Kenevo Gen1 Specialized release overpriced bike which is likely just as F***ing reliable as the last one

[Coburn]

I should be out on my Kenevo 2nd Gen now but instead im sat at home pissed off because once again its dead,

I’ve had 2 Kenevo's latest i purchased new last august both had issues, but this latest generation is ridiculously unreliable including:
- Motor failure bx1
- cable failure x3
- TCU x2
- Wheels were they ever round
- Seat post
- 2x plastic battery end things
I’ve changed brakes cassette etc due to wear which is fair enough.

I ride 2-3 times per week on the Quantocks mix of XC and DH i clean and maintain it meticulously, but it is just not up to the job.

I ride to de-stress from work but this thing is s money pit and causing me more stress....

The thought of spending 13K on a new Levo makes me puke but I’d do it if i had a guarantee it would switch on and stay on. In their video and chat online is bollocks the motor and electronics aren’t up to the job, the battery plastic thing is ridiculously easy to break and even the frame on Kenevo is weak I have dented it from where the dual crowns hit the frame both sides but hey its only £1400 for a new frame under the crash replacement scheme and Specialized guarantee that the new frame will dent in the same way!

If i want to ride do i have to put up with this? are any of you having better joy on other makes? i tried Trek Powerfly about 3-4 years back but that was just as bad well no issue with the Trek hardware just Bosch Motor.

How the hell are Specialized getting away with this? i work in design and manufacturing and I’d never get away with these failure rates. offering a 4 year warranty doesn’t cut it, fix the f***king problem.
If you have had the same experience as me then like or comment I doubt it will do any good but…

 

[Specialized Rider Care]

I should be out on my Kenevo 2nd Gen now but instead im sat at home pissed off because once again its dead,

Really sorry to hear @Coburn - can understand your frustration. Have sent you a PM.

 

[Ffcol]

As a newbie its stories like this that keeps my money in my pocket every time I find a bike I'm interested in. Its strange that we can build cars that, when you look at the complexity and price, make you wonder who is engineering these bikes.

 

[steve_sordy]

@Coburn Apart from a dodgy charger in the first few weeks of winter, I have had zero problems with my Focus Jam2. Maybe I'm just lucky, maybe I just don't ride it hard enough. But I've had zero problems with water in the electrics, no problems with the motor filling up with mud, no problems with the bars hitting the frame either. My chains and cassette are lasting a long time. And the motor sounds and feels as good as ever after almost 2600 miles. One pair of pivot bearings (last year), and both sets of wheel bearings have just been replaced.

I expect that the Jam2 is too much of a trail bike for you, but I expect the Focus Sam2 to be more your style (like a Jam2 on steroids). Rob loved it!

 

[levity]

I ride to de-stress from work...

You need to seek professional help and find more in your life.

 

[Sidepod]

As a newbie its stories like this that keeps my money in my pocket every time I find a bike I'm interested in. Its strange that we can build cars that, when you look at the complexity and price, make you wonder who is engineering these bikes.

The "felt tip fairies" (Stylists). Engineering is secondary.

 

[Sidepod]

As a newbie its stories like this that keeps my money in my pocket every time I find a bike I'm interested in. Its strange that we can build cars that, when you look at the complexity and price, make you wonder who is engineering these bikes.

Don't be put off. On the internet you will only ever read horror stories. The percentage of people posting on-line is miniscule compared to the actual number of bikes out there. I'm not saying there are not inherent problems but, pinch of salt etc.

 

[RickBullotta]

I should be out on my Kenevo 2nd Gen now but instead im sat at home pissed off because once again its dead,

I’ve had 2 Kenevo's latest i purchased new last august both had issues, but this latest generation is ridiculously unreliable including:
- Motor failure bx1
- cable failure x3
- TCU x2
- Wheels were they ever round
- Seat post
- 2x plastic battery end things
I’ve changed brakes cassette etc due to wear which is fair enough.

I ride 2-3 times per week on the Quantocks mix of XC and DH i clean and maintain it meticulously, but it is just not up to the job.

I ride to de-stress from work but this thing is s money pit and causing me more stress....

The thought of spending 13K on a new Levo makes me puke but I’d do it if i had a guarantee it would switch on and stay on. In their video and chat online is bollocks the motor and electronics aren’t up to the job, the battery plastic thing is ridiculously easy to break and even the frame on Kenevo is weak I have dented it from where the dual crowns hit the frame both sides but hey its only £1400 for a new frame under the crash replacement scheme and Specialized guarantee that the new frame will dent in the same way!

If i want to ride do i have to put up with this? are any of you having better joy on other makes? i tried Trek Powerfly about 3-4 years back but that was just as bad well no issue with the Trek hardware just Bosch Motor.

