Kenevo SL Official 2022 Kenevo SL (KSL) Megathread!

[Doomanic]

I've ridden my KSL and my mate's LSL2 back to back and the LSL2 is definitely more powerful. Unfortunately my Strava was playing silly buggers that day so I can't show you two climbs I compared them on but I was significantly faster on the LSL2 and it was a good hour after the KSL attempt.

 

[CjP]

I've ridden my KSL and my mate's LSL2 back to back and the LSL2 is definitely more powerful. Unfortunately my Strava was playing silly buggers that day so I can't show you two climbs I compared them on but I was significantly faster on the LSL2 and it was a good hour after the KSL attempt.

Would be great if some people can post some power logs for comparison’s. I wanted this bike really bad but was so disappointed.

 

[nicknameless]

I also rode the gen2 levo SL back to back with my old gen1 and couldn't 'feel' any great difference. I came to the conclusion it was marketing over significant performance gain and bought a discounted KSL. On the bike i rode trail felt exactly the same as turbo (no discernible difference). My suspicion was they tuned this way to give people the impression that the motor was an overall step change. Lots of reports of faster battery drain on the gen2 so likely is power related but significantly different? IME no.

 

[ebikerider]

I also rode the gen2 levo SL back to back with my old gen1 and couldn't 'feel' any great difference. I came to the conclusion it was marketing over significant performance gain and bought a discounted KSL. On the bike i rode trail felt exactly the same as turbo (no discernible difference). My suspicion was they tuned this way to give people the impression that the motor was an overall step change. Lots of reports of faster battery drain on the gen2 so likely is power related but significantly different? IME no.

Did you look at the power settings on mission control to ensure they were the same on each bike?

 

[CjP]

I also rode the gen2 levo SL back to back with my old gen1 and couldn't 'feel' any great difference. I came to the conclusion it was marketing over significant performance gain and bought a discounted KSL. On the bike i rode trail felt exactly the same as turbo (no discernible difference). My suspicion was they tuned this way to give people the impression that the motor was an overall step change. Lots of reports of faster battery drain on the gen2 so likely is power related but significantly different? IME no.

Exactly my thoughts, clever programming to make eco and trail feel more “Torquey”

Did you look at the power settings on mission control to ensure they were the same on each bike?

First thing I do with any new bike.

I even made Specialize update/calibrate the second bike to make sure and still nothing.
My KSL has never been updated since I bought it.
If some people with LSL2 can post some screen recordings of their live data from Mission control we could easily solve this mystery.

For what it’s worth, I really want to be wrong as I want more power but these are my findings and I have been very thorough.

 

[nicknameless]

Did you look at the power settings on mission control to ensure they were the same on each bike?

Yep. Had the gen2 for a whole weekend to test.

 

[soso79]

Ride also both Motors. 1.2 is better in all Situations and Settings.
Ksl in mullet is much More playful and for me the better Ride. Use high settings on chainstay and offsetbushing.
Right now i‘ve got a Park Setup with Alu rims and Alu bar.
Fork now zeb 180 and switching back to back with a 38. in Winter i will try a Mezzer from rulezman.
Ksl is an awesome bike

 

[cañonaco]

It's fantastic, same power, but cleverly dressed up to give the deceptive feeling of more Eco and Trail power.

Although it consumes more and drains the battery.

Pure Conspiracy Theory.

"Seeing is believing" is an old Spanish saying that is very suitable for this topic!!!

 

[p3eps]

If some people with LSL2 can post some screen recordings of their live data from Mission control we could easily solve this mystery.

I have a LSL 1.2 and am happy to gather some data… but what do you actually want me to do?

For what it’s worth, I didn’t feel an immediate difference when swapping from an LSL 1.1 to 1.2. Eco and Trail felt more powerful, but there didn’t seem a huge difference on Turbo.

What I’m noticing now, is that the trail I’ve never managed to get up on my 1.1 in Turbo, I now can. Not with ease mind you, but I can get up with a bit of effort.

I rode my 1.1 in 30/80 around 98% of the time and whacked it up to 100/100 if there was a technical climb I couldn’t manage. 30/80 was my Trail setting so I was only 1 press away from Turbo. My Eco setting was 10/30 - which was a ‘oh shit, I’m running out of battery’ setting.

