Kevin the Kavenz - a European adventure

[yuley95]

This has been quite a journey… and it’s not quite over yet.

I’ll keep this brief and give more of the story later but essentially, my much loved Transition Sentinel V1 was stolen a few months back. Insurance was difficult to deal with to say the least. All I wanted was my bike back and a close second would be a new Sentinel but there were none in the country and a likely wait till November. Rodney from Supersport was great in firstly helping me try and find my stolen bike then in communicating about the wait time for a new Tranny.

@moorey was a champ and lent me a Spitfire but I got toey for a bigger bike and bought a Nukeproff Mega 290 to tide me over. The Nukeproof is an awesome bike as it turns out. So good that I got all cocky and figured i could be a little adventurous with my insurance payout and try something a little left of centre (knowing i can fall back on the Mega if I need to).

So here is my left-of-centre… A Kavenz that accidentally turned out to be somewhat of a European build.

Frame - Kavenz VHP 29 XL
Rear shock - EXT Storia V3 lok
Fork - EXT ERA V2
Handlebars - Raceface Turbine 800mm
Stem - 77 Designz one-piece sexy time
Headset - Enduro Maxhit
Grips - 77 Designz
Saddle - SQlab 611
Seatpost - Bikeyoke Devine 185 with Triggy Alpha remote
Front brake - Magura MT7
Rear brake - Magura MT7
Cranks - Shimano SLX
Chainguide - 77 Designz
Chain - Shimano SLX
Pedals - Crank Brothers Mallet E
Rear derailleur - Shimano SLX
Rear shifter - Shimano SLX
Cassette - Shimano SLX
Front wheel - Hope Pro 4, DT Swiss XM481, DT comp spokes and brass nipples
Rear wheel - Hope Pro 4, DT Swiss EX511, DT comp spokes and brass nipples
Tyres - Maxxis Assegai 2.5WT Exo 3C Maxx Terra and Maxxis Dissector 2.4WT Exo 3C Maxx Terra (with Rimpact)
Total weight - ??

You may note the wheels rotors and tyres (and pedals) aren’t the same in the photo as the spec listed. I’m still waiting on a few spokes to turn up from Hibike so I can build up my wheels and have stolen the wheels/tyres/rotors off the Mega in the meantime. I’ll update photos when the build is complete.

Gotta say thanks to @frenchman for answering my questions and offering me a closer look at his Kavenz. Like his experience, I found the people at Kavenz great to deal with and even had a few responses from the owner Giacomo when my order was held up.

Haven’t had a chance to ride it yet but will give more details after the weekend! From a spin around the park I can say that the size/geo feels spot on and the suspension is NOISY. If you like a quiet bike - don't order EXT. All the reviews say it but I can confirm their high flow oil approach leads to a LOT of swooshing.

 

[shiny]

Nice one. That’s a bling bling build. Enjoy!

 

[fjohn860]

Awesome mate! Love the colour

 

[beeb]

That’s a bling bling build.

Haha, was typing out the same thing when your comment popped up!

Nice one @yuley95!

 

[yuley95]

Awesome mate! Love the colour

OMG it was such a hard choice and I rushed it in the end. I’m drawn to raw alloy bikes but the Kavenz comes totally raw with no clear float or anything and I decided at the last minute to get a colour. Problem is they will powder coat in any of the hundreds of standard RAL colours.

I decided on Black-blue and it turned out perfect. I love it with black components and silver highlights (only stem at them moment but hubs too soon).

Nice one. That’s a bling bling build. Enjoy!

Thanks mate. Not quite an Actofive but pretty bling. Actually, buying the ETX through Kavenz was surprisingly reasonable (same $ as fox X2 and 38) and I saved a bit of $ on SLX drivetrain and building my own wheels

 

[Asininedrivel]

Sensational. F*** the noise, EXT is the icing on the cake for bling and performance (from what I've heard anyway).

Actually, buying the ETX through Kavenz was surprisingly reasonable (same $ as fox X2 and 38)

That's really, really good considering the price of the Era here is a bit eye watering.

 

[yuley95]

Sensational. F*** the noise, EXT is the icing on the cake for bling and performance (from what I've heard anyway).

That's really, really good considering the price of the Era here is a bit eye watering.

Yeah I *think* I’ll be fine with the noise - I kinda like hearing suspension at work. My Durolux had audible damping noises (less than the EXT) and it’s kinda cool then fades away as you hit the trails.

EXT prices in Aus are crazy. I’m sure the importer is just passing on the costs they incur and trying to make a viable business but the ERA is over 2.5K locally. I paid $1,350 (probably more like $1,500 inc taxes) for it as part of a package deal with the frame/fork/shock/dropper/stem/headset/grips and a few other bits and pieces.

 

[frenchman]

Looks mint! I've got a 27.5 shock mount if you want to try it down the track. I need to get a spare idler so if you want to throw one in my order, let me know! Enjoy riding it, I still ride mine like its a new bike every time!

