Specialized's New Long Travel eMTB - The Turbo Kenevo FSR - First Ride
Specialized introduced the Turbo Levo FSR range of bikes back in 2015 and we recently revealed their updated carbon framed Turbo Levo, but now they’re showing off a new beast altogether; the Turbo Kenevo. Where the Turbo Levo is essentially the pedal assist version of their Stumpjumper FSR, the Kenevo is the Enduro version. Taking cues from the popular all-mountain bike, the Kenevo reflects a lot of the aesthetics from the one-hundred percent man-powered version but goes a little bigger in the travel department.
Turbo Kenevo FSR Details
• Intended use: trail/all-mountain
• Full alloy frame construction
• Rear wheel travel: 180mm
• Fork travel: 180mm
• Wheel size: 27.5"
• Clearance for up to 2.8” tyres
• 504wh integrated battery
• Sizes: S / M / L / XL
• MSRP: 6,299 €
• www.specialized.com
• Intended use: trail/all-mountain
• Full alloy frame construction
• Rear wheel travel: 180mm
• Fork travel: 180mm
• Wheel size: 27.5"
• Clearance for up to 2.8” tyres
• 504wh integrated battery
• Sizes: S / M / L / XL
• MSRP: 6,299 €
• www.specialized.com
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Specialized say that the Turbo Kenevo FSR was developed after they repeatedly received feedback from riders wanting a longer legged version of their original Turbo Levo FSR. I feel that for many, this is a no brainer, myself included—if there is a motor to help the rider on climbs, why not have a more aggressive bike for the descents? With this in mind, Specialized see the Kenevo potentially slowing the amount of people using vehicles to shuttle to the downhill trails—time will tell.
The bike was designed around a high volume 27.5" tire and my time aboard the Kenevo, as well as the spec for the bike, is with 2.8-inch Butchers. It’s fitted with the RockShox Lyrik RT3 and the Öhlins TTX coil takes care of the rear suspension. A number of interesting little accessories were also first revealed on this bike, with Specialized showing off their Wu adjustable seatpost and the new S.W.A.T. CC tool. We spoke about these in the recent 2018 Enduro First Look, but a quick summation is: the Wu post adjusts the angle of the seat 13 degrees from level when extended, to tilted back, much like a more gravity oriented rider would set their seat up, when lowered. The tool is a multi that slides into the steerer-tube of the fork through the use of a very clean, spring-loaded system.
The rear suspension of the Specialized Turbo Kenevo is controlled with the formidable Ohlins TTX.
Frame Design and Updates
When developing the Turbo Kenevo, the team at Specialized put a lot of value in how the motor (and subsequently, the battery) integrated with the bike. Much like the Turbo Levo FSR, the downtube was designed to fit the 504Wh battery within it, mounting from beneath the downtube. The motor is housed inside a metal frame, that utilizes plastic coverings to conceal it.
What is completely new for Specialized’s 2018 eMTB’s is the addition of what they call their Trail Remote. The remote is a small push-button piece that sits on the bars next to the grip and allows riders to change the amount of power output, or assistance, that the motor is providing. Previous to this the rider was required to reach down to the buttons on the downtube and depress the desired buttons from there.
Specialized's new Wu adjustable seatpost was first spotted on the Kenevo.
Control the power provided by the motor easily with your thumb via the new Trail Remote
Also new on the Kenevo, and other 2018 Turbo FSR bikes, is an updated motor. The Turbo 1.3 motor is claimed to offer more efficiency, better heat management and more power, 15% more power according to Specialized. Much like we mentioned with the Turbo Levo FSR Carbon, the improvements come via hardware and software improvements. They also included thermal pads in the motor and between it and the housing, further assisting in the heat management of the new bikes motors.
Geometry
The geometry is similar to the Enduro, albeit a tiny bit slacker and tiny bit longer than the 2017 version, with the Kenevo sporting a 65-degree head angle, 431mm reach for the size medium, and a bottom bracket height of 350mm. Where they differ more drastically is in the wheelbase length, and thanks partly to a 443mm chainstay length on the Kenevo—compared to the Enduro’s 425mm—the wheelbase comes out at 1,205mm, 30mm longer than the Enduro (all size medium). Travel has bumped up too, with the Kenevo sporting 180mm front and rear.
