New EMTB, off to a good start....or not (Kenevo, gen1)

[mrshibby]

Hi guys,
i´ve been lurking the forums for a while now and i finally decided to get my own EMTB.

So i bought a specialized kenevo (gen1) on friday.
I did 6km (30min) on flat to just break in my brakes on the new bike. Suddenly the bike beeped and turned off and did not react to any buttons.
Drove the bike to the car, tested the battery at home and it was still on 95%. After connecting the bike to the battery i could turn it on again, but it instantly beeped again and shut off.

Took it to my dealer on Saturday morning and told him what happened, he has never delivered a bike which had a problem so early on, guess i got really unlucky...

Not a very nice experience for now but i hope i´ll get the bike back at the end of this week with a new motor.
I must say i´m a bit gutted and the trust in the ebike is gone at this moment. I really don´t want it to shut off when im 20 km in the woods :/

Just wanted to ask if anyone else had heard of a bike with a failure from factory or as early as i had them.

 

[Master_G]

You sure the battery connection wasn't loose? I've had my Kenevo 3 weeks and put 60 miles on it in mud and rain and it's been really good!

 

[CjP]

Hi guys,
i´ve been lurking the forums for a while now and i finally decided to get my own EMTB.

So i bought a specialized kenevo (gen1) on friday.
I did 6km (30min) on flat to just break in my brakes on the new bike. Suddenly the bike beeped and turned off and did not react to any buttons.
Drove the bike to the car, tested the battery at home and it was still on 95%. After connecting the bike to the battery i could turn it on again, but it instantly beeped again and shut off.

Took it to my dealer on Saturday morning and told him what happened, he has never delivered a bike which had a problem so early on, guess i got really unlucky...

Not a very nice experience for now but i hope i´ll get the bike back at the end of this week with a new motor.
I must say i´m a bit gutted and the trust in the ebike is gone at this moment. I really don´t want it to shut off when im 20 km in the woods :/

Just wanted to ask if anyone else had heard of a bike with a failure from factory or as early as i had them.

When I bought my Gen1 Kenevo, second ride out, got to the park and went to turn on and nothing!
I went for a ride anyway and struggled but still had a blast on the downhill sections.
Took it back to the shop and got a new battery, 1.5 years later we have many fond memories of each other.
Chin up mate, at least with Specialized you will get a quick fix and be back on the trails in no time.

 

[wepn]

I must say i´m a bit gutted and the trust in the ebike is gone at this moment

Don't be! Yes it is disappointing but as Christian says you'll be back momentarily. Also I'd say highly unlikely you'll ever be stuck 20 km in the woods. I've been told by a few that know that Brose Alu S/1.3/Kenevo Xwing is very reliable.

 

[mrshibby]

Thank you guys for the kind words, my dealer went above and beyond and i got my bike back yesterday evening. The motor had a failure from factory, he switched the motor with another new kenevo so i don´t have to wait for the replacement motor since it will take about 4 weeks to arrive.

Really great service and i´m really happy to have the bike back this fast.
Will go for my first ride on wednesday and will report back if the new motor holds up.

 

[Jeffw]

I did 6km (30min) on flat to just break in my brakes on the new bike. Suddenly the bike beeped and turned off and did not react to any buttons.

Exactly as mine did. Eventually the motor was replaced and it's sort of been ok since. Except now i have a dead battery and awaiting a replacement under the 2 year warranty. That's the thing though, Specialized have been very good in terms of replacing parts under warranty.

I have'nt really researched if similar issues occur on other manufacturers bikes - Scott etc - and what their warranties are like

But when the Kenevo works....it really is a blast

 

[mrshibby]

I finally got a chance to do my first ride and oh my god is this bike a blast!! I'm lovin it!

 

[CjP]

It’s a lovely price of kit isn’t it. Too much fun almost.

 

[Dfriz]

I've got over 1000 miles on my Kenevo love it!!!!!!!!!!! Good choice

 

[HORSPWR]

I wouldn’t touch a Specialised with a barge pole after all the motor failures, yeah sure dealer did a fantastic job switching out motors but if he hadn’t then you’d have been waiting a month or more to get your brand new bike repaired and back too you. I’d never have the confidence to venture more than my driveway after that. Where I live and ride a dead motor 30 ks out in the desert in 44 degree heat literally is a life and death situation.

