MTB Geometry Adjustment - How and Why to adjust you bike geo

Adjustable mountain bike geometry is nothing new when it comes to frame features. While it may not be an absolute necessity for all riders or brands, when it’s done well, being able to adjust the geometry of your bike can transform a good feeling bicycle to a great one. And for those who are in-tune with how their bikes feel in different regions and types of trails, having the ability to greatly change the bike’s attitude allows riders to eek out every bit of speed, confidence and performance possible. In this video we’re going to be talking about bike geometry for newer riders, or those who maybe haven’t experimented with what the changes in those fancy flip chips will do to your bike’s performance on the trail. If you’ve ever wanted to know how and why you’d want to adjust your bike’s geometry, we hope this video will help shed some light.
Our lovely model today will be the Specialized Turbo Levo Expert in size S4. We felt it was a great option because of the wide range of adjustability it offers. While many bikes have an adjustable geometry chip, often called a flip chip, the Specialized Turbo Levo also come with a headset cup that will allow you to make even bigger adjustments to your eBike’s geometry by changing the head tube angle one full degree in either direction. Now, if you’re newer to riding that may not mean a ton and you’ve only heard that longer and slacker is better, but today we’re going to offer some insights as to why that may not be the right case for you.
Many months ago, we made a video called Bike Geometry 101, where we compared two very different bikes in one brand’s line up. The Specialized Epic Evo and the Specialized Enduro. Both bikes are made by the same brand, have similar retail prices and level of components, but are designed for very different applications.
#enduromtb #mountainbike #mountainbiking #emtb #ebike #loamwolf #specialized
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[@JubeProductions]

I bought my Turbo Levo just about 1 year ago and I have never changed any of the geometry settings. I don't even know how they work, so this video is perfect. I ride mostly flow trails, with occasional rocky enduro type trails. I prefer the more technical rocky trails, but I don't have that terrain close by. I have ridden Specialized mountain bikes since my very first Specialized Big Hit in the early 2000s. I love the bikes, but the one complaint is the low BB. I like how it feels planted, but every ride I get at least one pedal strike. I couldn't imagine having my BB lowered using the flip chip. But I will give it a try after watching this video just to see what it's like.

[@walterbrown6388]

Great video. Love hearing examples of terrain that is better suited to each geometry setting.

[@TheLoamWolf]

Glad you liked it!

[@TheAngryHusky]

I've tried every setting on my Levo. They all feel good to be honest but I tend to run the neutral cup and long/low chainstay personally.

[@andrerichard628]

Cool I've an Evo no L haven't adjusted it only three rides in so far. I'll keep that setting in mind!

[@ArmorOfZeus]

Just a heads up Spesh has slashed prices on multiple ebike models including this one anywhere from 25-30% off! Clearly trying to make room for newer models.but you can get the Levo expert build for under 9k with tax included and free 2 day shipping to your front door if you so choose 🍻 For serious buyers there's a little hack to not only wave the shipping fee but also have it expedited: add your model of choice to cart, go through the process of filling everything out. Email, st address etc, then just let it sit in your cart. In about an hours time from there you'll get an automated email from them saying you left something in your cart and attached will be a promo code for the free expedited shipping, for me it was a savings of just over $50. Not a huge deal but hey, money is money.

[@captnhuffy]

Really? BOOM! I believe it! I heard that many places are over-stocked

[@ArmorOfZeus]

@@captnhuffy yeah m8. Jump on their website and have a look. My S4 will be here day after tomorrow. They're just clearing the way for all their new models. I'm not interested in paying 10k plus just to have updated suspension.

[@kpang79]

Great video! Finally someone looking at these details for Levo. Great work!

[@TheLoamWolf]

More to come! Thanks for watching.

[@codefields]

I have a Levo myself and I always wondered about all these settings. Now is much clearer, thanks a lot!

[@TheLoamWolf]

Great to hear!

[@AlMenard]

Awesome information, Live in the northeast with tight single track, lots of roots and rocks to pedal thru, will try out the steeper Higher Geo and give it a go. Less of a mystery now.

[@TheLoamWolf]

Awesome to hear and hope it helps!

[@GF-cb8rr]

Great content as usual. Nice job👍🏻

[@TheLoamWolf]

Much appreciated!

[@1Thirty1]

Great Video, thank you from Phoenix!!

[@TheLoamWolf]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.

[@ArmorOfZeus]

Also Loamer, good informative video. I think another solid video idea would be to run through some of your favorite e-mtb tires. Obviously there's personal preference involved but when we're talking about bikes often 50+ pounds it would be nice to hear your thoughts/experiences of some of your favs, and not so favs specific for these big boy bikes.

[@TheLoamWolf]

Great suggestion

[@excelexpresss]

Thanks for this video, very helpful 👍

[@TheLoamWolf]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TerryGriebel-cb1wl]

Slack it tighten it rip it we are living the dream at the edg of the last whip..love my levo pro in all modes..yet slack n short make me king.

