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Final Review: Niner WFO 9Posted on December 2, 2013 (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-reviews/final-review-niner-wfo-9/) by Greg Heil(http://www.singletracks.com/blog/author/mtbgreg1/)

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Niner is breaking down barriers and defying conventions with their new WFO 9 (http://www.singletracks.com/bike-reviews/Full-suspension-bikes/Niner-WFO-9_1740), as I’m sure you can tell just from my tech-focused On Review article (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-reviews/on-review-niner-wfo-9/). However,I’m sure what you’re really wondering is: “how does it actually ride, out on the trail?”

Well keep reading, my friend.

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Out on the TrailThe Test

As the burliest, most aggressive bike in Niner’s lineup, and one of the longest-travel 29ers in production, I knew that I would have to push myself to the limits if Iwanted to even come close to seeing what this bike is capable of. Unfortunately, this late in the season, I couldn’t hit any of the high-alpine shuttles such asMonarch Crest (http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails/monarch-crest-trail.html), but don’t worry–I wasn’t out of luck just yet! I chose my point of relocation well,(check out The Top 10 Reasons NOT to Move to Salida (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/uncategorized/top-10-reasons-not-to-move-to-salida-colorado/)) so Ihad plenty of arid trails filled with burly rock obstacles to test the WFO 9 on.

Over the course of my test, I rode hundreds of miles of technical singletrack, including the gnarly Uncle Nazty (http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails/unkle-nazty.html) and Sand Dunes (http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails/sand-dunes.html) trails in the Arkansas Hills Trail System(http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails/arkansas-hills-trails-system.html), some of the most challenging trails Hartman Rocks(http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails/hartman-rocks.html) has to offer, and some ridiculously technical terrain at Palmer Park(http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails/palmer-park.html).

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Trail: Hartman Rocks, Gunnison, Colorado. Photo: GimmeAraise.—

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Ride Impressions

After spending some serious time riding the Niner WFO 9, I’ve decided that if anyone buys one of these bikes, they’re officially cheating at mountain biking.Rocks, drops, and jumps aren’t supposed to be this easy. They’re supposed to be intimidating and scary, but aboard the WFO 9, they just aren’t.

29er wheels are renowned for their rollover abilities, and in challenging terrain it’s no different. While many people cling to their 26-inch wheels for long-travelbikes or are jumping on the new 650b/27.5 band wagon (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/uncategorized/27-5-will-rule-them-all-survey-results-and-infographic/), I found the massive rollability of the 29er wheels allowed me to simply forget about the smaller rocks and the gullies and trenches between rocksthat might swallow a wheel of a smaller diameter, and focus on the major line choices and the really big, technical moves.

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Some people claim that 29ers aren’t agile enough to ride in tight, technical terrain, and that the wheels are too sluggish. After having ridden 26in, 27.5in, and29in-wheeled all mountain bikes over the past few months, I have come to the conclusion that if you can’t handle a 29er AM bike in tight, technical terrain, thenyou’re just riding wrong.

Ok, I’ll grant you that smaller wheels are more maneuverable, allowing the rider to maneuver around obstacles, swing around switchbacks easily, and flick in theair a little more. I rode the WFO 9 in wide-open tech terrain and tight, twisty tech terrain, and I found that riding the tighter trails simply required a differentmentality. No, you can’t navigate around some of the big rocks like you can on a smaller-wheeled bike. Instead, you have to plough straight over everything.

Trail: Uncle Nazty, Salida, Colorado—

Focusing on the big obstacles. Trail: Hartman Rocks, Gunnison, Colorado. Photo: GimmeAraise.—

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The WFO 9 has allowed me to straighten out the gnarly lines. Sure, I can’t avoid that big boulder by swinging through a narrow gully like I can on my 26er.Instead, I pick up the speed, point the front tire straight down the trail, and charge straight up and over that dang boulder! You know what the added bonus ofriding straighter, more aggressive lines is? Less braking, and more speed. That’s what’s up.

Don’t get me wrong, the WFO 9 is reasonably agile and maneuverable. However, I’ve found that the bike truly excels when you point it straight and ramrod rightup, over, and down anything that might be stupid enough to get in your way.

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Climbing/Bike Application

Niner claims that they’ve “shoved the WFO 9 off the ‘all-mountain’ fence firmly into gravity territory.” However, I must respectfully disagree.

Let me be clear: there is no doubt in my mind that the WFO 9 could kill shuttle runs and chairlift laps all day without breaking a sweat. However, do you recall theweight I mentioned in my On Review article (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-reviews/on-review-niner-wfo-9/)? In case you don’t, let me refresh yourmemory: 29.59 pounds stock, with my cheap SPD pedals mounted on it.

Now hold the buggy for just a second. This is a sub-30-pound alloy 29er with over 6 inches of suspension travel. My hardtail 29er (granted, it costs about 1/4 ofthe price of the WFO 9) weighs almost that much, and my 2007 5.5in 26er trail bike (again, about 1/4 the cost) tips the scales at 3 pounds more. So, for all

Trail: Uncle Nazty, Salida, Colorado—

Trail: Hartman Rocks. Photo: GimmeAraise.—

intents and purposes, this big, burly bike weighs the same or less than all of the bikes I own.

