Kenevo - 2019 BoXXer RC DebonAir™ 29 DH upgrade

[grayedout]

The Forks just arrive from Italy , can't wait! I think this could be some of the first sets in the UK i was unable to order these anywhere online in England but found this supplier my mistake on Italian ebay thank you google ...

The build starts .... "BoXXer RC DebonAir™ 29”"

 

[R120]

Feck they look good

 

[grayedout]

We have all the parts for the fork upgrade but are still waiting on the wheels , it seems that at this point Hope W35 is the only off the shelf option (which has made my son very happy) you also need there -HUB494 20mm Boost conversion- I wasn't expecting to change wheels but there is no way to adapt the stock 15mm /110mm hub into a 20mm/ 110mm .. I looked into replacing the front hub but aside from the cost of re respoking I couldn't find a hub with 24holes.. not even hope do one.. so new wheels was only option.

Next problem was the Kenevo has a tapered head tube 1 1/2" Forks are 1 1/8" this was solved by a very helpful person at specialized UK (forgot to get his name) I called them to ask about swapping the bearings they said "replace the wheel with a Hope wheel simple, as for the Forks just get a Cane creek - 1 1/8” to 1 1/2” crown race adapter the forks will fit fine" . Its funny because I just put the phone down to a guy a leisurelakesbikes and he had told me they won't fit you will you will damage the bike it not designed for triple clamp ...... your mad..... I wouldn't... etc. was just about to cancel my order for the fork but so glad I called specialized Uk they were very helpful and just solved the problems in seconds. I have not done this kind of thing before (well not since I was kid in the 80s building my own BMX bikes) it was a bit daunting and we almost gave up which is why I am going to write the whole build up on the forum as it quite a simple build if you know what parts to order ..

 

[grayedout]

BoXXer RC DebonAir™ 29” and stock RockShox Lyrik RCT3, 27.5", Solo Air . BoXXer are surprising light 600Kg more than Lyrik ..

 

[grayedout]

First Job was fit the Cane creek - 1 1/8” to 1 1/2” crown race adapter , really simple just used a bit of wood and a hammer to get it in place.

 

[grayedout]

Next take old forks off and test fit new one to measure for cutting the tube down. We used a cheap Pipe cutter I had in my tool box cost £2.99 its take about 20min of turning!! (as its make for copper pipe) you can buy a better cutter for steel pipe about £29 at screw fix. great thing about the little cheap cutter is you don't have to loosen the bottom

clamp of forks..

 

[R120]

As an FYI the kenevo is Dual crown certified by Specilaized, so the guy at Leisure land was talk out of his derier!

This is a good article on Marshall Mullen's Kenevo that he DH'd, he talks about the geo changes etc

A one of a kind Kenevo. This electric mountain bike is ready for business

 

[grayedout]

As an FYI the kenevo is Dual crown certified by Specilaized, so the guy at Leisure land was talk out of his derier!

This is a good article on Marshall Mullen's Kenevo that he DH'd, he talks about the geo changes etc

A one of a kind Kenevo. This electric mountain bike is ready for business

View attachment 3226

Nice one, my son also found this its a great read and very helpful. one difference big difference is we have used the new 29" Boost fork. so I hope i can help other with what needed to make that work ..

 

[grayedout]

So as I said before the wheels have not arrived I expect them mid next week so will post more then. But this is how it looked on a test fit to check if we needed any bits for brake calipers etc (with stock wheel balanced in place) brake calipers now fit direct to forks no spacers needed. also not fitted the bars or DH stem at this point..

 

[Al Boneta]

That’s really awesome. I thought about doing the same thing to my Kenevo since at the time I got it I wasn’t riding it very much.
But now that it has become my go to bike I decided a dual crown wouldn’t be advantageous for tight technical climbs with switchbacks.
So now my focus is on changing the rear shock.
The first thing to go was WU seatpost. Good I hated that thing.
The next big thing for me was the wheels. I already had an extra set of carbon Roval Traverese SL 38s that I took off my Levo S-Works so they went on it as I was building it out of the box

 

[grayedout]

That’s really awesome. I thought about doing the same thing to my Kenevo since at the time I got it I wasn’t riding it very much.
But now that it has become my go to bike I decided a dual crown wouldn’t be advantageous for tight technical climbs with switchbacks.
So now my focus is on changing the rear shock.
The first thing to go was WU seatpost. Good I hated that thing.
The next big thing for me was the wheels. I already had an extra set of carbon Roval Traverese SL 38s that I took off my Levo S-Works so they went on it as I was building it out of the box

