2020 Specialized Turbo Kenevo: What you need to know
The 2020 Specialized Turbo Kenevo has had some improvements over the 2019 model. But, that is a bit of an understatement, everything has been upscaled. The new Turbo Kenevo has updated geometry, motor, battery and has improved suspension kinematics amongst its updated features. These all add up to a more advanced iteration of an already hard-hitting machine.
Who is it for?
The idea behind the 2020 Specialized Turbo Kenevo is for riders that don’t want to use or have access to uplifts. It is most at home on gnarly terrain with jumps and drops, or in bike parks.
Details
The 2020 Specialized Turbo Kenevo is only available with an aluminium frame. However, this new version is lighter than the 2019 bike. This is thanks to the new lighter motor and how it is mounted.
The frame has the addition of a sidearm on the right-hand side of the shock. This increases the stiffness and improves the bike’s ability to track. As a bonus, the sidearm contains the cables, which are firmly clamped in.
The motor is protected from dirt and debris by a new plastic cover. This sits between the chainstays and the frame.
When it comes to the practicalities of riding, there is space for a water bottle cage on the bottom tube, within the triangle. There is also space for a multitool under the bottle cage, and you can fit an additional tool in the steerer tube, under the cap.
The Electric Bits
The motor has been designed in conjunction with Bosch, but the electronics, circuit board and software have all been developed by Specialized’s in-house team in Switzerland. This system amplifies your pedalling power up to 410%t at 250W nominal power (up to 560 watts peak power) and 90Nm of torque.
The 2020 Specialized Turbo Kenevo comes with a 700Wh battery, but there is also a 500Wh battery available. You can swap between each battery at any time. To change the battery, you just use a large Allen key to loosen the bolt on the downside of the top tube and just pull the battery out.
The larger battery takes about 6 hours to go from flat to fully charged. The charging port sits on the downside of the batter close to the bottom bracket. You can get to it by removing the magnetic connector cable that links it to the motor. A rock guard protects the battery underneath it. It also has a spring to stop it rattling around in the frame.
Right in front of you on the top tube, is the Turbo Connect Unit (TCU). This is the bike’s brain and shows you a series of L.E.D lights, giving you information about the level of assistance you are getting and how much battery power you have left. It is also the on/off switch. If you want more information, you can buy an additional display (TCD), that mounts on to your handlebars. This tells you stuff like distance, speed, time, your power input and battery level.
You can mount a handlebar remote next to the grip. This has buttons to cycle through the modes and a walk assist button. There is also an extra button with the Specialized S symbol on the other side. This allows you to quickly switch to Turbo mode from whatever mode you’re in, so you can get a quick boost whenever you need it.
The App
For full control over the technical parts of the bike, you need to download the “mission control” app. This is used to customise the set up of your bike. The bike will work fine for most people out of the box; however, to fine-tune it to your personal preferences, the app is essential.
The app gives you loads of diagnostic information, but it also allows you to adjust the assistance for each mode. You can also change the acceleration response and shuttle settings.
In addition to all this adjustment, the app maps your rides and allows to upload them to Strava.
Geometry
The Turbo Kenevo uses the Specialized sizing system. This labels bike sizes from S2 to S5, rather than S to XL.
As with many modern mountain bikes, the 2020 Specialized Turbo Kenevo has got longer. The smallest size is 445mm, and the longest is 520mm. The seat tube is shorter and steeper. This means that shorter riders can choose their bike size by their preferred reach, rather than their leg length.
When choosing the perfect size bike for you, make sure you take in to account the reach and the stem length for the best seating position(although the stem is easily changed to suit after a couple of rides).
The geometry can be adjusted slightly using the flip-chip. In the lower position, the angles are made steeper by 0.5 degrees. Also, the bottom bracket is lowered by 6mm.
Suspension
The revised kinematics of the 2020 Specialized Turbo Kenevo’s suspension offers better resistance to bottoming-out on rough terrain. It also has a more progressive feel than the older version.
The path of the rear suspension moves slightly backwards in its motion. This is to reduce the resistance you can get on square-edged bumps, making the ride smoother.
Ride Characteristics
Climbing
The 2020 Specialized Turbo Kenevo has a dual crown fork, with 180mm of travel. This is great for riding technical terrain but is a very much overkill if you only ride mellow trails. This is a bike for places without chairlifts or uplifts but has technical downhill trails. However, you soon forget about the big burly fork when you start riding, especially as this bike is a great climber.