Comparing the Kenevo to Levo reveals more longer, slacker, but not lower. The Kenevo measures 20mm longer in both reach and wheelbase, the head angle is 1-degree slacker and the bottom bracket height measures 10mm higher.
Comparing the Kenevo to Levo reveals more longer, slacker, but not lower. The Kenevo measures 20mm longer in both reach and wheelbase, the head angle is 1-degree slacker and the bottom bracket height measures 10mm higher.
My time aboard the Turbo Kenevo was spent on the East Coast rock of Mountain Creek in New Jersey. The bike was fitted with Specialized’s new 2.8-inch Butcher tyres front and rear, which had me curious. After a few initial rides on the old Turbo Levo FSR back in 2016, it seemed that this category was the best fit for plus tires, but I personally was still not the biggest fan of the balloon volume treads.
The 2.8" tyre's smaller size is significant enough that it’s easily noticeable. Add to that the proper, meaty tread of the Butcher and you’ve got one heck of a tyre to roll on. Would it translate to better handling on the trail, or still exhibit some of the negative traits of the 3.0 on the previous Turbo Levo?
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 The rear of the Kenevo was designed to fit up to a 2.8-inch tyre, but still exhibits plenty of room for the aggressive Butcher 2.8. |
On the trail I was pleasantly surprised by the well-mannered nature of the 2.8 Butchers mounted to the Kenevo. These eMTBs are not light, and the 2.8-inch tyre seemed to strike a great balance between handling the added weight, providing a stable platform when pushed into corners, or through varied terrain with plenty of square edges. Add to this the more aggressive tread of the Butcher and you’ve got a tyre that seeks out loads of traction while providing plenty of stability.
On the topic of traction, the Kenevo’s Öhlins TTX rear shock worked really, really well. In the short time aboard the Kenevo the rear shock truly impressed, with a tune that provided great support at the bottom end while the top was nice and light, further increasing traction. The mid-stroke was firm with little sign of wallow, responding well to rider feedback and providing a livelier feel than one might expect. It still took some effort to move and popping off lips of jumps further displayed this, but it was admirable given the amount of weight that it was supporting.
The Lyrik works great—no secrets there—and it complemented the rear of the bike well, however, I did find my time aboard the Öhlins RXF (on the Turbo Levo FSR) presented greater tracking and less chassis flex in chunder, which Mountain Creek has plenty of.
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| The 180mm Lyrik takes care of the hits up front. |
The motor on the Turbo Kenevo is the same as on the updated Turbo Levo. The updates from the previous are predominantly around efficiency; keeping motor heat down and providing a more effective use of the power provided. One update that I was interested in was the smoother kick-in mentioned in talks with Specialized representatives. Did it translate to the trail? Yes, it did. The uptake from the motor is smoother and I found the drop off a little better too. This smoother reaction from the motor results in better shifting, and while it still is recommended that riders shift when there is minimal power down (as is normal on any bike), it is better suited to sloppy shifts than the previous motor was.
In short, the small amount of time on the Turbo Kenevo presented a very capable bike that took the burly, rock infested trails of Mountain Creek in its stride. This seems to be one eMTB that is ready to party on the downs and kick in to help you get back to the top for more action, and quickly. Keep an eye out for a more in-depth review in the future.
For more information on the new Turbo Kenevo FSR, visit specialized.com
MENTIONS: @Specialized
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135 Comments
As I said at the outset, I don’t begrudge anyone who wants to ride an eBike, just as I don’t have anything against people who ride dirt bikes, go 4-wheeling, go skiing, or play basketball. They’re just different sports, and if that’s what floats your boat, who am I to stop you? So if you want to go ride an eBike, I sincerely wish you the best, and I hope you have a great time.
Just don’t call it mountain biking.
And that goes for Pinkbike, too — you are a mountain bike website. Put the eBikes on ePinkbike.
