Niner RIP 9 RDO 27.5+ 3 Star XT Complete Mountain Bike 2017

For 2017 RIP 9 RDO 27. 5 3 Star XT Complete Mountain Bike, Niner took what was arguably the ultimate in trail bikes and threw in some tweaks to push it even further into the all mountain realm. In doing so, it also ushers in 27. 5 tires, an act of heresy that only makes sense in the Niner genre when you step back and see the similarity in circumference between that classic 29er tire and the smaller wheeled, yet decidedly donut sized 27. 5 rabble rouser. All at once Longer, slacker, and paradoxically more responsive on climbs, the RIP 9's versatile REvolution geometry shreds rock gardens as eagerly as it scales steep grades. This build gets dressed up in Shimano's precisely shifting workhourse XT drivetrain, a dropper post, and Stan's NoTubes hoops for a whole new level of fun in the dirt. The frame's versatility is heavily influenced by its Boost axle spacing. By bumping the rear axle out to 148mm, Niner was able to buy enough clearance at the bottom bracket to shorten the chainstays and sharpen the seat tube angle by 11mm and 2. 5 degrees, respectively. These subtle changes make the rear triangle that much more responsive to input while also pushing the rider's engine up over the pedals. The stubby stays also keep the bike agile, but with a 67 degree head tube and 170mm of Lyrik forgiveness up front, it's just as happy to try flattening everything in its path or at least bailing you out when your lines start to get a bit too ambitious. In the event that discretion wins the day, the RIP 9's longer top tube and short stem keep handling on point, despite that low head tube angle, so you can always fall back on those dicey stays to navigate stretches of especially techy terrain. There's obviously a lot of new radness with the RIP 9, but two things remain pleasantly unchanged: the Race Day Optimized RDO construction method and the Constantly Varying Arc CVA suspension design. RDO involves a dual compression process that eliminates resin pooling and allows...