Kenevo SL Official 2022 Kenevo SL (KSL) Megathread!

[Zimmerframe]

Sorry if this has been asked before but do we expect an aluminium KSL to be released like Specialized did on the original Levo SL?

Definitely.

Ok. No . Definitely not .. or most likely not. It's a very niche market. If you think they've only just got round to releasing Aluminium "22" Levo's. It wouldn't be worth the cost and combined with the weight increase it would leave it in a "Na, I'm not interested" zone.

Maybe a Kelly's ?

 

[Moshe]

Specialized usually will come out with an alloy version of their bikes at some point. They just released an alloy version of the Stumpjumper EVO after a year and a half of only a carbon version. Same with the new version of the Levi. The carbon version came out and then months later the alloy version came out. I think that an alloy version of the KSL will become available. The question is when.

 

[Darkyhs]

Due to the supply challenges, I would assume they would look into this option. However, as the KSL is quite niche, it might be that it is not interesting for them. Let's hope they make it though. The more options, the better for all of us

 

[JetSetDemo]

Think we are more likely to see a new Kenevo before we see an alloy KSL.

 

[Moshe]

I agree. we will likely see a new Kenevo before we see an alloy KSL but sometime in the next year or two there will likely be an alloy KSL. This will probably depend on KSL sales.
I wounder if the next generation Kenevo will include a carbon version.

 

[KSL]

Curious to see how you get along with the Factory and what Ryan does to tune it for you. I have been testing some stuff from him lately and been in there a lot. He got my Performance working as it should , but no tuning or changes

Ryan did my mine - Factory - 65 to 62.5 and it has worked great. I also run Factory 38's/180mm...Also works great. Factory front an rear.

 

[Kenevieve]

Range with range extender seems to be quite good. This weekend I rode 45 km with 1000 m of climbing. At end of todays ride there was still 20% battery left. This was with range extender. Trails were really fast, covered with hard packed snow and I had studied tires on the bike. Most of the time I was using trail mode and little bit turbo on the climbs.

 

[ghost48]

That is how I measured mine, not parallel to the seat tube. You‘re inseam appears to be shorter than mine. I would think you could get away with a 180mm dropper. The OneUp website has all the measurements on their droppers for you to be able to determine which dropper would fit. In addition, you can shim their droppers up or down 20mm. I bought the 210mm post and had to shim it down to 200mm to get it to fit. It is very easy to do at home.

For what it’s worth, I downsized a frame size on this bike and am glad I did. I would have normally bought the S4, but after doing some research, I chose the S3. I‘ve ridden the bike park where I usually ride a DH bike and never felt like the bike was too small.

Hi @Endoguru,

great explanation so far. Thank you. I have noticed that is not that easy to find a proper dropper for a S3.
I am 176 cm tall and have a inseam of 82 cm. Inseam is the most important part of finding a proper droppe. I have measured seat height of 260mm on a Kenevo SL S3. Measurement was taken from upper side of saddle clamp up to seat rails (see down below A).
This is how everybody else does the measurement. See RockShox AXS explanation:

As a conclusion unfortunately a AXS 170mm will not work on a S3.
OneUp built its droppers with a minimum of total length. Great for (short seat tubed) Kenevo SL riders.

@Endoguru
May I ask what your measurment of A (see illustration above) on your Kenevo is and what's your inseam (in mm or cm)?
Thanks

Tim

 

[Chriso82]

does anyone have a ksl s4 for sale. I have a gen 3 s5 sworks frameset if anyone is interested

 

[North Shore Taxi]

Hey guys, short shockcompabilty question.
I remember few sites ago somebody posted a pre2021 Fox X2 shock will not fit the KSL.
I have a chatdude who say in his bike fits perfect.

Pls,....is any serious mechanic here who can confirm fit or notfit?

Cheers

 

[Endoguru]

I had a 2020 X2 230x65 that was a take off from another bike. I sent it to Fluid Focus for a custom tune and they shortened the stroke to 62.5 as well. It fits on my S3 easily. I have 3 or 4 rides on it with no issues.

 

[Endoguru]

Hi @Endoguru,

great explanation so far. Thank you. I have noticed that is not that easy to find a proper dropper for a S3.
I am 176 cm tall and have a inseam of 82 cm. Inseam is the most important part of finding a proper droppe. I have measured seat height of 260mm on a Kenevo SL S3. Measurement was taken from upper side of saddle clamp up to seat rails (see down below A).
This is how everybody else does the measurement. See RockShox AXS explanation:
View attachment 80056
As a conclusion unfortunately a AXS 170mm will not work on a S3.
OneUp built its droppers with a minimum of total length. Great for (short seat tubed) Kenevo SL riders.

