Hot on the trail of the carbon RLT RDO launched in January, the RLT Steel gets updated with flat mount brakes and a beautiful baby blue-on-metal paint scheme. Borrowing the new RDO carbon gravel fork from the carbon bike puts flat mount brakes and an abundance of rack and accessory mounts up front, too.
Alongside this news comes revised (longer travel) fork spec on the RKT XC full suspension race bike, and a new Boost 110mm axle spacing option for their RDO rigid carbon mountain bike fork that adds a few bonus features…
The new Reynolds 853 frame weighs in at a claimed 4.9lb (2.2kg) will up to a 700×45 (1.75″ wide) tire. Thru axles are 12mm front and rear. A 27.2 seatpost keeps things a little more compliant.
The new RLT9 Steel sticks with the PF30 bottom bracket so that you can run their BioCentric EBB to set it up as a singlespeed. In addition to the flat mount brakes update, it gets three water bottle mounts on all frame sizes, internal wire routing for Di2/EPS groups and accommodations for an internal seatpost battery. Mechanical groups will run shift cables externally, under the downtube, alongside the rear brake cable. Rack mounts on the rear of the frame complement those on the new RDO gravel fork…and the new top-tube Bento Box mounts just behind the headtube.
Choose from six sizes (click geo chart image to enlarge) and three complete builds:
- Shimano Ultegra with hydraulic disc brakes and 46/36 chainrings ($4,000)
- SRAM Rival 2×11 hydro w/ 46/36 chainrings ($3,000)
- SRAM Apex 1×11 hydro w/ 42T chainring ($2,500)
Look for Schwalbe G-One tires and Niner cockpits on all of them. Full specs online on Niner’s completely redesigned website, now.
The RKT9 RDO moves into 2017 with the same 90mm travel frame, but bumps fork travel from 100mm to 120mm in an effort to make it more capable (and/or fun) on the downhills. With an extremely low head tube, the change should give the rider a little more confidence when it’s pointed down, too, as we felt like we were almost going over the bars on steeper drops when we reviewed it.
Rigid fans have a new Niner RDO fork to keep their rig current. The new model not only spreads things out to a 110mm Boost axle, but it adds mid- and low-mount rack mounts. While we don’t have any specifics, it’s likely this is a hint of more adventurous things to come from the brand later this year. Price on this guy is $550, and it’ll fit a 29×3.0 tire. Claimed weight is 585g with uncut steerer, and measurements include a 490 axle-to-crown measurement to fit bikes designed around a 100mm suspension fork and a 51mm offset.
