New bike day is always an exciting one at Specialized and today is even better than normal. We’ve been busy you see, and today we’re stoked to unveil the new Turbo Kenevo, the most accomplished electric downhill MTB we’ve ever created.
The new Turbo Kenevo is a long-travel e-MTB destined to rage on the gnarliest of downhills. With 180mm of travel and a slack aluminium frame providing a balanced, centred feel, it’s one hell of a ride, freakishly confident and with stable handling.
We went to our e-MTB experts in Switzerland for this one. These guys know all about climbing the longest and nastiest climbs and how much fun it is going back down the other side. They also know how much energy you need to save to enjoy the ride.
With the Turbo Kenevo, they’ve come back with the bike that can do it all with more range, more control and more speed. The Specialized 2.1 motor at peak power is like having four of you powering the pedals, amplifying your input by up to 410% with no awkward surges in power. This motor is 15% smaller and 400 grams lighter than the previous model. We told you we’d been busy.
The Expert model gets a 700Wh battery, while the Comp gets 500Wh. The Comp will take the 700Wh battery should you wish to upgrade and on both models, it’s slotted into the sleek, stiff down tube.
The Turbo Kenevo is tuned via the Mission Control app. You set the distance and duration of your ride and the app decides the assistance level. What does that mean? More miles and more descents. That is, we know you’ll agree, a good thing.
Both the Turbo Kenevo Comp and Kenevo Expert models are built around a stiff, light aluminium frame, a full kilogram lighter than the previous model. Our S-sizing system allows you to pick your ideal frame size and reach. The Sidearm frame design directly connects all three mounting points of the rear-end and shock to the frame, minimising frame flex and maximising your control over the roughest terrain. All you have to do is hold on for the ride.
The long cockpit, slack head angle and low centre of gravity combine to give you a balanced ride, making it easy to maintain speed in dicey conditions. The RockShox Boxxer dual-crown fork found on the Expert model (the Comp gets a single-crown Marzocchi Z1) signals where this machine wants to go – downhill, fast, with absolute precision steering and control.
For when you absolutely have to go faster the SRAM 11-speed drivetrain is right there, and for slowing down again you’ve got SRAM’s Code R 4-piston brakes paired with 200mm rotors.
All about the ride
All of these individual parts sound great, but as we all know it’s really all about the ride. Our engineers in those pretty Swiss mountains have created a whole new frame that marries the stiffness and precision of our Sidearm design with the supple feel of the new Enduro. They’ve then seamlessly integrated the respective electric bits into it. This, for the record, isn’t a standard operating procedure in a world where brands pick off-the-shelf motors and batteries.
We’re confident to call it: the Turbo Kenevo is, hands-down, the most capable e-MTB to hit the dirt. It’s a mile-munching, air-catching and mountain-slaying marvel, one that takes you to the top of the longest, nastiest climbs – no uplift van, chairlift or spare lung required – and delivers a thoroughly bad-ass rip on the way back down.
We’ve got the mind-blowing Turbo Kenevo Expert in store right now and we’ll have the Comp model in by early November. This is the bike that gives you power – the power to ride more of what makes you happy. You owe it to yourself to get down to one of our stores and check this bike out as soon as you can.
