QUICK HITS
• 155mm Fourby4 Suspension
• HTA 64.25° (Neutral)
• STA 77.5° (effective at 750mm)
• REACH 483 (S3, 170mm Fork)
WE DIG
WE DON’T
ABOUT THE KNOLLY CHILCOTIN 155
The Chilcotin 155 is Knolly’s do-it-all 29er, designed to excel in technical climbs and descents alike. With Knolly’s unique Fourby4 suspension design, the Chilcotin 155 stands out both in its looks and its handling.
FRAME AND FEATURES | The Knolly Chilcotin frame is built from 6066 Aluminium. With a different stroke shock, it can be configured to feature either 155mm or 170mm rear travel. On the lower shock mount, there’s a flip chip to choose between a “Neutral” or “Slack” geometry setting. This is not designed to correct for a 27.5” rear wheel – the Chilcotin is technically 29” specific.
The Chilcotin features internal cable routing in the front triangle through neat ports in the side of the headtube. These cables pop out the rear of the seat tube, and are funneled along the top of the seat stays to the derailleur and rear brake. There’s room in the front triangle for a water bottle, and an optional tool mount on the underside of the top tube. The shelf above the bottom bracket offers additional storage potential with a strap.
The Knolly Chilcotin features a 157mm rear hub spacing, limiting hub choices but offering improved spoke bracing to deliver a stiffer and stronger wheel, like-for-like. This allows for impressive tire clearance, with room for a 29×2.6” plus mud. There’s a 73mm bb up front; 180mm post brake mount, and ZS44/56 head tube.
SUSPENSION | Knolly continues to use the Fourby4 suspension system, which is a four bar setup with a linkage-driven shock. The suspension is designed to maximize traction when pedaling. Relatively low Anti Squat figures of around 80% at sag in the climbing gears drop to super-low figures of 50% and below in harder gears. As such, the Chilcotin was a bike that relied upon the easy-to-reach climb switch on the Fox Float X2 shock to retain efficiency for smoother climbs. This results in very low Pedal Kickback values, though we’ll discuss the results of this in the ride impressions.
The Anti Rise is also low, at 50% at sag. This should deliver a free suspension characteristic when braking at the expense of geometry preservation in heavy braking scenarios. The leverage ratio has roughly 22% progression, with a pronounced regressive portion at bottom out.
GEOMETRY | Knolly has employed a very progressive philosophy with the reach of the Chilcotin, similar to that of Canyon and Salsa’s mountain bike lineups. Reach figures are very long, with our size S3 Chilcotin 155 coming in at 483mm with the 170mm fork fitted.
Also notable is the seat tube, with excellent insertion depth thanks to the straight and offset design. The Actual seat tube angle is slack, at 69.5° on the Medium, but thanks to a large forward offset, the Effective seat tube angle with a 750mm saddle height is a reasonable 78°.
Other numbers are fairly typical of an all mountain to enduro mountain bike. With the 170mm fork, the Chilcotin features a 64.25° head angle in the neutral setting, which drops to 63.75° in slack. The bottom bracket is fairly low with 26mm and 36mm of drop in neutral and slack, respectively.
Chainstay length is size-specific, with 4mm increases per size to help retain the weight balance between the wheels, going from 438mm to 450mm.
BUILD SPECS | In North America, Knolly offers a choice of three builds from the $5,799 Deore to the $7,099 XT. Frame options are available with a choice of Fox Float X2 or RockShox Vivid Ultimate shocks for $3,599.
The new UK distribution is Bikelab.uk, although their website isn’t fully up and running yet. They offer full custom builds on request, or can get a build kit straight from Knolly if preferred. The price for the Knolly Chilcotin frame in the UK is £2799 with a Fox Float X2 rear shock.
The build tested was an old spec that’s no longer offered, retailing for £4,599 (approx $6,250 at time of writing). It featured a Fox Performance 38 fork and Factory Float X2 shock; SRAM GX mechanical drivetrain and Guide RE brakes; and Spank 359 wheelset wrapped in Continental Kryptotal Enduro tires. It tipped the scales at 36.5lbs or 16.6kg, which is in the typical realm of a heavy-hitting enduro mountain bike.