How the hell are Specialized getting away with this? i work in design and manufacturing and I’d never get away with these failure rates. offering a 4 year warranty doesn’t cut it, fix the f***king problem.
If you have had the same experience as me then like or comment I doubt it will do any good but…

Tell us how you really feel. ;-)

 

[Sidepod]

I think he loves them really, he bought two! Once is unfortunate, twice is........

 

[EebStrider]

I’ve done nearly 4000 miles on my Cube and haven’t had a single issue. With the bike!

 

[Mikerb]

As a newbie its stories like this that keeps my money in my pocket every time I find a bike I'm interested in. Its strange that we can build cars that, when you look at the complexity and price, make you wonder who is engineering these bikes.

I assume you are fairly young!! If you bought and drove cars made in the late 60s early 70s you would know cars of that era were anything other than well engineered or reliable. Most rusted to dust in a few years, and I could predict what would fail for any brand of car you may quote. Handling by modern standards was close to dangerous, brakes were pathetic. It took years of producing millions of cars to get them to the standards there are now.
You need to accept the realities of the current Emtb models and work around their potential failings. The bike brands are essentially frame designers and component specifiers. They have virtually no experience of dealing with electronics and many of their component choices are compromised by an industry largely focused on road bikes rather than MTBs or EMTBs.


just for balance.........both me and my mate have 2019 Levos .....neither has suffered a single fault in 2 years of riding local forests, Quantocks, Brecon, Peak District, Windhill etc summer and winter.
Sometimes I read these types of reports with despair. Why 3 power cables, 2 TCUs? There has been plenty of information here on the Ver3 cable mod to resolve the water ingress problem, so was the original cable replaced with the same ver2.....twice? Again, lots of info o here a bout how to protect the TCU. Lots of info a bout how to safely wash the bike much of which applies to every E bike not just Specialized. If you break the battery bash guard twice you are grounding the bike out or failing to clear/hop obstacles.........or maybe running the rear shock too soft/ rear tyre pressures too low. If you are riding big drops or landing to flat off big jumps you cannot run plush suspension. If you are hitting rocky terrain hard you need the right tyres and probably tyre inserts and a fairly high tyre pressure.

 

[Voluptua]

So the first one had issues, and you bought another one?

 

[Coburn]

I assume you are fairly young!! If you bought and drove cars made in the late 60s early 70s you would know cars of that era were anything other than well engineered or reliable. Most rusted to dust in a few years, and I could predict what would fail for any brand of car you may quote. Handling by modern standards was close to dangerous, brakes were pathetic. It took years of producing millions of cars to get them to the standards there are now.
You need to accept the realities of the current Emtb models and work around their potential failings. The bike brands are essentially frame designers and component specifiers. They have virtually no experience of dealing with electronics and many of their component choices are compromised by an industry largely focused on road bikes rather than MTBs or EMTBs.


just for balance.........both me and my mate have 2019 Levos .....neither has suffered a single fault in 2 years of riding local forests, Quantocks, Brecon, Peak District, Windhill etc summer and winter.
Sometimes I read these types of reports with despair. Why 3 power cables, 2 TCUs? There has been plenty of information here on the Ver3 cable mod to resolve the water ingress problem, so was the original cable replaced with the same ver2.....twice? Again, lots of info o here a bout how to protect the TCU. Lots of info a bout how to safely wash the bike much of which applies to every E bike not just Specialized. If you break the battery bash guard twice you are grounding the bike out or failing to clear/hop obstacles.........or maybe running the rear shock too soft/ rear tyre pressures too low. If you are riding big drops or landing to flat off big jumps you cannot run plush suspension. If you are hitting rocky terrain hard you need the right tyres and probably tyre inserts and a fairly high tyre pressure.

Im not young in my 40s although not as old as you if you were driving cars in the 60s
So next time i make a purchase of a product with a short histry i should think "Its alright if it fails because cars were crap in the 60s" hmmm..
Battery bash guard failed from rocks come off the front wheel not from hitting them directly, its a DH orientated bike and thats what its made for surely you get rocks flicking up off your front wheel or should i make persumptions and persum you just dont ride quick enough for that to be an issue!

 

[Zimmerframe]

Im not young in my 40s although not as old as you if you were driving cars in the 60s

I think he was replying to ffcol - he quoted their post in his reply.

 

[Mikerb]

I think he was replying to ffcol - he quoted their post in his reply.

correct..........and the point I was making was that the cars we drive today are the result of well over 100 years of development and yet they only reached todays standards of reliability in the last 20 years or so. If you experienced cars of previous generations you could make them more reliable, handle better etc if you had the inclination.

