Kavenz Adds More Options To Their VHP Platform

Mar 28, 2024
by emptyagency  



PRESS RELEASE: Kavenz

In the world of mountain biking, the thrill of the ride knows no bounds. Whether conquering towering peaks or cruising through gentle flow trails, the essence of the sport lies in the joy of the journey. Yet, with the trend towards speed-focused, aggressive geometry dominating the market, the question arises: where is the fun in the ride? Enter the VHP12 and VHP14 from Kavenz – the latest additions to our groundbreaking VHP Platform.

Engineered with the fundamental principle of "less travel, more fun" at its core, these models redefine the mountain biking experience. Designed to cater to riders of all skill levels and terrain preferences, the VHP12 and VHP14 prioritize enjoyment above all else. Whether navigating technical descents or tackling cross- country trails, these bikes are engineered to deliver an unparalleled sense of adventure and excitement.


VHP Platform Expansion

Last year we presented the newest versions of Kavenz VHP platform, the V7. Seventh evolution opened new ways and options to experiment and change set up of your bike. The VHP platform allows to make totally different bikes from the same frame. Using different shock mounts & suspension set-up you can go from downhill & freeride beast to the ultimate downcountry bike. With a launch of VHP12 and VHP14 you can now build 5 different bikes, not to mention possibility of interchangeable dropouts of +0mm, +10mm and +2mm, and option of running 29” or mixed wheels.

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VHP12-29 - Craziest XC Bike Ever: This configuration offers unbelievable traction and it’s the fastest XC bike at the downhill you can ever imagine.

VHP14-29 - Fast and Light: The short stroked VHP16-29 is an ultimate explorer, a very fast one! More feedback from the trail, gives more adrenaline.

VHP14-MX - Trail Rocket: A VHP16 MX with less travel means more feedback from the ground in a mullet package this bike is pure fun.

VHP15-29 - Trail Bliss: This is your go-to trail companion with nimble geometry and a focus on fun. Perfect for local trails, it's all about enjoying the ride.

VHP16-MX - Race and Fun: Full-blown enduro racing with a twist! The 27.5" rear wheel keeps things lively and responsive, ideal for both racing and playful riding.

VHP16-29 - Enduro Origin: Where it all began - a classic enduro race bike with 160mm of rear travel, built for challenging trails and epic adventures.

VHP18-MX - Freeride Thrills: Get ready for freeride excitement! With 182mm of rear travel and a 27.5" rear wheel, it's all about agility and fun, especially for smaller riders.

VHP18-29 - Race Ready Downhill: The ultimate downhill machine! With its 25mm rearward axle path and 184mm of rear travel, this bike is primed for serious downhill racing.


VHP12 - The Fastest XC Descender

What makes VHP12 so unique? It has all the genes of VHP16, but only 120mm of travel. It offers more traction on steep climbs than other xc bikes and almost feels like a mini-DH bike on the descents.

What´s the downsides? Well, a bit more drag in the drive train this bike is for super-fast XC laps not for long distance marathon. If you love cross-country, uphills and long mountain rides, but still would like to have super fast and stable on the descends this is the choice to make.

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Some say that red is the fastest color



VHP14 - The Trail Rocket

Why VHP14 is so fun? It has all the genes of VHP16, but shorter shock stroke. It gives riders way more feedback from the ground. This tweak brings a remarkable difference in rider experience, offering heightened feedback from the trails. The result? An exceptionally enjoyable and fast bike giving lot of fun from riding. If you are mostly riding local and flow trails this bike is the best option for you.

 Rene Deutschl nder Photography
 Rene Deutschl nder Photography
Photos by: Rene Deutschländer


VHP12 29 Geometry
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VHP14 MX Geometry
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VHP14 29 Geometry
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Price and availability

Price frame only:

2795€ incl. VAT (RAW)
2645$ excl. VAT (RAW)

