The Delerium Redux

It's been ten years since the Delerium T hit the market and Knolly hasn't missed a beat in their relaunch of this iconic bike. This one-time North Shore crusher has evolved with the widening variety of available terrain, the evolving industry trends, and the versatility that riders are craving. We talked to Knolly Founder, Owner, and Engineering Physicist, Noel Buckley and Marketing Manager, Ryan Berrecloth about why they chose to reintroduce the Delerium a decade later, letting wheel sizes change organically, and the sweet '69 Camaro paint job inspiration.




Why did Noel decide to create Knolly? What was his vision?

Ryan: Noel simply wanted a bike to ride that was not on the market at the time. He is a true engineer at heart and decided to put his skills to work making a rig while recovering from a riding injury. The suspension platform was so good a couple friends wanted one and the demand snowballed into a company. I say 'engineer at heart' because he is. Ask him to explain how any particular whiskey is distilled and you will get a detailed scientific explanation of the process. There’s more to the Knolly vision and of course, it's better to hear it from Noel himself.


Noel: I was riding the North Shore a lot from the early 1990s but had two serious injuries in 2001 and 2004 which altogether required four surgeries. During that time off riding—about half of those four years—I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could design a better full suspension freeride bike. I had a strong background in machining (which I did to pay the bills while at university) and through my schooling and career I had spent a decade in engineering physics in the high-tech world with a focus on applications engineering and design for manufacturing and optics!

During my downtime, I spent about 18 months designing my own, personal full suspension freeride bike in Solidworks. In 2003 I prototyped it and a year and a half later, this would eventually become the V-tach frame. By 2004 I had a bunch of friends and friends-of-friends who wanted them, so I arranged to manufacture them and they were delivered later that year. The demand continued for bikes so in 2006 I set Knolly up formally and started design on the second model, the Delirium T.

Now Knolly was a full-time job and by 2007 we were three people trying to figure out how to run a bike company! We have learned a lot over the years but our vision has always been on ultra-high quality manufacturing, unique industry leading technology, and technical performance backed by the best customer service. We’re constantly trying to design our personal dream bikes for every frame model we make based on how we want the product to ride.



Knolly originated on the North Shore, how much of this local terrain dictated (and still dictates) the development of your bikes?

Noel: At the beginning of Knolly’s history, the North Shore and Whistler completely dictated our bike designs. The V-tach was a 190mm travel freeride North Shore/bike park beast and was arguably the best bike purely designed for this kind of riding. However, as bike design has evolved, so has technical riding. The North Shore, Whistler, and greater B.C./Pacific Northwest is still the epitome of technical mountain biking worldwide, but it’s not the only location with difficult trails.

I would say that as the North Shore has evolved, Knolly has matured as well and we look at these trails and beyond to ensure that the core performance of our products is at the level we demand—whether in B.C., Washington, Utah, or Europe. We have always been a company focused on the technical aspect of mountain biking, but now we’re at the point where our products can be world leading in overall on-trail performance while still maintaining the ability to kill it on our local terrain. The predictable performance of our Fourby4 linkage and advanced frame geometries are key to this.





You mentioned that the Knolly company was originally built on the Delirium, what was the inspiration behind its creation and has that changed with its reintroduction?

Noel: While the V-tach was our first bike, it was rather hardcore. It arrived at the height of the mid-2000’s freeride scene, an era rife with 12–14-pound extreme duty framesets. The bike was amazingly durable and offered an advanced ride that’s still relevant today. It even had a trail crankset and front derailleur compatibility with a 12x150/157mm rear end, something that we’re starting to see come to the market now. However, it was too heavy duty for the average rider.

I recognized that the V-tach could be a flagship product for Knolly but it certainly could not be the mainstay of our product line. This required a 'mini V-tach'; a bike with most of what the V-tach offered in terms of technical proficiency but in a more trail friendly package. This bike became the original 2006 Delirium T and it came out as a 160mm travel bike designed for 160-170mm forks. The bike was super well received and really launched Knolly as a company, it was our 'do-everything' trail/technical/freeride/park bike.


The new Delirium captures the true essence of Delirium versatility; you can climb 3000’ and then just charge the descent as hard as you can. It’s a play bike, while not a DH bike it is still comfortable hitting Mach Schnell at a bike park and is nimble enough to pick its way down janky Shore style trails.

The Delirium can get you into scary situations that are way beyond your confidence and comfort level, especially when wearing trail protection (i.e. half shell and knee pads). But like a trusty steed, it will get you out of those situations too! It has a huge margin of error and this generation Delirium has more forgiveness than any previous generation. The Delirium is just a really fun place to spend an hour—or four—monster trucking around!



Why bring it back?

Ryan: Because Noel got sick and tired of me and numerous others asking for it. All kidding aside, the core of the Delirium embodies North Shore riding but like all good things that evolve the Delirium has as well. The timing was right as the industry trends on wheel sizes transitioned to re-introduce the Delirium in 27.5 which allowed us to fill a market segment meeting high customer demand. The bike has always been impressively versatile and the new version is truly a 'do everything bike.' Getting to the top is easy and it can handle anything you throw at it descending.