You can’t completely lock out the shock, but you can stiffen up the back end quite a lot. However, you will probably only do this on more technical ascents. The steep seat post angle helps with pedalling efficiency. Even on an electric mountain bike, this is important, especially when you are going on long rides. Obviously, the powerful motor helps you out significantly for challenging climbs, and the geometry keeps the front wheel on the ground when it gets steep.
Electric Assistance Performance
The drivetrain delivers power very smoothly and is designed to feel natural. This means that you don’t get any weird lags or lurches when you start pedalling, making it very controllable.
The motor is super quiet and nicely integrated into the frame. You would be forgiven for mistaking it for a high-end enduro mountain bike by its looks and not an electrically assisted monster.
By using the 700Wh battery, you get a decent range. This is good news for those of you that don’t want to carry the optional 500Wh battery with you. When you get down to 20% battery power, you can’t go into turbo mode. This is so you can extend your range and get home. This may be a bit frustrating for some, as your speed will be limited for the last part of a long ride, even if you know you will be able to finish your ride in turbo mode.
Descending
The geometry on the 2020 Specialized Turbo Kenevo is ideal for riders that like to ride fast downhill without feeling like you are fighting to stay upright. The slack head angle and the low bottom bracket induces confidence on fast, technical descents. It is perfect for railing loose corners and chewed up berms, thanks to the low centre of gravity.
The geometry also gives this mountain bike a responsive feeling, rather than the tank-like experience you would expect from such a burly looking bike. One thing you will have to get used to is that it encourages you to go faster into corners. This is because this bike easily soaks up the bumps that would usually slow you down going into corners. It will definitely make you a faster rider.
2020 Specialized Kenevo Models
2020 Specialized Kenevo Expert
Specifications
| Frame: | Specialized M5 Premium Aluminum, 27.5 Trail Geometry, integrated down tube battery, enclosed internal cable, Command Post routing, 148mm spacing, fully sealed cartridge bearings, 180mm of travel |
| Fork: | RockShox Boxxer Select RC, 27.5, DebonAir, 20x110mm Boost™, 35mm chassis, 180mm of travel |
| Rear Shock: | RockShox Super Deluxe Coil Select, 62.5x230mm, S2: 450lb, S3: 500lb, S4: 550lb, S5: 600lb |
| Stem: | Specialized Direct Mount DH Stem, two-piece, forged alloy, 45mm |
| Bars: | Specialized, 7050 alloy, 6-degree upsweep, 8-degree backsweep, 27mm rise, 800mm width |
| Front Brake: | SRAM Code R, 4-piston caliper, hydraulic disc, 200mm |
| Rear Brake: | SRAM Code R, 4-piston caliper, hydraulic disc, 200mm |
| Rear Mech: | SRAM GX, long cage, 11-speed |
| Shifters: | SRAM S700, single-click lever |
| Speed: | 11 |
| Rims: | Roval 27.5″ Alloy DH, 28mm internal width, 32h |
| Front Hub: | Specialized, sealed cartridge bearings, 15x110mm spacing, 32h |
| Rear Hub: | DT Swiss 370, 6-bolt, 12x148mm thru-axle, 32h |
| Spokes: | DT Swiss Industry |
| Front Tyre: | Butcher, BLCK DMND casing, 2Bliss Ready, 27.5 x 2.6″ |
| Rear Tyre: | Butcher, BLCK DMND casing, 2Bliss Ready, 27.5 x 2.6″ |
| Seat Post: | Command Post IRcc, 16-position micro-height adjustable, two-bolt head, bottom mount cable routing, remote SRL lever, 34.9mm, S: 130mm, M/L/XL: 160mm of travel |
| Saddle: | Body Geometry Henge Comp, hollow Cr-Mo rails, 143mm |
| Chainset: | Praxis, 2D cold-forged alloy, custom offset, 165mm, 32T |
| Chain: | KMC X11ET, 11-speed w/ Missing Link™ |
| Cassette: | SRAM PG-1130, 11-speed, 11-42t |
| Battery (Wh): | 700Wh |
| Motor: | Specialized 2.1, custom Rx Trail-tuned motor, 250W nominal |
