Kenevo SL Official 2022 Kenevo SL (KSL) Megathread!

[Doomanic]

Raceco have bikes in store now.

 

[Pete N]

Models also loading up on the UK website too.

 

[Mcharza]

Fortunately, I can skip this newer version. The only change really is the new engine version. I don't need more motor power yet, my own legs are enough.

 

[Doomanic]

Me too, but mainly because my wallet (unlike my waistline) isn't fat enough...

 

[Pete N]

Fortunately, I can skip this newer version. The only change really is the new engine version. I don't need more motor power yet, my own legs are enough.

Probably the right decision unless you have the cash. I have turned my Levo SL Gen 2 down to around 30/75 and never use Turbo. I’ll only use it on occasional trips to the Lake District etc.
The frame remaining the same makes it easier to pass.

 

[p3eps]

Probably the right decision unless you have the cash. I have turned my Levo SL Gen 2 down to around 30/75 and never use Turbo. I’ll only use it on occasional trips to the Lake District etc.
The frame remaining the same makes it easier to pass.

Big difference between the Levo SL 1.1 and 1.2 frame wise, and also having the Mastermind gave more reasons to update than just the new motor. I guess the KSL is harder to justify since it's just the motor and nothing else.
Anyone looking at a S-Works Kenevo SL 2 must be kicking themselves for missing the half price ones over the last few months. They could have bought the 1.1 version and a kids SL to transplant the motor, and still had a couple of grand change!!

I'm now riding 15/30 on my 1.2, which feels about the same as 35/80 on the 1.1 motor.
I rarely use Turbo... but did have one Sunday where I had my car at the bottom of a fire road, and 2 great runs at the top. I had 2 RE's, and spent about 3 hours shuttling up in Turbo, and coming down in Eco!

 

[R3Z3N]

^However the Levo SL Gen 1 also uses the Mahle 1.1, so technically it could use the 1.2 as the mounting pattern is the same, just need a different mudguard as well.

I don't care to have the Mahle 1.2, but if it was for sale, I would probably do it just to have it. I say time to be VERY vocal and call, email, email bomb, mail and post on social media how unacceptable this is.

 

[Doomanic]

how unacceptable this is.

How unacceptable what is?

 

[p3eps]

How unacceptable what is?

The fact that they've upgraded the motor on their 2 1/2 year old bike, and are charging even less for it

I'm away to email Apple and tell them how unacceptable it is that I bought a new iPhone 15 Pro 6 weeks ago, and I've heard that they're already planning to launch a 16 pro in September...

 

[R3Z3N]

^No the fact that it is plug and play, yet they require one to buy a frame at minimum to get it.

IMO EVERYTHING should be sold, motors should be no exception, even motor parts.

As far as your Apple comment....please look up right to repair and how Apples white flag waiving is nothing but a PR stunt.

 

[p3eps]

^No the fact that it is plug and play, yet they require one to buy a frame at minimum to get it.

IMO EVERYTHING should be sold, motors should be no exception, even motor parts.

It would be nice if they sold the motor separately, and maybe one day they will. For now, they claim there is a limited production, and the motors produced are for their complete bikes / frames. It's the same with the Mastermind TCU's... they've now been out for almost 3 years, yet bike shops can't order / sell them unless they have a broken one to 'exchange'.

 

[Dax]

^No the fact that it is plug and play, yet they require one to buy a frame at minimum to get it.

IMO EVERYTHING should be sold, motors should be no exception, even motor parts.

As far as your Apple comment....please look up right to repair and how Apples white flag waiving is nothing but a PR stunt.

Maybe they will. New bike has only been out for 2 days

 

[Pete N]

I’m pretty sure that they’ll never make the motor available to Gen 1 owners of the Levo or Kenevo SL. It would be nice if they did but they’re in the business of selling MTB’s so a £1000 motor won’t make a lot of money.
It’s slightly different for the new KSL I guess as the bike is pretty much unchanged otherwise.
Still won’t happen.
Bikes have always gone through 2/3 year model changes and this is no different. They’ve stuck with a great frame so the urge to upgrade will surely be less. They have likely gone with a slightly smaller stock level for now, especially seeing that most bike manufacturers have warehouses full of old stock.

 

[Doomanic]

It would be nice if they did but they’re in the business of selling MTB’s so a £1000 motor won’t make a lot of money.

The mark up on individual components is usually significantly higher than the markup on whole bikes so selling a conversion kit could make sense financially for Spesh.

 

[Doomanic]

How much are you prepared to pay? 1k? 2k? You'd need a motor, bash guard, chainring, cranks and spider, plus firmware updates.

 

[Ou812]

Just buy the kids Levo SL, swap everything over then sell the Kids SL.

 

[Pete N]

The mark up on individual components is usually significantly higher than the markup on whole bikes so selling a conversion kit could make sense financially for Spesh.

The mark on up bikes is pretty high, . What the dealers make has been squeezed from what it used to be .You’d have to make a conversion kits pretty expensive to make it work. The volume of parts that the bike companies buy to make the bikes makes them cheap to what anyone else pays. Specialized selling directly obviously means that they make a lot more but I’m sure we all want out local bike shops to exist
Moot point anyway as they won’t do it.

 

[R3Z3N]

How much are you prepared to pay? 1k? 2k? You'd need a motor, bash guard, chainring, cranks and spider, plus firmware updates.

