Some will baulk at the fact that this is not a carbon bike. If you have ridden a Knolly before you know that the ride quality is second to none - and the new Warden just gets that much better. The absolute traction and control of the Fourby4 suspension will make you forget that you "need" carbon. The Warden is one of the most refined and detailed aluminium frames you can get and it has the performance to back it up. Without nerding out on anti-squat curves, leverage ratios and progressivity which everyone loves to grasp on these days - the Warden does not follow the normal high anti-squat formula - Rather it relies on perfectly tuned suspension which is handled by that funky linkage at the rear. The rear triangle determines the wheel path and the anti-rise (or brake jack) of the frame - this gives you fully active braking over chunky terrain - hit the anchors late into a sequential line of braking bumps and the Fourby4 will tell you there is nothing there. The linkage pivots are isolated from the rear axle path and they handle the progressivity of the frame - allowing for a bottomless feel and excellent levels of mid-stroke support, so you can push and pop out of corners. Dialing in progressivity into the kinematics itself means your rear shock does not have to take the load. The patented Fourby4 is what really makes the Warden work so well over pretty much any kind of terrain - don't take our word for it, every single review can vouch for the ground hugging nature and composed climbing abilities. A 64.75º in the slack position offers plenty of stability but where the Warden shines is it's versatility to carve up all types of terrain. From BC gnarly to smooth and flowy to high speed bike park thrashing and it will climb to the top so you can do it all again. You're eyes might be going crossed eyed with that weird forward placed seat tube but this works for your benefit - It allows an uninterrupted seat tube, so you can run the longest dropper around even on the small frame sizes. It also clears up a lot of at space at the chainstay/bottom bracket area so you can fit big wide tyres (if you want) and those short 431.5 chainstays and 27.5 wheels means this will play all day. Drop the post pre-descent and your seat moves forward and down giving heaps of clearance. Knolly's approach to the uninterrupted seat tube helps getting low on the bike, but really also benefits shorter riders without compromising performance. The rear end gets 157TRAIL spacing, Knolly skipped the 148 Boost and went with where the biggest gains are to made. There is loads of hubs now available and with up to 36% lateral stiffness from 142mm and only a 1.5mm wider heel clearance makes the 157TRAIL simply work. Don't fret because there are now a lot of wheel options available in the 157 wide spacing. The 157TRAIL has already been proven in the Fugitive, overing heaps more traction with very little width change at the chainstays (think of clipping your heels on the frame)
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