Shock options:
VHP14 - Fox Float X: 470€
VHP12 & VHP14 - Intend Hover OPT: 1079€




Author Info:
emptyagency avatar

Member since Aug 9, 2022
6 articles

57 Comments
  • 15 2
 XC rider here. Efficiency is huge for XC. I don't see anyone using and idler frame for XC type of riding. There are plenty of very capable 120-130mm rear travel XC bikes that don't have the extra drag of a high idler.
  • 17 0
 Coming off a Forbidden previously, the Kavenz does have much less drag. I would say nearly unnoticeable.
  • 6 1
 Supposing the extra idler was built with an excellent quality bearing and met the minimum for "roundness" of 23T (or 24T) to minimize the reciprocating saw effects of chain over small sprockets? For instance, the work of Cedric Eveleigh. This is a concern for me as I've moved onto a new type of gearbox design unlike any other, and I'm going to require some kinda idler. I've been shopping around for some bearings and there are some bonkers options available, with special races that don't require a ball bearing spacer cage. If it's only a butterfly fart worth of watts, it might be a worthwhile tradeoff.
  • 2 0
 @bryanjoh: this is the kind of info we need
  • 4 0
 These are play bikes. Perhaps read the press release?
  • 2 0
 These bikes are not that XC bike. These are traction and DH monsters.
  • 9 0
 @professed: you got it we do not claim that this is a cool bike for marathon xc that ain't our play field.
  • 1 0
 120-130mm is considered XC???
  • 12 3
 It would be great if this frame had adjustable headset cups. I'd love to build up a frame that could be switched from 120mm to 160mm depending on where I'm travelling. I already have to remove my fork to fly my bike, shock swap and headset cup change wouldn't be much more work.
  • 1 0
 Would you be looking for reach, headangle, or lower cup stack changes?
  • 2 0
 There are loads of angle adjust headsets available which would fit
  • 13 0
 You can do so by changing the shock mounts and shock that's what the platform is all about.
  • 1 0
 @plustiresaintdead: Reach and HA for sure, stack you can workaround with spacers, right?
  • 2 1
 @Giacomo77: OK, so shock & fork swap does adjust HA? I didn't look at the geo tables not included here. What about reach as HA gets more slack? Change stem or are there plans for adjustable reach headsets?
  • 7 0
 @motts: yes a 10mm shorter ATC results in a about 0.4 degree steeper headtube angle, combined with pushing the shock up or down with the shock mounts it allows for a lot of adjustments. Currently we have no plans for adjustments in the headset but there's aftermarket options to play arround with.
  • 1 9
flag enduroNZ (Mar 28, 2024 at 23:40) (Below Threshold)
 Why does this bike look so dated
  • 3 1
 @enduroNZ: because Norco copied it for the sight and optic and made them carbon ‍♂️
  • 8 0
 I'm seriously considering a VHP. And one of the main appeals to me is the modularity.

Also, because there is no seat stay bridge, and so many shock mount options, you can sort of mix and match to do some "off menu" options.

For instance the VHP15 shock mounts with a 65mm stroke shock, gives you a 160mm travel bike with 9mm less BB drop than the VHP 16, with a .5 degree steeper HTA.
  • 1 0
 Can't recommend the platform enough. I have mine set up as a VHP 16 mx but have the VHP 12 link and will probably give that a go.
  • 13 1
 Kavenz doing it right! such a cool platform
  • 10 2
 455 reach, 627 stack, 783 stand over, and ~79 degree effective seat tube angle on the smallest size of their "XC" build. Heaven forbid someone under 5'9" want to ride one of these.
  • 6 0
 I was excited reading about it and went to their website to look at the shortest travel option... At 5'7" with a 28" inseam, I noped out pretty quick.
  • 3 2
 This is because the bikes are all the same frame, just "rotated" around by changing the shock mounts/shock strokes. So to get a steeper HTA, the bike gains something like 15mm of reach vs the standard size in the "original flavor" VHP16 29.

440mm reach for a size small makes a bit more sense in that context. Although it is the downside of using the same front triangle for each bike.
  • 1 0
 @STARBURSTTUNA: Same. I'm 5'6" with a 28" inseam and ride mediums in other brands pretty comfortably. Even their smallest size is too big.
  • 4 2
 @ocnlogan: Well it's a huge miss for me. This manufacturer has clearly prioritized tall riders. Even with that context a 440 reach on a small is way too big when most mediums in this category are in the 440-450 reach range. The mediums I ride have a 430-440 reach, 608-620 stack, and 720-740 stand over.
  • 4 0
 @schu2470: agreed we are aware of this and will address this in the future.
  • 1 0
 I own a VHP 16mx and love the bike but it's not what I'd buy if I wanted an XC bike. I'm happy it's an option if I get bored in the future but there's a lot of compromises when using one frame for multiple set ups.
  • 4 1
 Did you bother looking at the ETT?
A medium is perfect for 5’9” rider ( my height) i can even ride the large kavenz no problem. Sizing is correct

Perhaps consider these frames have seriously steep STA.
  • 3 2
 @schu2470: definitely pure XC bikes. These are not pure XC bikes. You need to consider the geo as per a trail bike. Your spouting geo numbers from the 1980s
  • 2 1
 @breakthebeta: in what way? Merida uses the same mainframe for their trail and enduro bikes
  • 2 0
 @professed: Not even close. One of those bikes is a 2022 Trek Fuel Ex8. Hardly a bike from the 80s.
  • 2 0
 @professed: the fact that the head tube angle and seat tube angle are fixed in relation to each other. There’s probably a reason why it’s not commonplace for xc frames to have 78+ degree seat tube angles. Also the fact that the reach increases and hta/sta go steeper. We really want the opposite and can only compensate for it so much with stem length or and sliding the seat fore/aft.
  • 1 1
 @schu2470: go buy the boring trek then. Nobody is interested in them hence dumping/on sale.
  • 3 0
 @STARBURSTTUNA: 5’3 here… and I’m out. Such a shame because I’d buy this in a heartbeat.
  • 2 0
 What stroke shocks are these using? I see references to "shorter" stroke shocks, but not a mention of which lengths they're using.

The VHP 16 uses a 205x65mm, the VHP 15 uses 205x60mm, what does the VHP14 use?

Also interesting that the VHP14 is slacker than the VHP15.
  • 8 0
 14 uses 205*57.5
12 uses 185*47.5
  • 3 0
 @Giacomo77:

Thanks Giacomo, I appreciate the info.

FYI, It looks like the info you have on the Kavenz website is incorrect for the VHP14 29'er configuration. It shows 205x60mm there still (but the VHP14 MX chart shows 205x57.5mm as you say here.

kavenz.com/vhp14

Also

Can you explain how the VHP14 mount differs from the VHP15/16 mounts, assuming they are all using the same axle to crown length fork? IE, if I had a VHP16 with a 205x65mm shock, and a 581mm axle to crown fork, and simply bolted on the VHP14 shock mount, what would happen to the geo?
  • 3 0
 @ocnlogan: thanks for the tip we corrected it. The VHP16 and 14 share the same shock mount so the difference in geometry is literally only caused by the 10mm shorter recommended ACT. The VHP15 shock mount is pushing the shock further out and therefore lifts the BB and steepens the angles.
  • 1 0
 @Giacomo77:

Thanks again for the info Giacomo Smile .

I was playing around with the geo calculators and was starting to suspect that might be the case.

Also, I notice that there are longer stroke shocks available in the same 185mm eye to eye length that the VHP12 uses. I'd assume you could use a longer stroke shock without issue? And if I'm looking at the leverage ratio curve correctly, it seems like a 185mm x 55mm shock would increase travel to ~135-137mm or so?
  • 3 0
 @ocnlogan: yes it's a very big playing field.
  • 2 0
 I absolutely love the aesthetic of this thing. It just has that old school neo-retro cool look to it. Despite it's nod to the past, it feels completely novel and stands out when held against a sea of other company's bike offerings of which all look the same(good god what a boring state of affairs). I initially clicked the article for a closer inspection of this artwork...but then I felt like I was back in school and my eyes began to doze off as I scrolled through the graphs.
  • 1 0
 Appreciate the comment we mainly sell on performance that's why we bombed this article with nerdy stuff ‍
  • 2 1
 Do the long travel models also run Transmission derailleurs without a lower guide pulley?

V1 VHP16 owner here who would absolutely consider a future model again, but would love to avoid more pulleys.

The grip on these things is real.
  • 4 0
 Only the VHP12 is officially allowed with out lower idler as all configurations with more travel won't meet SRAMs Transmission specifications with out the lower chain guide.
  • 5 0
 @Giacomo77: Sounds like a Shimano build on the next one then. Sick bikes, keep up the good work.
  • 4 0
 +20 not +2 at the beginning.
Great bikes and platform. Love the shock mounts and chainstay options!
  • 4 0
 Seeing another high-pivot short travel trail bike is pressing my n+1 button
  • 4 0
 My Kavenz Pinion VHP16 MX is on the way, hoping to have it built for Hurricane Fest !!
  • 2 0
 Yoo can someone post the link of a video that explains the graphics!! I never know what they mean lol
  • 4 0
 Have a look at their youtube channel. they talk through every step of the design process + kinematics. its fab
  • 2 0
 not a HP fan but, if I was. This would be the bike. beautifull, functional & purposefull straight lines
  • 2 0
 just need a mini mullet
  • 1 0
 Interested to see if shock mounts could be made to flip the shock like on the Frameworks frame
  • 1 0
 The VHP 14 29 has the VHP 12 29 geo table.
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