Kenevo/Levo Efficient Assistant settings ?

[miPbiP]

that seems odd me, I'd check with Spesh that the dealer is OK to refuse you.

imagine you were travelling and you needed help away from home, would you be refused?

 

[khorn]

I would also say that it sounds very odd, I bought my Levo on-line from a Spanish store, had it shipped to Denmark and when I was dealing with Specialized rider Care regarding fitting 29" wheels everything went via my local Specialized dealer here in Denmark. I would contact Rider care here and ask for guidance.

Karsten

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

OK .. so as I agree with everyone .. and have delayed to make sure there is a problem so I'm not wasting anyones time .. I took the afternoon off work and headed down to the Specialized store with my battery (again- closed on Tuesday), so that they could at least test it ..

Very nice shop .. could have happily bought some Levo's just because they looked shiny and nice.

First chap I spoke to said I needed to speak to another guy who does the e-bikes, but that a guy from Germany had been in last week with a battery problem and they'd swapped it out .. cool - I thought ......

E-bike guy was tied up so ended up speaking to the boss .. who was very nice .. BUT ... when he asked where I'd bought the bike and I said the internet .. that was it ... he wouldn't touch it. I can see his point, but at the same time, I thought if I had a specialized, I have global care .. instead I have to go back to the seller now, which is fair enough and hopefully they'll deal with it, but it does basically mean that I'm in the same boat as if I'd bought any DTC bike and if I have a problem I have to box it up and send it back.

On the bright side, I now have a water bottle which fits - the 600ml/21 oz Specialized bottle - which magically fits where my other 600ml bottle doesn't !

I know this might sound like a silly question but did you say you bought it off the internet or did you say you bought it off the internet from a Specialized dealer? My understanding is if you have the reciept then any Specialized dealer should be able to assist you. There may be a small management fee but nothing else.
I am sure @Specialized Rider Care can confirm what cover you have.

 

[Zimmerframe]

I know this might sound like a silly question but did you say you bought it off the internet or did you say you bought it off the internet from a Specialized dealer? My understanding is if you have the reciept then any Specialized dealer should be able to assist you. There may be a small management fee but nothing else.
I am sure @Specialized Rider Care can confirm what cover you have.

It was a bloke in the pub with a laptop ...

The seller was :

Specialized Discover all the products at the best prices on Lordgun

I didn't know there was a difference between a Specialized dealer and someone dealing in Specialized Surely if someone sells the Specialized range, they're a specialized dealer ??? uhmmm .. this could be interesting ..

Thanks for doing the @ specialized rider care .. I just found you can't PM them, so was going to have to do a Mork calling specialized rider care in a thread ..

Was just trying to think what to say to summarise for them regarding my problem...

Had Kenevo a few weeks - it's outstanding - there aren't words to do it justice .. everyone should just buy one.

Noticed the battery went flat very quickly, so initially assumed this was to do with settings so began reducing the assistance.. didn't make any difference.

Briefly, using mission control, in ECO set to 15/25, I'd lose 1% every 300 meters - even downhill (whilst pedalling). Installed Blevo for more information. ECO was using between 8kw/km and 10kw/km on tests, so should give at least 50km's even if there were no descents and free wheeling. Instead I'm lucky to get over 30km's.

Charging the battery rarely takes more than 2 hours from flat. (which I was initially impressed with )

Checking the Misson control stats it said I'd done 169km's for 7 charge cycles - so 24km's a cycle.

Then did a test on TURBO only.. managed 33km's and 1000m climb until flat. This is more what I would expect. The battery then took 4 hours to charge.

I assumed it was fixed at this point, but last nights test on eco/trail used more than half the battery in 18km's . I had blevo running in my pocket with the volume on full . At one point when changing modes it said "Battery Remaining 68%" . 2 km's later when I switched back from trail to Eco it said "Battery Remaining 48%" ...

