BIKERUMOR.com 2009 SEA OTTER CLASSIC COVERAGE: Niner shows you how to build up a 17.4 lb mountain bike…with gears.  Start with their Air 9 frame, then get down with the lightweight goodies, such as:
- SRAM XO with twist shifters
- Foam grips
- Egg Beater Quad Ti pedals
- FSA Carbon 2×9 crankset
- Formula R1 hydraulic disc brakes
- ProLogo carbon seat
- Syntace carbon handlebar and seatpost
- Syntace alloy stem
- Stans NoTubes tires
- Nokon shift cable housing
 
 
 
…and they had just received some Furious Fred tires from Schwalbe (post on that coming soon) that will drop more weight, and they could make it even lighter with Nokon’s new carbon cable housing (see them here).  Cost be damned…
Oh, and they had their new Eccentric Bottom Bracket shell on display, which replaces the old style with set screws that face fore/aft with two screws that tighten from the side.  This prevents slipping and stripping, and you can see it and their new polished frame finish when you hit “more”…
The old style, pictured top right, had screws that come through the back of the BB shell and tighten against the EBB to hold it tight.  This method is common, however it can drive the screws into the EBB over time, or strip things.  The new version (all others shown), tightens in from the side to hold the BB in place and keep the chain tight for single speeds.
They were also showing their new polished aluminum frame on the RIP 9:
