Asking for advice on Turbo Kenevo Build

[ZhengZL]

Hey guys, new to the forum and I wanted to ask everyone a few questions.

1.- Context & sizing
I bought the kenevo comp 2023 a year ago (and haven't been able to ride it much because I hurt my back half a year ago PS: I'm not old, just 19 yrs old lol, had bad luck carrying weights) but before that happened I notice a few issues with the bike.

I came from an old canyon strive 2020 (back when canyon made super short bikes lol) and I realized that the Kenevo in S3 was rather large, spanish page says it's 475mm in reach, whilst others say it's 470mm. It wasn't too bad and I'll eventually buy a 30-32mm stem (onoff, title, renthal sell those short ones) which should aid a bit the sizing.

2.- FLOAT X Shock Problems
However, with shock setup it wasn't as simple. I noticed how I was inflating the stock float x to over 250 psi to get it to proper sag (76kg 176cm), which wasn't too conserning as it was after all 180mm in just 62.5mm of shock travel, but I realized how the rebound range just wasn't enough. Bike was way too poppy and unstable and I was already at the last click.

I did buy another float x which I hadn't got the chance to try out because of my back issues, plus I've moved out for uni so it won't be until next year that I get to bring my bike to my current location.

However, I haven't seen ANYONE have any issues with their stock shock which makes me think this is a one off, it also blew on me twice, probably because I'm running less pressure than I should, but if I inflate it enough it'll get even more reboundy which just makes it even more unstable. Yet warranty rebuilt the shock and it perfomed just as before, so I doubt it's a defect, maybe a bad tune which they didn't catch on rebuild?

3.- Asking for further advice

Once I get my back looked after and I get to ride my bike again I want to upgrade it because I feel the bike lacks a lot of stuff in its current state, so I'm asking for advice. Current plan is: (Keep in mind I'm a broke student lol)

1.- Buy a different shock if both Float Xs fail to perform correctly (and custom tune if needed to work for me)
2.-Cockpit upgrade, specially a shorter stem because the bike feels so heavy, long and glued whilst I prefer a more playful ride.
3.-Brakes, the code Rs are a joke. I ordered a set of MT5s, and once the levers break I'll build shiguras
4.-Tires, and maybe wheels. Tires because the bike feel so glued and I can barely even manual it, and I believe the tire could be a culprit, but I may be wrong. Wheels because I'll eventually mullet the bike, so I'd get a lighter MX set
5.-Fork, maybe a FOX 38 Grip 2 170mm to go along the 29er wheel. I did miss having more compression and rebound adjustments coming from my canyon.

By the way, I also don't know how to style the bike, I feel like it currently looks very ugly and I'd like advice on that too. Maybe I should start with putting on invisiframe in matte rather than the cheap glossy film it currently has on. But I don't know how to proceed after that.

Current state:

 

[mustclime]

Ok, float x…. My first advice is pull the air can off the shock and see if you have any volume spacers. I don’t use any because the shock is so progressive….. side note, when you have the air can off, you can remove the travel reduction spacer out so the shock has 65mm of travel and the bike has 187mm of travel. I am 100 kgs and I run 245psi, (30-35% sag)4 clicks from full rebound and no compression clicks. It looks like you don’t have a compression knob, I recommend you get the knob kit…. Most of those float x performance shocks (no compression knob) have the compression set at half way….. good for Red Bull rampage, not good for just riding. If you are going to do some jumping, throw the climbing lever and you get about 5 clicks of compression.

As for the rest of the bike…. 155mm cranks are a big plus for tech riding. I replaced the wheels with 27.5 plus e bike wheels from Hunt and 2.8 Michelin e wild enduros. My fork is a Zeb with a shashpot spring kit at 180mm. …… as for the brakes, I got some Sram code ultimate levers. All of the code calipers are the same, just swap out the levers. Where I ride, the trails are just rubble, 27.5 plus is a great option.