 

[Mikerb]

Im not young in my 40s although not as old as you if you were driving cars in the 60s
So next time i make a purchase of a product with a short histry i should think "Its alright if it fails because cars were crap in the 60s" hmmm..
Battery bash guard failed from rocks come off the front wheel not from hitting them directly, its a DH orientated bike and thats what its made for surely you get rocks flicking up off your front wheel or should i make persumptions and persum you just dont ride quick enough for that to be an issue!

You can make whatever "persumptions" ( sic) you like, its of no significance to me, but I hope your comment about short history was sarcasm (aka the lowest form of wit) for your sake.

 

[Sidepod]

I assume you are fairly young!! If you bought and drove cars made in the late 60s early 70s you would know cars of that era were anything other than well engineered or reliable. Most rusted to dust in a few years, and I could predict what would fail for any brand of car you may quote. Handling by modern standards was close to dangerous, brakes were pathetic. It took years of producing millions of cars to get them to the standards there are now.
You need to accept the realities of the current Emtb models and work around their potential failings. The bike brands are essentially frame designers and component specifiers. They have virtually no experience of dealing with electronics and many of their component choices are compromised by an industry largely focused on road bikes rather than MTBs or EMTBs.


just for balance.........both me and my mate have 2019 Levos .....neither has suffered a single fault in 2 years of riding local forests, Quantocks, Brecon, Peak District, Windhill etc summer and winter.
Sometimes I read these types of reports with despair. Why 3 power cables, 2 TCUs? There has been plenty of information here on the Ver3 cable mod to resolve the water ingress problem, so was the original cable replaced with the same ver2.....twice? Again, lots of info o here a bout how to protect the TCU. Lots of info a bout how to safely wash the bike much of which applies to every E bike not just Specialized. If you break the battery bash guard twice you are grounding the bike out or failing to clear/hop obstacles.........or maybe running the rear shock too soft/ rear tyre pressures too low. If you are riding big drops or landing to flat off big jumps you cannot run plush suspension. If you are hitting rocky terrain hard you need the right tyres and probably tyre inserts and a fairly high tyre pressure.

I like that analogy. That said I don’t think there are grounds for insufficient R+D. It really isn’t difficult to test a bike to destruction. Just give it to a thug like Pilgrim, pay him a couple of hundred pounds a day and see what breaks.
From my own perspective I’m horrified at the standard of wiring looms in eebs. Now I know a thing or two about wiring loons in motor sport and it’s unbelievable what can ruin your race. The odd vibration at a certain frequency cracking a pin in a connector for example. Can the bike engineers really be that ignorant?
Having said that, I do think a lot of it is down to the end user. A certain amount of understanding and mechanical sympathy is required. My own eebs are not without their own Achilles heels but I’ve not had any major issues so far. I don’t think I’ll be running to the net firing F**ks into the brand when it lets me down.

 

[Mikerb]

I agree but the reality is, it is what it is, so the choice is be wise to it and do what you can to mitigate or .....put your head in the sand. I raced cars offroad ( Autocross before it morphed into Rallycross) often ending up with the whole car unrecognisable, covered in wet mud ( it was normally muddy because if the ground was dry it would be watered with a bowser to keep the dust down!). Following a rear wheel drive car throwing mud, stones, rocks at you meant being able to cope with that!! All the electrics and ignition and cooling had to withstand that. A lot of other components of the car were custom built or modified to cope with the extra stresses.
If an EMTB was fully designed to withstand the rigours of mountain biking in rugged conditions we would not still be using derailleur systems, certainly not carbon fibre frames or components. Bearings and electrical connections would be to well recognised marine standards and we would not be running spoked wheels with inflatable tyres!! But we are where we are.

 

[Doomanic]

If an EMTB was fully designed to withstand the rigours of mountain biking in rugged conditions we would not still be using derailleur systems, certainly not carbon fibre frames or components. Bearings and electrical connections would be to well recognised marine standards and we would not be running spoked wheels with inflatable tyres!!

And they'd cost and weigh a whole lot more.

 

[TPEHAK]

Specialized is basically a financial pyramid, new owners pay more than previous owners so Specialized can use those money to fix previous owners bicycles.

 

[Bellefield]

Locally the most problems with bikes seem to be with the levo, they are a popular bike but so are the moterra, trance, rail, etc. basically any ebike people can get hold of.

not all Levos have problems, some are fine, and some of the other bikes have problems too, the Trek battery chucker for example.

point is the Coburn is right. These are big expenditures, and the technology is not super difficult, and it’s not just the battery or the motor that is going wrong, it’s the basic stuff.

Having spouted off I’m going away to hide as my giant has had very little wrong with it over the last couple of years ??