| User Interface: | Specialized TCU, 10-LED State of charge |
2020 Specialized Kenevo Comp
Specifications
| Frame: | Specialized M5 Premium Aluminum, 27.5 Trail Geometry, integrated down tube battery, enclosed internal cable, Command Post routing, 148mm spacing, fully sealed cartridge bearings, 180mm of trave |
| Fork: | Marzocchi Bomber Z1, 27.5, Boost™ 15x110mm, 36mm chassis, FIT GRIP damper, 180mm of travel |
| Rear Shock: | Marzocchi Bomber CR, 62.5x230mm, S2: 450lb, S3: 500lb, S4: 550lb, S5: 600lb |
| Stem: | Specialized Trail, 3D-forged alloy, 4-bolt, 6-degree rise |
| Bars: | Specialized, 7050 alloy, 6-degree upsweep, 8-degree backsweep, 27mm rise, 800mm width |
| Front Brake: | SRAM Code R, 4-piston caliper, hydraulic disc, 200mm |
| Rear Brake: | SRAM Code R, 4-piston caliper, hydraulic disc, 200mm |
| Rear Mech: | SRAM NX, 11-speed |
| Shifters: | SRAM S700, single-click lever |
| Speed: | 11 |
| Rims: | Roval 27.5″ Alloy DH, 28mm internal width, 32h |
| Front Hub: | Specialized, sealed cartridge bearings, 15x110mm spacing, 32h |
| Rear Hub: | Specialized Turbo, sealed cartridge bearings, 12x148mm thru-axle, 32h |
| Spokes: | DT Swiss Industry |
| Front Tyre: | Butcher, BLCK DMND casing, 2Bliss Ready, 27.5 x 2.6″ |
| Rear Tyre: | Butcher, BLCK DMND casing, 2Bliss Ready, 27.5 x 2.6″ |
| Saddle: | Body Geometry Henge Comp, hollow Cr-Mo rails, 143mm |
| Chainset: | Praxis, 2D cold-forged alloy, custom offset, 165mm, 32T |
| Chain: | KMC X11ET, 11-speed w/ Missing Link™ |
| Cassette: | SRAM PG-1130, 11-speed, 11-42t |
| Battery (Wh): | 500Wh |
| Motor: | Specialized 2.1, custom Rx Trail-tuned motor, 250W nominal |
| User Interface: | Specialized TCU, 10-LED State of charge |
Thank you so much for your review on the 2020 specialized Turbo Kenevo. This bike can do so much! This is great my husband is going to love it. It will be a perfect present for his birthday and we get so do something else rather than going out to eat this time 🙂 Will check on the links you provided 🙂
Hi Nuttanee,
Thanks for your comment. Your husband is a lucky man to get this as a present!
Thanks a lot for such an amazing review about 2020 Specialized Turbo Kenevo: What you need to know and explanations are given!
I really like to ride my bike. I’ve never had an electric one, but I want one for a very long time. I have read many articles about electric bicycles online, but this is the best. The best one I think is the Specialized Turbo Kenevo Expert 2020 – Electric Mountain Bike and I will definitely order it.If you don’t mind, I will share this article on my social media account. Good luck!
Thanks again and keep in touch!
Hi Razvanllie,
Thanks for your comment. Please share away! This is a beast of a bike and very capable.
What a wonderful advertisement! I hope your business is doing well. However, for me the two legs were my motors. Having done numerous single track rides in Colorado, my battery was myself. Peace, Mark.
I believe you have read my comments on your site. You are promoting a very nice vehicle. At my current age, I would possibly buy one. However, I believe that you are presenting a strict advertisement for a specific product. Can you expand your sights to include others that may want to take a short trip around the park? Peace,Mark.
Hi Mark,
If you just want to go for a short pedal around the park. You should look in to a hardtail mountain bike such as the GT Avalanche or GT Aggressor. Thanks for your comment.
Ride, ride, ride, ride, I’m going on Kenovo… Wow! This bike is crazily amazing… This update of the 2020 Specialized Turbo Kenovo truly beats my imagination considering the upgrades, improvements and awesome features. It has so many amazing characteristics. I’m planning to get a bike and I really wish I can afford this. Wow!
Hi MrBiizy,
Thanks for your comment. Get saving up, its a good one!
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