Sure it’s a new season of riding, and a little fresh splash of color is always nice. But more interesting to mountain bikers looking for a top-level carbon trail bike, Niner has reworked their internal routing for the Jet 9 RDO & RIP 9 RDO to make setup & maintenance easier. Oh, and the carbon RLT 9 RDO and RLT 9 Steel also get a bit of a paint refresh, although with a more subdued look.
RIP 9 RDO & Jet 9 RDO carbon trail bike updates
It’s a small detail but to anyone who has had to fish cables through a carbon frame, the carbon Jet & RIP 9 RDOs’ new full length internal guide tubes will be a welcome update. Besides easing maintenance, full length guides tend to do a good job of eliminating the dreaded rattling noise inside a carbon frame, too.
RIP 9 RDO
The full guides do drop the larger, more modular openings in the frame that had allowed mechanical or electronic setups. So the new bikes add an extra opening on the driveside with a rubber plug for Di2 compatibility. That gives the RIP 9 two guides on the non-driveside for rear brake and derailleur, and a third on the driveside for the stealth dropper.
The new 2018 version of the 150mm travel carbon RIP 9 should be available now in the new black, green & tan Camo paint job with its orange graphics. Frames start at $3200 with a Fox shock. Complete bikes start at $3950 with a SRAM NX1 drivetrain and climb upwards to $10,000 with all the bells and whistles.
Jet 9 RDO
The Jet 9 RDO now includes two full length guides in the front triangle on the non-driveside for rear brake and derailleur, and two on the driveside for the stealth dropper and an optional sideswing front derailleur, plus the Di2-ready opening on the side of the headtube. External brake routing on both the RIP & Jet also now moves to the bottom side of the seatstay for better protection and a more natural hose path.
The 120mm carbon Jet 9 RDO now comes in new for 2018 blue & orange or another new color in a stealth black on dark gray look. The Jet 9 RDO is also available as a $3000 frame, a $3750 entry-level 1-star NX1 complete, up to the $8900 5-star X01 Eagle and Enve wheel build.
RLT 9 RDO carbon & RLT 9 Steel gravel bike updates
RLT 9 RDO
It’s just a paint and minor spec refresh for the gravel, bikepacking adventure, and cyclocross sector. The carbon RLT 9 RDO comes in a new black & blue look, or the slightly more subdued black on black with a hint of little of the same orange & green as logos. It already featured the full-length internal routing tubes that inspired the new mountain bikes’ update.
The 2018 carbon bike starts with a $2300 frameset option, then a $2950 2-star Tiagra 2×10 build, up to the $4950 5-star complete bike with the latest Shimano Ultegra groupset.
RLT 9 Steel
The Reynolds 853 RLT 9 Steel gets a color refresh too, with the same khaki, green & orange detailing over a silver steel look. Get a steel frameset from $1500, a complete bike from $2450, and the premium 5-star Ultegra build for $4450.
