Knolly Chilcotin Dream Build Review

Review by Stephen Dempsey
Photos by Brandon Watts

Knolly Chilcotin $2499 USD (frame w/ rear shock)
Test Locales: Whistler, Bellingham local treats, Jump trails

Overview

It’s about as storied as a Chubacabra, as rare as a unicorn—that elusive two-wheeled creation, a bike that can not only be ridden up and down, but that crushes on both. Ninja-light and chainmail-armored, fast as a cheetah and tough as rhino, this weapon mutilates rock drops, fire-road slogs, techy XC twisters, enduro races and park and jump trails. The seemingly-impossible, near-mythical dream bike, climbing like a 20-pound hard tail and descending like a 36-pound DH piggly wiggly.

The Knolly Chilcotin may be that beast. The versatile machine, designed with an innovative, well-engineered platform, is not a lightweight XC racer nor a DH shuttle rig, but the capable progeny of both. It pedals well, but descends even better.

Design

At first glance, the Chilcotin leaves a slightly demonic impression. Sitting low and mean, with the raw look of beefy aluminum tubes coupled with Knolly’s 4 x 4 linkage system, it screams for the likes of big rock drops and even larger river gaps. The design is no frills, a simplicity we fully appreciated while putting the bike through its paces. There were no creaks, blown DU bushings, loose linkage or frozen bearings, but not for lack of trying; both test riders were off the bike on multiple occasions (with resulting injuries). Despite the human wreckage, the Chilcotin’s quality manufacturing and burly design left it unharmed.

The stout simplicity of construction, however, does not translate to a lack of versatility: the 1.5-inch headtube can be adjusted between 66 and 67 degrees, and with the differing headset angles comes variation in the bottom bracket heights, allowing for 341-mm and 350-mm adjustments. The manicured frame boasts cable routing guides for dropper seatposts and ISCG tabs for chain guides, while logical pivot placement allows for simple replacement without specialized tools. It is a bike with all the accoutrements for all day trail events: durable, adjustable, slack-angled, long-traveled (up to six inches), all while remaining light (32 pounds) and nimble. As a result, the Chilcotin can be dialed to clobber down steeps or tightened for solid trail duty. It’s a creature bred to make bad decisions and hungry for rowdy adventures.  

Corners

Arguably our favorite capability of the Chilcotin came in high speed corners—get low, preload and go. It was exceptionally stable, something we attribute to the stout design and resulting laterally-stiff rear end.  A beautifully-machined chain-stay yoke, squared chain-stay tubes and burly dropouts unite to provide superb lateral tracking; an active 4 x 4 linkage provides top-notch small bump compliance. Faced with a large root while laying low into a corner, the back end soaked it up without bucking the rider or squishing into a lateral compression.

The bike only became livelier as the speed increased—solid berms and strong legs led to explosive corner exits, and when tight switchbacks did slow it down, a tap on the XT Trail rear brake was enough to bring it around. It rips corners like it’s on rails. We loved it.

Climb

Simply put, the Chilcotin climbs like its rear tire is wrapped in Velcro. Whether technical, root strewn switchbacks, thin, rock-cluttered lines or steep fire roads, the suspension is responsive and the steering intuitive. It soaks up the little rocks and small ledges like a sponge. We took the Chilcotin at sections of trail that were extremely rough, hike-a-bike steep and barely ride-able; when pedaled at full tilt, it gobbled up the clutter. It never bucked from the bigger hits, nor did the rear wheel bobble traction. We remained comfortable in the saddle. Despite its slack angles, climbing is not a chore.

Knolly’s 4 x 4 linkage performed most notably on the climbs—the design allows the rear wheel to move both vertically and backwards as you ride over clutter, balancing the downward force of pedaling with upward forces provided by Mother Nature (rocks, roots). As a result, pedal bob was minimal—when measured on a fire road climb we saw only a 4mm movement on the rear shock, both in and out of the saddle, less than some XC bikes. Extensive testing found the upper and lower links flattened out the shock rate and provided an active feel to the early end of the axle path. The end result is an active-yet-stable suspension (incremental movement) that made navigation through bumps or dips easy—mountain goat qualities that were pleasantly surprising.

Downhill

While it may climb like it has hooves, the Chilcotin descends like it’s possessed. Riders are grateful on the way up, but it’s at the top (or at the bottom, waiting for your less-lucky fellow riders) where the bike truly generates smiles. From the drop-in to the run out, the Chilcotin inspired all sorts of confidence. The bike gave the illusion that you weren’t going that fast, and with the slack, 66-degree headtube angle and low bottom bracket everything felt in control—go straight, don’t worry about brakes and just steer. When approaching an extended patch of rocks, the rear end did 90-percent of the work. Big rock drops became a little easier. Making that next gap require less wattage output. Tricky moves previously avoided suddenly became feasible.

The only trouble came with rider error; an unneeded brake check and overzealous bridge crossing did result in eight stitches. As always, the bike is only as fast as the rider, but we genuinely felt the Chilcotin heightened our DH capability. With the supreme freeride capability that is the lifeblood of Knolly Bikes, the Chilcotin stayed hungry and slayed freely.

Final Thoughts

Light enough to handle a six-hour adventure ride with multiple climbs and descents, the Chilcotin is a solid performer in the ever-expanding, increasingly-popular “do it all” category. Knolly geared the Chilcotin to take on a high-risk, high-reward style; more concerned with saving your ass than saving a few-hundred grams. The bike definitely descends better than it climbs—but maybe that’s because it descends so well. The Chilcotin is durable and dependable, fast and predictable, and most importantly, a lot of fun. It was a pleasure to test and—demonic tendencies aside—we hope to add another one to the stable.

Cane Creek Double Barrel Air Additional Setup Tips:
100lbs :  70 psi
120lbs : 85 psi
140lbs : 99 psi
160lbs : 113 psi
180lbs : 127 psi
200lbs : 140 psi
220lbs : 155 psi

CHECK OUT THE COMPANIES BEHIND THE DREAM BUILD:
KnollyBikes.com
RaceFace.com
Crankbrothers.com
Shimano.com
MichelinMan.com
IndustryNine.com
CaneCreek.com
RockShox.com