesterday, a buddy let me borrow his RS super deluxe most of the day (from FF Levo), whoa--transformed the rear suspension in a big way vs. little air shock that came on the bike.

My question to anyone who reads this and has upgraded their SL to coil, which ones can accommodate a water bottle without the piggy back getting in the way? RS super deluxe and normal size waterbottle don't play well.

Seems like DVO Jade X might give good clearance (no pics here with waterbottle!)

Anyone tried a Fox coil? DHX2 or other?
Ohlins ttx22m....lush
 

1TrekGA

Member
Aug 26, 2021
4
0
Georgia, USA
Reading about the Gen 2 SL, and its quieter motor due to an extra casing. It got me wondering if anyone has tried to quieten their 1.1 motor in any way. It's really the only thing I would change about my 2021 LSL. (Though I've changed handle bars for 50mm rise; Changed the NX drive to GX; seat; grips; and minor customizations.)
 

sdcoffeeroaster

Active member
Jul 22, 2018
548
204
San Diego, CA
Reading about the Gen 2 SL, and its quieter motor due to an extra casing. It got me wondering if anyone has tried to quieten their 1.1 motor in any way. It's really the only thing I would change about my 2021 LSL. (Though I've changed handle bars for 50mm rise; Changed the NX drive to GX; seat; grips; and minor customizations.)
I would worry about overheating with any external sound insulation. I suspect the straight cut gear design and/or gear materials changed to lower the noise a lot. Adding things like silicone and teflon to the plastic gear can help a lot. And also designing a gear with a much higher AGMA rating, multiple injection points, better controlled molding process, alternate materials (dimensionally better and less plastic defects that can create noise) might also be something they did. I've had some experience with noise and plastic gears over the years as a mechanical engineer and those are some of the things I'd be looking at if I was involved, lol.
 

teapeaage

Member
Jun 6, 2021
33
12
polandia
Hi,

Has anyone managed to fit in the new Float X to the 2020/2021 Levo SL frame? I have the 2020 sworks model that I use with a water bottle and sometimes the range extender and was wondering if there's any chance of fitting the Float X with its reservoir?

Thanks
 

rydeezie

Well-known member
Jul 26, 2020
607
861
san francisco, california
Hi,

Has anyone managed to fit in the new Float X to the 2020/2021 Levo SL frame? I have the 2020 sworks model that I use with a water bottle and sometimes the range extender and was wondering if there's any chance of fitting the Float X with its reservoir?

Thanks
I have fitted a Fox Factory X2 with no issues. Posted a pic somewhere in the Levo SL forums a few years back
 

teapeaage

Member
Jun 6, 2021
33
12
polandia
I have fitted a Fox Factory X2 with no issues. Posted a pic somewhere in the Levo SL forums a few years back
Were you able to fit the range extender / water bottle with it? I am planning this change in the Large frame - there are no DPX2 available anymore and I feel beeing over 200lbs and riding fast is a bit too much for the DPS.. SO maybe the X2?
 

teapeaage

Member
Jun 6, 2021
33
12
polandia
Do you remember whether you liked it for the SL? As mentioned, I'm feeling that the DPS is just not enough for me - I'm over 200lbs, ride fast with a lot of harsh/chattery and natural terrain (rocks/roots). Changing my fork from 34 to 36 did wonders for me (I kept 150mm though) I don't jump, but feel that DPS might not be enough, X2 could be overkill? (Float X won't fit with the battery)
 

rydeezie

Well-known member
Jul 26, 2020
607
861
san francisco, california
Do you remember whether you liked it for the SL? As mentioned, I'm feeling that the DPS is just not enough for me - I'm over 200lbs, ride fast with a lot of harsh/chattery and natural terrain (rocks/roots). Changing my fork from 34 to 36 did wonders for me (I kept 150mm though) I don't jump, but feel that DPS might not be enough, X2 could be overkill? (Float X won't fit with the battery)
I really liked the set up. I always change to X2 whenever possible. I’m 240lbs

My Gen 2 levo now came stock with an X2 and I got the cascade link long shock kit. Much better with the longer stroke X2. Not sure Cascade Link makes a long shock kit for the Levo SL, but if they do, it’s worth considering
 

c0stunga

New Member
Apr 12, 2023
35
39
Germany
Got my first gen Levo SL Comp alloy yesterday. Did a spontanous ride without tracking, maybe 20km.

