Kenevo Gen1 1 week old kenevo smashed

R120

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Apr 13, 2018
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Ti Springs used to make heavy duty springs for the Super Deluxe but I think they have ceased trading
 

Gavalar

Active member
Feb 4, 2019
353
226
UK
The front fork had 160psi in with 2 tokens
The rear tyre started at the top of the run with 26psi in my have got burped on the way down the World Cup track is seriously brutal to say the least.
The kenevo S5 surely should not be limited to sub 15 stone riders or if this is the case there should be a weight limit warning
Rider weight limits for all Specialized models are available via a PDF Download on the Specialized website.
 

nB2000

Member
Jul 23, 2020
79
30
South coast UK
Mate
sorry to hear about the Kenevo damage. Metal engine guard needed for sure. You did get hold of an S5 though they are pretty rare. I‘ve been searching.
If you want a like new Fox X2 I can help you. Seems like air would be more adjustable for your weight - and it is Gwins shock so proper hardcore kit.
What shock length is the Kenevo eye to eye. Mines 222mm. Only 1 ride since a full service and rebuild At Sprung Suspension with new Kashima body and the aircan end casting.It’s only done trail riding.
pm me?
neil
 

RocratRacing

New Member
Aug 25, 2020
16
23
Friendcamwinch7@
Hey Krisj, sorry to hear of your mishap .
I’m 5’12” and 90kgs without kit , when I purchased my S3 the first thing I noticed was case and pedal strikes . I’m amazed you are running such a low pressure in the rear , I usually run 28psi and an insert .
i yanked the Rockshit Boxxer off and put on a Fox38 and what a difference it made , then put on a 2021 Fox Float X2 on the rear, I’m still playing with settings , but it has transformed the bike . I also built some 29er wheels for the bike and have yet to case strike , the bike is now amazing and I drop DH lines all day long with my mates
The kinematics on the Kenevo is way to linear for a coil shock and you will blow through travel all the time , air makes a big difference and is way more progressive.
Another issue is the Boxxer comes with an RC damper cartridge and many on the Kenevos where faulty , Specialized know of this issue and usually replace it with an RC2 damper cartridge which pretty much turns the fork into a Boxxer Ultimate .
If your LBS doesn’t want to look at the bike call Specialized and let them instruct a store to help you . There is no reason why any store wouldn’t service you , what if you’ve just moved into the area ? After all Specialized has a worldwide warranty program .
Keep us posted on your actions mate

DA819FDB-DC6F-4A9B-B067-4B933F665895.jpeg


FA033FDC-7089-4997-B561-2EFECAF3555E.jpeg
 

RocratRacing

New Member
Aug 25, 2020
16
23
Friendcamwinch7@
NB2000 , so
Mate
sorry to hear about the Kenevo damage. Metal engine guard needed for sure. You did get hold of an S5 though they are pretty rare. I‘ve been searching.
If you want a like new Fox X2 I can help you. Seems like air would be more adjustable for your weight - and it is Gwins shock so proper hardcore kit.
What shock length is the Kenevo eye to eye. Mines 222mm. Only 1 ride since a full service and rebuild At Sprung Suspension with new Kashima body and the aircan end casting.It’s only done trail riding.
pm me?
neil
Sorry mate , to small , Kenevo uses a 230mm x 62.5mm , but a 230mm x 65mm works fine .
the 2020 X2 fits perfect , the 2021 X2 needs a minute frame mod with a 2mm field surface to clear the fatter air can .

