Review: 700 Kilometers of Monster-Trucking the Specialized Turbo Kenevo

Contents

---

Construction & Features

The Kenevo's aluminum chunky front triangle mirrors the Enduro's 'X-Wing' frame profile, with the necessary bumps and bulges to streamline its electronics. The FSR rear suspension is equally overbuilt and it drives a yoke to compress an Ohlins TTX coil shock.

The rest of the frame meets common standards for 2018: 148mm Boost rear hub spacing, a tapered head tube and, (hold on) it has a massive, 34.9mm diameter seat tube. The oversize tube accommodates Specialized's new 'Wu' Command post - the one that tilts the saddle at the same time it's moving up and down.


I have been ranting about short crank arms ever since I first swung a leg over an eMTB. Specialized fits all their Turbo eMTBs with 165mm Praxis cranks as standard, and while they are not the super-short 160mm/150mm cranks that we are starting to see, 165mm is compact enough to give good clearance for technical climbing.



Simple Electronic Controls

One of Specialized's main goals with eMTB's is to create a bike that is as easy and intuitive to ride as your normal mountain bike, so they have kept things simple with the electronics. Some eMTB's have bulky screens and levers to activate and adjust, where Specialized simply use a small button control next to the left grip. This control can toggle up and down between power modes using two buttons, while the 'S' button on top puts you directly into Turbo from any mode. There is a separate 'walk mode' button underneath the panel, which is found on most eMTB's to help drive the bike up steep slopes or steps, so you don't have to push it.

The second part of the control system is a svelte LED block on the side of the down tube. Buttons on the panel power the bike on and off, and can also be used to change power modes. The LED array also displays the remaining battery charge.

Another part of the bike's electrical system that Specialized have aced is their 'Mission Control' smartphone app, which is really easy to use. The app pairs quickly to the bike and is used to adjust the level of power assist in each mode via slide bars. The app also can be used to track GPS routes and it gives you information like the number of miles ridden, charging status, and battery health.



Custom battery

The battery does not use a key to secure it like most systems. Instead, a 6mm bolt locks it in place. Not as effective as a key lock, but it should ward off time-crunched battery thieves and make your life easier when you have lost the key. The battery itself is a 504 watt-hour unit that is proprietary to Turbo Kenevo's and Levo's. Designing their own battery helps with aesthetics and streamlines the frame - but a dedicated battery can make finding a replacement more difficult. I would be wary of that on bikes from smaller brands, but a giant like Specialized should make it easier to get replacements in the future. Bear in mind that these batteries should last around 1000 cycles, which equates to a 2 to 3-hour ride, every day, for three years.

More Powerful Motor

And finally, to the motor. In conjunction with German motor specialists, Brose, Specialized built the Kenevo around the Turbo 1.3 motor. Specialized claim this has better heat management in the motor and 15% more torque than its predecessor. More power may be on the horizon too. Since this Kenevo was delivered, the new Turbo Levo was released with the Brose's new 2.1 motor, which promises to be quieter, with more power, torque, efficiency, and lower weight. It will be interesting to see if Specialized makes the 2.1 a running change on the Kenevo.

Geometry & Sizing

Suspension Design

The Kenevo uses Specialized's tried and trusted four-bar FSR suspension layout. The seatstay drives a small rocker link and the shock is, in turn, driven with the yoke arrangement that Specialized has been using on most of its trail bikes. The yoke features Specialized's proprietary shock mount, which makes it more difficult to find aftermarket options, but the Ohlins TTX damper is one of the best out there with the correct tune.

Build

For the €5999 price tag, the 180mm-travel Kenevo comes with an Ohlins TTX coil shock paired with a 180mm RockShox Lyrik RCT3 fork. SRAM also supply Code R brakes with 200mm rotors, and an 11-speed, 11-42, GX drivetrain - including the 'one-click' eMTB shifter that only allows one gear to be changed per push, (opposed to 2-3 with a standard shifter). Surprisingly, Specialized do not choose SRAM's e-specific EX1 groupset which uses a stronger chain with eight gears and wider gaps between each gear, as well as a cleverly machined, one-piece, steel cassette that makes for a more reliable system.

The rest of the build features Specialized's branded components including a Roval 38mm inner-width wheelset and Butcher Grid 2.8" rubber. Contact and steering points including the handlebar, stem, grips, saddle, Wu dropper post, and even a SWAT bottle cage, all from the big S's wide range of products.

Climbing

Out of the gate, the first thing to notice on the Kenevo is how quiet it is. Its Brose 1.3 motor is much more subtle than Shimano's E8000 and it makes a Bosch motor sound like a clunky farm tractor as it engages.

The Kenevo's motor feels more natural than anything else I have tried. It matched pedaling torque with my cadence and power almost seamlessly, but it's not perfect. The downside is that in technical terrain I occasionally lost power assist for intervals at critical moments when I was timing pedal strokes through rocks. That can really kill your speed. I learned to compensate for that lag by using short, ratcheting pedal strokes on technical sections to keep the sensors engaged and the motor turning. On the positive side, the Kenevo climbs smoothly up choppy trails as well or better than its closest competition, thanks to a delayed cut-off feature that eases off the power-assist after you have stopped pedaling.

The geometry is average for climbing on an eMTB. The 75º seat tube angle, however, could be steeper, especially for taller riders. The Wu Command post was a great help for climbing as it tilts the saddle's nose down as it extends, which should help to shift the rider's weight forward to pin the front wheel on the ground, but some of the gains there are lost by the post-head's rearward offset saddle clamp.