 

[davarello]

I've had a few issues with my Levo over the last two years, but nothing that wasn't resolved quickly, and mostly part failures, nothing to do with the motor. Last one was this seatpost nut exploding, resulting in long ride home standing up the whole way.

I'm going to look at the new alloy models when they come out, really just need to work out if the changes are worth it for how and where I ride.

 

[Dod Colony]

Really sorry to hear @Coburn - can understand your frustration. Have sent you a PM.

Hi, any chance we could PM as well, my wife's 2021 expert won't charge or switch on, only done 260 soft miles ( she's well chuffed to bump a kerb ) really, really pissed off with this, thought the 2021's were sorted?
Having just recently got mine (2021 expert) I'm left wondering about how wise/stupid it was to spunk over £15K on these runout items?

 

[Rosemount]

Out on an group ride this morning at 7 am .
Next thing my phone is ringing . A buddy asking for advice about why his 2021 Levo won`t turn on .
When people ask me what I do in future , I will say Levo trouble shooter . lol .

 

[1oldfart]

July 8 2020 i got a 2020 Giant Stance E brand new from shop for 3,000$US
I never saw that shop since.
I pedal and i recharge.
I have not read the manual but sofar so good.
Stop buying way overpriced shit is my suggestion.
The Yamaha is almost unchanged since 2016, they make them right.
My next will be a Yamaha and most likely a Giant.
I do not own a car so it rides daily.
Affordable and reliable 2 things i love in a bike.
In 2017 Specialized built me a fine fatbike but their Ebikes are not worth a penny.
I almost forgot, i lube and smile.

 

[Gus916]

I should be out on my Kenevo 2nd Gen now but instead im sat at home pissed off because once again its dead,

I’ve had 2 Kenevo's latest i purchased new last august both had issues, but this latest generation is ridiculously unreliable including:
- Motor failure bx1
- cable failure x3
- TCU x2
- Wheels were they ever round
- Seat post
- 2x plastic battery end things
I’ve changed brakes cassette etc due to wear which is fair enough.

I ride 2-3 times per week on the Quantocks mix of XC and DH i clean and maintain it meticulously, but it is just not up to the job.

I ride to de-stress from work but this thing is s money pit and causing me more stress....

The thought of spending 13K on a new Levo makes me puke but I’d do it if i had a guarantee it would switch on and stay on. In their video and chat online is bollocks the motor and electronics aren’t up to the job, the battery plastic thing is ridiculously easy to break and even the frame on Kenevo is weak I have dented it from where the dual crowns hit the frame both sides but hey its only £1400 for a new frame under the crash replacement scheme and Specialized guarantee that the new frame will dent in the same way!

If i want to ride do i have to put up with this? are any of you having better joy on other makes? i tried Trek Powerfly about 3-4 years back but that was just as bad well no issue with the Trek hardware just Bosch Motor.

How the hell are Specialized getting away with this? i work in design and manufacturing and I’d never get away with these failure rates. offering a 4 year warranty doesn’t cut it, fix the f***king problem.
If you have had the same experience as me then like or comment I doubt it will do any good but…

2020 Kenevo Comp, now on its 3rd motor, 3rd wiring harness and 3rd shock ( including a DHX2 upgrade to help solve my problems and as a kind gesture due to my issues but it didn’t last 12 months ) Rider Care and my LBS Nicholson’s in Dundee have been fantastic I must admit but it is soul breaking when you look forward to going out and then bang. If I’d had this much bother with a car I’d ask for a replacement or my money back TBH. My mate has a YT Decoy and it hasn’t failed him once, after seeing the new Levo I was wondering if the new 2.2 motor will fit in the Kenevo? If Specialized keep putting the prices up they way they are they’ve lost me as a customer.

 

[Sidepod]

I need to understand, at £13k that’s £6k more than the other hi end rides. What exactly are you getting for your money?

 

[Zimmerframe]

I need to understand, at £13k that’s £6k more than the other hi end rides. What exactly are you getting for your money?

If that's how you're pricing, you're not comparing it to "high end rides" you're comparing it to mid range bikes.

Pivot Shuttle : Starts at €11,000
Trek Rail 9.9 X01 AXS £11,500
Santa Cruz Bullet - High Spec £11,500

The prices of the Forks, shock, brakes, shifters and seat post cover the cost you're quoting.

Or even something like a none e-bike .. The S-Works Epic and S-works Enduro both start at £11,500

 

[Beekeeper]

I really liked this video from EMBN where Steve took a Levo on an adventure in the mountains and yes the motor blew up ?

 

[Zimmerframe]

I really liked this video from EMBN where Steve took a Levo on an adventure in the mountains and yes the motor blew up ?

That was funny !! Poor Steve. Not sure my bottom would have survived, never mind my legs.