62E22C46-FD1C-462C-A2E9-73ABF03C668A.jpeg


4BDC1814-393D-4AAD-840E-D326A4D8EB87.jpeg
 

Stompweaver

Active member
Jan 20, 2018
187
178
Stafford
Mate
sorry to hear about the Kenevo damage. Metal engine guard needed for sure. You did get hold of an S5 though they are pretty rare. I‘ve been searching.
If you want a like new Fox X2 I can help you. Seems like air would be more adjustable for your weight - and it is Gwins shock so proper hardcore kit.
What shock length is the Kenevo eye to eye. Mines 222mm. Only 1 ride since a full service and rebuild At Sprung Suspension with new Kashima body and the aircan end casting.It’s only done trail riding.
pm me?
neil
230mm eye to eye and 62.5mm stroke dude so it's not going fit unfortunately. :(
 

CA320

Member
Jun 22, 2020
24
15
SoCal
Hey Krisj, sorry to hear of your mishap .
I’m 5’12” and 90kgs without kit , when I purchased my S3 the first thing I noticed was case and pedal strikes . I’m amazed you are running such a low pressure in the rear , I usually run 28psi and an insert .
i yanked the Rockshit Boxxer off and put on a Fox38 and what a difference it made , then put on a 2021 Fox Float X2 on the rear, I’m still playing with settings , but it has transformed the bike . I also built some 29er wheels for the bike and have yet to case strike , the bike is now amazing and I drop DH lines all day long with my mates
The kinematics on the Kenevo is way to linear for a coil shock and you will blow through travel all the time , air makes a big difference and is way more progressive.
Another issue is the Boxxer comes with an RC damper cartridge and many on the Kenevos where faulty , Specialized know of this issue and usually replace it with an RC2 damper cartridge which pretty much turns the fork into a Boxxer Ultimate .
If your LBS doesn’t want to look at the bike call Specialized and let them instruct a store to help you . There is no reason why any store wouldn’t service you , what if you’ve just moved into the area ? After all Specialized has a worldwide warranty program .
Keep us posted on your actions mate

View attachment 39684

View attachment 39685
Thinking about switching to a Fox 38 for my 2020 expert. What are the biggest differences over the Boxxer?
 

RocratRacing

New Member
Aug 25, 2020
16
23
Friendcamwinch7@
Thinking about switching to a Fox 38 for my 2020 expert. What are the biggest differences over the Boxxer?
Everything mate . Quite a bit stiffer to start , so wheel placement in rough stuff is much better . Small bump compliance is unbelievable on this fork , and the ramp to full travel is very smooth . The big advantage is obviously much tighter cornering on a bike that is already long as you don’t have the frame bumpers of a triple clamp fork banging into the frame . I tune suspension with Motion Instruments equipment and these forks can really be dialed in .
 

nB2000

Member
Jul 23, 2020
79
30
South coast UK
Hey Krisj, sorry to hear of your mishap .
I’m 5’12” and 90kgs without kit , when I purchased my S3 the first thing I noticed was case and pedal strikes . I’m amazed you are running such a low pressure in the rear , I usually run 28psi and an insert .
i yanked the Rockshit Boxxer off and put on a Fox38 and what a difference it made , then put on a 2021 Fox Float X2 on the rear, I’m still playing with settings , but it has transformed the bike . I also built some 29er wheels for the bike and have yet to case strike , the bike is now amazing and I drop DH lines all day long with my mates
The kinematics on the Kenevo is way to linear for a coil shock and you will blow through travel all the time , air makes a big difference and is way more progressive.
Another issue is the Boxxer comes with an RC damper cartridge and many on the Kenevos where faulty , Specialized know of this issue and usually replace it with an RC2 damper cartridge which pretty much turns the fork into a Boxxer Ultimate .
If your LBS doesn’t want to look at the bike call Specialized and let them instruct a store to help you . There is no reason why any store wouldn’t service you , what if you’ve just moved into the area ? After all Specialized has a worldwide warranty program .
Keep us posted on your actions mate

View attachment 39684

View attachment 39685
Isn’t the BB rather high with 29” wheels? How is the rear wheel / frame clearance? Really appreciate BB measurement (static) and a pic of rear shell clearance near bb please.
thx
 

RocratRacing

New Member
Aug 25, 2020
16
23
Friendcamwinch7@
I have a feeling that this is called six foot.

Crazy that the fox 38 is stiffer than the Boxxer!!!!

On this vid at about the 12 min mark you can see how the boxer compares to the fox 40 in terms of flex

I have the 38 and it is awesome.