@Endoguru
May I ask what your measurment of A (see illustration above) on your Kenevo is and what's your inseam (in mm or cm)?
Thanks

Tim

A measurement = 325mm. My inseam is 33.5” which is 85.09cm if I have done the math correctly.

 

[fodmtb]

does anyone have a ksl s4 for sale. I have a gen 3 s5 sworks frameset if anyone is interested

I will have in June , KSL Expert S4 in yellow. Not before then unfortunately.

 

[Eduardoramundo]

I will have in June , KSL Expert S4 in yellow. Not before then unfortunately.

What are you replacing the KSL with?

 

[fodmtb]

What are you replacing the KSL with?

Another a KSL

 

[Blownoutrides]

Just blew up my E-Storia. Not sure what happened but it’s making honking sounds now and feels pretty harsh / undamped. Back to EXT it goes.

Couple questions:

1) I sanded down the rear shock spacers a hair to get the E-Storia to fit. Anyone know how I can get a hold of new ones so I can remount the stock X2? Maybe not an issue though…?

2) My E-Storia never felt as buttery smooth as the Arma on my Enduro. EXT shipped me the E-Storia lightning fast after ordering… wondering if they even opened it up to customize the valving(?). I guess my question is do folks feel super stoked on their E-Storias? If so then it’s worth asking EXT to re-valve. Otherwise I might go Arma again - the lockout isn’t that critical at all.

 

[CjP]

Hi @Endoguru,

great explanation so far. Thank you. I have noticed that is not that easy to find a proper dropper for a S3.
I am 176 cm tall and have a inseam of 82 cm. Inseam is the most important part of finding a proper droppe. I have measured seat height of 260mm on a Kenevo SL S3. Measurement was taken from upper side of saddle clamp up to seat rails (see down below A).
This is how everybody else does the measurement. See RockShox AXS explanation:
View attachment 80056
As a conclusion unfortunately a AXS 170mm will not work on a S3.
OneUp built its droppers with a minimum of total length. Great for (short seat tubed) Kenevo SL riders.

@Endoguru
May I ask what your measurment of A (see illustration above) on your Kenevo is and what's your inseam (in mm or cm)?
Thanks

Tim

Hi, I have an S3, a 79cm naked inseam and a 170mm dropper and find the seat to be juuuuuust ok. For climbing its right up and traversing slightly down. I have modified the bottom of the seat post slightly by cutting the air cap surround by around 5mm.

 

[ghost48]

Great news @Christian. Thank you. Having some hope that a 170mm AXS might fit with inseam 82 cm.

 

[h3ld]

2) My E-Storia never felt as buttery smooth as the Arma on my Enduro. EXT shipped me the E-Storia lightning fast after ordering… wondering if they even opened it up to customize the valving(?). I guess my question is do folks feel super stoked on their E-Storias? If so then it’s worth asking EXT to re-valve. Otherwise I might go Arma again - the lockout isn’t that critical at all.

Same here. But my spring is also not correct. Need a stronger one. Plus, different bike, so can't really narrow it down to the e-Storia.
So, no, not stoked like I was on the other bikes running an EXT shock.

 

[Blownoutrides]

Same here. But my spring is also not correct. Need a stronger one. Plus, different bike, so can't really narrow it down to the e-Storia.
So, no, not stoked like I was on the other bikes running an EXT shock.

Thanks . What bike?

 

[h3ld]

Thanks . What bike?

e-Storia on KSL
Storia on Kavenz VHP16
Arma on Levo

 

[Andres_Mora]

Just blew up my E-Storia. Not sure what happened but it’s making honking sounds now and feels pretty harsh / undamped. Back to EXT it goes.

Couple questions:

1) I sanded down the rear shock spacers a hair to get the E-Storia to fit. Anyone know how I can get a hold of new ones so I can remount the stock X2? Maybe not an issue though…?

2) My E-Storia never felt as buttery smooth as the Arma on my Enduro. EXT shipped me the E-Storia lightning fast after ordering… wondering if they even opened it up to customize the valving(?). I guess my question is do folks feel super stoked on their E-Storias? If so then it’s worth asking EXT to re-valve. Otherwise I might go Arma again - the lockout isn’t that critical at all.

1) I can't imagine this being an issue, I personally would just go for it.

2) I did have EXT revalve and respring my E-Storia because it was too soft overall. I'm ~160lb rider and they originally sent me 325/350lb spring, had them switch it out for 375lb/400lb spring. Stiffened up Mid-Speed Compression without touching High-Speed too much, and stiffened up High Speed Rebound without touching Mid Speed too much.

Have a storia v2 on my Geometron G16. It does have a different feel but both feel great with a slight edge to e-storia. Hard to say how much is the bike (especially weight) and how much is the shock.