With the SL 1.2, I’m still trying to find what setting matches 30/80. 30/80 on the 1.2 is MUCH more powerful than on the 1.1.
I’ve dialled it down to 25/80, 20/70, 20/50 and today was riding at 15/30… which feels more like it - although maybe a touch underpowered. I think maybe 15/40 is going to be the setting that matches the 1.1’s 30/80 - which seems insane!

To me, the SL 1.2 definitely has more power.

Happy to go for an hour blast in purely Turbo one evening and gather data though… just let me know what you need! I never use Mission Control (I’m a Garmin man), so don’t know where to start

 

[CjP]

I have a LSL 1.2 and am happy to gather some data… but what do you actually want me to do?

For what it’s worth, I didn’t feel an immediate difference when swapping from an LSL 1.1 to 1.2. Eco and Trail felt more powerful, but there didn’t seem a huge difference on Turbo.

What I’m noticing now, is that the trail I’ve never managed to get up on my 1.1 in Turbo, I now can. Not with ease mind you, but I can get up with a bit of effort.

I rode my 1.1 in 30/80 around 98% of the time and whacked it up to 100/100 if there was a technical climb I couldn’t manage. 30/80 was my Trail setting so I was only 1 press away from Turbo. My Eco setting was 10/30 - which was a ‘oh shit, I’m running out of battery’ setting.

With the SL 1.2, I’m still trying to find what setting matches 30/80. 30/80 on the 1.2 is MUCH more powerful than on the 1.1.
I’ve dialled it down to 25/80, 20/70, 20/50 and today was riding at 15/30… which feels more like it - although maybe a touch underpowered. I think maybe 15/40 is going to be the setting that matches the 1.1’s 30/80 - which seems insane!

To me, the SL 1.2 definitely has more power.

Happy to go for an hour blast in purely Turbo one evening and gather data though… just let me know what you need! I never use Mission Control (I’m a Garmin man), so don’t know where to start

Having ridden the LSL2 and previously owned Gen lsl I would put that down to the bike has a much better frame design. I am more than happy to be proven wrong though.

Go into Diagnose, then battery where it shows voltage and current and screen record while you ride the bike up a steep ass hill. Post results so I can compare it to my Kenevo.

and thanks for helping to solve this issue.

 

[CjP]

It's fantastic, same power, but cleverly dressed up to give the deceptive feeling of more Eco and Trail power.

Although it consumes more and drains the battery.

Pure Conspiracy Theory.

"Seeing is believing" is an old Spanish saying that is very suitable for this topic!!!

Do You have an SL2? If so feel free to post some power logs. Would be great to compare actual data rather than opinions.

 

[nicknameless]

It's fantastic, same power, but cleverly dressed up to give the deceptive feeling of more Eco and Trail power.

Although it consumes more and drains the battery.

Pure Conspiracy Theory.

"Seeing is believing" is an old Spanish saying that is very suitable for this topic!!!

I don't doubt there is a slight difference. However, marketing emphasises the relative difference (i.e. X % more powerful) and the rider who has ridden both feels the absolute difference (gen2-gen1). The latter did not feel significant in any way to me.

Spec got caught with their pants down in the marketing stakes with other SL motors and we now are where we are. If they market their way out of a surplus of KSL frames using the 1.2 motor great for them.

 

[cañonaco]

I don't doubt there is a slight difference. However, marketing emphasises the relative difference (i.e. X % more powerful) and the rider who has ridden both feels the absolute difference (gen2-gen1). The latter did not feel significant in any way to me.

Spec got caught with their pants down in the marketing stakes with other SL motors and we now are where we are. If they market their way out of a surplus of KSL frames using the 1.2 motor great for them.

After two years with a Kenevo SL and two months with the new Levo SL PRO, after reading you I can only smile!!!!!

I usually ride Levo Gen 3, Enduro 2020 and Epic EVO…… if you can't tell the difference between the two generations of SL motor, you probably need a Brose or Bosch

 

[soso79]

I don't doubt there is a slight difference. However, marketing emphasises the relative difference (i.e. X % more powerful) and the rider who has ridden both feels the absolute difference (gen2-gen1). The latter did not feel significant in any way to me.