Now do I agree? Well the article contains several bits. Let's start with the main bit, should Pinkbike cover e-bike material or not. This largely depends on how you view PB. I don't see it as an official news site on the level I expect a news outlet in a democracy to be. The way I expect journalists to check and double check their findings and report it in their paper or whatever media they use. I don't think any of the writers for pinkbike has had a formal journalists' education and performs on that level. And frankly I don't expect that. Writers dive into a subject (often already biased), check a few sources, write a witty article mixed with their own opinions and that's what we get. That's magazine level and absolutely fine. You (I, the reader) grant them the freedom to do so and take this into consideration when reading. It is not the news and that's fine. When you hire a brass band to play your national anthem at some sports event, that's what you expect. Nothing more, nothing less. If you visit a Metallica concert or (blindly) buy one of their albums, you get what they feel like playing. Take it or leave it. You can't go "hey, it says metal in their name, it is no Countrillica or anything!". This is getting long winded but I hope you get my point. A web-magazine like Pinkbike is similar to a rockband in a way. In my view they do have the freedom to wander off a little. The audience can advice and voice her opinion, but it simply has no say in what direction to take. The audience does have the freedom of course to simply shift to a different media outlet or to set up something herself.
Unfortunately because the discussion pro and against e-bikes constantly shifts from article to article, it isn't worth it anymore to go in depth anymore. Which is a shame because good points were made both in favour as well as against them. I think best would actually be to have one single place here on PB where people could publish their essay. One for every account. People can change their views and update their essay, but it sticks to that one essay. That'd be nice and makes it worthwhile.
Much of the discussion made me think about an experience I had a couple of years ago. When my kids were really small I temporarily had little time to ride my mountainbike. So I took my mountain unicycle (MUni) along with me in the car to work a few times a week and after work I stopped by the dunes to ride some steep hiking trails. In my country (The Netherlands) by law unpowered vehicles that are not considered bicycles are automatically pedestrians. By the definition bicycles needed at least two wheels and a drivetrain so unicyclists were relegated to be pededestrians. So that made it great for me because I could ride the nicer trails in the dunes which were out of bounds for bicycles. I believe erosion is less than for walkers because when going steep down I'm still rolling where they're sliding and when it is steep up I'm walking anyway just like they are. Pace is comparable to that of a fit runner. I met many walkers, rangers and animals, all good. Then one day on a section with no one else around who could possibly have been disturbed, I was stopped by a ranger. I wasn't allowed to ride there. I explained him that by law I was not riding a bicycle and it wasn't mentioned anywhere that unicycles were prohibited. He said they can't prohibit everything separately but he can ban me riding there. He said I'd otherwise tell others that it so much fun riding unicycles there and the place would be swarmed with unicyclists. So, I left and never rode there again. I was probably the only mountain unicyclist he's ever seen I didn't want first encounter to be one with a big mouth. But it did strike me as odd. Trail impact is comparable (or less) than that of current audience and with the current legislation it is all fine. But it is different to what they're used to so it gets banned. Luckily on my local trails MUni riding is officially allowed right when they opened, so I'm all good
For the record, I don't ride with pedal assist and I don't plan to. In fact, I'm seriously considering a bike with Pinion (Portus makes beautiful steel bikes and has cool project on Kickstarter: krowdkarl.de). Expensive too but at least it is an investment for a lifetime
TL;DR: see previous post.
That story about the MUni is pretty hilarious - imagine trails being swarmed by mountain unicycles, you've got to be one of what; 3(?)MUni cyclists in the Netherlands, surely?!
Pinkbike is pretty respectful compared to the rest of the web tho, generally.
As for MUni riding, not sure how many people do it. I've ridden with over twenty people at once here so there are quite a few but maybe not even one hundred. Funny enough one of the pioneers (Kris Holm) used to put effort into showing what can be done. He's kind of the equivalent of Gary Fisher and Hans Rey in one. Good friend of Ryan Leech, similar enthusiasm too. But somehow people already have the perception that it is difficult so now he's busy showing how approachable it really is. After all, it is cheap, low risk (for both gear and rider) and asks for low/no maintenance. People somehow fail to notice that. But everyone who's had a go has had a great laugh. Which is what it is all about, isn't it?
that's my concern.......no way of knowing who's using one or not......may as well use steroids at Olympics.
