mjbrox
February 20th, 2008, 03:38 PM
http://hotimg6.fotki.com/a/63_243/18_146/IMG_2250-vi700.jpg (http://hotimg6.fotki.com/p/a/63_243/18_146/IMG_2250-vi700.jpg)
You can see the whole album here
http://public.fotki.com/mjbrox/niner-rip-9/
Why I Bought a Niner
As many of you know my 23” Giant XTC Hardtail was stolen in a home robbery after Thanksgiving. Since then I was on a mission to get a new bike, not just A bike but my one bike to use for fun group rides, Xterra races, 24 Hour Races and on every type of trail possible from the C&O to Gambrill.
My brother (Brian) has a BMC four stroke that I absolutely loved the suspension on. It changed my perception of what a full suspension bike could do with its efficacy. The only thing I did not like about his bike was the steep head tube. Quickly the IBIS Mojo became my bike of choice since it had the same suspension but with a slack head tube angle.
Before I pulled the trigger on a new IBIS, I decided that I owed it to myself to ride every XL bike I could get my hands on. I rode the new Stumpjumper, Trek Fuel 69er, IBIS, BMC Four Stroke and then many others at the Clyde Ride that I organized. During the Clyde ride, I had the opportunity to ride a few 29ers, but I really did not like them. I did like the 69er that I demoed from The Bike Lane, but I had some issues that I will not get into now.
Then I started talking to Scud and some others about 29ers and I decided that I needed a longer demo on a 29er. City Bikes was the only one in town with an XL 29er (Jamis Dragon). While it was a hard tail and I knew I wanted full suspension, I also knew I could still get the feel of a 29er with the Jamis. I took the Jamis up to Gambrill for two days and I fell in love with 29ers. I did not notice it climbing slower like I was afraid I would, instead I found it climbing faster. I also found myself attempting and clearing obstacles that I would normally not even try. The bike made the obsticalls look smaller to me. After the ride I decided that a 29er was right for me, but I would still want a full suspension frame. It did not take long to decide that the RIP 9 was the best FS 29er out there. I briefly considered the FS Stumpjumper 29er, but it cost $4,000 and has Specialized proprietary parts.
Where and Why I Bought Local
After intense discussions about online vs Local bikes shops, I decided to buy my frame from the Bike Lane in Burke and my components from City Bikes in Chevy Chase.
I bought my frame from The Bike Lane instead of online, for one reason; TBL has been the most visible bike shop I have seen at trail work days, races and other events. They have a great staff and their owners are some of the best trail advocates out there. The price also worked about to be the same or and maybe even less as well, and finally I think their relationship with Niner may have got me the bike a bit quicker.
Mike from City Bikes really stepped up to the plate with customer service and pricing that made it impossible to not buy all my components from City Bikes. In the end it is hard to say how much money I may or may not have saved, but it was not that big of price delta between City Bikes and the best online deals I could find. Also, the customer service from City Bikes has been phenomenal. I actually ended up at the Adams Morgan store once and just like their Chevy Chase store, they have very knowledgeable and NICE mechanics who take the time to properly answer all your questions.
Some shops do not seem to encourage at home Wrenching but that was never the case at City Bikes. They even helped my brother and out has we built our first set of wheels.
Again, I can not say enough nice things about City Bikes.
The Build
I built the bike with components that seemed to be the best Value before stepping up to stuff that cost twice as much with little performance gain.
XT Cranks
X-9 Shifter and Rear Derailleur
Thompson Stem and Seatpost
Rock Shock Reba SL fork
Avid Jucy-5’s
XT Hubs
Stans Arch Rims
Specialized Captain Tires
The bike was delayed a bit, so Brian and I built it up of Friday Feb 15th. The build went well except for the front derailleur not fitting properly, so we had to buy a different one last minute from Revolution.
We finished the bike around 10pm and it weighed in at 30.5 lbs with pedals
The Ride
The first ride was around Brian’s Apt complex. There are some steep grassy hills and curbs to hop around the Apt. The bike immediately felt great. At 6’4” the XL RIP9 seemed like it was built for me.
My first real ride was the following day down in Richmond on the Buttermilk and North Bank Trails. The bike absolutely shined on these trails. There are plenty of climbs and technical descents, both of which the Niner handled perfectly.
I really found the bike to be very stable and I had plenty of confidence to lean the bike into turns harder than I ever did on my 26 inch bike.
Before Riding the RIP 9, I would have told you that the best full suspension design was the DW-Link offered on the IBIS and BMC Four Stroke. It does such a great job at soaking up little rocks and roots without any pedal bob. The RIP9 seems so be as good if not better than the BMC’s suspension. I never felt any drawbacks of having rear suspension, yet I could continue to stay seated and spin my legs through bumpy rock gardens.
One of my biggest concerns with getting a 29er was that I was afraid I would climb slower. This is definitely not the case as I seemed to make up climbs I could not previously make. Part of this is definitely because I am not slowed by rocks and other obstacles with the big wheels.
Conclusion
- The Niner RIP 9 is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.
- If you are considering a 29er, take it for more than one long test ride. I have heard from more than one person that the 29er was not love at first ride.
- The Bike Lane is a great shop if you live near there. Everyone there rides and they have a nice selection of XL MTBikes to demo.