Still pretty crazy if the 38 beats out a dual crown.
Haha , actually 5’11” , it autocorrected to 5’12” . If you have a 38 you will understand how stiff the fork is , it doesn’t do the fore and aft flexing like the Boxxer does believe me , the Boxxer under braking flexed like a XC fork ? not my idea of good engineering, it may be those 35mm stantions . Some folks enjoy them , I do not .
 

RocratRacing

New Member
Aug 25, 2020
16
23
Friendcamwinch7@
Isn’t the BB rather high with 29” wheels? How is the rear wheel / frame clearance? Really appreciate BB measurement (static) and a pic of rear shell clearance near bb please.
thx
Will do it tomorrow mate .
The BB needs a little more ground clearance as it is rather low to start then with the coil shock out back and a linear kinematic on the rear end , it blows through travel real easy , this is why they strike so much , with the 29” wheels it’s more like the Levo and is amazingly stable at high speed on a jump line . With the X2 out back , the rear runs more progressive so runs higher in the travel through the full 180mm of travel , I don’t BB strike anymore and I’m running the flip chip on high setting . This bike is way more stable on hard descents then my Santa Cruz Megatower for me .
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
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Mar 29, 2018
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Aww.... naw.. Shit luck Kris
Fort Bill is relentless. I must've done 1000 runs there over the years and even with DH bikes I'd rarely come back without a mechanical or destroyed parts. (lots of wheels, a ton of tyres,a few cranks, chainrings, chainguides,shocks/forks and a ton of rear mechs). I wouldn't ride an Eeb there at all. But I still have the luxury of owning a couple of (older) DH bikes.
Hope you get the motor sorted.

if it's any consolation your pic where the bike's bottomed out is the last triple into the arena isn't it? DH bikes,set up properly also bottom out pretty harshly if you don't make the downslope clean there.

Regarding tyre pressures. I've also never run less than 30psi with 2.5 dual ply DH casing tyres at the Fort (a fair bit lighter than you)

If you can't get a suitable spring, One bonus of swapping out to an air shock is you'll gain a ton of progression. I'd go that route if I were you.
plenty WC DH bikes run air shocks
 

RocratRacing

New Member
Aug 25, 2020
16
23
Friendcamwinch7@
nB
Isn’t the BB rather high with 29” wheels? How is the rear wheel / frame clearance? Really appreciate BB measurement (static) and a pic of rear shell clearance near bb please.
thx
nB2000 , here it is mate , BB height to center of axle 352mm With 2.5 DH casing Maxxis tires on a 30mm rim , my Santa Cruz V10 29 is 356mm .
Excuse the dirt in the pics , I rode from 8.45 to 5.30 yesterday and didn’t have time to give the bike a clean . The tire clearance is no different to my mates Levo . I’m not sure , but I think the chain stays and seat stays are the same on the Kenevo and Levo , if not , there is very little difference in dimensions.

1D1276CA-63E6-4753-837F-8CCA3852974D.jpeg


F039C741-0C3B-4DDE-B0D6-EB35D8CB7A40.jpeg
 

Binhill1

🍊 Tango Man 🍊
Mar 7, 2019
3,250
5,033
Scotland
I’ve purchased a S5 kenevo just over a week ago. I’m 6ft 2 inches and 16 1/2 stone kitted up. The RockShox rear shock only comes with a 600 lb spring on as standard
I rode at Fort William over the weekend on the World Cup track and blew through all the travel to point where my motor made contact with the floor and smashed the motor and battery casing. I didn’t send the large features either as I did not have confidence in the bike at all.
I find this very disappointing for a 7k bike that it supposed to be a dh orientated bike. It’s taken me months of saving to get this bike because I believed it to be the bike best suited to my riding.
I had a Levo before the kenevo with a coil shock fitted and I’ve never had any issues with the bike blowing through travel.
RockShox only go up to a 650lb spring too and I believe I would benefit from a 700lb spring for my weight but RockShox don’t even have it as an option. Surely Specialized have tested the S5 this with larger rider weights in mind.
The problem I’ve got now is I bought the bike from the internet and the shop is located at the other side of the country and my local Specialized dealer won’t have a look for me.
Ive spent over 12k with Specialized now find it very disappointing that you can’t take your bike to any Specialized dealers to get things checked out , another concern with this is when my motor fails which seems to be on the cards am I going to have to send the bike back down south to have this fixed too.
Ive always loved Specialized bikes and trusted the build quality and after care but I’m losing faith now. The bike I’ve saved my Hard earned cash for and dreamed of owning is slowly becoming a nightmare. Has anyone else who’s a larger rider had any similar problems. @Specialized Rider Care can you help and advise me please as I’m stuck on which way to turn. I’ve attached photos of the 4ft high drops that did the damage and the one with the suspension bottoming out is a screen shot of the drop off

