Niner Air9 Carbon Black Licorice with SRAM XX and SID

Where do we start when building a light, but totally durable and ready-to-race hardtail mountain bike? We've been really happy with Lynskey, but if weight is a huge concern carbon can be .5 lbs lighter or more.

There are a number of carbon mountain bikes at our disposal, but our tendencies lead us toward framesets we can build to our specs. The Niner Air9 Carbon made a huge splash back when it was introduced, and it has features virtually no other frame can match.

Niner has their geometry nailed as they only do 29" wheeled mountain bikes. It's nice to know they are focused on one thing and one thing only. The tapered head tube adds a nice bit of stiffness to the front end, helping the bike track really well in rocks and roots. The Niner CYA bottom bracket system allows the use of BB30 or standard cranks as well as an EBB insert for single speed use.This particular build is sporting full SRAM XX for it's light weight and high performance. Of course, it's not cheap. But where do you get the pinnacle of anything cheap?!

The new RockShox SID XX World Cup 29er fork is also the top of the heap. Coming in at 200g lighter than the REBA XX, it provides a fantastic weight savings for this XC build.

When able to run BB30 cranks, you should. A more narrow q-factor is great, the added stiffness is nice, and the reduced weight makes for a great blend.

While this bike is super-stealth from a distance, when you get up close you'll see that there is bare carbon AND black paint on the frame. Using some masking, Niner has given the bike a great look while still letting you show your friends where your allegiance lies.
A carbon crown and steerer tube on the fork is a nice touch to shave more grams. Again, not the cheap way to do it, but certainly a great way to cut some weight.

This build is rolling on Industry Nine Ultralight XC wheels. Industry Nine hubs laced with Industry Nine spokes to Stan's NoTubes Crest rims.

As built:

Niner Air9 Carbon Black Licorice
RockShox SID XX World Cup 29"
SRAM XX shifters
SRAM XX derailleurs
SRAM XX brakes
Industry Nine Ultralight XC Wheels
Schwalbe Furious Fred tires
Thomson Masterpiece seatpost
Thomson X4 stem
EDGE/ENVE Carbon low rise bar
ESI Chunky grips
Fizik Aliante saddle

19.9 lbs with pedals

Total price as built: $7,500