[@captnhuffy]

You give an Excellent feel for the reasoning, and whys. Personally I like a RAD+ or RAD++ frame sizing, w shorter stays. a lower bottom-bracket is a plus for stability. But as a contrast, slack head-tube angle is usually a positive, most times, but not always. Pedal strike is a trade-off, so I have to always watch out

[@TheLoamWolf]

Yeah there really isn’t a right answer because everyone has different needs, wants and desired out of their bikes and the terrain they ride and enjoy most. Which is why having options is great!

[@andrerichard628]

I just got an Evo so this is timely. Wanted a full Enduro bruiser but this was what I needed in fact. Still want some 38's though to smash on! ... Another time and bike.

[@IADMTB]

Great video! Some feedback. I really liked how you provided pictures of the bike in the various settings, but it would have been great to add on a description of advantages/disadvantages so folks can compare each of the settings. I know you mention the advantages/disadvantages throughout the video but to have it on the pictures to read would have been helpful as well. Thanks again!

[@TheLoamWolf]

Thanks for the tips! And appreciate you watching.

[@DZig]

Tight uphill tech in my area, so high pivot and standard headtube work best for me on my Levo. Still slack enough for the sled rides back down. Great vid, as usual.

[@TheLoamWolf]

Thanks for sharing!

[@EverySingleSunday]

Good video, solid info.

[@TheLoamWolf]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@aaronbehindbars]

I need to pull my top cup on my Levo to make sure there's some grease since I noticed a bit of creaking, so maybe ot's time to play around with the geo. It came in the high BB setting out back with the neutral head angle and that's been just amazing. It's still a degree slacker than my Stumpjumper in its high BB flip chip setting and that bike feels so stable to me after years of riding a 69 deg HTA / 120mm bike. My local trails have lots of tight sections with punchy and rocky climbs, so I think going into the steeper mode on the Levo will be interesting. Despite the weight and slacker geo compared to my Stumpy, it feels every bit as nimble which I credit the 27.5 rear end. It'll be interesting to see if putting it to the same HTA as the Stumpy will really liven it up or just make it feel twitchy with all the power. Thanks for the very informative video. Gives me food for thought. It's just amazing we can have all these different settings on a bike. I've got an old 80's mountain bike and the way you adjusted the handling was moving the rear wheel fore/aft in the horizontal dropout (better make sure the QR is tight!)...we've come a long way! *UPDATE: I threw the 1° steeper cup in and WOW did it transform it! Bike still creaks, haha, but now I know it's not the headset...now I think it's at the back end which seems to be an issue with these (both my Stumpjumper Alloy and Carbon needed a thin coat of grease on the flip chips and derailleur hanger). I'll be tearing intobthat next to put it in low BB setting and see what it feels like with a 65° HTA. 65.5 felt a bit nervous compared to the 64.5 setting. Not that it was bad, but I prefer 64.5 to 65.5 and it will be interesting to see how the pedal strikes are with the low BB. I Specialized or someone made a +/- .5° cup to really fine tune it. I think I would like a 65° HTA with a high BB setting.

[@TheLoamWolf]

Thanks for sharing Aaron! We definitely have some awesome new bikes and tools at our disposal!

[@a8f235]

I got a Pivot Switchblade, and from where I ride I just cannot see myself using the low setting again at all. I hit the bashguard and pedals/pedalarms so often when it was in low, given how rocky and technical it is most of the time. The other thing is after I changed to the high setting I firstly noticed a lot less hits from mentioned areas, but what struck me the most is I did not feel I lost much at all when going down. For me it's just a win, and I would never use the low setting unless I were only riding flowtrails, and most of it was down.

[@TheLoamWolf]

Awesome info. That’s a great bike too.

[@danielyazbek9913]

Awesome video 🎉.. when do you think 2023-2024 turbo Levo will come out or usually comes out in the bike industry !! Want to buy one but I can wait if a new one is coming out this year .. Appreciate your help.. cheers

[@kpang79]

Just wondering, what length of the stem and spacer and bar height you’re running? Oh, also how do your set bar roll? Cheers!

[@DoughtyWolf]

Great video and explanations! About changing geometry, would you recommend upgrading a 100mm fork with a 120 mm or 130 mm fork, mostly for dropping some weight and better riding, just curious how would that affect the geometry and which would you choose, for a bike like Cube Race One 2022 XC HT model. Any ideas, answers and tips would help, thank you!

[@blazed85]

A general rule of thumb is for every 10mm of travel changed equals 0.5 degrees to the headset. So 120mm would change your bike by a whole degree slacker.

[@chrismharthart]

Great vid. Learned so much. Do you recommend when going with a Fox 38 go 160 or 170 on a Turbo Levo? So Cal rider. Thanks

[@TheLoamWolf]

Thank you. I’d say probably sticking with 160 unless you plan on upping rear travel also.

[@rockymtbtrail]

Is it positive to put 29er wheel size on the rear ?