Have only had 2 rides on the new stiffer setup so still dialing it in and balancing it with the front but so far it's fantastic. Even in the tune they originally sent, it was a big improvement on X2 for me. Definitely giving me confidence to lay down some fast times on some trails you might be familiar with.

 

[Blownoutrides]

1) I can't imagine this being an issue, I personally would just go for it.

2) I did have EXT revalve and respring my E-Storia because it was too soft overall. I'm ~160lb rider and they originally sent me 325/350lb spring, had them switch it out for 375lb/400lb spring. Stiffened up Mid-Speed Compression without touching High-Speed too much, and stiffened up High Speed Rebound without touching Mid Speed too much.

Have a storia v2 on my Geometron G16. It does have a different feel but both feel great with a slight edge to e-storia. Hard to say how much is the bike (especially weight) and how much is the shock.

Have only had 2 rides on the new stiffer setup so still dialing it in and balancing it with the front but so far it's fantastic. Even in the tune they originally sent, it was a big improvement on X2 for me. Definitely giving me confidence to lay down some fast times on some trails you might be familiar with.

Hahaha yup! 2:25 is QUICK. I was digging up there just last week. So good right now.

Sending off to EXT today. Hopefully they can work some magic.

Bent my second set of alloy cranks in SC yesterday. Wish I were 160lbs instead of 240lbs. Such a hassle breaking shit on the regular!!

 

[Andres_Mora]

It is running sooo good! Let me know if you ever need a help with digging, happy to help but honestly haven't before so would need some guidance.

Are you able to explain what you're feeling on the e-storia vs your other ext? Might help SS nail the tune of you can.

For me, I was running LSC and HSC close to fully closed because I was looking for more support and weight on the front wheel which led to the increase in spring rate and mid speed compression we settled on. I was also noticing the rear kick on deep compressions (like you find on gods trail if familiar) which might have been due to the too soft spring rate but we made high speed a little stiffer to control that while keeping mid speed rebound as is.

Having said that I could see the original tune I got to be spot on for most people.

 

[Gyre]

I just received something very interesting from @Specialized Rider Care. They claim that the maximum seatpost insertion depth in the Kenevo SL user manual is wrong and nowhere near the actual insertion depth.

This is from the manual:

and this was from Specialized Rider Care:

The max insertion for an s3 is 210 according to this chart.

The important info will be the "Max static insertion" as this is the depth the actual post diameter can go (ream depth). The second row is measured with a X Fusion Manic post, however all droppers have different length actuators on bottom.

If this is true, it's possible to fit a much longer dropper post than the manual would have you believe. I was a bit skeptical and double checked with them but they confirmed. That would be good news and it might explain why the Enduro and KSL have such different numbers in the manual even though they have very similar seat tubes.

 

[Blownoutrides]

It is running sooo good! Let me know if you ever need a help with digging, happy to help but honestly haven't before so would need some guidance.

Are you able to explain what you're feeling on the e-storia vs your other ext? Might help SS nail the tune of you can.

For me, I was running LSC and HSC close to fully closed because I was looking for more support and weight on the front wheel which led to the increase in spring rate and mid speed compression we settled on. I was also noticing the rear kick on deep compressions (like you find on gods trail if familiar) which might have been due to the too soft spring rate but we made high speed a little stiffer to control that while keeping mid speed rebound as is.

Having said that I could see the original tune I got to be spot on for most people.

Honestly I think I just blew the thing up landing hard on that step up after gravity cavity and I’ve been basically riding just the spring ever since - zero damping. Broke a pedal I landed so hard(!).

Swapped in the orig X2 and it feels WONDERFUL by comparison.

I’ve just been helping the dudes who do most of the work up there (@~scabs~). I can fill ruts but actually shaping berms / building jumps is WAY over my pay grade.

Check out @thiccbird on insta… rad edit today from Fast.

 

[HarzEnduro]

After having ridden three times with the Nivo 182 mm dropper I went for the 170mm AXS (S3) just because…

Cockpit looks pretty awesome this way. Who cares about the 200grs weight penalty. It’s still reasonably light at 18.30kgs with pedals.

 

[rb.]

Haven’t been following this thread, but just picked up a lightly used Kenevo SL s4 Expert build. Don’t love the yellow at initial impression, but maybe it will grow in me. Also plan to swap out the wheels, brakes, and cockpit before I take this bad boy out for a test ride. (Ignore the mess in the background, Lol).

 

[ebikerider]

After having ridden three times with the Nivo 182 mm dropper I went for the 170mm AXS (S3) just because…

Cockpit looks pretty awesome this way. Who cares about the 200grs weight penalty. It’s still reasonably light at 18.30kgs with pedals.


View attachment 80524

That is a nice cockpit. What brand are the grips?

 

[HarzEnduro]

That is a nice cockpit. What brand are the grips?

Bikeyoke.