Kavenz Introduces the VHP15

Sometimes less is more. Every rider loves the big mountains, but not everyone has the luxury of having them at their doorstep. Sometimes less is more, especially if you don't have access to challenging and steep trails. For many riders, having less travel on easier tracks means more fun. Most new bikes offer more travel, more aggressive frame geometry, faster ride times. But at end of the day isn't the goal of mountain biking simply to have fun? The VHP15 prioritises fun, making it the perfect choice for riders who want to enjoy the thrill of the ride, no matter the difficulty level of the trails.

Fast, Nimble, & Fun

• FAST: The VHP15 has our proven Kavenz DNA, it’s a bike that will make you faster.
• NIMBLE: Thanks to the AM geometry and lesser travel, the VHP15 climbs even better than the VHP16 and VHP18. Not everybody lives close to big mountains, but with the VHP15 smaller hills and mellow trails become more interesting.
• FUN: The VHP15 gives you more direct trail feedback and it’s easy to flick around.

The Tech

If you have a VHP16 and reduce the stroke of your shock from 65 mm to 60mm it will result in 150mm rear travel. If you want to maintain the original Kavenz Enduro Race geometry, you can keep the VHP16 shock mounts. However, you can also get our new VHP15 shock mounts which will change the geometry as follows:

• Head angle: 65° (VHP16: 64°)
• Seat angle: 78.5° (VHP16: 77.5°)
• BB Drop: -21 mm (VHP16: -34 mm)
• Rear Travel: 150 mm (VHP16: 160 mm)

This means that you will get more of an AM geometry which is cool for tracks with little elevation. Our bolt on shock mounts give you much room to play with different settings.

The Kavenz VHP Platform

By using different shock mounts and shocks, you can tailor your Kavenz frame to your needs:

205 x 60 mm Trunnion shock: 150 mm rear travel (29” rear wheel only)
205 x 65 mm Trunnion shock: 160 mm rear travel (27.5” and 29” rear wheels)
225 x 75 mm Trunnion shock: 180 mm rear travel (27.5” rear wheel only)

Rear Shock

For the VHP15 we offer custom tuned Fox Float X shocks. We think they are very easy to adjust and pretty light too. However, you can also run a coil shock should you prefer that.

Semi Custom Geometry and Custom Paint

At Kavenz we are proud to offer a high level of customization. Riders can still order semi-custom geometry frames, however making these takes a little while. Reach can be anything between 440 and 540 mm in 20 mm steps. The seat tube can be 420, 450, or 480 mm and the headtube can be either 110 or 125 mm.

In order to make it easier and faster to get your hands on one of our frames we stock the most popular geo options. We removed the 2XL from standard geometry frames from the list as we sold only three of these, however you can still order it through our custom program (at no surcharge).

Customization does not stop here, as we offer countless frame finishes that riders can choose from: raw, black anodized or powder coated (more than 200 RAL K5 colours).

Suspension Design

While many high pivot frames use a single pivot or linkage driven single pivot suspension design, our frames rely on the trusted Horst Link suspension layout. VHP stands for “virtual high pivot”.

We believe that our suspension design offers advantages over other options and brings riders the best mix of rearward axle path, high anti squat and balanced anti rise.

Leverage Ratio

High Anti Squat

Bikes with High Pivot suspension designs naturally offer excellent support under pedaling without the downside of pedal kickback when using an idler pulley to reroute the chain. But we went a bit further and optimized the Anti Squat throughout the gears and travel to achieve what we believe is perfection. Plenty of support when climbing but no pedal kickback in DH gears!

Negligible Pedal Kickback

Pedal kickback is nasty, but luckily our VHP design minimizes pedal kickback to a level where you won’t notice it anymore. We believe that it’s so good that not even the most dedicated racers will need an active spider to reduce pedal kickback.

On the VHP15 pedal kickback is as low as 4 ° at 50 mm of travel, 6° at 100 mm travel and 7° at 150 mm travel.

Rearward Axle Path

While many suspension designs have a forward rear axle path, our VHP frames have a rearward axle path. The rearward motion of the rear wheel allows it to move away from obstacles (and over them) rather than against them. This helps riders to maintain momentum and makes them faster.

At 50 mm travel, the rearward axle path is - 12.5 mm, the maximum is -17.5 mm at 110 mm travel.

VHP15 Frame Specs

Price and Availability

Price: 2645 Euro (RAW)
+470€ Float X incl. hardware (205x60)
+990€ FOX 36 29in F-S 160 Grip 2

Available from: April 2023

For more information, head on over to kavenz.com.