Kavenz founder Giacomo Großehagenbrock got an early start in the mountain bike industry when he landed an internship at Nicolai when he was just 17. He followed that up by founding 77designz, making chainguides, stems, and more, but he still had the itch to design his own bike — so Kavenz and the VHP16 were born. But the story is a lot more complicated — and interesting — than that, so we sat down with Giacomo to get the full rundown, including the trials and tribulations of starting a bike company; the design goals for the VHP16 and all the tradeoffs inherent to bike design; the new VHP18; and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Giacomo’s introduction to the mountain bike industry (2:22)
• Founding 77designz (7:12)
• VHP16 design philosophy (10:14)
• High-pivot bikes & their tradeoffs (20:01)
• The new VHP18 (34:49)
• Mullets (38:41)
• Giacomo’s Big Idea (43:15)

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