Words & Photos: Adrian Padoł
Kavenz
Kavenz is a sub-brand of 77designz, the German company which is well known for super light chain guides and cockpit parts. Giacomo Großehagenbrock, the owner of 77designz & Kavenz is an avid rider, so it could be said that Kavenz is a bike designed by a rider for riders. 77designz was working on Kavenz for over 3 years, they were showing a lot from that process on their Youtube channel.
The fruit of hard work and many hours is an extraordinary-looking enduro bike, with 160mm rear suspension travel. You can run your Kavenz both on 29” wheels or a mullet with 27.5” on the rear. They have designed two lower shock mountings for both scenarios.
Customization
Kavenz doesn’t offer sizes, instead, you can configure your frame for your needs. For example, they offer 6 ranges of reach, from 440mm up to 540mm. You can also choose from different head and seat tube sizes. It’s quite a lot, not counting a mullet option you’re able to configure 36 different frames.
That’s basically the beginning of the fun, you can choose from the RAW finish, black anodized, and all classic RAL colors, that’s actually 215 colors to choose from.
It’s hard for me to choose the taste of the ice creams so it took me a while to choose the size of the frame, but don’t worry, they’re super helpful at Kavenz. Then you only need to choose your color… that’s another week of thinking and asking all of your friends about the best choice.
Set up
I’m 180cm tall (5’11”) and I wanted a playable frame. I would match my frame size to the L size of other bikes. Actually, 460mm of reach is super stable… imagine having 540mm…
My Kavenz is equipped with OEM EXT suspension, tuned for the frame.
Frame: Kavenz VHP16 in RAL2005
– 460 mm reach
– 420 mm seat tube
– 110 mm headtube
Fork: EXT ERA 170mm
Shock: EXT STORIA V3 developed for Kavenz
Wheels: 29” Dandyhorse
Cockpit: 77designz
Dropper post: Bike Yoke Revive 160mm
Brakes Magura MT7 with 203mm rotors
Tires: MSC Tires Gripper with MSC sealant
Cranks: Shimano XT with 32t chainring
Drivetrain: BOX Two 11s
Saddle: Freedom Components
Weight: 15kg with a lot of sealant, Slicy insert in rear-wheel, and Fidlock water bottle mount.
Big wheels
I have to say that I was a bit skeptical about riding on 29-inch wheels, but after all, I’m super happy with how the bike rides. Bigger wheels are going easier over obstacles, smoother, and for sure faster. Thanks to the very short rear triangle Kavenz turns better than my previous 27.5 downhill bike. I definitely have to test the mullet set up on the Kavenz frame.
VHP – what does that mean?
These letters stand for Virtual High Pivot because the frame takes all the advantages of a high pivot point design without the disadvantage of a very high anti-rise. The main pivot is way lower than in almost all HPP bikes. The virtual pivot point is further in the front that makes it balanced on the rear brake. Thanks to that frame it offers enough traction while braking and provides support under pedaling, so you can pedal the bike easily. Thanks to that Kavenz is a great climber and sprinter. It’s also super easy to stay in place with this bike. I’m going to refer to this below.
What about muddy and rainy conditions and the pulley wheel? There’s of course small extra drag and noise at it, but it doesn’t bother you at all. Cleaning it after a muddy ride is super easy since you can easily open the cage from 77designz.
The VHP system is so interesting that Kavenz engineers could write a book about it, but let me write down more pros of that wonderful frame design below.
Check out the VHP suspension in action at the link below:
Swipe to see magic.
Downhill
I was riding downhill bikes for about 7 years, I had a short story about a hardtail enduro bike, which I made on the budget, but Kavenz is my first real deal enduro bike. I had a lot of different downhill bikes, starting with old school 26’ bikes and ending with modern 27.5 racing machines.
All of these bikes were awesome, but Kavenz feels better on the trails than any bike I ever rode. The bike’s suspension feels pretty progressive, you don’t have to worry about smaller suspension travel, it’s way faster and more confident on hard terrain.
The real fun on the Kavenz starts when it’s super steep and narrow, the bike is perfectly balanced, stable and it’s super easy to maneuver this limousine on big wheels. The bike performs perfectly on rough enduro singletracks, as well as on wide and fast downhill tracks.
I think that Kavenz is a perfect all-rounder, it’s super fun on jumps, steep trails and you can easily ride this bike on asphalt with around 22km/h (14mp/h) pace.
Climbing
Kavenz is a super good bike to ride up the hill, suspension design and 77.5-degree seat tube prevent unwanted work during pedaling. I used to ride a 27.5 hardtail xc bike with 120mm of travel at the front, and I need to say that Kavenz feels familiar at uphills and it is more convenient, even with unlocked shock. Don’t forget that we are talking about a +/- 14kg super enduro bike.
Jumping
I was thinking that Kavenz is going to be super-glued to the ground, but it’s actually super playful on all kinds of jumps. It’s easy to clear all the jumps, from gaps to step-ups. I’m not the best jumper, but I feel super confident and loose jumping on this bike.
German craftsmanship
Kavenz is designed and made in Germany, you’re getting a handmade frame which is a unique piece of art. A lot of people are noticing that the frame isn’t a ‘normal’ enduro bike, they’re asking about how it rides, how it feels. If you like super unique things, Kavenz is definitely the perfect choice for you.
Summing up
Kavenz declares that their frame will “Make You Faster”, I would definitely agree with that phrase. I’ve been riding this bike for around 2 months and I loved every moment on it.
I never had a more unique and crazy bike than VHP16. In my opinion, Kavenz is a perfect all-rounder, it’s super fun on jumps, steep trails and you can easily ride this bike on asphalt with around 22km/h (14mp/h) pace.
That’s a very good choice for avid mountain bikers, who spent a lot of time behind bars on different terrain. Kavenz’s crew built the ultimate mountain bike, which in my opinion is a game-changer.
– Adrian Padoł