As that's where they'll get the most out of their bikes;
I suppose balance bikes are cheating, cos' the little kids aren't pedalling?
Usually, I'm not attracted by è-bikes but there's something in this bike that makes me aroused and weak at the same time.
Like that ex girlfriend that was so bad for you but you couldn't help it. You would always come back knowing that she will slash your tyres again. Sooner or later. But the 'ride' was spectacular.
I always think they have to let that out because the manufacturer has something to hide?
I think you will find it is called a Motor.
Simple rule of thumb: "motors" run on electricity, while "engines" run on combustion.
the uplift services are going to think they are Bad news for business
As they say in the midle of the text,two things that i defend is the main pourpose of an shutle ebike:
"if there is a motor to help the rider on climbs, why not have a more aggressive bike for the descents? With this in mind, Specialized see the Kenevo potentially slowing the amount of people using vehicles to shuttle to the downhill trails—time will tell."
"This seems to be one eMTB that is ready to party on the downs and kick in to help you get back to the top for more action, and quickly."
A 140mm ebike is not a shutle bike as the Pivot's Shuttle Its a trail litle shuttle ebike.It will brake if you give it a Downhill treatment,and have 10K€$£ to waste.
Mainly Haibike haved a few time ago a ,2 or 3 years such a bike.They have fast brains.
Riders need 150/170 and this is real 115mm.... wtf
Cheers!
....Specialised response "wait till they see this puppy"
I understand the weight that E-bike has in the actual and future bike market business, but I am afraid that following the business only , you will cause to yourself a lost of business when there will be trail riding restriction imposed from governments.
it will be the end of MTB or just a limitation for E-mtb only??
Who can say it now, that this masses SHIT is just at the beginning.
BIke industry's rappresentative (is there one??) have to make pressure to government to maintain existing trails and eventually create new ones for the coming Ebike.
Wasn't enough some fxxxn' motorbike coming uphill where we push down our tools ??
Do we really deserve to crash against e-bike Explorer that try to lean an uphill that neighter Nino Schurter could pedal??
I am disgusted of the abuse that business and industry is able to make of a basically innocent thing like an electric motor added to a bike frame.
I am one of the few guys that create and maintain trails where second biggest bike fair of EU makes their testdays.
hell, I hope this fashion will follow fatbike's one , a kind of soap bubble.
I hope, but sadly don't belive it
if this is the future and we cannot stop it , what do you suggest to find the money that a continue mainteihance require?
Actually and since always In Finale Ligure the trailcare care has been made by few local riders and recently by an agreement made between all professional shuttling comapny on the base of the number of van and trailer they have. They invest in trailbuilding to support their business. Everything is private.
I heared with my ears in one of the biggest rent that the private investor are very angry with all NON LOCAL or "offcial" shuttle from all europe that use all rails without any positive economic feedback for the territory.
They simply use and don't pay.
What do you suggest to have good trail and independence from cablecab/shuttle??
I am very curious to discover it , because it could be a solution also for my area.
We cannot compare FL to my area, but that's why basically my Trailcare association worked to educate local rider to don't fall in the shuttling labirynth. The business of few makes the lost of the most.
I think that motorized vehicle have to pay taxes as every other motorized vehicle and be suitable to patrol control and use in restricted and appropriate trails.
The guys you mentioned in FL probably are Pro TBs, don't know if the idea could be extended everywhere.
I agree the use of eMTB in trailcare operation with a trailer in the back (depending from the trail) because are much quicker than take a long walk with tools on shoulders,
I think we have to stop to think at eMTB as another different type of mtb, because it's not a bike, it is an electrically powered moped.
My grandfather in the '50s had a Mosquito, I mean a bike with an engine of 30cc fitted , witch provided far less HP and speed than actual eMTB, 28" semislick tires , and OF COURSE a plate number, its vehicle documents and taxes on charge.
If areas need funding for trails then local areas will have to look at income sources (I won't try and tackle this as every country and area has different laws/rights etc but the principle exists). This doesn't just mean riders but all those businesses who benefit from riders.....hotels, bars, bike shops etc.
Some uk trails have a donations box.....I'm sure this could work as well...I know I put my hand in my pocket.