JAMIE’S SPECIALIZED TURBO KENEVO SL COMP
MONTH 5: The wheels come off, or is it Jamie’s legs? Either way, the Kenevo comes to a complete standstill
£7,400 / 29in / specialized.com
I’m cruising up a steepish climb on the Kenevo SL when a feeling that something isn’t quite right comes over me. Either my legs have fallen off without me even noticing, or the bike is losing power… and fast. Then the bike dies, with 100% battery power showing on the integrated top tube display. Honestly, I’m relieved because otherwise I’d be seeking a doctor… and fast.
As usual, I’d set the bike to drain the RE (Range Extender) battery pack first, before moving on to the internal battery. This approach lets me replace the near spent RE with a water bottle in the cage and continue my ride. This time though, I fully exhausted the RE for the first time, whereupon it failed to transition over to the internal battery. Result: one dead bike.
There’s a good ending to this story, though. To get things going again I simply unplugged the cable that connects the RE to the charging port and the bike forgot about the RE and fired up again. It’s not an ideal or slick solution though, and on a muddy ride exposing the cable and charge port to grime is a really bad idea. I spoke to Specialized about it and it says a software update should fix the issue.
Range Extenders aside, I’ve been experimenting with different shock and fork pressures on the Kenevo SL, taking shock sag up to a firmer 25%... and then right back down again to the Specialized suggestion of 30%, which is 198psi for my weight. It’s certainly a plusher and more comfortable ride in the latter setting, and one I’m sticking with.
At the other end of the bike is the basic Fox Rhythm 36 fork, which I’ve been running at 88psi. That’s higher than Fox recommends because I want more support and with only low-speed compression adjustment, I think it’s currently the best option. I’ve just found an old Fox volume spacer in the bottom of my toolbox though, so the next step is to fit that and see how it changes things. The Fox 36 fork on the Kenevo comes stock with one 10cc spacer fitted, so doubling that is the next logical step.
When you buy a Kenevo SL, you get a smartlooking case, bulging with useful items like the manual, chocks for bleeding the brakes, a SRAM rear mech set-up tool, and offset headset spacers to change the head angle (more on that next month). So it’s strange that the big S didn’t throw in any fork or shock volume-reducers with it all.
WHY IT’S HERE Diet e-bikes: the best or worst of both worlds?