New Build: Stan's NoTubes Crest 29 to DT Swiss 240s Mountain Wheels

When an email came in for a new Niner Air9 Carbon, I knew special wheels were needed.  This bike is going to a great home that already has a beautiful Independent Fabrication SSR that we built a while back.  That SSR is sporting some DT Swiss wheels we built (not pictured), and since the rider was so happy with them the natural choice was 240s hubs for this new build.

Actually, lets check out this IF SSR.  Custom paint all over, tons of little custom touches, Super Record:

Now you see where we were starting and why these wheels needed to be something nice.  The choice of a rear 240s hub is simple.  DT Swiss engagement and quality are well known, there's no debate there.  The front 240s hub is also a perfect match for the SID XX fork since it has a 15mm Maxle thru axle.

The wheels were built with DT Swiss Competition spokes laced 3x all the way around.  Competition spokes offer light weight and excellent durability and stiffness.  DT Swiss ProLoc black brass nipples were used to match the black theme and to provide a solid base to work from.

Rotors are Shimano IceTech XT, which in my opinion are setting a new standard.  I've never used a brake set that was so powerful and so functionally flawless.  They are a little heavier than some of their counterparts, but will more than make up for their weight with their unbelievable performance.

Cassette is also Shimano XT, an 11-36.  Wide range cassettes have opened the door to 2x10 drivetrains and Shimano has provided on that front.  With excellent shifting and a light action, XT shifting provides great feedback without too much effort placed on your thumbs.

The bare wheelset came in at 1,580g, about 30g lighter than I expected.  Always a welcome surprise!

Niner EMD9 w/ 2012 Shimano XT

This one was a pleasure to build, because well, it's mine.  I previously had built an EMD9 but it's since been sold.  I loved the frame enough that I just replaced it with an identical one.

For the first time for me, I decided to build it with a Shimano build kit.  I spent some time chatting with some mountain biking friends who do some "real" riding, you know, in the mountains.  The consensus was easy to gather: Shimano XT brakes are the best.  I heard from many of them that XTR works just as well, but at a far higher cost.

Since I was going with XT brakes, I stuck with the full XT kit.  Shifters, derailleurs, cranks, chain, and cassette are all XT.  The fork is a Niner carbon unit, bars and post are also Niner carbon, the post is the RDO version.  The stem is ole faithful, a 130mm Thomson X4.

Wheels were hand built Stan's NoTubes Crest laced to DT Swiss 240s 6-bolt disc hubs with DT Swiss Revolution spokes 3x and DT Swiss ProLoc brass nipples.

Price as built?  $3700 out the door for a pure-bred race bike.