Kenevo Gen1 29er Front and Rear Kenevo

[Zimmerframe]

If I'm not talking bullshit, the Kenevo is a full 27.5" no ?

As standard yes.

This thread is about making a 29/29 Kenevo.

Seems to work on the Gen2.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

And that doesn't pose a problem with the passage of the rear wheel ? .. especially for mud for example..

Not in my experience.

S4, full 29:

 

[#lazy]

I use a Michelin enduro 2.4 and there’s enough room , had to change to a 29 fork though !

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Another weekend on my 29er Kenevo. I still think if this bike was released now, in 29 or mullet that it would be ranked in the top few enduro bikes out there.

Virtually silent descending, no clunk or rattle, suspension curve thats not too progressive (many new bikes are getting too progressive IMO, more harsh ride in some situations) and the Kenevo with Air Shock works so well. I still cant beat the times on my tracks with any other bike.

 

[2wheelsahead]

Another weekend on my 29er Kenevo. I still think if this bike was released now, in 29 or mullet that it would be ranked in the top few enduro bikes out there.

Virtually silent descending, no clunk or rattle, suspension curve thats not too progressive (many new bikes are getting too progressive IMO, more harsh ride in some situations) and the Kenevo with Air Shock works so well. I still cant beat the times on my tracks with any other bike.

I have just ordered a new expert off the back of this thread. I’m excited to get it sorted for the trails..cheers gents..anyone got some 29’r forks for sale

 

[Ondra]

Another weekend on my 29er Kenevo. I still think if this bike was released now, in 29 or mullet that it would be ranked in the top few enduro bikes out there.

Virtually silent descending, no clunk or rattle, suspension curve thats not too progressive (many new bikes are getting too progressive IMO, more harsh ride in some situations) and the Kenevo with Air Shock works so well. I still cant beat the times on my tracks with any other bike.

Hello @Rob Rides EMTB ,
Thanks for all the insights in making Kenevo the 29” superenduro.

Have you thought about going the opposite direction as I asked in my reply - 170/160 full 29 with progressive geo?

Looking forward for you thoughts on this subject

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Hello @Rob Rides EMTB ,
Thanks for all the insights in making Kenevo the 29” superenduro.

Have you thought about going the opposite direction as I asked in my reply - 170/160 full 29 with progressive geo?

Looking forward for you thoughts on this subject

Hi, sorry just on mobile at the moment, that’s a Levo isn’t it?

 

[Ondra]

Hi, sorry just on mobile at the moment, that’s a Levo isn’t it?

Hi,
Well Levo has shorter chain stays and slacker seat tube angle…

For me personally reasons to go for Kenevo even if the travel will be similar:
- I’m 190cm tall so longer chain stays will create better balance on S5 and offer more space to make the bike full 29 (and not fan of mulllets)
- steeper STA better for climbing with high seat on S5 with 210+ dropper

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Hi,
Well Levo has shorter chain stays and slacker seat tube angle…

For me personally reasons to go for Kenevo even if the travel will be similar:
- I’m 190cm tall so longer chain stays will create better balance on S5 and offer more space to make the bike full 29 (and not fan of mulllets)
- steeper STA better for climbing with high seat on S5 with 210+ dropper

The thing to watch out for is the forward / rear balance and how much you will change the geo with a 170 fork, and what shock would you put in? If you just go for a shorter stroke, you’re not reducing the rear height, just reducing the rear wheel travel, whilst reducing the front by 10mm, creating a steeper head angle.

So you’ve just created a bike that has a lower front end…

I’m sure there are ways around it, you’d need to look at shock eye to eyes and maybe offset bushings..

 

[Christurbo]

I’ve moved back to triple clamp … but in Mullet (still 180mm of front travel though).

 

[mustclime]

The thing to watch out for is the forward / rear balance and how much you will change the geo with a 170 fork, and what shock would you put in? If you just go for a shorter stroke, you’re not reducing the rear height, just reducing the rear wheel travel, whilst reducing the front by 10mm, creating a steeper head angle.

