Is Carbon Dead?

Blog Post by Noel Buckley

The Warden Carbon is one of the best bikes Knolly has made and NO, carbon is not dead. In fact, while perhaps it’s only a small token of carbon, we did release the Cache carbon gravel fork last year which is getting rave reviews for its on-road and off-road performance. It's obviously a simpler product than a complete frame, but it's constructed in the same "ultra-high end way" that the Warden Carbon frame is and translates into a premium high quality feel.

When we introduced the Fugitive in late 2018 and now the new Warden this past year, these frames became part of a new generation of products. We refer to these new models as part of our "Generation 5”, they were both a massive investment and commitment for our company. Within this line we embraced the 157mm rear end spacing and also, completely overhauled the Fourby4 linkage kinematics. It's the most advanced product we’ve made and we’ve had incredible feedback from our users on these releases. We’ll continue to fill out the product line with alloy versions over the next year and then hope to move into carbon versions afterwards. That's the current plan, carbon is on the "distant Knolly horizon".

At Knolly, we're pretty material agnostic to be honest and "Ride Quality" focused. We now make frames using all four main frame materials: Steel, Titanium, Aluminum and Carbon. And I don't see this changing. But the Gen 5 alloy full suspension bikes are the single biggest development investment that this company has made. In relation to costs, we could have opened two complete frame models each with four sizes in carbon for the same cost. That's pretty insane in an industry that's focused so heavily on carbon, but it's part of a bigger picture at Knolly that we're working on. That's about as much as I'm willing to say at this point :)

So, if you're stoked on your current Warden Carbon, that's great! If you’re looking for a new Warden Carbon, we have an amazing deal including frames only offered at $1099USD. If you're keen to try out the new Warden - even though it's in alloy - you should check it out. Sure, it's going to weigh a pound or so more than your carbon bike, but there are some big performance advancements in it. 

For more info about the Warden Carbon deals: https://shop.knollybikes.com/collections/clearance-bikes-parts

For more info about the 2020 new Warden:

https://www.knollybikes.com/wardenltv2