So went to a Spesh shop today to get the battery tested so I could then look into a replacement either through Spesh or the original seller. Unfortunately, even though they were very polite and professional, they refused to even touch it as I'd purchased the bike via the dreaded INTERNET ! So that was that.

Ideally, I wanted to test the battery before trying LordGun as they might just tell me to go away. OR tell me to goto a Spesh dealer, then I spend the next year playing dealer tennis.

It seems fairly conclusive that there's a battery fault. (or a fault....) It's now done twice as many KM's in the car than it has in the bike !

 

[Mikerb]

Full details of the Specialized warranty are on the main Specialized site. I am only able to read the UK version so don't know if the warranty details are different for different countries but there is an Italian language version presumably covering bikes bought in Italy for example. The UK version does say that Specialized reserve the right to restrict warranty service to the country of purchase. Any Spesh retailer you go to will have its own relationship with Specialized which determines just how flexible the support provided to them may be but clearly if you have registered the bike after purchase and/or have the receipt it should not be a problem for any Spesh dealer in the country of original purchase, to pursue a warranty claim. IF those conditions are not met, the Spesh dealer may or may not get warranty support from Specialized for that bike. Past experience will tell each LBS what the situation is. The main Spesh site also lists all Authorised Dealers …...I doubt the internet shop you bought from would be among them since authorised dealers are likely to have to meet Speshs workshop/repair specifications and are given specific access for example to the dealer only USB interface on the e bikes.
That said I see no reason why any suitably equipped LBS could not...at a cost...run a test on the battery. Offering then to pursue a warranty case if the battery is faulty is another issue.

 

[wepn]

That is disappointing but I would hope it can be resolved easily by speaking to either Specialized UK or Europe. Pretty sure they would advise how to get a replacement battery. Meanwhile, Turbo all the way!!!

International Subsidiaries and Distributors | Specialized.com

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

It was a bloke in the pub with a laptop ...

The seller was :

Specialized Discover all the products at the best prices on Lordgun

I didn't know there was a difference between a Specialized dealer and someone dealing in Specialized Surely if someone sells the Specialized range, they're a specialized dealer ??? uhmmm .. this could be interesting ..

Thanks for doing the @ specialized rider care .. I just found you can't PM them, so was going to have to do a Mork calling specialized rider care in a thread ..

Was just trying to think what to say to summarise for them regarding my problem...

Had Kenevo a few weeks - it's outstanding - there aren't words to do it justice .. everyone should just buy one.

Noticed the battery went flat very quickly, so initially assumed this was to do with settings so began reducing the assistance.. didn't make any difference.

Briefly, using mission control, in ECO set to 15/25, I'd lose 1% every 300 meters - even downhill (whilst pedalling). Installed Blevo for more information. ECO was using between 8kw/km and 10kw/km on tests, so should give at least 50km's even if there were no descents and free wheeling. Instead I'm lucky to get over 30km's.

Charging the battery rarely takes more than 2 hours from flat. (which I was initially impressed with )

Checking the Misson control stats it said I'd done 169km's for 7 charge cycles - so 24km's a cycle.

Then did a test on TURBO only.. managed 33km's and 1000m climb until flat. This is more what I would expect. The battery then took 4 hours to charge.

I assumed it was fixed at this point, but last nights test on eco/trail used more than half the battery in 18km's . I had blevo running in my pocket with the volume on full . At one point when changing modes it said "Battery Remaining 68%" . 2 km's later when I switched back from trail to Eco it said "Battery Remaining 48%" ...

So went to a Spesh shop today to get the battery tested so I could then look into a replacement either through Spesh or the original seller. Unfortunately, even though they were very polite and professional, they refused to even touch it as I'd purchased the bike via the dreaded INTERNET ! So that was that.

Ideally, I wanted to test the battery before trying LordGun as they might just tell me to go away. OR tell me to goto a Spesh dealer, then I spend the next year playing dealer tennis.