I'd pay 1500-2k without installation. No FW update needed if Specialized isn't stupid with the mastermind. Also stupid of them to change the cranks. Spider and chainring of course depends on rest of transmission used...pun intended, but they still went stupid with the proprietary BCD and Cranks...or at least Mahle did...whoever is responsible needs a Oury Grip up their butt.

 

[Ou812]

I'd pay 1500-2k without installation. No FW update needed if Specialized isn't stupid with the mastermind. Also stupid of them to change the cranks. Spider and chainring of course depends on rest of transmission used...pun intended, but they still went stupid with the proprietary BCD and Cranks...or at least Mahle did...whoever is responsible needs a Oury Grip up their butt.

You can get cranks from 5dev, they’ve got them listed on their site now. Apparently it’s the same crank that’s on the new SRAM/Brose motors.

5DEV eCranks for SRAM DUB Mount / Brose and Gen 2 Specialized SL

eCranks for the new SRAM / Brose motors as well as the Gen 2 Specialized Turbo Levo SL. These cranks will fit any motor with the SRAM Computer or the new Specialized SL motor. 5DEV CNC'd R-SPEC Trail Enduro Cranks for the Gen 2 Turbo Levo SL. Model year 2023+ with the SRAM Motor and Sram DUB...

5dev.com

 

[iamanej]

My 1.2 bike has had the same firmware on it since the first day I rode it.
On day 1, I felt like 100/100 was no more powerful than the 1.1 motor I’d just swapped from.
After a few rides, the 1.2 motor seemed to ‘come to life’, and 100/100 has a distinct feeling of more power.

It hasn’t been back to the shop, so unless it’s magically done an OTA firmware update without me knowing? I never use Mission Control unless it’s to tweak the assist settings - so I’m only ever in in for 1 min at a time… and have never been asked to do an update.

On another note… I thought it was pretty cool that when I switched my bike on yesterday, the Mastermind popped up ‘RD Battery Low’, as I hadn’t charged my AXS Transmission since the day I got it! Took me a second to realise what it was saying… but a handy feature!

has any "hacker" tried to put 1.2 firmware to run on 1.1 motor?

 

[R3Z3N]

You can get cranks from 5dev, they’ve got them listed on their site now. Apparently it’s the same crank that’s on the new SRAM/Brose motors.

5DEV eCranks for SRAM DUB Mount / Brose and Gen 2 Specialized SL

eCranks for the new SRAM / Brose motors as well as the Gen 2 Specialized Turbo Levo SL. These cranks will fit any motor with the SRAM Computer or the new Specialized SL motor. 5DEV CNC'd R-SPEC Trail Enduro Cranks for the Gen 2 Turbo Levo SL. Model year 2023+ with the SRAM Motor and Sram DUB...

5dev.com

Palm to forehead. KSL 1 has the proprietary Praxis/Mahle SL 1.1/M30 spline. SL 1.2 is different....
5Dev does not not make cranks for the Mahle 1.1

 

[KSL]

I’m pretty sure that they’ll never make the motor available to Gen 1 owners of the Levo or Kenevo SL. It would be nice if they did but they’re in the business of selling MTB’s so a £1000 motor won’t make a lot of money.
It’s slightly different for the new KSL I guess as the bike is pretty much unchanged otherwise.
Still won’t happen.
Bikes have always gone through 2/3 year model changes and this is no different. They’ve stuck with a great frame so the urge to upgrade will surely be less. They have likely gone with a slightly smaller stock level for now, especially seeing that most bike manufacturers have warehouses full of old stock.

The assumption on this side of the pond is that if your KSL 1.1 motor fails, there's a high likelihood it would be replaced with the 1.2. I doubt they'd keep making 1.1 motors at this point so once the inventory evaporates, the 1.2 motor would make sense.

 

[p3eps]

The assumption on this side of the pond is that if your KSL 1.1 motor fails, there's a high likelihood it would be replaced with the 1.2. I doubt they'd keep making 1.1 motors at this point so once the inventory evaporates, the 1.2 motor would make sense.

I would imagine that they take all the failed 1.1 motors and repair / refurbish them when they come back from a warranty failure. They are then used for warranty replacements.

Much like Apple do with phones. Unless your phone fails within the first few weeks of launch, you’re getting a refurb as your warranty replacement.
They don’t give you an iPhone 15 because your 13 fails.

It may eventually get to the point where you get a 1.2 as a replacement, but my guess is all the people with a 1.1 bike will be out of warranty by that time… and you’ll have to pay retail cost for it

 

[dirt-diggler]

Here's to hoping they do eventually do that for all of us that just picked up ksl's in the sale

Actually rode mine yesterday, thing rips that's for sure! Hopefully once I get adjusted to it, it'll rip even more!

 

[roQer]

Hopefully once I get adjusted to it, it'll rip even more!

User name checks out

 

[Doomanic]

 

[Pete N]

View attachment 128812

Very nice. I do like a foil decal!!

 

[soso79]

For 24 i gonna try a 38 with ebike shim and smashpot. Next week the vivid air arrive, Hope so.
To do some km i use the Butchers with Tannus insert, mullet. For alps or a day in park i put on the ex1700 with dh22, also mullet.
With the other small changes the bike rides like hell

 

[Doomanic]

ebike shim

What's that then? A damper tune?

 

[soso79]

What's that then? A damper tune?

Yea, a softer tune.