- City Bikes is also a great shop with mechanics who are very helpful and straight shooting. They also have a great line up of demo bikes. It was also helpful working with Mike so that I had a clear understanding on how much everything was going to cost.
You can see the whole album here
http://public.fotki.com/mjbrox/niner-rip-9/
Why I Bought a Niner
As many of you know my 23” Giant XTC Hardtail was stolen in a home robbery after Thanksgiving. Since then I was on a mission to get a new bike, not just A bike but my one bike to use for fun group rides, Xterra races, 24 Hour Races and on every type of trail possible from the C&O to Gambrill.
My brother (Brian) has a BMC four stroke that I absolutely loved the suspension on. It changed my perception of what a full suspension bike could do with its efficacy. The only thing I did not like about his bike was the steep head tube. Quickly the IBIS Mojo became my bike of choice since it had the same suspension but with a slack head tube angle.
Before I pulled the trigger on a new IBIS, I decided that I owed it to myself to ride every XL bike I could get my hands on. I rode the new Stumpjumper, Trek Fuel 69er, IBIS, BMC Four Stroke and then many others at the Clyde Ride that I organized. During the Clyde ride, I had the opportunity to ride a few 29ers, but I really did not like them. I did like the 69er that I demoed from The Bike Lane, but I had some issues that I will not get into now.
Then I started talking to Scud and some others about 29ers and I decided that I needed a longer demo on a 29er. City Bikes was the only one in town with an XL 29er (Jamis Dragon). While it was a hard tail and I knew I wanted full suspension, I also knew I could still get the feel of a 29er with the Jamis. I took the Jamis up to Gambrill for two days and I fell in love with 29ers. I did not notice it climbing slower like I was afraid I would, instead I found it climbing faster. I also found myself attempting and clearing obstacles that I would normally not even try. The bike made the obsticalls look smaller to me. After the ride I decided that a 29er was right for me, but I would still want a full suspension frame. It did not take long to decide that the RIP 9 was the best FS 29er out there. I briefly considered the FS Stumpjumper 29er, but it cost $4,000 and has Specialized proprietary parts.
Where and Why I Bought Local
After intense discussions about online vs Local bikes shops, I decided to buy my frame from the Bike Lane in Burke and my components from City Bikes in Chevy Chase.
I bought my frame from The Bike Lane instead of online, for one reason; TBL has been the most visible bike shop I have seen at trail work days, races and other events. They have a great staff and their owners are some of the best trail advocates out there. The price also worked about to be the same or and maybe even less as well, and finally I think their relationship with Niner may have got me the bike a bit quicker.
Mike from City Bikes really stepped up to the plate with customer service and pricing that made it impossible to not buy all my components from City Bikes. In the end it is hard to say how much money I may or may not have saved, but it was not that big of price delta between City Bikes and the best online deals I could find. Also, the customer service from City Bikes has been phenomenal. I actually ended up at the Adams Morgan store once and just like their Chevy Chase store, they have very knowledgeable and NICE mechanics who take the time to properly answer all your questions.
Some shops do not seem to encourage at home Wrenching but that was never the case at City Bikes. They even helped my brother and out has we built our first set of wheels.
Again, I can not say enough nice things about City Bikes.
The Build
I built the bike with components that seemed to be the best Value before stepping up to stuff that cost twice as much with little performance gain.
XT Cranks
X-9 Shifter and Rear Derailleur
Thompson Stem and Seatpost
Rock Shock Reba SL fork
Avid Jucy-5’s
XT Hubs
Stans Arch Rims
Specialized Captain Tires
The bike was delayed a bit, so Brian and I built it up of Friday Feb 15th. The build went well except for the front derailleur not fitting properly, so we had to buy a different one last minute from Revolution.
We finished the bike around 10pm and it weighed in at 30.5 lbs with pedals
The Ride
The first ride was around Brian’s Apt complex. There are some steep grassy hills and curbs to hop around the Apt. The bike immediately felt great. At 6’4” the XL RIP9 seemed like it was built for me.
My first real ride was the following day down in Richmond on the Buttermilk and North Bank Trails. The bike absolutely shined on these trails. There are plenty of climbs and technical descents, both of which the Niner handled perfectly.
I really found the bike to be very stable and I had plenty of confidence to lean the bike into turns harder than I ever did on my 26 inch bike.
Before Riding the RIP 9, I would have told you that the best full suspension design was the DW-Link offered on the IBIS and BMC Four Stroke. It does such a great job at soaking up little rocks and roots without any pedal bob. The RIP9 seems so be as good if not better than the BMC’s suspension. I never felt any drawbacks of having rear suspension, yet I could continue to stay seated and spin my legs through bumpy rock gardens.
One of my biggest concerns with getting a 29er was that I was afraid I would climb slower. This is definitely not the case as I seemed to make up climbs I could not previously make. Part of this is definitely because I am not slowed by rocks and other obstacles with the big wheels.
Conclusion
- The Niner RIP 9 is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.
- If you are considering a 29er, take it for more than one long test ride. I have heard from more than one person that the 29er was not love at first ride.
- The Bike Lane is a great shop if you live near there. Everyone there rides and they have a nice selection of XL MTBikes to demo.
- City Bikes is also a great shop with mechanics who are very helpful and straight shooting. They also have a great line up of demo bikes. It was also helpful working with Mike so that I had a clear understanding on how much everything was going to cost.