Niner RLT9 Steel

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stripes
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2014 5:58 am

by stripes

I currently ride road and am thinking about getting my first CX bike. What do you guys think about the RLT9 Steel? Purpose of the bike would be to try out CX racing, trail riding, and serve as a winter bike. I've looked at reviews online and while it's listed on some CX websites, it's also labeled as a gravel bike, so perhaps it's not exactly suited for CX?

Frame appears to be around 1.4 kg, should I be worried that it will be too heavy for racing? I'm looking at the Ultegra hydraulic build.

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grover
Posts: 1302
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2004 1:06 pm

by grover

I think it will be well over 1.4kg. The aluminium RLT9 was heavier than that. What I do like about the RLT9 is the versatility of being able to take full fenders/racks for use as a winter bike/commuter. It's geometry is quite 'lazy' for a cyclocross racer though.

I was leaning towards one (the aluminium one) but then realised that a Trek Crockett was a much better value bike, with a lighter frame and better cross/trail ride geometry while still having true fender mounts for winter/commute.

I ended up going a Trek Boone as the Crockett wasn't available in the size I needed and the shop had one in stock for a good price. Still has true fender mounts as well despite being a carbon race bike that trail rides beautifully and is sublimely comfortable...and it's more than 500 grams lighter in the frame alone.

Kumppa
Posts: 487
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2014 10:05 am

by Kumppa

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/arti ... ook-43931/
"The claimed weight for matching full carbon fork is 628g, which brings the grand total for the RLT 9 Steel frameset to 3,014g. "

It looks very nice but impressive how they can get 853 steel frame over 3kg with carbon fork.

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