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To the original post:

Andrew's article is bang on in terms of the options in the industry.

The Enduro Maxhit parts are great: several of our staff have them and while it's too early to talk about their long term lifespan (since they have only been on the market for a relatively short time), early results are excellent.

I don't think that 44/56 is that common in the frame builder would simply because of available offerings from tube vendors. I don't know for sure though, since it's not a world that we work in.

While we are not the only steel frame vendor with a 44/56 head tube...,we do make priority tooling for all tube sets used in all of our bikes: Tyaughtons are no exception and their headtubes (steel and titanium) are unique to us. 

Cheers,

Pete and Mark are correct.  I'm not sure if it's cool to link to one of our own blog posts (from last year), but this post about Steel vs. Titanium re: the Cache is generally correct for the Tyaughton as well.

https://knollybikes.com/blogs/knews/steel-vs-titanium

This would NOT be the case for aluminum.  We build bikes based on feel and aluminum is an amazing material - but for full suspension bikes.  For rigid bikes, titanium and steel provide superior feel, even if aluminum is lighter weight than both.  That's not to say that there aren't some great riding aluminum road, gravel and hardtail MTB bikes on the market, but from "a purely feel" standpoint, both steel and titanium are superior (assuming all other things being equal).

Justin: I agree.

For aggressive riding on the Tyaughton, I am a fan of EXO+ on the front and DD on the rear.  I personally am not a fan of inserts, but I know many who are and have to admit that once they did save me from a long walk out where a freak accident sheered a valve stem off of a rear wheel.

Hello Mark, Pete and Cam:

This "non-review" was a pleasant surprise yesterday - thank you.  We have put a lot of work into both the Tyaughton Titanium and the Tyaughton Steel bikes and the amount of custom tooling we have opened for these bikes frankly makes no sense in this marketspace.  But it also makes them what they are :)

As an aside, the Tyaughton Steel is made by the same vendor to the same exacting materials and quality standards as the Tyaughton Titanium.  It's a bit heavier but signifncantly lighter on the wallet. 

Sounds like a debrief is in order: I'm sure I can find some quality drams kicking around to share!

Just to clarify - from Knolly's position:

56.5mm is the theoretical ideal chainline and what is stated by drivetrain manufacturers: 9mm more width (148 --> 157) divided by 2 = 4.5mm or 52mm --> 56.5mm. Officially we support their specification since they make these parts and have to support them.

That being said, unofficially many of us at the office are running 54 - 55mm chainlines with good success.

Shimano also recently released a midline crankset: the XTR 9125 which while "designed" for 148mm Boost bikes, works quite nicely with 157mm bikes for those that want the 55mm chainline natively.

There are some other tricks you can do as well, with Boost 148 cranksets and spindle spacers to get chainlines in the 53-55mm range.  We can't endorse them officially of course, but we know customers are doing this.

Not seat tube collar: saddle position.  And technically, that's the saddle rails (top of the seat post).

Hi Ikubica:

Thank you for your comment

What we measure is relatively straightforward:  the horizontal length from the top of the head tube axis to where it intersects the effective seat tube axis.   That's the trick, because the ffective seat tube axis is a line out in space which makes it hard to measure with a tape measure.  

What we don't do is what a lot of other brands do and that is "dumb down this measurement" by trying to pretend that the axis of the Effective and Actual seat tubes meet in space at a "magically changing saddle height that just happens to correspond also to the stack measurement".   Because it doesn't.  Unless you are a relatively small person, your saddle height is significantly higher than the stack measurement from the top of your head tube.  

Hope that helps clear a few things up!

Thank you!  :)

HI Vincent66:

Thanks for the compliments!

Please send us an e-mail at info@knol****kes.com: we can work with you directly or through one of our dealers.

Cheers,

Additionally, you can ditch the front derailleur if you don't need it (i.e. only climbing Fromme) and run a single 32 or 34T front lightweight DH chainring, new 10spd rear cassette with a 36T max cog and MRP MiniG SL chain guide.

Hey Everyone:

Still down in Vegas: finished a very exhausting but super succesful show.

Regarding Chilcotin and Endorphin SL:

Endorphin SL frame weight is about 6 pounds - perhaps 6 and a quarter for a large. Two Endorphin SLs were built up for the indoor show: both were high end builds that we would all ride for sure and both bikes were about 24 pounds (one was full XTR, the other with Raceface Next cranks / bar and XO). The dirt demo bikes which had more mid-high end build kits (i.e. SLX, XT, X7 and X9 components) were about 27 pounds.

