My New Niner Air 9 RDO Build

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gelo354
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2012 7:42 am

by gelo354

beautiful and Great!!!

by Weenie


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DLEVETT
Posts: 30
Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2010 2:45 am

by DLEVETT

Very nice build!
It would seem that the Niner Air RDO is an extremely capable starting point for building a light weight XC bike.
When I first saw the manufacturers declared weight at 1100 gr + on the frameset, I was dissapointed when comparing it the what Scott etc. has to offer.
But now having seem what you created I,m seriously impressed.
One question though, did you weight it with the XX fork?

Dave

Willpower
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 6:14 pm
Location: Somerset
Contact:

by Willpower

Thank you for your comments. I have not weighed the bike recently, the XX fork has now been replaced by the Specialized brain version but retained the green lowers. It is in a winter set up with some more durable wheels and Knobly tyres at the moment however I am sure that it is about 18.5Lbs with the 100mm forks.

Fitting the Hollowgram cranks with Cannondale rings was simple enough after I got the 131mm spindle. I originally had a 132mm spindle that I thought (wrongly) would give better drive side clearance. The shoulder on the 131mm spindle is further outboard to that on the 132mm which helps things alot.
So, Cannondale rings were ok but I wanted to use rotor Q rings. These had to be fitted on an XX spider and the XX spider changed the chain line bringing the rings too close to the chainstay. To over come this I machined the XX spider by 0.75mm where it interfaced with the rings. I also used a stepped Cannondale SRM type bearing shield on the non drive side, the combination of which provided sufficient clearance for the chainrings. (I plan to machine a little from the spindle shoulder and use a standard bearing shield in the future)

Be warned the SRAM pressfit BB30 bottom bracket is shockingly poor, I got through 4 of them in as many months. This is partly because the RDO fills with water whilst riding and the water drains through the BB or headset. I have now fitted an Enduro BB and put silicone arround the slot where the seat clamp fits. It has been ok for a while. (what are your thoughts on drilling a hole and re-enforcing with carbon repair mat)?

I still have some robust WW ideas for the machine and when fitted / manufactured I will post some more pictures and weights.

DLEVETT
Posts: 30
Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2010 2:45 am

by DLEVETT

Any further updates on the Niner build?
I still havnt made a final decision on which new frameset I'm going to go with for the upcoming season.
The Niner RDO, S Works HT Stumpjumper and the Scott 900 RC are all still being considered.
I do have one question though, what mods do you have to make to the SID WC 15mm fork lowers to accept the Bain module?

Thx
Dave

Willpower
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 6:14 pm
Location: Somerset
Contact:

by Willpower

Dave, I am really pleased with the RDO with the exception of it filling with water which then runs though the BB and headset bearings!
I have overcome this by drilling a hole in the BB area of the frame and bonding a composite eyelet in place for structural strength. All of the frames that you mention are great, I went for the Niner because it generates more interest on the start line and at 5"11" I am between sizes with specialized.
The forks were easy, I had both the XX sid and the brain forks so it was just a lower leg swap although I think that the brain would be easy enough to transfer.
I have just put a sweet 15mm axle skewer on from Tune saving another 50g - highly recommended.
I am waiting (6 months now) for a spider less Ti chain ring for the cranks from homebrewed components making it a 1x10 set up which should also save a bit. I will share some pics when it arrives.

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