I love this bike. Why? Because it single-handedly has broken my website daily visitor count and views record, twice! 🙂 Moving on from that fact, the Niner 9 RDO has been engineered by Niner to “Ride faster, go farther, stay longer”.
This bike certainly won’t be for everyone, and if you feel the need to be upset about it, perhaps you should evaluate your outlook on cycling! Bicycles are supposed to make people happy.
Facts:
“50mm of CVA suspension gives you confidence, comfort, and control on off-road excursions. By adding our CVA full suspension to a dedicated gravel bike platform, we’re blending the confidence and control of a cross-country race bike with the efficiency, fit, and responsive handling of a gravel bike. The result is a drop-bar bike with superior comfort, power delivery, and pure, unadulterated fun.”
Gravel-tuned CVA Suspension:
“At the heart of the MCR is Niner’s patented, proven, Constantly Varying Arc (CVA) suspension system. It debuted in 2008 and has been incrementally refined ever since. But the fundamentals have not changed: CVA is stable yet supple while climbing and pedaling; sensitive and supportive going downhill; consistent and controlled in every situation.”
“For the MCR 9 RDO, we changed the suspension curve to emphasize performance for a seated, pedaling rider. It’s tuned to be especially sensitive to high frequency, low amplitude bumps, and more linear with less end-stroke progression.”
“Configured as a short-travel system, we want riders to easily achieve full travel with less emphasis on big hits and bottom out resistance like you’d find on our mountain bikes.” – You can read more about the MCR 9 RDO’s suspension at Niner Bikes.
I see this bike having several purposes and virtues, all of which I plan to test over the long-haul. In the meantime, please enjoy my unboxing and features video of the Niner 9 RDO full-suspension gravel bike!
Links of Interest:
- Easton EC70 AX Handlebar Review
- Niner RLT RDO Carbon vs RLT 9 Alloy: Gravel Bike Review with Shimano GRX
- BERD Spokes / ENVE G23 Carbon Gravel Wheelset Review (the bad-ass f’n wheels I’ll be riding on this bike some of the time)
Thanks for watching!
Don’t forget to Like the Gravel Cyclist Facebook page, follow G.C. on Instagram and subscribe to our Youtube Channel. We are also on Twitter!
For the 5 star build costing $8200 and the bike weighing in around 20 lbs. that is a big no for me but to each their own. Lots of choices out there right now.
Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it can buy a nice bicycle in one’s price range, and that definitely brings happiness!
All Niners come with lifetime warranty now.
https://ninerbikes.com/blogs/niner-blog/new-lifetime-warranty
-Tim-
Thank you Tim, excellent info.
Cue for Steppenwolf. 🙂
Yes!
Give me the MCR with a SRAM Force XX1 Eagle 10-50 and I’ll have all kinds of fun
Name and shame the frickin shipping companies. Careless bastards.
Moving on… From the beginning of time there have been progressive means to provide better comfort to cycling and yes, even the roady crowd. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would like to ride farther without the repetitious micro jack hammering of my arse and hands until I’m subdued to fatigue where my mind starts to say this is not good for you.
I wouldn’t mind Lauf forks, suspension seat posts, or this brilliant bike you have shown since some of the backroads I ride, sealed as they may be, could be best described as sealed mixed terrain. Peaceful as they may be.
Niner definitely know what riders NEED.
Thanks Jom.
What’s the weight out of the box?
Maybe just ride a mountain bike.
The real Tim H understands the difference between the MCR and a traditional mountain bike.
-Tim-
I’v seen a LOT of negative comments about this bike on various forums, all from people who haven’t ridden one. I don’t get it.
I understand that the MCR is expensive and looks complex and that a lot of folks think they don’t “need” full suspension for the riding they do. I’m one of them. But I think it’s great that it’s out there, I think it’s great that companies are pushing the envelope to give us so many options, and I’d be delighted to demo one sometime.
I also ride a recumbent and regularly receive negativity, from folks who have never ridden one.
I also have one bike for dirt/mixed terrain that has the Shockstop seat post and stem and I have to say its wonderful to take those little micro bumps out of the equation. Only thing is my wife “borrowed” the seat post and it looks like I’m not getting that one back.
This Niner bike addresses the complaints cyclist have at the end of a long days ride and has been engineered to work properly. I just don’t get the reluctant negativity some people have.
It’d be interesting to compare the MCR to a current full-suspension XC bike. The designers mention trading big-hit ability for small-bump compliance, and there are probably other tradeoffs that aren’t obvious from the specifications.