I thought (could be wrong) the rear shot was the nuts

 

[Dax]

I thought (could be wrong) the rear shot was the nuts

I think the rear shock is great! What are you changing it to @Al Boneta

 

[Al Boneta]

I think the rear shock is great! What are you changing it to @Al Boneta

I really dislike Öhlins suspension. The QC is inconsistent. The air shocks on my Stumpjumper and Enduro have had air leaks, oil leaks and I have already had one blow up on a moderate trail. Tuning is inconsistent even on identical shocks on identical bikes with identical air pressure! You can’t change the travel on the air forks without replacing almost all of the internals which is within $100 of what a brand new fork costs. Anyone interested in an almost brand new 140mm travel fork?

The springs available for the Kenevo don’t come in heavy enough spring rates for a 220lbs man who’s 6’3” and hucks his bike off every drop and jump that he rides his DH bike on.
I would rather have this set up

Because a Rock Shox Monarch can be rebuilt in any shop in an hour or less no matter where I may be in North America. The air shock is infinitely adjustable and is quite a bit lighter.
There are more spring rates available from Fox for the Kenevo comp Fox Shock and quite a few after market options as well.

When I received my 2018 S-Works Levo it didn’t some with the Öhlins rear shock it was originally speced with. Why? The shocks weren’t the right length when Öhlins sent them to the factory

Specialized isn’t even using Öhlins on the 2019 Stumpjumper

So that’s the thought process ?

 

[Dax]

Ahh fair enough, my kenevo has an ohlins coil shock that works really nicely. Super plush and the damping works very nicely.

It's plusher than the ccdba on my other bike and I've hucked it off all sort of stuff I tried it on a rock drop that I bottomed out my ccdb on and it took it beautiful, although I could possibly do with a sniff more air in the ccdb and a slightly lighter spring on the kenevo.

 

[Al Boneta]

Your experience is valid, simply because it’s your experience. I am a large man, there are simply no heavier spring rates available from Öhlins to suit my weight and riding style.

Enduro springs come in heavier weights, but they are 7mm shorter than Kenevo springs so they change the compression stroke. The Kenevo shock is the only rear shock in existence with this length and stroke.

That is until the Fox Kenevo shock came out.

The above air shock on Dylan Dunkertons Bike, was custom made for him since he’s sponsored by SRAM. It’s going to take every contact and favor I know in the industry to get my hands on one.

My only other option is to make my own shock Yoke

 

[Doomanic]

I’m sure TF Tuned in the UK could sort you out with a custom build and I expect there’s suspension specialists in the US who could the same.

 

[Al Boneta]

I’m sure TF Tuned in the UK could sort you out with a custom build and I expect there’s suspension specialists in the US who could the same.

this is something else I’ve considered, but when you have spent a lifetime getting bikes and parts at or below wholesale, it’s hard to start paying retail.?

 

[Dax]

Is the shock yoke different to the levo yoke? @Kiwi in Wales has a aftermarket yoke with a custom shock on his levo for more travel. If it's the same, you may be able to use that yoke with a more conventional shock

I would expect any decent shock tuner to be able to build a custom shock to suit, there's a couple of places within an hours drive that can do it.

 

[Al Boneta]

Is the shock yoke different to the levo yoke? @Kiwi in Wales has a aftermarket yoke with a custom shock on his levo for more travel. If it's the same, you may be able to use that yoke with a more conventional shock

I would expect any decent shock tuner to be able to build a custom shock to suit, there's a couple of places within an hours drive that can do it.

Yes the Levo Yoke and Kenevo yoke are completely different. I could use a Yoke off of a current Enduro but that would change the travel to 170mm. Which I still might do and run a 170mm Fox 36 on the front

 

[njn]

I like it. What travel are you running?

I'd like to see a picture of the fork bottomed with no air.

I just upped the travel from 160 to 170 with updated debonair air shaft on my meta. Changed the bars from 35 rise to 20 rise, all good.

 

[grayedout]

I like it. What travel are you running?

I'd like to see a picture of the fork bottomed with no air.

I just upped the travel from 160 to 170 with updated debonair air shaft on my meta. Changed the bars from 35 rise to 20 rise, all good.

Will have the new wheels Thursday I hope , will set both bikes up then . 200mm travel front 180mm rear , what will no air in forks show

 

[Donnie797]

Specialized isn’t even using Öhlins on the 2019 Stumpjumper

So that’s the thought process ?