Descending

The Kenevo is not just quiet going uphill, it is also really quiet on the descents. Chain slap is well damped by rubber guards, although I added a patch of rubber tape to protect a spot under the seat stay. There was no battery rattle or anything else to be heard while hammering out laps.

The first job before dropping in is to drop the post... and the Wu Command post was a letdown on the descents. Despite what Specialized say, the Wu's drop does not feel like 150mm. The most amount of travel I could measure (way at the back of the saddle), was 133mm. When measured where my sit bones rested, the drop was more like 125mm. This post also extends super fast, so lightly weighting it as you actuate the lever and letting it rise up slowly makes for a less terrifying experience. The added complexity of the post increases its stack height too. With the post slammed down in the 510mm seat tube, I was left longing for a lower saddle – in fact, this is this first bike I can recall that I could not get the saddle as low as I needed to.

As anticipated, the Turbo Kenevo really comes alive when heading downhill. It travels well over the terrain and stays composed. Heavier weight and more travel mean you can send it into territory that you would happily take a downhill bike to, but then you can ride back up again up another run. Add a dual-crown fork and it would be a self-shuttling DH bike.

Despite the long travel and weight, the bike doesn't feel like a slouch; direction changes are quick and easy and it sits nicely into corners as it tracks through them. There's enough progression in the system to take on all but the biggest of hits, and small bump sensitivity is fantastic. The only thing that I wanted more from the bike was reward when pumping terrain, but it does not generate much speed here, a compromise that is made when having such good bump absorbing characteristics and little pedal kickback.

The Frankenstein Kenevo

I prefer 29-inch wheels on all my bikes, so after a sufficient review period, I decided to switch the Kenevo's 27.5+ wheels to 29" hoops. All 27.5+ plus bikes can take big wheels, right? Wrong. Despite the fact that there were 27.5" x 2.8" Butcher tires fitted to the Specialized, a 29" wheel with a normal 2.35" tire wouldn't fit - front or rear. I tried a shorter travel Formula 29" fork and rode the Kenevo with mismatched wheels (it handled better and I had my best ride in this configuration). I even threw an Ohlins downhill fork on the bike, which made for a great slack-steering monster on the downs, but was unwieldy while climbing. The added confidence from the dual crown fork was great, but the 200mm travel and 29" wheel travel raised the headtube too high, a shorter travel version could have worked wonders.

The Verdict: Beyond the nonsense and expense of swapping wheels and forks, the quickest and easiest way for anybody to get better performance from the Kenevo will be to swap to some heavier tires like Maxxis with Double Down or Schwalbe Super Gravity casings or just go for the full-DH casings. Hopefully Specialized will make a running change to their new Blck Dmnd casing as standard on this machine, or if buying from a quality local bike shop, they will sort this for you before ride #1.

---

How does it compare?

The Kenevo is almost in a class of its own, as it is one of the few bikes with Brose power and uses many of Specialized's own tweaks and tuning. The closest competitor I have tested is the Vitus e-Sommet, which has 160mm of rear-wheel travel and 170mm up front. The Kenevo wins on refinement, the quietness of the motor, and its intuitive control system, when compared to the Vitus' Shimano Steps powerplant.

The Specialized also has much more trucking power and pure brute that gets you through almost anything you want. The Vitus wins on value from its direct-sale platform. It also travels over ground much more lightly and it is more nimble than the Kenevo, which is not surprising when its weight is closer to 26kg with real rubber. The Vitus almost matches the Kenevo's downhill performance, and handles better while climbing.

Technical Report

Command Post WU Dropper: The concept of the Wu post is fantastic, along with going up and down like a normal dropper, a lever also tilts the saddle forwards as it goes up. This meant I could set the comfy nose-down position that I prefer, but then have a relaxed, tilted-back DH position for descending. The DH position drops the rear of the saddle lower and out of your way. Despite Specialized's claims that the actual 110mm travel of the dropper post feels more like 150mm because of the extra tilt, I'm not convinced. I would like to see a longer-stroke version in the future, especially on such a capable descender.

Specialized Butcher Grid Tires: The Butcher Grid tires are too flimsy for a bike with this heft. Within two rides, I had amassed over ten punctures (with and without tubes) and had forged the rear rim into a replica of Aaron Gwin's infamous Leogang tire-less World Cup wheel. The fix was to ditch the Specialized tires and mount some Schwalbe Eddy Current eMTB specific tires. I mounted a 27.5" x 2.8" tire rear and a 2.4" up front both with Super Gravity casings and Addix Soft compound.

E-beer Belly: The shape and location of the Brose motor and battery leave the belly of the bike hanging lower and farther forward than most bikes sporting Shimano or Bosch motors - meaning a few more bangs and scrapes going over big trail obstacles. There was no serious damage to the Brose motor and the plastic protection did its job, but it is well-scarred after more than 700kms.

The Turbo Kenevo Rider...

I have warned against buying niche eMTB's in the past. If I were spending my own money today, I'd have a tough time straying from the two main players (Bosch and Shimano), in order to be sure my bike would have the best chance of a long life, with more service centers and readily available spares in the future. Specialized is the anomaly, especially in Europe. Reportedly, 50% of serious eMTB riders choose Specialized platforms, which indicates that service and parts availability for Brose motors could be on par with its two rivals.

If you want a bike that is good enough for any downhill, is quiet and intuitive, with great climbing performance (considering its DH orientation), then the only way you can go wrong with the Kenevo is if you can't get the seat low enough for your descending style, or you are foolish enough to leave the flimsy Grid tires on.

Pinkbike's Take

---

---

Posted In:
eMTB Specialized Specialized Kenevo