SPECIALIZED TURBO KENEVO EXPERT6FATTIE

£5,500 Electric shred sled that rides almost like a normal bike

Specialized have hidden the Kenevo’s battery and motor so well that you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for the Enduro, on which it’s based. With 180mm of travel, it’s built to handle anything.

The frame

That travel is provided by Spesh’s ‘FSR’ suspension system (a fourbar Horst link set-up, without the Haibike’s idler) and controlled by an Öhlins TTX coil shock. The power is provided by a 250W Brose-made motor and a 504Wh battery. This can be dropped out of the down tube for charging, using a standard Allen key, rather than a padlock-style key.

The kit

The biggest componentry talking point is Specialized’s Command Post Wu seatpost. On paper this offers a very short 115mm drop, but because the saddle’s angle changes as it descends, its tail actually moves 150mm out of your way. Spesh also provide the tyres, wheels and finishing kit, plus two of their handy ‘SWAT’ (Storage Water Air Tools) accessories – a bottle cage with attached mini multi-tool and a chain tool that stashes in the head tube.

The ride

Of all the bikes here, the Kenevo feels most like a regular MTB. For starters, there’s no head-up display to tell you what mode you’re in or how much battery is left, just a small remote to toggle between modes and a charge indicator on the down tube. You can connect to ANT+ devices to see more data, and Specialized’s app lets you ration the battery to suit every ride.

The Brose motor is impressively quiet too, and power delivery is far subtler and smoother than with the Bosch unit. This makes the Kenevo easier to control if you’re not used to e-bikes. Frustratingly, there’s a big lag before the power comes on fully, which is particularly noticeable when setting off or exiting uphill switchbacks. If you pause to avoid a pedal strike (a rare occurrence, thanks to the 165mm cranks), the power takes so long to come back on that it’s easy to lose momentum.

Fortunately, the power and traction delivered when the motor is engaged are superb. Better still, when you’re pedalling with the motor off or go above the 25kmh limit, it disengages. This means there’s noticeably less drag than with the Bosch, which makes it far easier to accelerate to clear jumps and means running out of battery is less disastrous.

The seat angle is the slackest on test once you factor in the slight layback of the seatpost. Combined with the short chainstays (443mm), this can make it hard to stop the front

wheel lifting on steep climbs. On the flipside, the short back end makes lofting the front wheel or hopping obstacles easier than on most e-bikes, adding to the ‘normal bike’ feel. Coming back down, the 2.8in tyres grip loose terrain brilliantly and the long-travel suspension soaks up bumps with minimal hanging-up, providing a comfy, traction-rich ride.

The coil shock is plush but its linear nature makes the bike feel slightly sluggish and vague when pumping through G-outs or berms. While the 548lb/in spring on the XL bike gave our 14st (89kg) primary tester a good sag setting (around 30 per cent), we wanted to try a firmer spring rate. Unfortunately, fitting a heavier spring requires the use of stronger retainer clips, which were unavailable at the time of testing.

We’d have preferred a regular dropper post too, finding that the Wu’s nose got in the way when we were trying to get low over the bike and that the saddle occasionally slipped back in the clamp when we were sat down pedalling over bumps. While the 65-degree head angle is appropriately slack for a bike of this travel and the bar is nice and wide (780mm), the 478mm reach on the XL wasn’t quite long enough for our main tester to feel properly comfy either. The front centre is appreciably longer than the Cannondale’s, but the Specialized still felt frustratingly cramped compared to the Mondraker. Smaller riders may find the reach, spring rate and limited seatpost drop less limiting though.

THE 2.8 IN TYRES GRIP LOOSE TERRAIN BRILLIANTLY AND THE LONG TRAVEL SUSPENSION SOAKS UP BUMPS WITH MINIMAL HANGING UP, PROVIDING A COMFY, TRACTION RICH RIDE

Quiet, smooth and chuckable terrain gobbler, with motor, seatpost, shock and reach niggles