THE DIRT
At 6’2” with long legs, I opted to test the size Medium Knolly Chilcotin. Its 483mm Reach suits my preferences perfectly, and I was able to obtain a comfortable descending position as a result. The stack height was relatively low, and the effective seat tube angle suffered at my high 830mm saddle height, coming in around 76 degrees by my estimations. Due to the low 390mm seat tube length, there was an obscene amount of seatpost showing (around twice of that in the photos), but with the saddle pushed as far forward in the rails as possible the resulting seating position was in the right zone.
My testing time on Knolly’s Chilcotin wasn’t as extensive as I’d have loved, but over the testing duration I was able to get it onto some of Scotland’s finest trails and ride everything from steep and rough to groomed jump lines.
SETUP | The suspension characteristics of the Knolly Chilcotin made it relatively straightforward to get a comfortable and traction-rich setup for the Float X2 in the rear end. The Performance level Fox 38 didn’t quite offer the same levels of refinement, with a struggle to find the perfect balance of support and comfort. Where I’ve found you can get away with running the GRIP damper in a firm compression setting on an eBike, without the weight of the eBike system I found myself struggling for comfort and so aired up slightly and dialed back the compression. In the end I obtained a fairly effective setup, but would have much rather had a GRIP 2, X or X2-equipped 38.
I found myself making use of the geometry flip chip to tailor the handling characteristics of the Chilcotin 155 to the trails on the menu of the day. In the “Slack” setting, I appreciated the integrated feeling and stability, but climbing balance felt to suffer notably. As such, I opted to run the Neutral setting for the majority of the time, and only set to the Slack setting for the gnarlier days.
Following the first couple of rides, I switched out the 20mm rise alloy bars that were provided to test for a 40mm rise Race Face Era carbon bar. This gave a more comfortable riding position for the steeper terrain I found myself drawn to riding on the Chilcotin.
CLIMBING | Knolly has their own philosophies when it comes to suspension characteristics, which makes the Chilcotin somewhat of an outlier when it comes to modern mountain bikes, for better and for worse. With some of the lowest Anti Squat figures I’ve seen on an Enduro mountain bike, it’ll be no surprise that the rear end of the Chilcotin was exceptionally active when pedaling.
I found myself utilizing the Float X2’s lockout lever more than on any bike I’ve tested, as the feeling of energy sapping bob when climbing on smoother terrain was profound. As such, the Chilcotin would be a prime candidate for an electronic lockout system such as Fox Live Valve or RockShox Flight Attendant, if you’re a rider who’s keen to have their enduro bike take them the distance. With one of these systems, the suspension philosophy begins to make a huge amount of sense, with limited compromises overall. However, without one, you’ll likely find yourself reaching down to that climb switch a little more than you might like.
If your riding is exclusively winch and plummet style on long fire roads, then it’s less of an issue. But if you’re in undulating terrain, you’ll be hoping that the climbs are sufficiently rough and technical to demand the traction that the rear end favors. While this traction and comfort when seated pedaling was notable, the increased movement in dynamic pedaling scenarios combined with a low bottom bracket and fairly long crank to make technical climbing maneuvers tricky.
The seated climbing position on the Knolly Chilcotin was solid, though the slacker effective seat tube angle as a result of the slack actual seat tube angle combined with my abnormally high saddle height left me a little off the back. Riders with more typical proportions or those who opt for the sticker size of frame that’s better suited to their saddle height will receive a more central seating position. What this resulted for me was a comfortable position for the majority of the time, but occasional concerns with weighting the front wheel in the steepest terrain.
DESCENDING | The Knolly Chilcotin 155 was a pleasant machine on the way down the hill, with solid geometry and comfortable and effective suspension performance that was effective whether pushing or riding more defensively. Where some bikes demand that the rider be attacking to get the most out of them, the Knolly’s rear end didn’t require such an approach to come alive. That’s not to say it wasn’t capable when pushed hard, but at times it didn’t necessarily provide the support and composure of the absolute best of them.
Of course, the 170 rear end setup would likely unlock that final bit of big-hit capability that the 155 hinted at but couldn’t quite deliver. I’d likely choose to run that longer travel shock to obtain this extra capability, since it’s unlikely it would come at a big cost. The effects of the pronounced regressive portion at the end of the travel would be interesting, though, and could lead to some difficulties in obtaining a good end-stroke suspension characteristic.