Specs do change quite often from year to year, you know it better than me Many bike manufacturers shift from shimano to sram and back, from fox to rock shox and back, oehlins here and there .... it might not all be related to quality but to better prices, availability and politics.

Regarding the spring ratios:
The 571lbs spring for the Kenevo is made for a rider-weight of 105kg. Have you tried this already?
I thought (read it here in the forums) the stronger Enduro springs (up to 640lbs) do work well with the Kenevo? Does the 7mm shorter spring change that much?

 

[grayedout]

Hi All this rear shock talk is very interesting can we start it on another thread ? will be hard for people to follow with the current heading . also I am going to try to add as much detail on the Fork Upgrade to make this the place to come for that step by step update..

 

[grayedout]

Both sets of Bar arrive today
My Son ordered Funn Fatboy 35 Riser Bar Grey, 785mm, 35.0mm, 18mm and Funn RSX 35 Direct Mount Stem Grey, 50mm, 35.0mm, 1.1/8", 15 Degree

I order some (new)bargains from Ebay Raceface Atlas Direct Mount MTB 35mm x 50mm Mountain Bike Stem - Black (Zero Rise) £49.. RaceFace SIXC Carbon Riser Handlebar Rise 20mm / 35mm/ 800mm £89..

 

[grayedout]

So the Demo 8 (which was my last bike) Head tube is 112mm in S/M/L. The Kenevo is S 100mm / M 110mm / L 120mm / XL 130mm

My Kenevo is (M) my Sons is (L) we have cut Both forks down the same , I am using 3x 5mm spacers under top crown (same as my old Demo 8) with the Zero rise DM Stem and its 5mm that puts my bars at the same height as the stock set up .

My Son is using 1x 5mm Spacer under top Crown (as his head tube is 10mm longer) with the DH Stem @ 15 degree rise also puts his bars in stock position ..

Will upload pictures of both when wheels arrive

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

Is the shock yoke different to the levo yoke? @Kiwi in Wales has a aftermarket yoke with a custom shock on his levo for more travel. If it's the same, you may be able to use that yoke with a more conventional shock

I would expect any decent shock tuner to be able to build a custom shock to suit, there's a couple of places within an hours drive that can do it.

Hi Guys, just to confirm...
My yoke is the standard Levo yoke. TF Tuned did all their magic using a shorter Shock body on my CCDB coil, added in an offset front bush and skimmed 1mm off the shock connection point at the rear (Not the yoke) to get my 55mm stroke length.

 

[Al Boneta]

Specs do change quite often from year to year, you know it better than me Many bike manufacturers shift from shimano to sram and back, from fox to rock shox and back, oehlins here and there .... it might not all be related to quality but to better prices, availability and politics.

Regarding the spring ratios:
The 571lbs spring for the Kenevo is made for a rider-weight of 105kg. Have you tried this already?
I thought (read it here in the forums) the stronger Enduro springs (up to 640lbs) do work well with the Kenevo? Does the 7mm shorter spring change that much?

When my shop was invotonthe first unveiling of the 2019, everyone asked where Öhlins went. They said due to QC issues they couldn’t get any consistency out of Öhlins. I experienced issues with Öhlins on my Enduro and my Stumpjumper.

When their product works it can work very well. But it doesn’t work any better than similar products from Fox or Rock Shox. We stock every Kenevo Spring at the shop.
The Enduro springs need to be even heavier due to the increased leverage on the shorter spring. It’s a only a temporary solution, not a permanent one

 

[Al Boneta]

So the Demo 8 (which was my last bike) Head tube is 112mm in S/M/L. The Kenevo is S 100mm / M 110mm / L 120mm / XL 130mm

My Kenevo is (M) my Sons is (L) we have cut Both forks down the same , I am using 3x 5mm spacers under top crown (same as my old Demo 8) with the Zero rise DM Stem and its 5mm that puts my bars at the same height as the stock set up .

My Son is using 1x 5mm Spacer under top Crown (as his head tube is 10mm longer) with the DH Stem @ 15 degree rise also puts his bars in stock position ..

Will upload picture of both when wheels arrive

Cannot wait to see these finished!

 

[njn]

what will no air in forks show

Clearance, assuming you would be running the tubes slightly higher in the triple clamps to offset the geometry changes that come with adding 20mm of travel. My head angle went from 66 to 65 after adding 10mm of travel.

 

[Churchill]

Wow, very cool upgrade! I tried to get Fox 40's for my Kenevo last year but my bike shop didn't think it was possible.