'Versatility exemplified' explains it well, as it encompasses everything you want most in a bike. All of the updates have enhanced the bike’s origin of true freeride to be multi-functional with strong pedaling dynamics centered on the Fourby4 suspension design. 170mm of travel on the Fourby4 suspension platform delivers maximum traction control accompanied by two geometry settings and a double crown fork approval makes the bike easy to adapt to any riding you want. Plus it was a perfect bike to mirror the bad ass muscle car paint job of the 69 Camaro with Orange and White!


Noel: Ryan's answer above is the more interesting read and really gets at the 'why' this bike exists. From a business standpoint, my answer is a bit different in that the timing was right to bring the Delirium back into the lineup. In 2010 we introduced a second generation Delirium (we dropped the “T” in the name); the bike featured an increase in travel from 160mm to 170mm and was intended to replace both the previous Delirium T and some of the V-tach’s uses as well.

This was the start of our Generation II product line that had huge updates in geometry, overall large increases in performance and strength to weight, all based on what we had learned during the previous three seasons with the original first generation products. Due to moving our manufacturing to Taiwan in 2011, we essentially restarted the entire product line, leading with the 2012 Chilcotin which was for all intents and purposes a more up-to-date version of the original Delirium T.

With the shift towards 27.5” in 2014 and the Warden eventually replacing the highly successful Chilcotin, we felt that there was again room in our product line (and more importantly, demand) for a new 2016 Delirium. That, and it’s just simply the most fun bike to ride in our current product lineup! We see the Delirium being a mainstay in Knolly’s lineup for the foreseeable future.




What's new/different? Does this impact it's originally intended uses?

Ryan: New and different include dual crown fork compatibility, 27.5 wheels, adjustable geometry settings, longer reach, lower BB, better stand over, internal cable housing, and graphics (of course). This version captures the new technology mentioned in this article along with premium parts that make all Knollys smooth and durable, but the core marketing perspective has changed slightly. What remains the same is the core Shore bike that can handle the super aggressive terrain. What has changed, and which has significantly benefited the Delirium, is the larger wheels, advances to drivetrain tailored specifically to run 1X setups, rear suspension advancements like Cane Creek’s climb switch make the bike much more versatile than it’s little brother, and the ability to throw a longer travel fork.

This bike appeals to markets the original did not. We have racers on our grassroots team competing in race series, like various series in California for example, and this bike allows them to change their bike setup to match different tracks. In short, our North Shore pounder can now be enjoyed by riders that ride on more mellow terrain but it still has the bravado to crush the park when you need it to. Basically, we market this bike to everyone that wants versatility.


Noel: Yes and no. The original Delirium T was our first stab at this application and the market space - both in terms of riding technique and product, it was in its 'pre-teens'. With the revamped 2010 model and eight years of experience, we’ve learned a massive amount about what this bike should be and what it shouldn’t be. Currently, we have two models in our lineup with a 3rd on the way that are lighter duty than the current Delirium. That allowed us to be less concerned about making sure it fits into a specific product slot and has allowed us to really focus on designing to its strengths.

Interestingly, in the early stages of the 3rd generation Delirium’s development in 2014 and 2015, we actually tried to make an updated version of the 2010 Delirium with 27.5” wheels - that didn’t go so well and we really needed to let the product development evolve organically on its own based on test riding. Apart from our DH bikes (which are absolutely the most difficult to design from a purely engineering perspective), the Delirium proved to be very, very challenging. We went through four rounds of prototyping just to get the geometry dialed and usually this takes only one or two rounds at most.

So, I would say that what has stayed the same is the focus on fun, versatility and a huge margin of error in a technical trail bike. What has evolved is even more advanced geometry, increased comfort for long days in the saddle, improved pedaling and technical climbing, the inclusion of short track DH and extreme enduro into its portfolio, and an increased emphasis on park riding for those who want it. It’s definitely the most complete, well-rounded Delirium we’ve ever made and it outperforms its predecessors in every category.

Garett sailing over an alpine booter on his Delirium. Photo: Margus Riga


Which of your athletes will be on the new Delirium?

Ryan: All of them. AM and XC are clearly big segments for us with our other models, but the Delirium allows our riders to push their AM riding into gnarly terrain to have the best of both worlds. As mentioned we have a broad market appeal to this bike so reaching the applicable rider groups will take a team effort.

Some of our Factory and GSR athletes are building these up as DH Lite Deliriums using a 200mm dual crown fork and a longer stroke 222 x 70mm rear shock to increase rear travel to 185mm. They'll typically add one degree or so angle set to further slacken out the bike and this results in a 64-degree head angle and gets the bike into mini DH territory.


How has the relaunch been received? Was this comeback a request from Knolly fans or purely internally driven?

Ryan: Both. The response has been great from new customers and previous generation owners. We expect this to be in our lineup for a long time.

Noel: Definitely both customers and internally. The Delirium is an iconic bike for Knolly and something that we arguably do better than anyone else in the market. From our perspective, there was a huge hole in the market for these kinds of bikes in 2015 and 2016 and we were able to service that demand. From our customers' perspectives, we delivered not only what they expected but seriously exceeded those expectations as well. The Delirium is a total ripper!

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