Knolly Cache Titanium Gravel Bike Frame

Knolly Cache Titanium - A Unique Approach to Gravel Biking

There are some gravel bikes that are really just road bikes with wider tires. They are great for fast gravel races and rides that aren’t intended to last for days. Then, there are gravel bikes that follow the spiritual guidance of mountain bikes with an emphasis on capability and exploration. That’s where the Knolly Cache Titanium slots in.

Considering how purist the Knolly mountain bikes are, it might be surprising that they have even thought a gravel bike was necessary. And then for them to make it using titanium tubing, their first time with the mercurial material, may seem even more surprising. Perhaps they did it because they love challenges, or perhaps they did it because they knew Ti would be the best material to make their perfect gravel bike. Most likely, it’s a combo of the two reasons, and frankly, the reasons are basically immaterial when you see how fantastic the results are. The Cache Titanium is a gravel bike that will answer all calls of adventure this side of DH riding.

The use of Ti for the frame not only guarantees long term durability, but the ultimate ride quality from the moment you push off on the paved street outside your house to the hard pack of a fire road right along to the rutted, rooted forest roads you’ll be hunting for to extend your adventure. Of course we’ve all heard about the attributes of using Ti for gravel and endurance bikes, but if you take a closer look at the Cache you’ll see that Knolly’s engineers have done some pretty unusual things with the material. They actually spent a lot of time looking for the right Ti supplier that could work with them to make the tubes the way Knolly wanted. So you get tapered, bent, and butted tubing throughout, making the Cache unique among titanium frames. Look closely at the down tube – the epicenter of Knolly’s Ti revolution – and you’ll get a better idea of what their multi-stage tube forming tool that they needed to create with their supplier. It is kinked at the base to make room for more tire width, as well as fenders, while retaining the required torsional strength and vertical compliance. That means not only did a bend need to be worked into the material but tapering and butting. It might sound like a small problem, but it took over a year to be solved, and it will inform and enhance every ride you make on the Cache.

Geometry and Handling of the Knolly Cache

The geometry of the frame certainly reflects the mountain bike origins of the designers. So they have given the top tube a bit extra length and combined that with some super short stems to help the stability while keeping the handling sharp. The short chainstays ensure the bike offers that responsiveness that you probably love in your enduro machine. That little kink at the base of the seat tube is one of the reasons that the Cache can support up to 45c tires as well as fenders in spite of how short the chainstays are. The frame can also work with the Knolly carbon non-suspension fork or with a fork that has up to 40mm travel. Though the designers suspect most folks will be super happy to roll with the rigid carbon fork because it is super light, incredibly durable, and extremely capable of taking on the toughest terrains, they did want to make certain that the really adventurous customers could spec the bike with a modern suspension gravel fork.

That versatility in optional set-ups extends to the fact you can run the Cache Titanium with 700c or 650b wheels, and have either a 1X or traditional 2X configuration. Internal cable routing helps with the clean lines, while the fender and rack mounts will easily help you turn this into the ultimate bikepacking companion.

The Knolly Cache Titanium comes in seven sizes, each with their own titanium tube stiffness combinations to ensure the smallest sizes ride as well and offer the equivalent stiffness ratio as the larger sizes. This is a super-well thought through design that will encourage you to try routes you never would have thought a dropbar bike could accomplish

Also check Parlee Gravel Bikes.