The concept is smart: Specialized has equipped a 180 freerider with an e-drive. This means: motor on, up the mountain (sssssss) and then downhill without compromise (braaap). Lift and shuttle? You no longer need them! More freeride is not really possible. Actually - because a motor brings a lot of weight with it. The customised Turbo Kenevo Expert weighs 22.9 kilos. That's good for an e-MTB. On steep terrain, however, this is bad because the heavy bike pushes uncomfortably and tests the braking system. But you can rely on them - Magura's MT7 brakes are excellent.
The motor and battery are hidden in the down tube of the aluminium frame. It is Brose's new Drive S. The level of assistance can be varied in three stages - technology fans can even customise it using the Mission Control app. The motor provides smooth support - it doesn't push, it doesn't stop abruptly, you don't pedal against the resistance of the motor. Of all the e-drives, we like the Brose the best, even if it has a little less power. Super: Nothing disturbs the peace and quiet in the forest, because the Brose barely purrs audibly. The calculated range altitude is 1197 metres* - that's good, but not great.
To dampen the entire mass, the Kenevo is equipped with a full 180 mm suspension. The front suspension is the high-lift version of the Lyrik, with a steel shock absorber from Öhlins at the rear. The Wu-Post dropper post with its 125 mm stroke is a little too short for taller riders. Super-fat 2.8 plus tyres with monster grip roll on the carbon wheels, but there are also disadvantages.
To test the Kenevo's full freeride skills, we rode our home singletrail circuit on the Isar and in the bike park (Leogang, Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis). We liked the bike best on natural single trails. Here the Kenevo is particularly lively and the suspension flattens everything out: roots, stones, edges - impressive! In the bike park, the Kenevo surprised us with its handling qualities. It's great fun, but requires a certain amount of getting used to - especially on jump tracks. The reason: the extra weight. Although it pushes you towards the jumps at high speed, the E-freerider struggles to get off the ground. Only with a lot of traction on the handlebars does the chubby little thing manage to land. The advantage of the sluggish mass: it gives the flight phase stability - that motocross feeling! The high weight also requires more pressure when changing bends. However, the bike can still be played with if you are physically active. The tyres must be ridden with the exact air pressure: too much and the damping is lost. Too little and the tyres wallow in berms and the bike floats. This is also noticeable on higher drops - the tyres often react a bit bitchy and bounce. On the other hand, the Plus tyres develop a monster grip on uphills or in rough terrain.
You have to die some kind of death! For singletrack orgies, the long-travel suspension may seem a little over-calibrated - but thanks to the motor cable and effective compression adjustment at the rear, the Kenevo still cuts a very fine figure. The range of use of the E-freerider is impressively broad. In short: the Turbo Kenevo Expert has the potential for great freedom.
CONCLUSION on the Specialized Turbo Kenevo Expert
"The Kenevo is a hell of a lot of fun and has an enormously wide range of uses: from trail to bike park. Even downhill trails are no problem for the e-freerider. However, you have to realise that the extra weight can only be compensated for by physical effort: bunny hops, jumps and manuals require strength. We were surprised by the plush chassis. Only the fat tyres often reacted diffusely." Laurin Lehner, FREERIDE editor
Specialised Turbo Kenevo Expert Custom bodywork
MANUFACTURER INFORMATION
Info www.specialized.com
Material / Sizes Aluminium / S, M, L, XL
Price / weight without pedals from 6,499 euros / 22.9 kg
MEASURED DATA
Front / rear suspension travel 180 mm / 180 mm
Rear suspension system Four-bar linkage
EQUIPMENT
Engine Brose Drive S
Fork / damper RockShox Lyrik RCT3 / Öhlins TTX Coil
Brake system Magura MT7
Impellers Royal Traverse Carbon 27.5 system wheelset
Tyres Specialized Butcher 2.8 tyres
Reach 456 mm
Stack 619 mm
BB-Drop -9 mm
PERFORMANCE
Tour 5 out of 6 points
Park 3 out of 6 points
* The reach height is determined as follows: On a seven per cent steep ascent, a tester rides in the strongest support mode and a power output of 130 watts until the battery is empty.
Laurin Lehner
Editor
