The RDO has landed

Most of you who know me know that I’m pretty loyal to the Niner brand. The only non-Niner I’ve owned in the last 4 years is the Superfly I bought while the Jet was undergoing its redesign and I was battling some nerve damage in my foot. Until recently my Niner fleet consisted of a Jet9, Sir9, and Air9, with the Jet9 being my hands-down favorite! So, when word hit the street that Niner was coming out with a carbon version of the Jet9 I knew I had to have one. I immediately called Cody at Ballwin Cycles and told him to put my name on the list. A few days later the boys at Ballwin told me Niner was going to be shipping these frames out mid-July. I was now very excited!! When Niner released the new Air9 Carbon those frames didn’t ship until months after orders were placed.

I had been thinking about going 2x10 lately. So, with the new frame coming and the fact that I had just trashed my rear-derailleur I took that as a sign.

I went ahead and ordered a new XO 2x10 drivetrain. The wheels, fork, seat, and cockpit would come over from the current Jet9.

It was June 16^th when I officially place my order for the RDO and on Tues Jul 19^th I got the call from Cody that the new RDO frame was in! Needless to say, I was walking in Ballwin Cycles front door 20 mins later to see the pure goodness for myself!

Cody stayed at the shop until 7pm and finished the build on it for me so I could take it out for its maiden voyage. Niner has addressed the main cabling issue seen on the Air9 Carbon so running the cables was pretty simple. It really helped that they had these nylon liners already in the frame, so all we had to do was feed the cables through those and it was done. Cody had to then feed some housing through the chainstay but that was pretty painless too. We did quickly realize that you need to keep the crank off to do this, but at least you don’t have to take the BB out like on the Air9 Carbon.
I didn’t waste any time getting home and out to the trail for 2 reasons. 1. I was like a kid at Christmas and couldn’t wait to play with my new toy. 2. Niner had a contest going on their Facebook page giving away a free messenger bag to the first rider to post a pic of the RDO from the trail. ... and yes, I did win the Niner Facebook contest! :)
I’m not much of a bike reviewer but so far this bike is exceeding my expectations! I had concerns that the RDO frame wouldn’t ride like the original Jet9 - I just love the way the Jet9 handles. It’s so agile and responsive. My concerns about the RDO not measuring up were quickly squashed. The RDO handles just as well while it also just feels lighter and even more responsive. It does seem to have a slightly different fit from the Jet9, but I until I get everything dialed in I can’t really tell where those differences are. The new Fox Float RP23 with Kashima coating is absolutely amazing. This thing just absorbs the trail and allows me to power over roots and rocks without causing me to skip a pedal stroke. Plus, I’m amazed how much better the RDO climbs. The CVA suspension married to this carbon frame was immediately evident on the first climb.

Next stop is the Wausau 24-hour race on July 30th-31st. Todd Hecht, Mitch Johnson and I will be heading up to Wi for this race. Mitch and Todd went last year and said it was one of the best events and trails they’ve ever been to. Coming from those guys, I couldn’t pass it up this year. Not sure any of us are gunning for the entire 24-hour race at this point in the year, but it’s going to be good training for the DINO 24-hour coming up in September.

Thank you Niner and Ballwin Cycles!

Mission Double-Berryman

I've ridden 50+ miles on the mountain bike many times. I've successfully ridden the 24-mile Berryman trail many times. But never have I had enough time, courage, chamois butter or will to ride two Berryman loops back-to-back.


But on this day in June I chose to make it my mission. Dave Hagan accompanied me on the trip. However, he was going to have to return to STL after lap 1 for a family obligation.



After unsuccessfully being able to complete even one lap a couple weeks prior when my rear derailleur snapped, I was really looking forward to some revenge!


(The carbon cage and bottom pulley were shattered)

Lap 1 with Dave went great. There are quite a few trees down on the trail between Brazil Creek and Berryman, but we weren't out to break any speed records so it was ok. The re-routes after Berryman were in great shape. I couldn't believe how wide some of the sections are.

Dave headed home while I started lap 2. Everything was going well until just after Berryman when I heard that awful 'pssssss!' sound. Yep, slit my front tire and it was a big tear. I had a boot, but the tear was pretty big.


I had a choice to make. Double back less than 1 mile to the road and ride that back - just like I did a couple weeks prior or risk continuing on the trail, away from the road, hoping the boot would hold. I chose to bail to the road and take the 5-mile death march back on the road.



My double-Berryman would have to wait for another day. I know Dwayne does these before breakfast on most days, but for some reason they elude me!

For Noah

Our thoughts are with Dwayne, Betina, and Lukas during this tough time.