It seems fairly conclusive that there's a battery fault. (or a fault....) It's now done twice as many KM's in the car than it has in the bike !

Sorry, what I meant was did the LBS know it was a new bike purchased off the internet and not second hand from some dude in Outer Mongolia? Sometimes a ‘used’ fairly new bike covered in trail debris can look very secondhand if the LBS has not seen your model before. I am certain Lord Gun is an authorised Specialized seller so warranty wise you should be covered. I have purchased loads of kit off them previously and not had issues although I have not had to return anything due to warranty. I am sure @Specialized Rider Care will be able to confirm.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Sorry, what I meant was did the LBS know it was a new bike purchased off the internet and not second hand from some dude in Outer Mongolia?

What's wrong with buying from ebay.mongolia ? A guy has to make a living between Yak's !

He did initially assume it was second hand when I said I'd purchased it through the internet. So I did had to confirm twice, that it was new. In hindsight maybe I should have pressed more and offered to pay for the battery just to be tested, but he was fairly adamant that he did not want to get involved at all.

I was impressed with Lord Gun on the purchase side. They were quick, the bike looked to have been checked over and the firmware had been updated .. Haven't heard from SRC yet, so will contact them now and see how we get on.

 

[miPbiP]

you bike was bought new - it has a serial number. Spesh will be able to find out where it went from their warehouse if Lordgun shouldn't be selling it. should still be warrantied I think.

(it's odd tho they use a .co.uk domain for an Italian business). and the copy on their website is plainly not written by a first language English speaker.

 

[Zimmerframe]

you bike was bought new - it has a serial number. Spesh will be able to find out where it went from their warehouse if Lordgun shouldn't be selling it. should still be warrantied I think.

(it's odd tho they use a .co.uk domain for an Italian business). and the copy on their website is plainly not written by a first language English speaker.

It does, the guy in the yurt in Mongola printed me one off.

They seem to carry the full Spesh range and they have Kenevo's in stock again after running out a couple of weeks ago - so presumably they're being supplied by Spesh rather than a bloke in a van driving round Europe making crazy offers on peoples bike stocks for them to sell on.

I think they use the .co.uk for their English version. If you select a different country, you get the relevant countries site.

 

[brizi2003]

LordGun website states they include the manufacturers warranty. With the UK Specialized warranty you should be able to take the bike to any UK Specialized dealer - as stated in the warranty. All parts/labour covered within the warranty should be provided free of charge unless is is not warranty work. Unfortunately for the Specialized dealers they receive no additional payment for labour they do for warranty work - but it is their obligation as a Specialized dealer. This sometimes makes them reluctant to work on bikes not sold by them. I think the problem here is that they don't really have the means to test the battery at the dealers, so this means they could report the problem to Specialized UK and Specialized UK might ask for the battery to be returned or might just say it's OK or send out a replacement. Either way it's worth a try if your convinced its not working. I have a Kenevo Comp 2019 model and I've messed about with the settings to try to extend the range and generally found lower settings and slower riding extend the range. But if you lower the settings too much it actually becomes harder to ride than an analogue bike and what's the point in that! So I tend to tailor my settings depending on the type of ride I'm going to be doing. e.g. riding with analogue bike - lower the settings, going for a quick blast up steep climbs - higher settings. It's very difficult for me to compare distance/altitude for each mode as I tend to ride faster (up) when using turbo - so that is not a like for like comparison. I've not tried a completely objective comparison either.

