Erin's Knolly Cache Steel Flatbar Edition
2020 CACHE STEEL
After being announced for presale last summer, the Knolly Cache Steels have arrived! The Cache Steel is Knolly’s second gravel model in an otherwise mountain focused lineup. Building off the success of the Titanium version, the Knolly Cache Steel is designed to accommodate tires up to 700c x 45mm or 650b x 2.1", with the option to install gravel-specific suspension forks such as the Fox 32 Stepcast AX and MRP Baxter. Here we check out Erin’s flatbar edition Cache that she uses on everything from pump tracks to off-road group rides. Erin is an employee at Knolly in Vancouver BC.
The Cache Steel features a DT Swiss RWS rear axle, custom CNC’d dropouts, has 3 water bottle mounts and rack mounts that all add up to a pretty sweet ride. Knolly’s trail-focused experience led to the bike’s longer front center and a shorter stem to ensure optimal handling in corners, while still being stable and comfortable on epic adventure rides. For ease of service, cable guides and housing are located along the downtube and beneath the chainstay.
Erin’s Custom Build Spec
FRAME Cache Steel Limestone 49.5cm
FORK Knolly Carbon Gravel
STEM Chromag Ranger V2 60mm chrome
HEADSET White Industries Zero Stack
HANDLEBAR Chromag Cutlass 700mm 31.8
SEATPOST RaceFace Turbine R 125mm dropper
CRANKSET White industries G30 40t
CASSETTE Shimano XT M8000 11-42
WHEELSET FSA AGX Alloy
SHIFTER Shimano XT
REAR DERAILLEUR Shimano XT
BRAKE LEVERS Shimano XTR
TIRES Maxxis Rambler 700 x 40
GRIPS ESI Chunky
SADDLE Specialized Power
PEDALS “90s Cult favorite” Time ATAC
In designing the Cache, Knolly highlighted the seat tube with its curved shape. Rather than typical straight tubing, the seat tube is butted and follows the shape of the wheel, a detail that provides improved clearance for tires and fenders. All of the tubes are custom and most of them required new or modified production tooling. The Cache Steel is available in three colors: Midnight Blue, Pixel Blue and Limestone.
The 2020 Knolly Cache Steel frame is priced from $978 (frame-only) up to a complete Shimano GRX 810 build for $3,799 USD.
Follow Erin at @hotgluten
Photos by @nicholaskupiak
Visit KnollyBikes.com for more details on the Cache