So you’ve just created a bike that has a lower front end…

I’m sure there are ways around it, you’d need to look at shock eye to eyes and maybe offset bushings..

If you ever want to nerd out you can start out looking up axle to crown numbers of different forks. For example, the stock 180mm Boxxer a-c is 572mm and the axle to ground of a 27.5 wheel with a 2.6 tire is around 359mm…. You could add the two numbers together for 931mm But that is not the number of the ground to the lower bearing race. Your fork is not at a 90 degree angle to the ground, it’s at 64 degrees so the real number is 610 mm. The slacker the head angle, the less ground to lower bearing seat Number is effected. A 180 mm 27.5 Zeb is 577 mm A-c but the g- c number is 612mm, the fork is 5mm longer than a Boxxer but there is only a 2mm difference in hight. A 29er 180 mm Zeb is 636mm or around 25 mm longer than the stock Boxxer/ 27.5 setup. Your best bet for a mullet is a 170mm 29er Zeb, that number is 631mm or a 21mm increase over stock.
My biggest issue with the Kenevo is the standover number and the rear suspension motion ratio. The stand over is 799mm for the s2-s3….. that’s 32 inches…. Stupid for tech riding, the Levo is still high with 31 inches. The motion ratio on the Kenevo is 2.88 to 1…… this means you need high pressures in the air spring and this puts a high loads on the rebound circuit of the rear shock. Having such a high motion ratio on the suspension is just poor design. The suspension design is also the reason the top tube is so high, the mounts and pivot locations are set no matter the size of the frame.
Disclaimer: I have a 2022 Kenevo with a 190mm 27.5 Zeb (616mm - 6mm over stock).

 

[Ondra]

The thing to watch out for is the forward / rear balance and how much you will change the geo with a 170 fork, and what shock would you put in? If you just go for a shorter stroke, you’re not reducing the rear height, just reducing the rear wheel travel, whilst reducing the front by 10mm, creating a steeper head angle.

So you’ve just created a bike that has a lower front end…

I’m sure there are ways around it, you’d need to look at shock eye to eyes and maybe offset bushings..

Well, I´d actually increase front - 170 29" fork will be taller than 180 27" stock fork (either 38 on Comp or Boxxer on Expert).

And I´ll also rise BB as mentioned all around this thread - around 19mm (difference in radius between 27" (584mm diameter) and 29" (622mm))

Other thing regarding rear is also how much linear or progressive the rear end is?
In reviews with stock coil is often mentioned for rear travel to be a touch more linear than it should.
You Rob also mentioned that the Kenevo behaves better with air shock out back.
Well under my 100+ kg the air shock on Specialized bikes requires 300+ PSI which has a negative effect on sensitivity... And for that, besides lower maintenance requirements and more consistent behavior in long rough descents, I´d like to put there a coil shock.
Any observations on this topic, please?

 

[Dax]

suspension curve thats not too progressive (many new bikes are getting too progressive IMO, more harsh ride in some situations) and the Kenevo with Air Shock works so well.

I’m sure it works great, but this seems like a funny statement, disliking how bikes are getting too progressive…then fitting an air shock which will make the Kenevo more progressive than a linear coil

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

I’m sure it works great, but this seems like a funny statement, disliking how bikes are getting too progressive…then fitting an air shock which will make the Kenevo more progressive than a linear coil

Yes I see what you mean - hopefully I can explain myself better:

The Kenevo isn’t that progressive, especially in the latter stages of the travel. Looking at the leverage curve from Specialized, once we hit 100mm of travel the ramp starts to flatten out a bit :

I found on a coil it was very easy to bottom out and get bogged down into this lower part of travel (100mm+ of travel) . By moving to air it helped ramp up due to the nature of an air shock.