The pedaling position on these frames is dialed for all geometry settings and fork options.

I'll answer more questions once I'm back in Vancouver next week - I need some serious sleep now :)

Did it last year for the first time, after trying to make it happen for the past few years. highly recommended for sure!

Regarding which bike to bring: i definitely would not bring a DH bike on this event, unless you don't mind pushing a LOT. Also, while there is a lot of hike-a-bike, there is a lot more pedaling before, between and at the end, where you will want your lighter bike. Also - if you're comfortable riding steep rocks in a half shell helmet, leave the full face at home because you'll probably be pretty hot in a full face if the weather is reasonable.

That being said, there will be times where you'll want your big bike if you want to ride all the cool lines. I brought a Delirium T last year (gee - no surprise there!) and it was pretty much a perfect blend for the amount of climbing and descending throughout the event.

Hope to see some of you there - cheers!

Len and I had lead the IMBA trail care crew down Pre-Reap only a month or so before the chainsaw massacre. It was the Trail Care crew's first visit to Vancouver (I think the NSMBA was working on Coiler) and they were - to put it mildly - simply shocked. They really couldn't believe what they were seeing and these trails broke every rule in the IMBA trail building handbook. But yet - these trails also helped to rewrite trail building on a much bigger level as stunts started popping up on trails outside of BC.

even I got to ride it. It was crazy on the HT with my sweet Club Roost riser bars.

Ya, I have to agree with you here exactly!

We'd been riding these trails for a few years before they were torn down, but I most clearly remember riding up the Cypress road with Dave K in the pouring rain, and then dropping into Pre-reaper in about 1997 or 1998. I had just put Magura HS33s on my bike but it was simply too wet and slippery to ride the trail effectively (I think I was running Mituboshi Superheat tires at the time). After ramming full speed into a tree at the end of the "McBridge" (when I couldn't stop), we called it quits that day and hauled our asses off of Pre-reap with our tails between our legs and went down Coiler which was under about 6-12" of water. In hindsight, not a great day to be on the trails - at least we did some water re-routing though!

Those trails were serious: to put this in perspective, I remember in 1993 when Dan came into class (we were both doing degrees in Physics at UBC at the time) super excited about a trail he had just made: this was the Reaper bridge entrance into the Reaper trail. I was riding a lot of Seymour at the time (Severed, etc…) and I thought "what's the big deal"… It wasn't until I actually went and tried to ride Pre-Reap / Reaper around 1996 and realized absolutely how ridiculous this trail was.

Think of the gear at that time (1993): hardtails, 1.9" - 2.1" single walled hard rubber tires, canti-brakes, 1.5" - 2" travel suspension forks (1993 was the year that Rockshox came out with the Mag21 fork!), pretty much no pads, XC helmets and clothing, etc…

These guys were so far ahead of the curve with these trails it's simply not fathomable for most people to realize what they were doing considering the state of the sport and gear that they were using at that time.

Props to the builders and while Cypress is pretty awesome in its current state, the early trails would still scare me now.

..and I've got it all cued up and the story comes on and the phone rings.

It's my mom.

"Are you watching the news?"

Well, I was until you called. Geez, parents.

Good thing Global puts the stories on line. Nice work. Now, someone tell Glew that the camera adds 20 pounds.:)

You'd better watch what you say: he's in prime fighting form these days!!!

I've even dropped a few pounds - still have a good ten to go though!

:)

Now noel - you know i know ross and he's more then able to take anything that old one eye can throw his way. that was a really nice video btw

And Lee, you know that there are very few people in the world that I enjoy taking the piss out of more than you! Probably from all those times you yelled "You're going to crash!" at me when we were riding Starfish a dozen years ago!

:)

Ya, Ross' talents are ridiculous. I mean look at him riding the triple rock section of Cam***… in his second video: for most of us that is a very, very serious combination of moves and I've seen a lot of really good riders eat it hard there. People who've never ridden that trail have no idea how complicated and tricky that section is and he makes it look easy in that video.

I remember watching him ride the "Stairs of Death" on 5th H last year: we were with a couple of other pro riders who walked around it and he just flowed it like it was a regular part of the trail.

Absolutely sick…

And thanks for the compliments on the video, but Ross deserves them all as the video was his project! Hopefully we'll see some more from him once our nuclear winter ends :P

"Poseur Ross"???

Bwaaaaaa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!

Oh wait - I'm not done laughing yet!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: !!!!

