Recent Niner Builds

Air9 Carbon RDO with Shimano XT/XTR, SID XX World Cup, NoTubes Crest, 

Niner/Thomson cockpit

Air9 Carbon with Shimano XT, SID XX, NoTubes Crest, Niner cockpit

EMD9 with Shimano XT, SID XX World Cup, NoTubes Crest, Niner/Thomson cockpit

EMD9 with Shimano XT, Niner Carbon fork, NoTubes Crest, Niner/Thomson cockpit

Niner Jet9 Carbon RDO with Shimano XT, SID XX World Cup, NoTubes Crest, 

ENVE/Thomson cockpit

Niner Jet9 Carbon RDO with Shimano XT, SID XX World Cup, NoTubes Crest, 

ENVE/Thomson cockpit

(Soon to be) NEW BIKE DAY! Niner Jet9 RDO

I'd guess there will come a day when I tire of building these bikes, but I have no idea when that will be.  The Jet9 RDO has been a huge hit since the day it was introduced, which has led to incredibly long wait times.  Frames like this one, in licorice, are in such high demand that some people are left waiting an entire season to get one.

Come to us, we'll not only help you get your grubby mitts on one, we'll build it for you.  Trust me, you don't want to build it yourself.  The frame is beautifully designed, but the internal cable routing leaves much to be desired during the build.  Once the bike is built though, look out.  She screams.

Keep an eye out for this one once we build it.  I'm guessing sub-24lbs for a full-suspension XL 29er, but it depends heavily on tire choice....

The Weekend Office

This weekend was sweet.  Saturday was a nice day at the shop, steady and smooth.  Everyone working, but under control.  Not so busy that we can't really take care of people the way we want to, yet busy enough to keep us from standing around.

Then came Sunday.  With expected temperatures in the high-90's and a lot of miles to log on the trails, I stocked up with a ton of fluids.  My bike was set to only carry two bottles, but I had two more Iron Cycles bottles as well as 1 liter of water and 32oz of Gatorade in my car.

I set out with Derrick who was riding his new Niner Jet9 RDO.  This was only his second or third ride on it, and having a new baby at home his training has been limited, but once the trails get twisty that dude is fast.  He's been raving about the Jet9 RDO and how fast it is in rough stuff, but watching him carve was impressive.

Within a couple of miles I knew I couldn't take his lines.  My Air9 RDO is sick-fast, but it won't eat up the bumps the same way his Jet9 RDO will, so I have to duck and weave a lot more where Derrick can just point and shoot.

We ran into Ted Burger and David Pilotto about 20 minutes in and did some miles with them.  Cemetary Loop and heading North-East with those guys was a blast.

After we had knocked out an hour, we shot back to the car for more fluid.  We ran into one of Derrick's friends who gave us a nice tour of some new trails I haven't seen before, then we hit Swallow Cliffs.  8 miles of gravel with a few nice climbs.  We hammered those, rode a few more miles, then it was time for Derrick to depart.

Back to the cars and we have over 3 hours done.  I make my way over to Speedway for a refill on water and Gatorade as well as some Gummy-Savers.  I'm feeling not so bad, and head back to the trails.  Another 12-14 miles and it's time to get off the trails.  I start to really feel it on the climbs and catch a glimpse of some goosebumps.  Not good.  Too much heat, and even though I have gotten about 120-140 oz o fluids in, I'm not sure I have gotten enough.

Just shy of 60 total miles, 50 of it on single-track, and I'm cashed.  Here's the cockpit that was staring at me for about 5 hours:

I'm loving this Air9 RDO.  Coming off of the EMD9, the bottom bracket stiffness doesn't seem like a huge jump, but front-end stiffness is noticeably better.  The frame is also significantly lighter, something like 550g lighter (1780g for the EMD9, 1230g for the Air9 RDO, both weights include all hardware).

A real nice, in-depth review is coming sooner rather than later on the Air9 RDO, stay tuned....

NEW BIKE DAY! Niner Jet9 RDO with Shimano XT

I'll cut to the chase: 23.7 lbs without pedals.  Now, get the details.

Builds like this just don't come along that often.  It's not every day we get to build the dream bike of a seasoned mountain biker.  When we were asked to build a Jet9 RDO, I was nervous.  Back order lists are incredibly long, this one was ordered the first week of December.

Once the frame had been acquired, everything else was easy.  The frame received a SID XX World Cup 100mm fork with a 15mm thru axle and Cane Creek headset.

The build kit was simple: full Shimano XT.  Every time I ride it I become more and more impressed with the quality of the shifts, but more-so the braking.  Best braking I've ever used.

Wheels where another spot where we knew exactly where to go: Stan's NoTubes.  The stock Crest wheelset came to use 30g LIGHTER than advertised and perfectly round and true.

Thomson post and silver stand-in stem to be replaced with the correct size (and color) once the fit is dialed.  EDGE carbon bars, ESI grips, Maxxis Aspen 2.1 tires set up tubeless.

On Test: 2012 Niner AIR9 Carbon RDO!