Leverage according to that chart from Specialized is around 3.15 - 2.55, so approximately 19% progressive (so not *that* progressive compared to many)

As an example, the new Propain Ekano, with 180/170 is a massive 40% progression through the travel:

This massive progression with its stock air shock meant it was really difficult to use all the travel, and felt a bit more harsh over rooty chatter compared to the Kenevo. IMO the Propain is a bit too progressive for me. I only tried that with an air shock, but I’d have liked to have moved that to a coil to try out.

It’s all personal preference really, there is no best, just what works for one won’t be the best for all.

What I found on the Kenevo was that the air shock helped keep the rear up a bit better, as well as keeping it feeling a bit more agile vs coil (which on a long travel big bike I prefer)

But in short, Kenevo with air works best for me

 

[mustclime]

I found it really interesting that my stock Rockshox super deluxe select + ( I am back to riding it since my x2 blew blew up for the second time)came with a nardog token in it…. That’s 2.5 tokens in stock form for a 180 mm travel suspension.
I also found it interesting that the one coil shock that would be best for the Kenevo is the rockshox super deluxe with the hydraulic bottom out adjustment with a steel shaft is only sold to the manufacturers.

 

[mustclime]

Well, I´d actually increase front - 170 29" fork will be taller than 180 27" stock fork (either 38 on Comp or Boxxer on Expert).

And I´ll also rise BB as mentioned all around this thread - around 19mm (difference in radius between 27" (584mm diameter) and 29" (622mm))

The only increase is the difference in the radius of the wheels+5mm for the fork with a 170 mm 29er fork.

 

[Kenevo cambo]

Have been running my Kenevo in mullet configuration for a while but just switched to full 29’er and initial impressions are very good.
For some reason the bike feels plusher, could just be the placebo effect.
Might end up running one of the new vivd air shocks as I reckon that could be the perfect combo.
Running Boxxers set at 180mm.

I’m from the old school and have always been wary of 29” wheels but I might have to embrace the wagon wheel!

 

[2dedge]

So what’s the general consensus on rear shock length? 180 fox 38 for the front and an X2 in the rear, but 62.5 or 65mm?

 

[CarolinaCrawler]

Another weekend on my 29er Kenevo. I still think if this bike was released now, in 29 or mullet that it would be ranked in the top few enduro bikes out there.

Virtually silent descending, no clunk or rattle, suspension curve thats not too progressive (many new bikes are getting too progressive IMO, more harsh ride in some situations) and the Kenevo with Air Shock works so well. I still cant beat the times on my tracks with any other bike.

As one of the only guys I know with both, whats you opinion on the 29 Kenevo vs Pole Voima? Both seem like killer 29ers and the current sale on the Voima seems really good.

 

[mustclime]

As one of the only guys I know with both, whats you opinion on the 29 Kenevo vs Pole Voima? Both seem like killer 29ers and the current sale on the Voima seems really good.

I really really like Pole bikes and was on the fence on getting one ….. but the history of their customer service is really really bad. I picked up a Kenevo on sale but I still have not seen any 2024 Kenevo’s on the Specialized website, so are they getting dropped? No idea.

 

[cozzy]

I hope pole have improved as Ive just ordered one to replace my 2020 mullet kenevo.

 

[Topi]

I really really like Pole bikes and was on the fence on getting one ….. but the history of their customer service is really really bad. I picked up a Kenevo on sale but I still have not seen any 2024 Kenevo’s on the Specialized website, so are they getting dropped? No idea.

What's the problem with their customer service?

 

[mustclime]

What's the problem with their customer service?

Look on mtbr, pinkbike and such, they have had some frame failures and rather than jumping on the problems, they have been less than helpful. This is according the disgruntled customers and you do not hear much from pole….. 2 sides to every disagreement you know.
I figure e bikes are a lot more complex than regular bikes so my final decision came down to picking a shop that I think will be there is there is a problem with the bike I bought from them. If My Kenevo has an issue, my lbs will deal with it or I will destroy them on line and contact the manufacturers with documentation of the shop’s failure……. If you work with a mail order company, you are pretty much at their mercy…. Jmo

Here is an old example although I have seen some pics of cracked linkages on the new bikes….. so there are still some issues.

