FOUR BY 4 SUSPENSION TECHNOLOGYThe Four by 4 suspension platform is the cornerstone of Knolly Bikes. When our CEO and chief designer, Noel Buckley, set out to design his first bike(the V-Tach), he started with a certain suspension philosophy and a list of ride characteristics that were important to him. He designed the suspension technology first… prioritizing traction, ride balance, and suspension performance while braking. He rode the first prototype and knew he had a winning suspension design, so he applied for patents and Knolly Bikes was born. Inspired by Formula One auto racing strut-style suspension, Knolly’s patented Four by 4 suspension technology provides freedom in design and execution that no other design in the industry can tout. This freedom means that Noel can design each model from the ground up and manipulate wheel path and shock progression completely independently. This allows each model to have suspension rate curves that are generally linear to progressive, which is important because it means your shock doesn’t have to ‘save the day’ by providing lots of bottoming resistance, as it would on a bike with a falling rate curve. This helps keep your shock from being over-worked and over-heating on long downhills, which can affect shock performance. This also helps maintain normal shock service intervals. Each of our bikes have rate curves and leverage ratios that are implemented for a certain type of riding(trail, AM, DH) while all models share some fundamental ride characteristics: TRACTION – This is priority number one. Without traction, there is no confidence… without confidence, there is no fun. The Four by 4 is a fully active design that is all about traction. There is no complicated pedaling platform designed mechanically into our frames, which means there’s nothing getting in the way of you finding every ounce of traction on the trail. Do you like technical climbing? There isn’t a better friend out on the ledgy climbs than our Four by 4 suspension. When you find yourself searching for every bit of grip out of your rear tire because you’ve committed to 30 foot section of the ‘steep and loose’, your Knolly will dig in and fight for as long as your legs can. PEDALING – This doesn’t have to be over-complicated, but so many times, it is. Many bikes on the market these days feature suspension designs that require a certain amount of chain torque in order to pedal smoothly. The problem with this philosophy is that you are never able to turn this ‘feature’ OFF in order to enjoy fully active travel and optimal traction. Knolly’s Four by 4 suspension pedals well in all iterations, without the need for complicated linkage tricks. Our active design provides a baseline for smooth pedaling characteristics, which can then be enhanced by any number of suspension shocks on today’s market. These shocks can provide a lockout or low-speed compression adjustment, which gives the rider total control over how the bike feels while climbing and descending. BRAKING – This is often an under-appreciated topic when it comes to suspension. Braking forces can impact how your bike tracks and finds traction. The Four by 4 is a fully active design under braking forces, which is accomplished by proper pivot location. No brake induced suspension lockout, and no brake jack, just smooth and reliable suspension performance no matter how hard you’re gripping your brake levers. Four by 4 is proprietary to Knolly Bikes, which means we do not license the design out to any other manufacturer.
