Niner AIR9 RDO

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Introduction by Francis Cebedo

Ahh the carbon 29er hardtail it is the weapon of choice by every XC racer and Strava KOM hopeful

these days. But which one does one choose? What qualities should the rider look for?

Niner fired the opening shot in this arena when they launched the Air 9 Carbon a few years ago. Here was

a bike with stunning good looks featuring a massive downtube and tubes that were sculpted to look and

perform good. It was extremely responsive to power input and it was laterally stiff for even the heaviest

riders. It also had a flexible bottom bracket that could take a normal geared configuration or an EBB for

singlespeed use. This bike was hot as it featured the best paint jobs and internal cable routing to deliver a

clean looking bike.

But upstarts like the Santa Cruz Highball and Scott Scale came to play and came in with smaller tubes

that were more compliant with frame weights around 2.5 lbs, which were about .5 lbs lighter than theNiner Air 9 Carbon. Singlespeed configuration was not available but most buyers didnt seem to mind.

So Niner has fought back with the Air 9 RDO Carbon. This bike has smaller tubes for lighter weight and a

more compliant ride in the rear. It has a normal bottom bracket for simplicity and lighter weight. And it has

a disc brake that is mounted inside the rear triangle as its bolted on the chainstay rather than the

seatstay. This not only improves aesthetics but it also allows a more compliant ride as the seatstays can

be tuned for ride quality without having to support a disc brake mount.

The RDO frame is indeed .5 lbs lighter than the Air 9 RDO Carbon but it still feels very stiff and responsive

to pedal input. The frame is laterally stiff and it still carves the trail well. The Air 9 Carbon however is the

stiffness king of the family and a heavier, more aggressive rider may want that frame for better

acceleration and better lateral stiffness. The RDO, with its smaller tubes is not quite at the same lateral

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stiffness as the Air 9 Carbon. The ride has improved as the rear seems more forgiving on the rough stuff.

The bottom bracket is much simpler and more traditional than the Air 9 Carbon and it is much less prone

to creaking. Brake adjustment is a little harder to get to but it performs well and looks very clean once set

up.

RDO with Enve-Kappius wheels built by Wheelbuilder.com

How does it compare to the Santa Cruz Highball? I think theyre an equal match as theyre both 2.5 lbs

and they both deliver a responsive yet forgiving ride. They have very similar ride qualities with blistering

acceleration complemented by a fairly compliant ride. In terms of lateral stiffness, the Highball has a slight

edge over the RDO. The seat tube on the Niner is shorter by two inches so a lot more seatpost is

showing. The gives the bike a lower feel as the top tube is closer to the ground. Consequently, standover

height is lower on the Niner giving it the rider more top tube clearance on those unplanned dismounts.

Finally, the seat angle on the Niner is steeper on the Niner giving it a more aggresive, hammer over the

pedals position, ideal for cross country racing.

Sizing is different though as I ride a medium Santa Cruz Highball and that is about equal to a small Niner,particularly in top tube length. The Niner does look better though and it has a better component spec with

210 setups and Schwalbe tires. Santa Cruz still insists on 310 setups, house wheels and Maxxis

Crossmark tires.

Comparison Chart of the Small Niner RDO and a Medium Santa Cruz Highball both with 100 mm front

fork:

BikeSeat Tube(c-t)

Effective TopTube

BBHeight

Head TubeAngle

Seat TubeAngle

Seat TubeAngle

StandOver

Chainstay

S RDO 15.5 23.2 12.0 71 73 4.2 27.8 17.3MHighball

17.5 23.0 12.0 70.5 71.0 3.9 29.1 17.3

Both bikes weigh in at 2.5 lbs. The Niner Air 9 RDO frame is $2099 and the Santa Cruz Highball is $1999

1559.99

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Review by Aaron Faupell

In Niner lingo the RDO stands for Race Day Optimized. As the name attests, the Air 9 RDO is a bike built

for a singular purpose and it suits that purpose very well. But as you might expect when a bike is built to a

narrow focus it can often fall short in other areas outside of that. As a race bike the RDO is very good at

helping you win races, setting PRs and and making you feel fast. The out of the saddle climbing is

amazing with stiff bottom bracket supplying a distinct feeling of surging forward with every pedal stroke.

However when you reach the top of the hill and point the bike downwards the race oriented setup catches

up with you. The weight distribution is somewhat forward and the handling is fairly quick. It is definitely not

slow enough to make up for the time gained on climbs but one has to be aware when bombing down

technical descents.

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There are lots of good bikes in the light, fast, race oriented hardtail category so choices often come down

to the details. In this respect the Niner has an interesting mix of great and not so great details. The green

color is amazing and garnered many trailside compliments. There is much attention paid to the sculpting

of the tube shapes ensuring that the form flows together into a cohesive whole. The top tube arches

gracefully into the seatstay which drops into a continuous loop around the rear of the bike into thechainstay. Making sure the beautiful frame will last are a clear rock guard on the downtube, a metal

chainsuck plate and even a small metal plate on the forward part of the bottom bracket in case your chain

should drop. The standard Niner inducement to pedal damn it appears on the top tube and although it

may not be conspicuous enough to help when you are cross eyed with effort it certainly adds a welcome

touch of personality, as do the matching Niner branded seatpost, bars, stem, and even seat collar.

However the details in the maintenance department are not so great. The slick looking rear brake

mounting makes caliper adjustment difficult. Cable routing for the rear derailleur is positioned so the rear

tire covers it in mud where it enters the frame. The internal cable routing ensures a clean appearance but

is not the easiest to work on and the short cables between the shifters and where they enter the head

tube seemed to add some resistance when turning the bars. These arent the kind of issues that you

encounter often during the time spent with a bike but you quickly notice them when something goes wrong

either at home or on the side of the trail.

In the end how one feels about this bike would come down to priorities. If you spend a lot of time being

your own mechanic, or need a go-to bike for after work rides or long stretch-your-legs type endurancerides then it may not be the best choice. But if there is room in the stable for a dedicated XC race bike

then I would say the Air 9 RDO should definitely be on the short list.

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By Francis June 11, 2012

Hutchinson 650b tires andBlack Mamba XC 29 tire

Whistler Escape the wetVancouver trails and ride itall!

Teva Mountain GamesSlopestyle Results and SamPilgrim Videos

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Quad Lock iPhone BikeMount System

Consumer Review Network: RoadBike | Photography | Audio | Car | Golf | Outdoor Follow @mtbr20kLike

115Like

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73mm BB widthPF30 BB adaptable to threaded via adapters (not compatible with aftermarket EBB designs)31.6mm seatpost size34.9mm seat collar size (not included)34.9mm front derailleur, high mount, bottom pull1.125-1.5 taper head tube with integrated (Campy style) headset (FSA headset included) CaneCreek standard description: IS42/28.6|IS52/40Replaceable derailleur hangerSize Small has one inner triangle bottle mountSize Medium, Large and XL have two inner triangle bottle mounts135mm QR rear spacing

Aluminum Head Badge for Internal RoutingCan fit up to a 2.4 tire (tire size varies by brand, some tires may not fit)Compatible with current-standard 3x chainring systems2x chainring system recommendations:

SRAM configs: 26/39 or lowerSHIMANO XT configs: 28/40 or lowerSHIMANO XTR double cranks have a non-standard chainline and are not recommended.

Niner Bikes Air 9 RDO

MSRP: $ 2099.00

Number of Reviews: 0

Overall Rating: 0 out of 5

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