Hey there! What's your name, and what's your favorite trail to ride on your Kavenz mountain bike?

Dave (Div) Tarling. Favourite trail would be anything steep. The steeper the better!!!

Where are your from?

Born in Canada but live in Australia. Citizen of both.

How old are you?

Stoked to say that I’m 49 with the colour of my bike matching that of my hair.

So, how tall are you, and what’s your frame size?

 I’m a 180cm / 5.9ft tall and I ride the large frame with 480mm reach.

What is your riding style? Are you more like enduro racer, freerider or maybe a bike park rat?

My heart definitely pumps for freeriding, finding steep slabs and trails off the beaten track, but over the last year I dove in and embraced racing (Enduro and DH) finding success from the moment I threw a leg over a Kavenz.

Tell us, what's the one thing you absolutely love about your Kavenz bike? Any details or features that make it stand out for you?

Theres no doubt about it… The VHP 16 is my go to, and the bike I feel super comfortable on. No matter what the conditions or what the trail wants to throw at you, the VHP 16 continues to eat it up and is always ready for more.

Are you rolling on 27.5, 29, or maybe something in between? How do your wheels choice has an impact on your bike handling?

I’ve only ever run a mullet set up, on both my VHP 16 and 18, keeping things lively and playful.

How much suspension travel does your Kavenz bike have, and how does it handle the bumps, jumps, and surprises on the trail?

For enduro racing I’m running 170mm up the front and 160mm in the back, this set up always surprises me on how capable the bike is, making me wonder if you really need anymore. On the VHP 18, I’ve got 203mm up front  and 180mm out back, more than capable of taking on the roughest tracks and biggest drops.

Share a funny or memorable moment on the trails with your Kavenz – something that still brings a smile to your face.

Hard to pick one, but two weeks after building up my first and only VHP 16, I went on to win The Australian Enduro Nationals. This win was the start of a successful and self proclaimed “Better to Wear Out than Rust Out” tour, in which I threw myself into as many Enduro and DH races as possible within the first 5 months of 2023, trying to find my limit as I pushed my boundaries. This journey in itself was one big epic memory!!

If you could take your Kavenz bike anywhere in the world for an epic ride, where would it be?

Definitely a trip back to Squamish and the Sea to Sky corridor is in the making but on saying that the thoughts of the unknown and back country around other parts of world is pretty exciting in its own right! “Beaten paths are for beaten men”.

If your mountain biking adventures had a soundtrack, what songs would be on it? What music gets you pumped up before hitting the trails?

“Gimme some Love” by The Spencer Davis Group. With a small speaker zip tied to the frame, this song played on almost every race run!