Positives:
- Motor sound isn't as annoying as I thought it would be (yet?)
- The alloy frame looks better IRL as on pictures. Great color, great workmanship
- Motor support is enough. I planned to ride mainly in Eco but ended up using all modes and some sections without any support.
- Range will probably also be good enough for all my rides. I'm happy to have a great dealer who offers to borrow range extenders for free if you want to go on a longer trip.
- Brakes and suspension of Comp version should be good enough for me. Wasn't riding any rough trail yet, but feels alright for me. Riding a fully on same trails I rode with hardtails before feels like cheating and a bit lame :D I probably have to search some new tracks
- only MTBs I had so far were 10-11kg XC Hardtails. The Levo SL feels neither unwieldy nor heavy. It's also the first bike that does fit my size. My previous 2 bikes were both a bit short because of my rather long upper body.
- Mission Control seems to be a solid app, but haven't played a lot with it yet

Negatives:
- 25km/h limit :cautious: The bike is lite enugh to pedal past the speed limit on straights, but it's not very fun. It's probably okay when I ride more trails. I also planned riding to work sometimes ~15km. Maybe would want a Levociraptor for that...
- The bike has enough power for sure. But it would be nice to have a tiny bit more capable turbo mode when needed.
- SRAM NX feels bad. Coming from a 2015 bike with Deore XT I was hoping that a current NX groupset feels alright. Maybe it's just the setup, but upshifts are slow and rough. Have to take a look at it. The shifter doesn't feel very good as well.
Also 11-50 with 30T chainring is not a good range for this bike in my opinion.

All in all I'm very happy with my choice after first ride. It's not the perferct bike but budget was limited. For available budget I feel it was the best choice.
Originally I planned to have the Levo SL as my do-it-all bike. But I feel the XC bike will accompany me a bit longer...
 
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sluette

Member
Aug 9, 2022
41
51
Deutschland
Go and ask you dealer to adjust the wheel diameter. This will lead to more speed then 25kph but will also distort the distance in Mission Control App.
 

boBE

Active member
Apr 12, 2020
415
361
FL
Got my first gen Levo SL Comp alloy yesterday. Did a spontanous ride without tracking, maybe 20km.


Negatives:

- SRAM NX feels bad. Coming from a 2015 bike with Deore XT I was hoping that a current NX groupset feels alright. Maybe it's just the setup, but upshifts are slow and rough. Have to take a look at it. The shifter doesn't feel very good as well.
Also 11-50 with 32T chainring is not a good range for this bike in my opinion.

I too was not happy with the range nor shifting of the NX so I changed to a SRAM 11 speed 11-32, much better. It was *a lot* of work since the road cassette does not readily fit the MTB freehub. I also installed a 34T chainwheel, at least that was easy. ;)
 

c0stunga

New Member
Apr 12, 2023
35
39
Germany
My dealer offered me to do that but I wanted to try it stock first.
I'm not sure if 25 km/h -> 27 km/h feels like a big difference. But I will try this first before going the Levociraptor way.
 
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Interpaul

Active member
Jun 18, 2018
124
116
Edinburgh
Want to upgrade the forks on our gen 1 LSL, it currently has Fox 34 Rhythms which can't keep up in the off piste stuff we ride in the Tweed Valley. Want to go 160-170.

Was thinking a Lyric or Fox Float 36 - would I get away with 170 or should I stick to 160?
 

c0stunga

New Member
Apr 12, 2023
35
39
Germany
Have done my first bigger ride today.
50km distance and 1100m of altitude. Came to my destination with <10% and had to be very economical with power in the end.
I really liked the bike for this route. It's probably not the best bike for longer All-Mountain trips. But it felt very natural all the time and the amount of support was always good enough. It felt so good, that I wished it would last a bit longer :D
 

unclezz

Member
May 3, 2020
174
89
CZ
Did a build of this amazing ebike using a discounted frameset. It's absolutely fantastic. So nimble!

In size S, using not so much fancy components, it weighs 18,05Kg. My first ride was such a pleasure. Very happy I went for this frameset.

One thing I thought I could struggle with was the drivetrain but I was wrong. I used a Shimano XTR/XT combo with KMC e12 chain and it's working perfectly. Only issue so far is that I need to use a smaller bottle than the Camelbak I have :D


photo_2023-07-02_12-36-42.jpg
 

Pete N

Active member
May 10, 2020
188
125
Surrey
Did a build of this amazing ebike using a discounted frameset. It's absolutely fantastic. So nimble!

In size S, using not so much fancy components, it weighs 18,05Kg. My first ride was such a pleasure. Very happy I went for this frameset.

One thing I thought I could struggle with was the drivetrain but I was wrong. I used a Shimano XTR/XT combo with KMC e12 chain and it's working perfectly. Only issue so far is that I need to use a smaller bottle than the Camelbak I have :D


View attachment 119305
Great bike. Frameset colour is my all time favourite.
 

Killswitch73

Well-known member
Sep 15, 2018
371
230
West Midlands
Here we have a good and better discount code for the new Forx.bike discount code for all. I have permission from Steve to share this code. If anybody has bought the crank arms for the 10% please get in touch with Steve and he will sort it out.


Here is the post on my group.

Code is 20off.

Free shipping world wide.

Please share if you would like.

Crank arms available are the Levo SL gen1 only , Kenevo SL gen1 only , full fat Levo .

IMG_8919.png IMG_8934.jpeg IMG_8933.jpeg
 
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