Kenevo Gen1 36T chain ring nowhere near fitting on an XL Gen1 2018/19 Kenevo

[Lime-Kenevo]

After pouring through the threads here looking to upgrade the 32T to a 36T chainring on a 2018 Kenevo, it looked like it was possible with examples of 2018 and 2020 models of Levo and Kenevo:

Largest Chainring on a 2020 Kenevo? - EMTB Forums

Question in title. I see 36 is consensus on the 2018 Kenevo. How about the all new frame? Can a 38 fit? I'll be asking a few questions in the next few weeks as I fix up the kenevo spec to my liking. :)

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Kenevo chain ring size - EMTB Forums

Hi all, we have just bought a pair of Kenevo's from Rutland Cycling , the store manager suggested we upgrade the chain ring from the standard 32 to a 36 tooth based on most of his customers eventually requesting this after a few rides. Can I assume the 32 standard makes the gears slightly...

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Chain ring size? - EMTB Forums

Just asking for any experience from Levo owners. I'm finding the standard 32 tooth front chainring does tend to spin out quite quickly. Especially if the bike in question has, (cough, cough) been deresticted. Anyone gone up to a 34 or even a 36 tooth , and if so how does it translate on the...

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The general consensus was that even with medium sizes there was still clearance with the chainstay and it wouldn't interfere.
I went with a Wolftooth 36T 104BCD (Drop-Stop A) on the advice of Tori and VaseLEVO:

Chainring replacement how to .. - EMTB Forums

There's been a bit of discussions on the chainring sizes and replacements so I thought I'd document the procedure for the folks who are unsure what to do .. These are the bits that I bought, I stuck with Praxis having the Wave Tech, as the original chainring had this.. Praxis Works MTB Wave...

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Kenevo max chainring - EMTB Forums

Hi all. Looking at my kenevo it looks fairly close with a 32 tooth chainring to the swingarm. I understand that a 34t will fit but my question is will a 36t fit? Cheers

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Here's the exact one:

104 BCD Chainrings

I installed it with the crank on using 1x bolts and there's no way a 36T will fit here. It's pretty much touching the chainstays on my XL frame. The only way is to ramp up the preload on the spring to get enough clearance so that it'll fit, but even then it's less than a credit card of distance.

Anyway, no hardship really, just thought I'd leave this here as a precaution to anyone else following the same advice on these threads. Fitting seems to be specific to which model (Levo/Kenevo), frame size, and gen/year of manufacture. There might even be something in it with the different tooth profiles (Drop-Stop ST for Shimano 12-speed Hyperglide+ chains, Drop-Stop A for SRAM Eagle and everything else).

That said, if i'm missing something to get the 36T to fit.... let me know?

 

[MJR]

36 will fit on a Levo, but definitely not on a 2018/19 Kenevo, 34 max due to that chain stay design.

 

[Lime-Kenevo]

Just found a guy who has a Praxis 36T chainring running on a 2018/2019 Kenevo!

eRING STEEL MTN 1X 104BCD - Praxis Works

Praxis high-grade cold forged 4130 steel 104BCD eRings for eBikes

praxiscycles.com

Not my photos so I won't share, but there's 2mm clearance there easily on his chain stay. Will try to source one locally and report back next week with an update

 

[Planemo]

This is a bit OT, but can someone educate me on why some bikes don't accommodate bigger rings? The 38t on my Haibike still has loads of room around it. I have no idea how big it could go, but I reckon even 42t would be doable.

There must be benefits of using a frame/swingarm which restricts the chainring options otherwise they wouldn't do it, but I don't know what it could be. Is it something to do with wanting shorter chainstays?

 

[Lime-Kenevo]

This is a bit OT, but can someone educate me on why some bikes don't accommodate bigger rings? The 38t on my Haibike still has loads of room around it. I have no idea how big it could go, but I reckon even 42t would be doable.

There must be benefits of using a frame/swingarm which restricts the chainring options otherwise they wouldn't do it, but I don't know what it could be. Is it something to do with wanting shorter chainstays?

Chainstay length would have been my first thought but the YT Decoy Shred runs a 36T and the chainstays are 1mm shorter than a Kenevo Expert... Presumably, it's got more to do with design rather than restrictions. Which model Haibike are you running?

 

[Planemo]

Chainstay length would have been my first thought but the YT Decoy Shred runs a 36T and the chainstays are 1mm shorter than a Kenevo Expert... Presumably, it's got more to do with design rather than restrictions. Which model Haibike are you running?

Yeah I don't know. I guess the Kenevo designers simply decided that their suspension design took more priority than the ability to play with rings. I am surprised though, unless you are designing a full-on DH bike where you know the rider is unlikely to want a bigger ring and suspension takes precedence over most things, I think the designers are potentially putting their eggs in one basket a bit.
Mine is a 2020 AllMtn 3.0. I know one thing, the 38t thats on it is just about bang on for me. Theres no way I would want to go smaller and truth be told, if it was dongled I would want a 40 or bigger. I was lucky really, I didn't look into what rings fitted what bikes when I bought it, I'm glad I didn't end up with something that took a 34t max. It's partly why I posted the question - I had no idea that some bikes had a strict limit on ring size. I had a 32t on my analogue Trance and span out all the time on that. I sold it for the Haibike before I ever got the chance to look into the gearing so this thread has been interesting.