We were high on the list for this bike, but since we had the parts and needed only the frame we ended up getting bumped a couple times.  No problems, though, because she's here now and she's beautiful.

Out of the box we weighed everything that was different from the EMD9 this is replacing.  When going from the EMD9 you not only swap to a carbon frame, but the headset is now integrated instead of a Zero Stack pressfit.  Honestly, I dig the pressfit headsets, but it's incredibly easy to change bearings with an integrated headset, so I'm not too broken up about it.  Also, the integrated FSA headset is roughly half the weight of the Cane Creek pressfit that was in the EMD9.

Also different from the EMD9 is the bottom bracket standard.  The EMD9 uses a standard English-threaded bottom bracket where the AIR9 Carbon RDO uses a PressFit30 bottom bracket.  This opens up the possibility to use lighter BB30-compatible cranks and larger tube junctions.

We'll have a first-ride review coming very soon, as well as apples-to-apples weight comparisons and some build notes coming very soon.  Stay tuned....

Coming soon: Niner Jet9 RDO Spy Shots!

On test: 2012 Niner EMD9

It's no secret I've been a fan of 29ers for quite some time.  My first one dates back to roughly 2006 with a Salsa Mamasita, and I was instantly in love.  That bike was built with an entry-level REBA, X9, and some cheap wheels.  I can't say I remember for sure, but I'd guess it was north of 27-28 lbs.

29ers have changed quite a bit since then.  I'm still riding alloy, though I've ridden plenty of titanium and carbon since then.  At the end of the day, I have a tough time faulting aluminum for it's killer price point, relatively light weight, durability, and great looks.

For 2012 Niner has updated the EMD9.  It may be their entry-level frame, but the specs are right.  It's ready for a tapered steerer tube, which I took advantage of with a SID XX fork.  The standard 73mm English bottom bracket was a welcome spec as I was planning a the use of Shimano cranks.

Like all other frames from Niner, the EMD9 came out of the box perfectly prepped.  Bottom bracket threads were tapped, the bottom bracket and head tube and rear brake mount had been faced.  All great touches that save us a ton of time.

The finish on the frame is a really nice semi-matte black with white logos.  Totally understated and certainly my style.  Add in a few orange touches and this becomes the perfect Iron Cycles team mountain bike, which would explain the abundance of them on our team.

Specs on this build:

Niner EMD9 frame, black, large
Rock Shox SID XX World Cup tapered fork, 15mm Maxle
Shimano XT drivetrain
Niner RDO carbon seatpost
Thomson Elite X4 130mm x 0* stem
Niner RDO carbon handlebars
Fizik Aliante custom saddle
Stan's NoTubes Crest wheelset, XTR 15mm front hub, PowerTap rear hub
King Cages stainless cages
Maxxis Aspen tires

In the first week of having this bike built, I've logged roughly 8-9 hours on the trails.  Comparing this to the Air9 Carbon I recently rode the EMD9 performed admirably.  The AIR9 Carbon's head tube MAY be a hair stiffer, and the BB junction MAY be a hair stiffer, but in all the EMD9 was right on par with the AIR9 Carbon at roughly 1/3 the price.  The EMD9 does give up to the AIR9 Carbon in the weight department, but this built built to only be 2 lbs heavier with a heavier gruppo on it as well.

One worthwhile upgrade that I can't recommend enough is the 15mm Maxle fork.  Be it a suspension fork or a rigid one, if you have the option to run a 15mm Maxle, DO IT!  The stiffness increase was immediately apparent and totally welcome.  The weight penalty is minimal, and is more than made up for on the first rock garden or errant root you come across.

I plan to put plenty of trail time on this frame and fork, and I'll be sure to report back often on it.  So far, I'm blown away that a frame that retails for $550 can be so good.  Yes, it's aluminum, so it may not be as sexy as the newest carbon offerings.  But the weight is reasonable, the ride quality is great, and the price is nearly impossible to beat.

Time to get out and ride some more....

Niner Carbon Air9 RDO - FIRST!

You may have seen this first on Bikerumor.com, but our order was in first.  Yes, that's right, there's only one shop that can claim getting the first Air9 RDO, and that's us.  A large, licorice version of the complete bike with XTR, American Classic 29 Race wheels, SID World Cup XX fork, and a Niner cockpit.

If you want it, speak up.  Only 50 are being made in the first run and they're all sold.  Demand is expected to be like the Jet9 RDO, which means the wait will be looooong......

Rear brake mount has been moved inside the stays.  This is said to allow Niner to use less material to reinforce the stays, reducing weight.

The CYA bottom bracket system was left behind on this model and instead uses SRAMs PF30 system.  30mm spindles are lighter and stiffer.  The system also allows for a full carbon bottom bracket shell, saving more weight.

Niner has done away with the previous Air9 Carbon cable routing and instead uses a full housing run.  You may not care about this, but I am thrilled.  After having built a dozen or so Air9 Carbon frames, this is HUGE.

This is the color of our forthcoming Air9 RDO, LICORICE!  While the green is something sexy, green just doesn't work for me.  I'd love to see this thing in Tang eventually.