 

[brizi2003]

From previous Thread: I have a Kenevo with a 500Whr battery. I recently completed the Breamish Behemoth - 44 miles with 6000 feet of climbing, 6hrs51min of riding and had just over 20% battery left. I rode most of the event in ECO and used TRAIL a couple of times on particularly steep sections, no Turbo at all. I rode with analogue bikes so the pace was slow and I think this contributes to battery range and also the temperature was up at about 15degC and it was sunny and battery seems to go further when it is warm. As this ride was all about battery conservation I was using very conservative battery settings 10-20, 20-40 & 45-75. With these settings riding in ECO doesn't feel that different to OFF when on the flat but definitely gives a gentle push on climbs. I still found I was edging ahead of the analogue bikes I rode with and these people are about the same fitness level as me when on my analogue bike. Of course, if I go for an hour long ride or a ride with other ebikes, I don't use these settings, unless I'm trying to improve my fitness!!

 

[Zimmerframe]

I have a Kenevo with a 500Whr battery. I recently completed the Breamish Behemoth - 44 miles with 6000 feet of climbing, 6hrs51min of riding and had just over 20% battery left. I rode most of the event in ECO and used TRAIL a couple of times on particularly steep sections

Sounds like one hell of a ride !!!

LordGun website states they include the manufacturers warranty. With the UK Specialized warranty you should be able to take the bike to any UK Specialized dealer

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, I'm in France .. From general experience in France, there's no such thing as a warranty on anything. Shops/manufacturers will do anything to avoid dealing with a warranty to the point that generally I never even bother trying anymore, lifes too short and it invariably costs you more in lost time, stress and frustration than just fixing it yourself or buying another one. To give you an idea, my last bike, the bike shop broke the hanger when they were working on it (bike butchers) A three month old bike bought through them. To fix it they proposed that I could buy a new hanger. I'd hoped with Spesh things might be a bit different, so we'll wait and see and keep an open mind for now.

The motors started making an odd Zzziiiiiiiipppppppp noise now when you pedal above the assistance settings .. so at the rate I'm going I'll either be riding a very heavy enduro bike or searching for somewhere selling new batteries and 1.3 motors - or sending it off to @Bearing Man if it goes completely splat.

Haven't heard anything from @Specialized Rider Care , but then they're not obliged to reply and presumably they're human and have holidays and lives to get on with Contacted Lord Gun on Friday and they say 24/48 hours to reply .. so as I say .. just being patient for now. Not even going to bother contacting Specialized France, never heard back from them regarding another query so I think I'd just be wasting my time.

Fortunately the bike still works and I love it ! It just seems to chew through an average of 22wh/km (assisted) no matter what mode you use or how low you set the assistance. So it's just short and very intense fun sessions for now.

There are other Spesh dealers within 200 KM's, but the one I went to seems to have a good reputation and are the largest, so I figured they'd have the most experience and most likely the equipment and know how to test a battery properly.

 

[miPbiP]

But if you lower the settings too much it actually becomes harder to ride than an analogue bike and what's the point in that!

I find even on Eco at 5% my Levo's faster climbing than me on analogue. 10% benchmarked against my friends I ride with is a significant benefit, even in pace or effort (not both haha).

 

[brizi2003]

I find even on Eco at 5% my Levo's faster climbing than me on analogue. 10% benchmarked against my friends I ride with is a significant benefit, even in pace or effort (not both haha).

Yes, your probably right, it just feels like more effort at the time after riding in a higher mode! I've never done a back to back test on a climb - perhaps I will just to see!

 

[miPbiP]

Yes, your probably right, it just feels like more effort at the time after riding in a higher mode! I've never done a back to back test on a climb - perhaps I will just to see!

it's nothing like the buzz from a good blast, it feels tough, but if the pedallers are climbing at 4mph and you're climbing at 4.5 the difference soon shows.

when I'm out with my clockwork group I like to challenge myself to use as little battery as possible. it's a good game.

 

[Karel Tyc]

I think altitude gain is a better indication than range.

I weigh about 80kg dressed to ride and can get about 1000m gain from my battery 500Wh if I work hard and go full gas turbo.

If I run at eco on 10%, which is still faster or easier than a clockwork bike, I think I could get over 3000m. But I don't know for sure because my legs won't last that long.

