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We’re guessing they got quite a bit of interest in their Niner MCR full suspension gravel bike when it debuted at Sea Otter, because they’ve just added a landing page even though it won’t start shipping until early 2019. The quick bits worth knowing are this: It has short travel with lockouts on both ends; a wide open front triangle to fit bikepacking bags; can hold up to 700×50 tires; and it’s full suspension. Wanna know more? Check out our full tech coverage for photos and more details, and check this video run through with Niner president Chris Sugai:
Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com. He has been writing about the latest bikes, components, and cycling technology for 14 years. Prior to that, Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies, mostly as an excuse to travel to killer riding locations throughout North America.
Based in North Carolina, Tyler loves finding new travel adventures to share with his family and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part to make his bikes faster and lighter. And, he’s totally gone down the NFT rabbit hole.
People will hate it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the future of gravel looks a whole lot like short travel XC. Throw a Jones bar on there and I suspect that this would be faster and more efficient (to say nothing of more fun) than an Open on anything but the smoothest gravel.
+1 this thing needs jones bars and looks like a hoot for rough norcal adventure endurance loops.
Happy with rigid 40c for now but i can see getting into this
Eggs Benedict a.k.a Darth Baller
4 years ago
It’s a nicely executed exercise, looks really good. But can’t figure out why anyone would buy a bike like this. The industry seems to be making a concerted effort to make “gravel” riding something more than it really is; which is riding on dirt roads.
Chuck Point
4 years ago
WHERE DA RACK MOUNTS AT THO?
badbikemechanicx
4 years ago
Just get a xc bike and mount drop bars. They can ride on gravel perfectly fine and even do more!
Agreed If you’re in need of this much suspension you’re better off on a XC rig for the day which looks like it would be more fun to ride on true single track than this. Gravel really isn’t that complicated.
Matt
4 years ago
Why do you think they put such deep dish rims on this bike?
The seat tube angle vs head tube/fork angle is the really jarring element for me. It looks like they tried to marry an enduro bike rear with a gravel bike front.
I guess it’s got its fans, and the weird geometry probably has merit. I’m just not convinced enough to fork over the cash though. Good on you if you like the bike.
Mark
4 years ago
My brain keeps asking if the fork is mounted backward… I think I’m close to the target market for this bike, but, I’m having a hard time getting excited about it, it’s a lot of suspension weight when you have 50s to smooth the ride, and then it’s making my Santa Cruz Superlight almost redundant. I’m thinking a Hakka MX with an effective (lightweight) suspension post will take the “6th bike in the garage” trophy, too bad, cause I almost like this…
Flatbiller
4 years ago
Nothing brings a campfire conversation to a grinding halt faster than uttering the question, “What’s the leverage ratio on that?”
Dinger
4 years ago
Looks like they have the wrong caliper adapter on the front but then there might not be a way to go below 160mm rotors on that fork..
mojo au gogo
4 years ago
more duplicate efforts by copycats for too much money and too much complication… why indeed?
Johnnie
3 years ago
This is awesome bike, it’s a great bike for developing countries where the road aren’t great as Western countries. I will surely buy one, do you have distributor in Thailand?
Alan
2 years ago
I live in Arizona where the washboards on our roads can be seen from space 😉 but seriously I’m 60 years old and love riding all day on dirt. Take my money!
one born everyday!
XC MTB is dead… Behold your future!
This would be a pretty nice splurge present to yourself.
Complicated. Expensive. Heavy. Very limited focus. Chasing a very small market. Why?
because N + 1 !
People will hate it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the future of gravel looks a whole lot like short travel XC. Throw a Jones bar on there and I suspect that this would be faster and more efficient (to say nothing of more fun) than an Open on anything but the smoothest gravel.
+1 this thing needs jones bars and looks like a hoot for rough norcal adventure endurance loops.
Happy with rigid 40c for now but i can see getting into this
It’s a nicely executed exercise, looks really good. But can’t figure out why anyone would buy a bike like this. The industry seems to be making a concerted effort to make “gravel” riding something more than it really is; which is riding on dirt roads.
WHERE DA RACK MOUNTS AT THO?
Just get a xc bike and mount drop bars. They can ride on gravel perfectly fine and even do more!
Agreed If you’re in need of this much suspension you’re better off on a XC rig for the day which looks like it would be more fun to ride on true single track than this. Gravel really isn’t that complicated.
Why do you think they put such deep dish rims on this bike?
It’s not obvious?
The seat tube angle vs head tube/fork angle is the really jarring element for me. It looks like they tried to marry an enduro bike rear with a gravel bike front.
I guess it’s got its fans, and the weird geometry probably has merit. I’m just not convinced enough to fork over the cash though. Good on you if you like the bike.
My brain keeps asking if the fork is mounted backward… I think I’m close to the target market for this bike, but, I’m having a hard time getting excited about it, it’s a lot of suspension weight when you have 50s to smooth the ride, and then it’s making my Santa Cruz Superlight almost redundant. I’m thinking a Hakka MX with an effective (lightweight) suspension post will take the “6th bike in the garage” trophy, too bad, cause I almost like this…
Nothing brings a campfire conversation to a grinding halt faster than uttering the question, “What’s the leverage ratio on that?”
Looks like they have the wrong caliper adapter on the front but then there might not be a way to go below 160mm rotors on that fork..
more duplicate efforts by copycats for too much money and too much complication… why indeed?
This is awesome bike, it’s a great bike for developing countries where the road aren’t great as Western countries. I will surely buy one, do you have distributor in Thailand?
I live in Arizona where the washboards on our roads can be seen from space 😉 but seriously I’m 60 years old and love riding all day on dirt. Take my money!