Sorry Lee, but I'm not sure that poseur is the first word that comes to mind when talking about Ross' riding ability…

:)

Hello SQuidy!

It is often difficult for sponsored riders to disclose locations because there is a lot of pressure on them to film and photograph in unique places, so you'll have to forgive Ross for not being candid about all of his riding locations.

However, I think Ross is correct and that Squamish, Whistler (once the snow's gone!), the Sunshine Coast, and even a few North Shore locations have some of this kind of riding. Also, if you're going to be riding around in the interior (and depending upon your budget), you might want to contact Johnny Smoke at www.bushpilotbiking.com as there are few people who know the BC interior trails as well as he does. And, yes, Lee can also take you on one of his many death marches :)

Also, something that might be worth while (depending upon how long you're going to be around the city of Vancouver for), might be hooking up with NS Ride (www.nsride.com): they lead rides several times a week of various abilities and at the least, this would be a good way to get a really good feel for the main trails on North Shore, and also potentially the Sunshine Coast, Squamish and Whistler.

Oh - one other quick edit: Lee mentioned Sooke in his list and I have to say that Harbourview Mountain is one of the coolest places that I've ridden in BC and easily worth a day or two of your time (especially, since you can head up island and hit the other locations that he mentioned). The view up top is stunning, and I was super impressed with the quality of the trail building and I've heard that it's only improved since I rode there last year. A brilliant technical climb leads to some great descents and the mandatory climb keeps the number of riders on the trails lower than shuttle trails. Additionally, The section where you ride 500m on an old water main suspended 6 feet in the air is very, very unique.

Cheers!

harbour view is also a must if you cometo the island
much more of a climb/hike but you get rewarded with amazing 360 views and a super fun DH

oh and i forgot about the burntbrigde DH that is a day of shuttle fun
Dustin

Totally agree: spent a weekend in Sooke back in May and rode Broom hill on my own the first day and then was guided around Harbourview by a local named Steve the second day (great guy and great rider!). Both areas are really fun, but the trails are Harbourview will satisfy your "inner Shore" :)

The Harbourview climb is a two parter: the first half is standard fire road and the second half (all single track) is one of the best technical climbs I've done on the coast. Absolutely awesome quality and still manageable on a reasonably big bike. Like you said, the view up top (old fire look out) is amazing and the descents - well just simply awesome trails! Good steep pitches, awesome rock rollers and drops; riding that old water main 5 - 6 feet up in the air, for what - 500 meters? - was an absolutely freaking blast! I definitely can't wait to get back and ride Harbourview again!

Nice write up!

delirium t with a dc fork?

Those are V-tachs in that picture! Nice photoshop Lorien!!! :)

So, Saturday and Sunday I took the DH race prototype out for its first real rides. And the terrain is probably not what you're expecting. But it was picked to test out what is probably the most critical aspect of this frame: chain ring / chain interface.

So, we headed up to Hurricane in South West Utah on Saturday and rode for two days, for a total of close to 6 hours. The first day was a quick rip down part of the Jem trail, just to get a feel for the bike and to see if I could shake anything loose on it. To be perfectly honest, the bike performed absolutely flawlessly. The pedaling is absolutely spot on and because of idler pulley technology, it may be the best pedaling bike that we have ever designed here at Knolly. Even without the fully developed chain guide on the chain ring, the bike never skipped a chain, never derailed a chain, and never missed a beat at all. When pedaling, you can not tell that the idler pulley is there at all.

Sunday was a lot more serious test: 4.5 hours of riding in Gooseberry Mesa. Yes, I took a 40 pound DH Race prototype with 8.4" of rear travel, DH tires and a 40 tooth chain ring out on technical XC and all mountain riding. The whole goal here again, is to see if there is ANYWAY that i could get the chain to skip, derail, get cruchy or have any other mishap. At the end of the ride, the bike again worked absolutely flawlessly. I even rode UP almost all of the climbs, including one that an 8"+ has absolute no business going up (i.e. about 150 feet in length, mashing on the pedals as hard as I physically could the entire way). After 4 hours of pushing a 40 tooth chain ring, I was absolutely burned, but am very, very stoked on the frame's performance. Every aspect worked at planned and while there is still a lot of work to do on this bike, it's an extremely promising start. More testing to occur (i.e. Whistler) once I return to Vancouver this week :)

And while this may be a bit presumptuous to say, Cory I'm pretty sure that you're going to be STOKED when you see this bike in real life!

Cheers!

Noel