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Fresh Gravel: Niner Introduces The New Carbon RLT 9 RDO- by Guitar Ted
Niner Bikes was the company that only did 29 inch wheeled bikes, but broke that mold when it debuted the RLT 9. You may not know, but Niner has always used acronyms to name their models. So, this new bike’s name would be the “Road Less Traveled 9 Race Day Only Optimized” in long form. Yeah…..let’s just say RLT9 RDO going forward here, shall we? So, this is a new carbon fiber version, (thus the “RDO” part of the name), of Niner’s steel RLT9. But hold on, this isn’t simply a rehashing of that bike in a different material. Let’s take a quick look here…….
What Is It? So, let’s get to the nitty-gritty here. Niner Bikes uses a Carbon Compaction Process which allows for a wall thickness control to help achieve desired ride qualities and optimum weight for the design. The ubiquitous tapered steer tube, internal cable routing, and through axle features are all here, as one would expect from a cutting edge, disc brake design. The somewhat unique Niner Carbon RDO Gravel Fork with mid-mounts, which allows for two more water bottle mounting points, makes up for the lack of an under the down tube water bottle mount. That’s probably okay, since the under the down tube mount can get pretty mucked up, making drinking from a bottle mounted down there a less appealing option.
The frame has been independently tested to pass mountain bike frame test protocols, so Niner feels confident that riders should be able to rely on the RLT9 RDO in rough gravel or back road adventures of any type.
Brake mounts are the flat mount type and Niner has a limitation of 140mm on the rear rotor. Niner feels that this size rotor is going to deliver more “appropriate braking power” versus a 160mm rotor in the back. That might seem a bit at odds for a bike also billed as a “bag it and disappear” type adventure rig, but there it is. As with the derailleur cables, the brake cables are also internally routed using Niner’s NMF internal cable routing guides. This should allow for a cleaner external look with less frustrations for your mechanic. To that end there is also a large “window” at the under side of the bottom bracket shell for ease of routing cables. And that bottom bracket? That would be a PF-30 type shell so you could use a Niner Bio-Centric insert and make the RLT9 RDO a single speed.
Niner will offer the RLT-9 RDO in four complete build options, (and assuming a frame/fork option here as well, as they traditionally have done), from a SRAM Apex build at $3000.00USD to a “five star limited release” version featuring a Shimano Di2 build which will top out at $8800.00USD.
See more at the page on Niner Bikes site for this model here.
NOTE: Information and images used for this post were sourced from Niner Bikes