The small hardware on the frame had me expecting issues with stiffness and composure under hard compressions, but these didn’t manifest on the trail. While the pivots look somewhat vulnerable, quality bearings and well-aligned frames combine with titanium hardware to remove concern, at least while the frame was fresh. The result was a frame that was surefooted under hard loads, though not too stiff as to become jarring.
Geometry preferences are going to vary from rider to rider and across different terrain. Aside from the long reach figures, which forced me to downsize and will likely cause some concerns for riders on the small end of the spectrum, Knolly has selected geometry figures that are quite typical. The bottom bracket’s healthy drop integrated me nicely, and the 442mm rear end for the 483mm reach and 64.25° offered a reasonable balance of agility and front wheel weighting. Chainstays are a point of contention in geometry right now, and for good reason. 442mm is a reasonable middle ground to obtain a blend of “fun” snappiness and overall balance, but riders looking for the most central riding position and natural weighting of the front wheel may prefer a longer rear.
FINISH AND VALUE | Overall Knolly has put together a decidedly premium Aluminum frame for the Chilcotin. The hardware is cleanly executed and was a pleasure to work on, and its small size didn’t present any issues during testing. The lower pivot is directly in the firing line of water and dirt off the rear wheel, and it would be great to see some extra protection in place. But as a PNW brand, Knolly has likely deemed the lifespan of these pivot bearings satisfactory without one. The flat portion of the frame in front of the bottom bracket collected an incredible amount of dirt, and as such I’d be hesitant to strap anything there for storage. But if you were to wrap a spare tube and strap it in place, it’s likely a good spot for it.
Seatpost insertion is excellent, and cable routing is unique but did a solid job. The anodized black finish proved to be very durable, and looked murderously excellent. Chainslap protection was not excellent, with mid-size and larger impacts generating noise and vibration that detracted from the ride experience. Fitting the Rimpact Chain Damper helped to calm this sensation and improve the descending performance. Though the Chilcotin is likely one of the frames that needs pedal kickback addressed the least, there were still benefits to be found by removing the vibrations from chainslap.
The medium size frame had satisfactory tire clearance, if not exceptional. I’d be interested to see if the shorter rear end of the Small caused any issues in thicker mud. Side to side, there was excellent clearance thanks in part to the 157mm rear spacing, but the front side of the tire was reasonably close to the lower pivot area.
COMPONENT REPORT
SRAM Guide RE brakes | I’m inclined to say that when these brakes are working good, they’re some of the best SRAM has made. I certainly wouldn’t shy away from running them if they came on a bike.
Rimpact Chain Damper | This wasn’t original spec on the Knolly, but an item you’ll see pictured that I thoroughly enjoyed testing. We’re still logging more miles to ensure longer-term durability is up to scratch, but if you’re looking to calm down vibrations in the rear end on rough terrain, the Rimpact Chain Damper is worth considering.
The Wolf’s Last Word
Provided the rider picks a size that’s going to suit their proportions and preferences, the Knolly Chilcotin 155 is a solid all mountain bike with a fine blend of handling characteristics, so long as they’re happy relying on a shock pedaling platform for smoother pedaling efforts. 
Price: $5,799 – $7,099
Weight: 36.5 lbs / 16.6kg
Website: Knollybikes.com
SHARE THIS REVIEW
ABOUT THE WOLF
Robert’s habitat is the Tweed Valley, Scotland, which is renowned for its root-littered enduro mountain bike trails. Robert has been developing his bike handling skills for the last 16 years. Since he was a pup, he’s been riding everything from BMX through to enduro and downhill bikes. Combining a playful style with occasional speed-focused aggression, he favors supportive bikes, and does his best to push them hard.
Rank: European Tech Editor
Size: 6’2” / 189cm | 220lbs / 100kg
Social: @robert_johnston
SUPPORT AND JOIN THE LOAM WOLF PACK
Did you find this review helpful? Would you like the chance to review (and keep) products? Are you interested in saving big bucks by getting exclusive Members Only discounts from industry brands all while helping support a small, rider-owned media crew? We have big plans for our members beyond big discounts and product giveaways! To learn more and help support small, independent media, visit our Member’s Page.