 

[ZhengZL]

Ok, float x…. My first advice is pull the air can off the shock and see if you have any volume spacers. I don’t use any because the shock is so progressive….. side note, when you have the air can off, you can remove the travel reduction spacer out so the shock has 65mm of travel and the bike has 187mm of travel. I am 100 kgs and I run 245psi, (30-35% sag)4 clicks from full rebound and no compression clicks. It looks like you don’t have a compression knob, I recommend you get the knob kit…. Most of those float x performance shocks (no compression knob) have the compression set at half way….. good for Red Bull rampage, not good for just riding. If you are going to do some jumping, throw the climbing lever and you get about 5 clicks of compression.

As for the rest of the bike…. 155mm cranks are a big plus for tech riding. I replaced the wheels with 27.5 plus e bike wheels from Hunt and 2.8 Michelin e wild enduros. My fork is a Zeb with a shashpot spring kit at 180mm. …… as for the brakes, I got some Sram code ultimate levers. All of the code calipers are the same, just swap out the levers. Where I ride, the trails are just rubble, 27.5 plus is a great option.

That's so weird, I probably get 30 sag with the same pressure as you whilst being 76kgs, and I used to bottom out all the time too. As a matter of fact, I had to tell my friend to 3d print me a volume spacer (0.8, so a pretty damn big one) to make it not bottom out, but rebound was hella quick and made it feel unstable, so I'm gonna go with 'I just got a bad tune' vibe with my shock and swap it with the other float x I have (plus, the other one has the compression knob).
If that works, great, else, I'll switch to a different shock.

Cranks I've got no complains, I tried 175mm, 165mm on my old bike, 170mm, etc. Honestly, once I get the MX build, I'll probably run the flip chip on high so pedal strikes are not an issue at all, and for stability, the bike is pretty damn large anyway, so I ain't lacking that at all.

That brake advice was great as I was wondering if it was possible or not, however, I already ordered a set of mt5's so that will be a non-issue either way. I always liked the more bitty feel of shimanos, and I've tried shiguras with great experience, although code ultimates are quite pleasing too.

 

[mustclime]

On the shock pressure, how good is your shock pump? I have a high end one, the lower quality ones can give you crap numbers with higher pressures. A 5% error gets bigger over 200psi

 

[Redlemon]

250psi for 76kg sounds a lot to me ? You should be in the 180-190psi range, something is truly off here with your shock or setup.

Make sure to cycle your shock each time your add 50psi to have your negative chamber is balanced, otherwise it can give the false impression that rebound is fast with bad small bump sensitivity.

 

[Doomanic]

Have you tried putting extra tubes in?

 

[mustclime]

This might interest you

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/field-test-bonus-can-we-release-the-rockys-potential.html

 

[ZhengZL]

250psi for 76kg sounds a lot to me ? You should be in the 180-190psi range, something is truly off here with your shock or setup.

Make sure to cycle your shock each time your add 50psi to have your negative chamber is balanced, otherwise it can give the false impression that rebound is fast with bad small bump sensitivity.

I do cycle my shock each 50, I also did the aircan and had it rebuilt (just maintenance, because it cavitated twice, most likely because of the bottom outs), etc. Faulty pump, possible, that still wouldn't answer the rebound problems.

I'll give you guys an update next year once I get better (for those who find it as interesting as me, as this has never happened to me), I'll tell my mechanic to swap out the shock for the other float x and see if it changes anything (hopefully it will). The bikeshop I bought it from just didn't give a sh1t for my issues and, even worse, they've closed down recently so they probably were dealing with bigger issues than the stupid shock from one customer.

Shock aside, any advice as to make the bike look better? I kinda want to pimp the bike out, but the blueish color the frame has leaves me with very few options. (kinda hilarious because I used to never care about my ride's look and scatches, but when my mate bought his yt capra, and the other got a sick megatower built, I kinda felt jealous lol).