Hi LWK:
Thank you for your "fanboi-ism" :)
I think I can say with all honesty and integrity that we had a challenging time getting Tim set up properly for this review: this has nothing to do with Tim himself per say (who has always been professional), but without doubt this particular review was by far the most difficult that Knolly has managed in our history.
I've known Tim for close to two decades and to put everything in perspective, the review "started" with me dropping off the review bike with him and then the two of us sharing a bunch of beer and whisky, chatting bikes, engineering, industry stuff, beer, whisky, etc... We've always been on good terms and that continues to be the case.
Knolly "chose" Tim to review this bike because we know he's a hard hitter with an extremely solid riding pedigree and has a history of brutally honest reviews. I despise the "shill reviews" that are so common across this industry, though perhaps that's just bad marketing on our part. I also knew that the Warden was not exactly "Tim's cup of tea" because he's been focused on racing for as long as I've known him: The Warden is a "raceable" bike (especially set up as a mullet) but it's not a "race first" bike. It's a precision play / park bike first, designed to handle (particularly in the Delirium configuration) the most extreme terrain possible without having to get into dedicated DH bikes. It's designed to be aggressive, predicable, nimble and stable, and to have the ability to maneuver around the frame in the most awkward, technical situations. It's also designed to be FUN. It's certainly raceable, but not every bike on the market needs to be the most "Enduro" bike out there.
Nov. 13, 2020, 12:28 p.m. - knollybikes.com
Hi LWK: Thank you for your "fanboi-ism" :) I think I can say with all honesty and integrity that we had a challenging time getting Tim set up properly for this review: this has nothing to do with Tim himself per say (who has always been professional), but without doubt this particular review was by far the most difficult that Knolly has managed in our history. I've known Tim for close to two decades and to put everything in perspective, the review "started" with me dropping off the review bike with him and then the two of us sharing a bunch of beer and whisky, chatting bikes, engineering, industry stuff, beer, whisky, etc... We've always been on good terms and that continues to be the case. Knolly "chose" Tim to review this bike because we know he's a hard hitter with an extremely solid riding pedigree and has a history of brutally honest reviews. I despise the "shill reviews" that are so common across this industry, though perhaps that's just bad marketing on our part. I also knew that the Warden was not exactly "Tim's cup of tea" because he's been focused on racing for as long as I've known him: The Warden is a "raceable" bike (especially set up as a mullet) but it's not a "race first" bike. It's a precision play / park bike first, designed to handle (particularly in the Delirium configuration) the most extreme terrain possible without having to get into dedicated DH bikes. It's designed to be aggressive, predicable, nimble and stable, and to have the ability to maneuver around the frame in the most awkward, technical situations. It's also designed to be FUN. It's certainly raceable, but not every bike on the market needs to be the most "Enduro" bike out there.