Spec got caught with their pants down in the marketing stakes with other SL motors and we now are where we are. If they market their way out of a surplus of KSL frames using the 1.2 motor great for th

It's fantastic, same power, but cleverly dressed up to give the deceptive feeling of more Eco and Trail power.

Although it consumes more and drains the battery.

Pure Conspiracy Theory.

"Seeing is believing" is an old Spanish saying that is very suitable for this topic!!!

Sry, i have both Motors….Same Bike, Same tires etc. You too?
In eco and Trail the Motor is also more efficient. In Turbo it drains more, yes. But you get More power.

 

[p3eps]

Having ridden the LSL2 and previously owned Gen lsl I would put that down to the bike has a much better frame design. I am more than happy to be proven wrong though.

Go into Diagnose, then battery where it shows voltage and current and screen record while you ride the bike up a steep ass hill. Post results so I can compare it to my Kenevo.

and thanks for helping to solve this issue.

Ok - will give it a go… probably on Tuesday or Wednesday evening though.
I assume I have to be in Turbo 100/100?

 

[cañonaco]

 

[CjP]

Ok - will give it a go… probably on Tuesday or Wednesday evening though.
I assume I have to be in Turbo 100/100?

Yes that would be great.

 

[CjP]

You seem to not grasp the concept of this discussion. I have read all the reviews. That proves nothing other than a great story as does your opinions.
If you have a bike and want to contribute to the discussion then post some actual data results off your mission control app. It is as easy as the effort you took to try to belittle people who share the same passion as you do.
You may actually have what Specialize advertise and others may have a dud.
Rather than “smile” at a fellow Specialized rider why don’t you actually try help some one who spent their hard earned money on what appears to be a dud bike.

 

[Doomanic]

Can you post screenshots of the information you require?

 

[p3eps]

Yes that would be great.

Also - should I be trying to go flat out… or trying to maintain a specific cadence?

 

[CjP]

Also - should I be trying to go flat out… or trying to maintain a specific cadence?

I would say just ride a normal regular cadence. Put the bike in as much load as possible.
For my recoded test I rode up a steep hill in the biggest 2 gears.

 

[CjP]

Can you post screenshots of the information you require?

 

[Doomanic]

You want that screen at zero load?

 

[CjP]

Sorry I meant screen record that screen while riding and it will shows the moving data. I have a video of my KSL vs Gen 2LSL to compare to others results.

 

[p3eps]

View attachment 121937

Is this not just going to show us how much battery / power the system is using? I thought the SL1.2 motor was more efficient - so could perhaps be putting out more torque whilst using less power?

Is there not a way of measuring something like torque or watts that would give us a true representation of what the motor is actually producing?

 

[CjP]

I could be wrong but I thought it was volts x amps= Watts
In any case I am trying to see if there are differences between what I have experienced and what some who are claiming more power than previous Gen have experienced. Some of which I respect and therefore value their opinions.
I am going to try hire another bike from a different supplier for another comparison.

 

[p3eps]

I could be wrong but I thought it was volts x amps= Watts
In any case I am trying to see if there are differences between what I have experienced and what some who are claiming more power than previous Gen have experienced. Some of which I respect and therefore value their opinions.
I am going to try hire another bike from a different supplier for another comparison.

So we're trying to see if the SL1.2 delivers the 320W it's claimed to? The SL1.1 was 240W?

If you already have the output from your 1.1 motor, how many Watts did you see from it?

 

[CjP]

I’m sure I read the SL1 morors produce more then the quoted powers from day 1 but for reference my KSL spits about 50v@ 6 amps so according to my above equation around 300w. This was on a short 100m climb in the second biggest cog.
I am going to try pick up a bike this week and get a proper reading of both my KSL and a Gen 2 on a steep ass climb to get a longer more thorough reading.

 

[Ribinrobin]

Maybe SL2 has more power and the engine is quieter, but KSL has the best rear suspension what Spesh has ever made

The standard enduros quieter than both

 

[Dax]

The standard enduros quieter than both

Have you ridden the enduro? Looks like the lower pivot is a lot further forward than on the ksl, wondering how it compares