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View attachment 39409
just an update on my situation, spoken to tftuned and I’ve been advised that for my rider weight I would be better suited to an air shock to the price tag of £620 that’s great after spending 7k just over a week ago ?also the air shocks aren’t available till the end of December
Fair hit that I reckon. Heres a pick of bash plate I have on levo expert from Berkshire cycles . You probably would have bent that is well .
20190808_162547-jpg.16824
 

Krisj

Well-known member
Patreon
May 1, 2018
313
529
Sheffield
Aww.... naw.. Shit luck Kris
Fort Bill is relentless. I must've done 1000 runs there over the years and even with DH bikes I'd rarely come back without a mechanical or destroyed parts. (lots of wheels, a ton of tyres,a few cranks, chainrings, chainguides,shocks/forks and a ton of rear mechs). I wouldn't ride an Eeb there at all. But I still have the luxury of owning a couple of (older) DH bikes.
Hope you get the motor sorted.

if it's any consolation your pic where the bike's bottomed out is the last triple into the arena isn't it? DH bikes,set up properly also bottom out pretty harshly if you don't make the downslope clean there.

Regarding tyre pressures. I've also never run less than 30psi with 2.5 dual ply DH casing tyres at the Fort (a fair bit lighter than you)

If you can't get a suitable spring, One bonus of swapping out to an air shock is you'll gain a ton of progression. I'd go that route if I were you.
plenty WC DH bikes run air shocks
Hi Gary I’ve got the suspension sorted now J tech suspension did me a spring calc and sorted me a spring out , went to away this weekend to BPW and it performed sweet on everything I threw at it. The front forks are nearly there just a little tweaking now. The damage to the motor casing I’ve still got to sort. Gorilla tape and a piece of tyre is holding up for now ?
The last drops into the finish at FW are brutal like you say ??
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
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Mar 29, 2018
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Hi Gary I’ve got the suspension sorted now J tech suspension did me a spring calc and sorted me a spring out , went to away this weekend to BPW and it performed sweet on everything I threw at it. The front forks are nearly there just a little tweaking now. The damage to the motor casing I’ve still got to sort. Gorilla tape and a piece of tyre is holding up for now ?
The last drops into the finish at FW are brutal like you say ??
Glad you got it sorted mate. James is excellent with suspension (and bike mechanics in general) . I remember him being super helpful back in my DH racing days when he was a mechanic for Pearse.
 

Doomanic

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Jan 21, 2018
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Hi Gary I’ve got the suspension sorted now J tech suspension did me a spring calc and sorted me a spring out , went to away this weekend to BPW and it performed sweet on everything I threw at it. The front forks are nearly there just a little tweaking now. The damage to the motor casing I’ve still got to sort. Gorilla tape and a piece of tyre is holding up for now ?
The last drops into the finish at FW are brutal like you say ??
What weight spring did you end up with?
 

FlowDough

Active member
Nov 11, 2018
41
23
North America
Everything mate . Quite a bit stiffer to start , so wheel placement in rough stuff is much better . Small bump compliance is unbelievable on this fork , and the ramp to full travel is very smooth . The big advantage is obviously much tighter cornering on a bike that is already long as you don’t have the frame bumpers of a triple clamp fork banging into the frame . I tune suspension with Motion Instruments equipment and these forks can really be dialed in .
The single crown 38 is "quite a bit stiffer" than the double crown Boxxer? I know the Boxxer is a noodle compared to a 40 but I would still think the extra crown would give it more stiffness than a 38. Any studies to verify this or just personal opinion?
 