 

[yuley95]

Looks mint! I've got a 27.5 shock mount if you want to try it down the track. I need to get a spare idler so if you want to throw one in my order, let me know! Enjoy riding it, I still ride mine like its a new bike every time!

Thanks mate. I actually ordered a 27.5 mount with mine so I can try it later. I’ll build up a wheel from some parts in the shed after a few months and give it a crack. I love how versatile the frame is.
Can’t wait to take it out to red hill on the weekend and give it a good run

 

[leitch]

So nice mate that colour is classy AF. Hope the spokes you’re waiting on are silver too

 

[The Reverend]

That. Is. Beautiful!

The colour is stunning, there are some extra special touches and I'm sure it rides sweet as. I'm glad to see you've observed the details in the brief and bought XL.

Looking forward to hearing how she rides as you get used to it!

 

[slowmick]

That is a very nice build sir. Looks stunning. Interested to read a ride report once your give it plenty at Red Hill.

 

[yuley95]

That. Is. Beautiful!

The colour is stunning, there are some extra special touches and I'm sure it rides sweet as. I'm glad to see you've observed the details in the brief and bought XL.

Looking forward to hearing how she rides as you get used to it!

I just ordered the Rotorburn special and it turned up XL

Actually, it felt like a bit of a waste that they offer a whole range of variations to reach, seat tube and head tube sizes so you can mix and match but the standard XL numbers were perfect for me

 

[beeb]

Just noticed the thread heading... Given the European build theme I think it should be called Karl, not Kevin.

Or Kaarl ("Strong") ideally...

 

[discofrank]

i dig it! very nice dude!

 

[Lucaw]

That is a nice rig
what’s happening with the nukeproof?

 

[mike14]

Beautiful. Enjoy

 

[yuley95]

Interim update time… I’ve had one ride around a few trails at Red Hill and it was definitely a ‘shake-down’ sort of session. I’ve got a lot of fettling to do!

The one big issue was the back brake that has now decided it needs a bleed and Is VERY squishy. It stopped me from going too hard. A couple of the trails I planned to ride were also closed so that was a bit shit. As an aside - i can’t believe how many people ride trails that are very obviously closed. Shits me no end. A whole new ’trail’ has emerged in order to get around the fence at the top of a closed trail. If there is a fence there - IT”S CLOSED!

Anyway - I’ll try and avoid hyperbole and ‘new bike feels’ and give an honest impression.

First thing is that this bike climbs very well. I left the Storia open most of the time only closing it to test it out but found i preferred it open. In fact, I would say it climbs better than both my Sentinel and Mega. Both of those bikes climbed well but the Kavenz is really efficient but also opens up over roots and rocks if needed. Love it.

The fork is pretty firm at the moment and I definitely need to play around with pressures in both chambers and get it right. Even on a pretty gnarly trail (Fall Line for those that know it) I was only using around 2/3 travel and I would expect to use about 90%. It may need a bit of a break in period so I’ll see how I’m going with it after a few more ride but I already dropped the pressure in the ++ chamber by 10 psi. Now running 55 PSI in the + and 75 in the ++. Might try knocking a click or two off the slow speed compression too.

All that said, I can tell that as the speed increases, the suspension gets better. The coil is already feeling amazing. Total cat on carpet feel and seems to have plenty in reserve. The fork has the same feel but is firm. Big difference compared to ther Zeb which really impressed me but is definitely on the ‘plush’ side of things.

Idler is nice and quiet at the moment - even in wet conditions. SLX shifting is crisp through the middle gears but not so much in the lowest gears. I have a feeling that comes down to the fact I didn’t clean the thick grease off the new chain before putting it on and I’m running a ZTTO cassette until I get my proper back wheel built up…

I planned to ride tomorrow too and to dial it up a bit but given the back brake needs a a bleed but I can’t do that until I get home on Monday I might be taking it easy again… Enough words, here’s some photos. Really loving this colour. It’s almost black in dull light but quite blue in the sun.

 

[slowmick]

Um, dumb question - is the suspension making the banjo fitting rotate on the rear brake caliper? There doesn't seem much slack for the pivot to do it's thing. That said i've never seen a brake mounted like that.

 

[yuley95]

Um, dumb question - is the suspension making the banjo fitting rotate on the rear brake caliper? There doesn't seem much slack for the pivot to do it's thing. That said i've never seen a brake mounted like that.

Hard to see in the photo but the calliper is attached to the same section that carries the axle so it moves with the rotor. The brake line then runs into the chainstay and comes out in line with the main pivot before running through the Downtube.
It’s a pretty clustered area around the calliper as a result but Brake line seems to routed well in terms of pivots to ensure it doesn’t need to stretch or do anything silly.

EDIT: Might be easier to see in this photo. Kavenz supply a 203mm brake adapter that bolts to the frame through a couple of holes in the larger rear dropout piece.