The 6066 aluminum frame is available in a 151 mm or 167 mm rear suspension version with rear axle spacing of 12 x 157 mm, bottom bracket of 73 mm, and adjustable geometry in two positions. There is a frame clearance of up to 2.6 inches. Internal cable routing and water bottle holders are standard.
• Wheel size: 29 inches
Travel: 150/160 mm or 166/170 mm
• Aluminum frame
Head angle of 63.8 degrees
Chainstay length: 438mm (166mm)
Adjustable geometry
Price: 5,300 USD
• knollybikes.com
There are two build and frame options available in medium to extra large sizes, with a sporty average of 464mm. Combined with the wide span, in lax geometry mode, the Chilcotin has a vertical angle of 63.8 °, an effective seat tube angle of 76.9 °, and a chainstay length of 438mm on a 166mm travel bike when paired with a 170mm fork.
Frame details
The biggest update on the new Chilcotin is the shift from 26 “wheels to 29”. There’s also a transition to the 157Trail rear axle spacing, which uses a wider 157-axle flange paired with a 73mm lower projectile. Knolly believes this gives them the most options for tire size, and facilitates cleaning of up to 2.6 x 29 ”tread. The 157Trail axle also provides greater heel clearance while retaining the ability to run up to the 36T series.
The bike is constructed using 6066 series hydraulically formed aluminum alloy tubes. Knolly chose this aluminum for a combination of high tensile strength combined with excellent durability. It allows them to create more complex shapes that increase torsional stiffness and create what they feel is “high performance and predictable driving”. The bike has an open cockpit bottom guard, internal cable steering and water bottle holders.
The Knolly’s Offset Straight Seat Tube (OSD) design allows riders to switch from a more effective pedal position to a more aggressive position for a harder ride more easily. This allows the saddle to be very low on steep terrain with complete rear wheel movement. Additionally, it gives clearances of up to 175mm on medium-sized tires and 200mm + on large and extra-large sizes due to the straight, unbroken seat tube.
suspension
Knolly uses their Fourby4 comment platform for Chilcotin. It has a progressive leverage curve designed to manage big hits with persistent initial sensitivity along with plenty of mid-stroke support. The bike’s rear end is longer than Knolly’s free bike and track bikes for increased stability at high speed.
The Fourby4 suspension system is designed to reduce the effects of the brake squatting that Knolly claims enables the rear wheel to maintain more contact with the ground and haul speed across more technical terrain.
The bike pedal traction is designed to ensure consistent pedal performance, even in rough terrain, so that riders can pedal more easily whenever they need to gain more strength, according to Nole.
Engineering
The geometry of Chilcotin is modifiable (lax or neutral). Adjustment to change geographic position is a simple bolt removal where the rider can move the shock back or forth, then reinstall the bolt. This adjustment changes the angle of the effective seat tube from 77.6 degrees in the neutral setting to 76.9 in the recessed setting. Likewise, the angle of the head tube changes from 64.5 ° to 63.8 °.
Construction options
The Chilcotin platform has one frame but two suspension travel options. The Chilcotin 150 build kit features a 150mm rear wheel spacing paired with a 160mm fork. The Chilcotin 166 build kit increases rear wheel travel to 166mm, with the 170mm Fox 38 Float or RockShox Zeb.
There are two styling kit options, DP and EC as well as two color options, “Moody Blue” and Raw. The bike will be available in December at dealers and online, with prices starting at $ 5,300.