I have Levo 2018. I Have ECO 0/0, 15/15 Trail and 35/35 Turbo. I use Eco when going down, Trail for most of time and Turbo only when trail is very steep. I have 17km forest trail up and down (means 8,5 km almost down and 8,5 km back almost up. All together 350m up and 17km ride with 150m steep climbing using Turbo 35/35 and the rest Tral 15/15 or ECO 0/0 I have consumption only 53Wh from my battery (which means only 10%). This means more than 3000m and more than 160km with 504Wh battery. OK even half of that would be very nice. I have feelin that even 35/35 for climbig up that very steep part o my trail (those 150m) is pretty much and I could use 30/30 instead. I am looking forward to my new levo 2020, because there is possibility having four mode via remote -off, eco, trail and turbo. . So there will be possible to have 3 programs and Off.

 

[Karel Tyc]

You're talking sense !!

Present settings are : Eco 15/25, Trail 30/50

Does anything else happen with ECO and TRAIL , other than them being "names" for two configurations. So if I change ECO to 30/50 - will it be exactly the same as Trail on 30/50 or does something else go on behind the scenes ??

By Default, they were all xx/100

there is nothing behind the scene. Those are only 3 memories. Nothing else

 

[55plusmxinsanity]

there is nothing behind the scene. Those are only 3 memories. Nothing else

Yup. I use them as gears. If I want to stay with regular bikes climbing I use Eco, 15-25, tight single track I use Eco and Trail, 30-70, and for those nasty climbs and to get home when exhausted Turbo, 70-100. Zero acceleration and zero shuttle. I can easily go 2 hours of Singletracks up and down hills and use only 50% of my 500w battery. That’s usually enough for me. Oh, Avg Cadence of 80.

 

[Karel Tyc]

Yup. I use them as gears. If I want to stay with regular bikes climbing I use Eco, 15-25, tight single track I use Eco and Trail, 30-70, and for those nasty climbs and to get home when exhausted Turbo, 70-100. Zero acceleration and zero shuttle. I can easily go 2 hours of Singletracks up and down hills and use only 50% of my 500w battery. That’s usually enough for me. Oh, Avg Cadence of 80.

Furthermore you can save presets in mission ctrl for your bike. For instance If you increase all your modes for 10% or 20%. You can load it and have the same feeling but you will fly through your track much faster. I am using this if I have for example only one hour time after work to have the same sensation as usually.

 

[miPbiP]

I have Levo 2018. I Have ECO 0/0, 15/15 Trail and 35/35 Turbo. I use Eco when going down, Trail for most of time and Turbo only when trail is very steep. I have 17km forest trail up and down (means 8,5 km almost down and 8,5 km back almost up. All together 350m up and 17km ride with 150m steep climbing using Turbo 35/35 and the rest Tral 15/15 or ECO 0/0 I have consumption only 53Wh from my battery (which means only 10%). This means more than 3000m and more than 160km with 504Wh battery. OK even half of that would be very nice. I have feelin that even 35/35 for climbig up that very steep part o my trail (those 150m) is pretty much and I could use 30/30 instead. I am looking forward to my new levo 2020, because there is possibility having four mode via remote -off, eco, trail and turbo. . So there will be possible to have 3 programs and Off.

yeah 3000m or more is totally feasible if the rider is willing to put some work in.

so the '18 Levo doesn't have a 'no-assist' mode without turning the bike off? that would be annoying.

 

[Zimmerframe]

yeah 3000m or more is totally feasible if the rider is willing to put some work in.
.

The only way I can do that is with the bike off .. quick ride this morning with mixed modes and it GOBBLED 24wh/km.

so the '18 Levo doesn't have a 'no-assist' mode without turning the bike off? that would be annoying.

It's odd they don't have it - the Kenevo is the same. Especially after coming from an E8000 and it being quite normal for me to turn the assistance off on road sections and easy sections. Always seems strange to have to reach round and turn it off - not the end of the world though.