R120

Moderator
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Apr 13, 2018
7,819
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Surrey
Depends how you define stiffness, and whether you are referring to lateral, for and aft movement etc - a dual crown fork will always be more direct in terms of feel and feedback due to the design, but a larger stanchion fork will usually result in less deflection/twist between the stanchions., but again a lot of this is dependent on the connection at the crown, and axle system too. On my Lyric Ultimate 170mm riding it with or without torque caps makes a noticeable difference IMO to the suspension action simply because the connection at the axle is more solid with less movement due to the caps, which is especially noticeable under hard braking.

With a 38 or a Zeb I would say what you are getting is the suspension performing better because the bigger stanchions enable the suspension to move smoother due to less deflection between the stanchions.

I have a 2021 Manitou circus on my DJ bike, that is only a 32mm stanchion, but has a 20mm bolt though axle, and its a very stiff fork as a result.

I am far from a suspension expert and only base the above from my own riding very amateur experience and the feel I get from riding different forks!
 

Krisj

Well-known member
Patreon
May 1, 2018
313
529
Sheffield
The rear suspension on the Kenevo is pretty linear. It can, and will, as you've found out blow through the travel pretty easily. I have damaged my battery cover cover in the same way on my S5 although not in such spectacular style. I've made a metal skid plate which I've then attached with glass fibre the original cover. It's not pretty but it works.

The material choice for the battery rock guard and motor covers is poor as it's too brittle. Ideally it would be thicker and more durable and there'd be a proper skid metal plate like Orange do on their ebikes.

I had an Amygos bashguard on my old Kenevo due to damaging the motor cover on that and it was ugly but worked. Never had an issue smacking that into anything after it was fitted.

Amygos Bashguard

A progressive spring would definitely help however the Cane Creek Progressive Valt spring will not fit the Rock Shox shock as the internal diameter of the spring is too small. MRP do a progressive spring but the stiffest is 600 rising by 20% at the end of the stroke. Even this may not be stiff enough for you.

MRP progressive spring

A shock rebuild with more high speed compression damping would help too. The EXT Storia has a hydraulic bottom out bumper if you want the best shock out there at the moment.

Hopefully Cascade Components will bring out a more progressive linkage for the Kenevo like they have for the Levo.

Cascade Components

If you ride these bikes as full on DH bikes there are some changes that have to be made and it’s annoying that you have to spend more money on top of the cost of the bike.

I would speak to Berkshire Cycles or RaceCo. I’m sure they’d help out with the warranty issue.
Cheers for the post dude very informative and the links too ??
 

Krisj

Well-known member
Patreon
May 1, 2018
313
529
Sheffield
Hey Krisj, sorry to hear of your mishap .
I’m 5’12” and 90kgs without kit , when I purchased my S3 the first thing I noticed was case and pedal strikes . I’m amazed you are running such a low pressure in the rear , I usually run 28psi and an insert .
i yanked the Rockshit Boxxer off and put on a Fox38 and what a difference it made , then put on a 2021 Fox Float X2 on the rear, I’m still playing with settings , but it has transformed the bike . I also built some 29er wheels for the bike and have yet to case strike , the bike is now amazing and I drop DH lines all day long with my mates
The kinematics on the Kenevo is way to linear for a coil shock and you will blow through travel all the time , air makes a big difference and is way more progressive.
Another issue is the Boxxer comes with an RC damper cartridge and many on the Kenevos where faulty , Specialized know of this issue and usually replace it with an RC2 damper cartridge which pretty much turns the fork into a Boxxer Ultimate .
If your LBS doesn’t want to look at the bike call Specialized and let them instruct a store to help you . There is no reason why any store wouldn’t service you , what if you’ve just moved into the area ? After all Specialized has a worldwide warranty program .
Keep us posted on your actions mate

View attachment 39684

View attachment 39685
Cheer for the informative post dude what’s the symptoms of the faulty damper ?
 

