How Knolly frames benefit smaller riders:

One of the benefits of Knolly full suspension frames is their ability to accommodate smaller riders, even with up to 7 or 8 inches (175-200mm) of rear suspension travel. This is because of the unique Four by 4 Linkage that our full suspension frames use.

Knolly Bikes: standover height

While standover height is less of an issue when riding XC trails, it becomes a major issue with any kind of technical riding – even technical XC riding. We understand that the height of the top tube and even more importantly the height of a fully dropped seat come in to play frequently when riding terrain that isn't flat. Put some rocks or roots in the trail or perhaps a ladder bridge and all of a sudden stand over height becomes the difference between graciously stepping off your bike and lying in a crumpled heap on the ground. Due to the nature of mountain bike frame construction, the smaller the frame size is, the more difficult it becomes to make frames with good stand over height. And this becomes even worse with longer travel frames...

Because Knolly frames feature a continuous seat tube they allow for a full range of seat heights: on many other frames, the seat tube is either bent or interrupted by the shock only allowing a restricted range of seat heights. This problem is exasperated as frame sizes become smaller because the position of the rear shock (or the seat tube bend) is at a fixed height, but the seat tube mast height is made taller for larger frames and shorter for smaller frames. Hence (especially for smaller frames), the seat tube mast design becomes a compromise: trying to maximize the range of seat tube adjustability while trying to stay low so that a dropped seat remains as low as possible and the rider can straddle the seat and still touch the ground.

Our frames feature both a continuous seat tube as well as a low ”dropped seat height“, allowing the seat to be adjusted to a proper climbing height while being lowered as far as possible allowing riders to straddle their seat

Just say ”No!“ to linkage interference!

Ever have a frame where the tire buzzes the back of the seat or the seat tube? What about a rocker link which interferes with your seat post quick release or the bottom of your seat?

One of the key design aspects of Knolly frames is ensuring that there is no interference between the rear suspension elements (rear linkages and rear wheel) and the front triangle. Our layback seat tube combined with a low linkage design, enables our frames to be free from such problems. Again, this is especially important for smaller frame sizes where these problems tend to be more prevalent.

The combination of our lay-back seat tube and low linkage height ensures that the rear suspension does its work without bothering the front triangle. Even in our smallest frame sizes.