 

[drumfrodo]

So what’s the general consensus on rear shock length? 180 fox 38 for the front and an X2 in the rear, but 62.5 or 65mm?

I went 65mm on my X2, since the bike can take that no problem. Increases rear suspension travel to 187mm, roughly. I run a 27,5 rear wheel still though, and 29 front with a Fox 38 180mm. But I believe Rob also used 65mm stroke on his build that he made the video on, regarding the Kenevo full 29-er conversion (and many others have too, from what I have seen). So 65mm is fine regardless of running 27,5 or 29 rear wheel from what I have come to understand.
The only potential issue I can see with going 65mm vs the stock 62.5mm would be if you slam the seatpost fully down into the frame AND the seat is mounted far back on the post at the same time. Then it may potensially rub a 29-er wheel on full contraction (I haven't seen examples of that actually happening, but I saw a pic of this extreme that was very close). Usually though, unless you have been able to find a dropper with the exact perfect travel length for your riding position when pedaling (meaning the seat post can be fully inserted into the frame with no excess), you would have at least 1-2 cm (or more) of the seatpost sticking out making this a non-issue for sure. And even then, you would have to have the seat far back on the post to actually touch the wheel.

 

[Topi]

I went 65mm on my X2, since the bike can take that no problem. Increases rear suspension travel to 187cm, roughly. I run a 27,5 rear wheel still though, and 29 front with a Fox 38 180mm. But I believe Rob also used 65mm stroke on his build that he made the video on, regarding the Kenevo full 29-er conversion (and many others have too, from what I have seen). So 65mm is fine regardless of running 27,5 or 29 rear wheel from what I have come to understand.
The only potential issue I can see with going 65mm vs the stock 62.5mm would be if you slam the seatpost fully down into the frame AND the seat is mounted far back on the post at the same time. Then it may potensially rub a 29-er wheel on full contraction (I haven't seen examples of that actually happening, but I saw a pic of this extreme that was very close). Usually though, unless you have been able to find a dropper with the exact perfect travel length for your riding position when pedaling (meaning the seat post can be fully inserted into the frame with no excess), you would have at least 1-2 cm (or more) of the seatpost sticking out making this a non-issue for sure. And even then, you would have to have the seat far back on the post to actually touch the wheel. View attachment 128189

187cm is 1.87m travel!

 

[drumfrodo]

187cm is 1.87m travel!

That would be awesome, right??!
Obvious typo fixed now

 

[CjP]

187cm is 1.87m travel!

Ah that’s the new Lenevo Tandem!

 

[JSeg009]

Switching my Fox 40 29er (200mm) to a Fox 38mm (180mm) soon. Even with the Fox 40, I feel the bars are too low. I have to use a 50mm riser bar. Thinking a Fox 38 with some spacers underneath stem would be more comfortable.

 

[cozzy]

Switching my Fox 40 29er (200mm) to a Fox 38mm (180mm) soon. Even with the Fox 40, I feel the bars are too low. I have to use a 50mm riser bar. Thinking a Fox 38 with some spacers underneath stem would be more comfortable.

View attachment 128263

Why not add a bunch of spacers under the DM stem à la Greg Minnaar?

 

[uamvar]

Hello All, I have just bought a Kenevo for what I would say is a good price. Had a few shots on a Levo first but always felt a bit 'over the bars' on it. Anyway, I am wanting to venture into the 29 wheel size world. I don't have much of a budget at present so am thinking of going with a mullet set-up to start with, the thing is I don't want to slacken the head angle any more than it is stock. Reading through loads of old posts on here, it appears a 160mm 29er fork with a 44 offset might be the way to do this - can anyone offer any advice here? Thanks