RocratRacing

New Member
Aug 25, 2020
16
23
Friendcamwinch7@
Cheer for the informative post dude what’s the symptoms of the faulty damper ?
You get a sucky sound on compression and rebound and the compression dial doesn’t do much to change the damping . My bike did this from new and Spesh sent it to RockShox for warranty, they sent it back as an Ultimate with RC 2 damper.
 

Wic_ed1

Member
Oct 4, 2020
46
22
New Zealand
The front fork had 160psi in with 2 tokens
The rear tyre started at the top of the run with 26psi in my have got burped on the way down the World Cup track is seriously brutal to say the least.
The kenevo S5 surely should not be limited to sub 15 stone riders or if this is the case there should be a weight limit warning

I'm trying to get my suspension sorted too, I'm 108-110kg with gear and ride pretty aggressively. I was running 180psi, two volume spacers 25% sag. I found this quite harsh on the small choppy stuff but I'd still blow through the stroke and bottom it hard on the big hits. I tested 4 spacers and 25% sag over the weekend, it was plusher but still blowing through on the big hits. I've just fitted 6 spacers and will try that out and give you an update.

I'm only two weeks in on the bike and have already bent a crank arm from a 5 foot huck to flat, surprisingly the casing didn't hit the ground like yours or the ground was too soft to do any noticeable damage. I did damage the bottom like you in the separate incident over the weekend doing a run on last years national DH track, I launched some roots and landed on the knuckle of the next set so I'm not surprised by the outcome of that one. I've ordered two different types of guards to try, the Airpro fork which is CNC machined and a carbon one by RockGaurd.

For the rear I'm hoping my LBS will be able to sort out a progressive spring to suit my weight. If there is something worth looking at I'll let you know.
 
Last edited:

Wic_ed1

Member
Oct 4, 2020
46
22
New Zealand
I'm trying to get my suspension sorted too, I'm 108-110kg with gear and ride pretty aggressively. I was running 180psi, two volume spacers 25% sag. I found this quite harsh on the small choppy stuff but I'd still blow through the stroke and bottom it hard on the big hits. I tested 4 spacers and 25% sag over the weekend, it was plusher but still blowing through on the big hits. I've just fitted 6 spacers and will try that out and give you an update.

I'm only two weeks in on the bike and have already bent a crank arm from a 5 foot huck to flat, surprisingly the casing didn't hit the ground like yours or the ground was too soft to do any noticeable damage. I did damage the bottom like you in the separate incident over the weekend doing a run on last years national DH track, I launched some roots and landed on the knuckle of the next set so I'm not surprised by the outcome of that one. I've ordered two different types of guards to try, the Airpro fork which is CNC machined and a carbon one by RockGaurd.

For the rear I'm hoping my LBS will be able to sort out a progressive spring to suit my weight. If there is something worth looking at I'll let you know.

I’ve given up on looking for a suitable spring and ordered a fox float X2. I like the fact it has low and high speed adjustments to deal with the small choppy stuff and bigger hits
 

Fx1

Auto WARNING : Possible Duplicate user : "Zero"
Feb 6, 2020
267
203
GB
The front fork had 160psi in with 2 tokens
The rear tyre started at the top of the run with 26psi in my have got burped on the way down the World Cup track is seriously brutal to say the least.
The kenevo S5 surely should not be limited to sub 15 stone riders or if this is the case there should be a weight limit warning

Dude, i weigh 75kg and i run 155psi front fork and 26psi rear tyre on an S3.

No wonder you broke it.

Also did you keep the 600lb spring and then do a 4 foot drop?

Your fork is totally bottomed and with that PSI im sure it smashed it in to the crown. The rear tyre is pancaked. The rear coil is 100% compressed and all the force is now going in to places that can cause permanent damage to the frame and suspension..

I dont think you can make the motor hit the floor even with 100% compression of the suspension so this means you probably seriously bent something which is not supposed to bend.
 
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