 

[CjP]

Who turns off a motor??? Seriously!!

I did it once on a group ride, still pulled away from most of them, for 10 minutes. Then my legs went funny and back on the motor went, haven’t switched it off since.

 

[wepn]

Who turns off a motor???

Supermen, superwomen & self-flagellating lesser beings I think. I tried it total weight of +/- 100 kg with just my legs - with not a lot of uphill gradient it starts to become not a lot of fun unless you like red zone cardio

 

[Zimmerframe]

Who turns off a motor??? Seriously!!

I did it once on a group ride, still pulled away from most of them, for 10 minutes. Then my legs went funny and back on the motor went, haven’t switched it off since.

I am starting to agree with this way of thinking .. But I guess it depends on your terrain and ride length. I've got the new 2020 Kenevo fast charge battery, so it only takes an hour to charge, so when I'm flat I stop for a quick snack and unfold the solar panels and viola. For the rest of you, it could be a long wait though.

Unfortunately as mine uses the same power in 1% or 100% I can't actually test how much you'd actually save riding in 10% eco compared to power off.

Supermen, superwomen & self-flagellating lesser beings I think.

For me, if I find it a bit unchallenging, I'll often turn the motor off on a nice climb and drag a dead tree behind me .. it cleans the trails and just makes things a bit harder. Obviously if it's not really steep I hold the brakes on too.

 

[CjP]

Lol yeah I tow other ebikers back after there 2020 batteries run out after 20km. I still get back to the car with 40% so I go for another couple laps.

 

[wepn]

For me, if I find it a bit unchallenging, I'll often turn the motor off on a nice climb and drag a dead tree behind me .. it cleans the trails and just makes things a bit harder. Obviously if it's not really steep I hold the brakes on too.

I'm guessing your in top gear too just to give those ACL's their daily stress test?

I've actually discovered a working dropper post is as important to me as functioning gears. Obviously you don't want to ride your bike stuck in first gear right? Well my Reverb AXS dropper is stuck in 1st [EDIT] well technically more like top gear ie. lowest position - after a needless firmware upgrade - and I just don't want to ride the bike until it's fixed!

Makes me think how integral a working dropper post is to the proper operation of these bikes...and how I'm never upgrading any firmware ever again.

 

[Zimmerframe]

I'm guessing your in top gear too just to give those ACL's their daily stress test?

I've swapped it to single speed with a 9 tooth at the back and a 36 at the front. It was cheaper than the Rohloff and tidy's the cockpit. A tidy cockpit give you a 40% psychological increase in power. I've switched to an Iron rear rim to gain some of the lost weight back as it felt a bit flightly at the rear.

What a time we live in that a dropper post gets a firmware update ! I take it you can't override the post controls using the AXS app ? There doesn't seem to be a physical button you can press to factory reset that I can see. Unless it's something like a "long" press on the power button ?

https://bikerumor.com/2019/02/07/ro...dropper-seatpost-complete-technical-overview/

We always want the latest firmware .. because it's better ... but it's amusing how many times it gets fecked up ! Lets hope you get it fixed ASAP.

 

[miPbiP]

Who turns off a motor??? Seriously!!

me. if I'm riding with my buddies on their clockwork I ride turned off or with as little power as I need. it's good training. and helps get rid of the fabled "range anxiety".

it's just a bike. you don't need to be Hercules to ride it turned off on flats and easier gradients.

though when I'm on my own or with an e-buddie, then we go full turbo.

 

[CjP]

it's just a bike. you don't need to be Hercules to ride it turned off on flats and easier gradients.

Here in lies the problem for me. I only ride hills as that’s what does it for me. I did however once upon a time, ride for 15km and around a few hundred metres in elevation without any assistance as my battery didn’t turn on one day. Wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be but yeah I went straight to the Specialized shop afterwards and got a new battery.
Fuck that for a joke!