Niner previews new trail hardtail and revised Jet9
Originally posted on June 18, 2013 at 16:07 pmROS 9
Niner pulled the wraps off its newest model today, the ROS 9, a slack, all-mountain or trail hardtail designed around a 120-140mm fork. The name—Ride Over Shit—was chosen from hundreds of suggestions from Niner fans.
The 4130 steel frame uses Niner’s tried and true BioCentric II eccentric bottom bracket for geared or singlespeed capabilities. The front uses a 44mm head tube at 67 or 68 degrees, depending on the fork used. The rear end borrows some pieces from the SIR 9, including Niner’s own thru-axle dropouts. The chainstays are tucked under the curved seat tube and measure just 16.5-16.7 inches, depending on the placement of the bottom bracket. Even though they are extremely short, there is still room for a direct mount front derailleur so you can run one, two, or three chainrings.
Speaking of one chainring, the 4-Star build kit includes the not-yet-official SRAM XO1 group, a slightly less expensive version of the 11-speed XX1. More on that soon.
Below the bottom bracket are partial ISCG mounts, to which you can mount a proprietary MRP bash guard to protect those nice chainrings. Naturally you’ll want to run a dropper post, so there is routing for a Stealth dropper. Full-length derailleur housing means more time riding and less time servicing cables. In singlespeed mode the derailleur hanger and front derailleur mount are removable for a clean look.
Look for bikes to be available in late summer, at $899 for the frame, and complete bikes starting at $2,499.
JET 9
Also new today is a revised JET 9, with the latest air formed aluminum tubing and refinements from the carbon JET 9 RDO model. It’s built around 100mm of Niner’s CVA suspension travel and is ideal for 100-120mm forks.
According to Niner, a hydroformed tube can be shaped from round by 30 percent, while an air formed tube can be shaped 50 percent, allowing the air formed tube to be 25 percent stronger at a given weight.
The frame also sports post-mount brake mounts, a 142×12 thru-axle, and a PF30 bottom bracket.
Look for it on sale later this summer at $1,849 for the frame and Rock Shox Monarch shock and complete bikes starting at $3,099.