Finding the right bike

One of the things that first intrigued me about mountain biking was the challenge of choosing the right bike. Get an enduro bike that has a lot of squish and super grippy tires and you might find yourself struggling up some climbs. Get a bike that is too light and fast rolling, and you might find some downhill trails too sketchy. There was this exciting necessity for me to find the balance that was right for myself and the style of riding I was after. This led me to look at every bike offering and be more interested in things like suspension kinematics and tire compounds. My first bike was a Santa Cruz Hightower because I liked the way it climbed but felt it could still handle the downhill trails I was riding at the time. Then I moved to the Pivot Firebird because I felt like I got a lot more capability in the downhill for only a little sacrifice in the climbing department (DW Link!).

Then there are e-bikes… Any balance equation goes out the window when you can take a dual crown fork up and down the steepest trails in your area and not break a sweat. However, there is an important factor to e-bikes that should not be ignored and that is time savings. Being a mother and a woman focused on her career there is something crucial about being able to get in several trails in under a few hours, when the alternative would likely be not riding at all. But, these monster e-bike sleds aren’t without compromises of their own. For many of them, rides seem to be more of a system of plow rather than flow which doesn’t match with my objective style of riding. Also, there is the potential to develop e-leg syndrome, where your athleticism decreases and so does your explosiveness and sharpness on the trail.

So, what bike can save you time, require effort to get the time savings, and feel agile and super capable? For me it is the Specialized Kenevo SL (KSL for short). A 170mm travel front and rear lightweight e-bike with a light motor to match. The 35nm (now 50nm) motor is nearly a 1/3rd of the power of full-power e-bikes but is just enough to take the edge off the hardest climbs and not require you to take an extended breather at the top. With conscious component selection you can get the weight to near 40lbs which is not far off what many enduro bikes weighed just a few years ago. The suspension kinematics make for a bike that loves chunk, so much so that it feels like the bike speeds up the chunkier it gets. That’s why I nicknamed my KSL “Sloth”, not because it is slow but because “Sloth loves Chunk”.

I outfitted mine with TRP DH-R Evo brakes because I think they offer more than enough power for the weight and have great modulation for my local steep stuff. I prefer alloy wheels over carbon because I like the compliance they offer. I did swap out the handlebars and seat-post for One-Up versions because they make incredible, dependable components. And lastly, I do run Maxxis Assegai and DH-R 2 tires because that is what I am used to, but I have heard from many people that the Specialized tire offerings have become much better in recent years.

So, for me the KSL is the bike that I grab for a quick solo ride after work or when I don’t want to leave my husband with our son for too long. It is a great bike to go along with your pedal bike friends without feeling like you must run it on eco the whole time to not seem like a jerk and a great bike to try and keep up with your full power e-bike friends and get a bit of a work-out in. It is more than capable for any trail you can find and an excellent bike for someone who isn’t in the e-bike world to dip their toes in. And what about the other e-bikes that would fall in the “SL” category? I look forward to trying some here soon and will let you know how I think they compare to the Kenevo SL.