[@porroco]

I liked they went MX wheels on their turbo levos too makes a lot different riding

[@megane230f1]

ive always wondered if you could swap the 27.5 on the back for another 29er wheel. for me i dont like the mx look just not a fan

[@porroco]

@@megane230f1 well i think it can be done with the flip chips

[@8664antonio]

💯

[@TheLoamWolf]

Thank you!

[@galenkehler]

This will be relevant technology when they make it live updating based on the terrain. Particularly the angle of inclination, so the bike handling can adjust for going up vs down for example.

[@captnhuffy]

... I thought having the bike measure my Caffeine level, then making a double or quad shot based upon test results, would be the minimum requirement before I 'upgrade" (sarcasm)

[@TheLoamWolf]

Haha. Yes.

[@TheLoamWolf]

Pretty cool concepts!

[@CarolanDevDynamics]

I cannot find the geometry finder on Specialized site. Can you post the direct link?

[@David_Palka]

Can't it somehow affect the life of the bike? Or a warranty? I ordered the Canyon Neuron, precisely because the terrain around my home is quite rugged...mainly meadows, hills and low mountains. So it's not just "keep going down". The Neuron 2022 has a head angle of 67°, which is a bit more than today's trails. However, in the local area it should be exactly that (that is, more XC than enduro). However, if needed, this seems like a good solution. Yes ... I'm not jumper and long fast DH scared me off since I was able to ride bike :D :D

[@TheLoamWolf]

Thanks for sharing. Hope you like your new bike.

[@mudkayak6305]

Do shorter cranks negate the added stability of a flipchip lowered BB or is still all about BB center? I guess if pedals are equal at horrizontal the CG is lower but what about when outside pedal is down in hard cornering?

[@TheLoamWolf]

Wow, now that is a question!...And like any good question, it can spin off into an entirely different conversation! Like all things in life, no change will only give one positive benefit without a negative somewhere else. Start thinking about your "power stance" when you're in the 3 and 9 o'clock positions for descending. Does having a shorter/narrower stance affect DH strength, ability to stay strong over the bike and control it with your feet? Will your COG by 5mm or 10mm be enough to affect where weight's distributed in a corner? Would the hypothetically slower times in a corner be worth the time made up pedaling over rougher terrain at speed? Maybe. Without spending hours going further into the rabbit hole, testing, asking pros/experts in this field our suggestion based on decades of experience is, I wouldn't make my decision about going to shorter cranks be about center of gravity or cornering. Instead I would choose based on how often you're striking pedals. Would your pedaling performance, for both DH and climbing improve? If so, then that's more important than a debatable change in COG...In our opinion. haha. Hope that helps.

[@mudkayak6305]

@@TheLoamWolf Yep it helps as you brought up a few points i did not even consider. Another potential benefit besides strikes might be smaller cranks are reportedly easier on the knees. But back on track, one benefit we are told of flip chip in low gives us more stability due to slacker HTA and a lower BB. If you always run 160 cranks you'll still get that just like if you are always on 170s. Its when you change length things might get wierd regarding COG...

[@Polo-wn8xv]

I've tried on my S4 four different settings: neutral low/high and slack low/high. At the end i stucked to slack low, feels like a mini-DH Bike when it goes fast and steep on rocky and rooty terrain. No problems with BB hight.

[@captnhuffy]

Stock bike I assume. How tall are you? and your Weight? I'm pretty much in the same camp

[@Polo-wn8xv]

@@captnhuffy yes, stock bike/suspension (Float X and Rhythm 36), but with more volume spacers. I'm 5'11 and 195 lbs.

[@AB-NZ]

Thanks for this really informative vid. Pretty much reinforced my personal experience with the flip chip at the back of my Levo. I tried the lower setting at the back, but ended up with way too many pedal strikes through the rocky and rooty trails I ride a lot in Nelson, New Zealand. After losing a few pedal pins, and having a few scary moments, I have reverted back to the stock setting. And because the trails here can also be quite tight, slackening the front out could also backfire for me for navigating the tech. And it will drop the BB by a few mm as well, which obviously I am not keen on because of pedal strike. In the end, the bike rides so amazingly well in the stock setting of high at the back and middle for the headset, I am not sure it’s worth experimenting with the head angle. But then again………???

[@captnhuffy]

@@AB-NZ 100% .. I've had many pedal strikes. the worse was on a flow trail no less, as I assumed all would go well on such a groomer. Blood and bodily injuries that put me off bike for almost 2 weeks. but the bike was fine ;) I like trying fooling around with the settings, and then sticking with what works on my favorite trails. It's always a compromise.. not having the option to tune your bike isnt good .. on other bikes you are stuck without a choice. Just be a bit more cautious for your first few rides after each change. Your trails sound quite technical, you may benefit from a tighter head-tube angle.. watch out tho as handling will be faster (which is something I appreciate)

[@50whatnomadtravelnursemtb5]

I think people are getting caught up on what’s the right fit…just go ride, those numbers are so close it’s just mental. It’s just another thing they are selling that people think they need it. Go ahead sell your 2 year old bike to get a new one that is adjustable, they win.