 

[CjP]

I wouldn’t touch a Specialised with a barge pole after all the motor failures, yeah sure dealer did a fantastic job switching out motors but if he hadn’t then you’d have been waiting a month or more to get your brand new bike repaired and back too you. I’d never have the confidence to venture more than my driveway after that. Where I live and ride a dead motor 30 ks out in the desert in 44 degree heat literally is a life and death situation.

Sounds like you need to stick to analogs if that’s the case. Any Ebike has the potential to fail and you don’t want to be stuck in those conditions!

 

[wepn]

Sounds like you need to stick to analogs if that’s the case. Any Ebike has the potential to fail and you don’t want to be stuck in those conditions!

Careful analysis of those statements...rings true. If you're stuck in the desert, would you prefer a dead emtb - or an analogue?

Also all the motor failures I think is skewed by the fact that Specialized sell many times more than any other in this category.

 

[CjP]

Careful analysis of those statements...rings true. If you're stuck in the desert, would you prefer a dead emtb - or an analogue?

Also all the motor failures I think is skewed by the fact that Specialized sell many times more than any other in this category.

100% an analogue and that’s saying something as I don’t like them as much now.
As for motor failures, there’s just too many variables to even comment on that but at the end of the day the sales figures says it all.

All bikes in my mind are good bikes, they allow us to go outside, exercise and have a shit load of fun, even the crappy ones.
People just focus on the negatives too much for other obvious reasons.

 

[mrshibby]

I wouldn’t touch a Specialised with a barge pole after all the motor failures, yeah sure dealer did a fantastic job switching out motors but if he hadn’t then you’d have been waiting a month or more to get your brand new bike repaired and back too you. I’d never have the confidence to venture more than my driveway after that. Where I live and ride a dead motor 30 ks out in the desert in 44 degree heat literally is a life and death situation.

I thought this would be the case with me, but the fear was gone after the first ride with the new motor. Where I'm from it will never be a life or death situation and I would still be able to biopedal home. Would take much longer though...

 

[Zimmerframe]

If your emtb does pack up, it's then only the same weight as a loaded touring bike ...

If you want to head into the outback, buy a landrover .
If you want to come back .. buy a toyota ...

 

[wepn]

After some great rides in the last couple days, I've come to the realisation that I get my daily biochemical hit from the Kenevo - adrenaline on my ride, endorphins after & dopamine reading quality content & clicking ??

True I'd get that from any serious emtb but I think the dosage is a bit higher on the Kenevo.

 

[Jeffw]

Gutted
Has been with my LBS for 10 days. No power to the battery and the battery has now been replaced under warranty on Monday this week

First ride today and from the off, the bike was flying, even in Eco mode

After 10 minutes.....no power when pedaling, but the power lights on the display showing 80% and the TCU cycling through ok

So back up to my LBS for the 11th time. New cabling, new motor, new seatpost remote, loads of power issues to date and enough is enough. I've asked what the replacement policy is (bike purchased Aug 2018) so let's see what they say

I've previously emailed Specialized rep who has been very understanding

All i want is a bike that rides. It's got to the point i won't take it anywhere

 

[mrshibby]

Gutted
Has been with my LBS for 10 days. No power to the battery and the battery has now been replaced under warranty on Monday this week

First ride today and from the off, the bike was flying, even in Eco mode

After 10 minutes.....no power when pedaling, but the power lights on the display showing 80% and the TCU cycling through ok

So back up to my LBS for the 11th time. New cabling, new motor, new seatpost remote, loads of power issues to date and enough is enough. I've asked what the replacement policy is (bike purchased Aug 2018) so let's see what they say

I've previously emailed Specialized rep who has been very understanding

All i want is a bike that rides. It's got to the point i won't take it anywhere

Im really sorry to hear that you got so much trouble with your kenevo.

I did 100 km with mine now and it's been an absolute blast! Thin thing flies and I can do so much more downhill runs than with my normal bike.

I really hope I won't have any issues in the future. Although specialized is very customer friendly it's always a disappointment if something fails on such a fun ride.