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For comparison to more modern bikes, check out this comment from my On Review article:

For comparison, I tested a 120mm-travel alloy 29er this summer that weighed in at 32.47lbs as tested with pedalsand seatpost. Granted, it would have retailed for about $700 less than the WFO 9 (if you include the added cost of theseatpost), but the WFO 9 sports 30 more millimeters of travel and 3 pounds less weight. Wow.

Next, factor in the suspension adjustability. Both the fork and the shock have full-open, mid, and closed compression settings, allowing the rider to easily flipbetween modes. And finally, the Rock Shox Pike features a travel-adjust mode, that when activated dials the fork down from 160mm of travel to about 145mm(according to my tape measure). While this reduces the amount of travel in the fork, dialing down the suspension more importantly steepens the head tube angle,and thus tames the front end on the climbs.

For those of you who don’t care about the technical mumbo jumbo, here it is in English: thanks to the WFO 9′s low weight and adjustable suspension, it canclimb well enough that I’ve set many personal PRs on the WFO 9 on the uphill segments on Strava. Maybe Niner wants to bill the WFO 9 as their gravity bike(although they do acknowledge that “the WFO 9 is an efficient pedaler and will do AM magic under those who have the legs for the climbs”), but let me tell you,friends: this bike is more than capable of climbing to the top of the mountain as well as bombing down the back side.

VideoIf you want to see the WFO 9 in action, check out this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y-fPXgjm5I) I put together on the Uncle Nazty trail:

Bottom LineThe WFO 9 is a burly bike built for burly terrain. Tons of travel, a spot-on component selection, and dialed geometry makes for a bike that absorbs nasty terrainso easily that it feels like cheating. And if you have a penchant for the descents but still want to climb, don’t fear: at less than 30lbs (with pedals) and sportinghighly-adjustable suspension, the WFO 9 is more than capable of all-day big-mountain epics.

Many thanks to Niner (http://www.ninerbikes.com/) for providing this WFO 9 prototype for review!

Earning my turns by pedaling to the top of the Uncle Nazty trail. Salida, Colorado pictured in the background.—

6 THOUGHTS ON “FINAL REVIEW: NINER WFO 9”

About Greg Heil

My name is Greg Heil, and I am the Editor in Chief for Singletracks.com. I've been mountain biking seriously since 2005, and I love to travel and ride new trails. Mytravels have taken me across the United States multiple times. To date (November 2013), I have ridden hundreds of different trails in 18 different states, and am addingmore singletrack to my trail resume every year! I enjoy all types of mountain biking, from ultra endurance cross country all the way up to chair lift-accessed downhillruns.View all posts by Greg Heil → (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/author/mtbgreg1/)

(http://www.singletracks.com/blog/wp-

content/uploads/2013/11/18.jpg)

Related posts:

1. On Review: Niner WFO 9 (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-reviews/on-review-niner-wfo-9/)2. Review: Niner Jet 9 (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-events/review-niner-jet-9/)3. Niner W.F.O. Test Ride (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/niner-w-f-o-test-ride/)4. Interbike 2013: New Bikes from Niner (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-events/interbike-2013-new-bikes-from-niner/)5. Niner is a Shiner at Interbike (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/niner-is-a-shiner-at-interbike/)

This entry was posted in MTB Reviews (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/category/mtb-reviews/) and tagged 29er(http://www.singletracks.com/blog/tag/29er/), 29ers (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/tag/29ers/), All mountain (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/tag/all-mountain/), DH (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/tag/dh/), Downhill (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/tag/downhill/), i:2:1740(http://www.singletracks.com/blog/tag/i21740/), long traveld (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/tag/long-traveld/), niner(http://www.singletracks.com/blog/tag/niner/), niner wfo 9 (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/tag/niner-wfo-9/), reviewr(http://www.singletracks.com/blog/tag/reviewr/), reviews (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/tag/reviews/), wfo 9(http://www.singletracks.com/blog/tag/wfo-9/) by Greg Heil (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/author/mtbgreg1/). Bookmark the permalink[http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-reviews/final-review-niner-wfo-9/] .

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Larry Burke · Top Commenter · Works at LG Burke IncJust plowing over everything is not the way I want to bike.Reply · Like · Follow Post · Yesterday at 6:56am

June Dulay Ramirez · (FORMLY ACT DATALINK TRAINING CENTERnice very exciting gud luck!Reply · Like · Follow Post · 4 hours ago

Lorenzo de Martin · Maestro di sci e snowboard at Indipendentehello my name is lorenzo de martin , i am from north of italy ( cortina d'ampezzo) i rde itence tracer vppwith fox talas 160 and fox rp32 all xt i have to say that ride a 29 can be good for al lot of thing but forcertan single track that i am doing in daily basic is not in a way simple is too big is not ride wrong with myin some turn i can barely make i really try plus a lt of 29 rider with 110 excursion so is fine if you want tobike but ride you need more excursion on the bike 110 or 120 is not enough ...... but anyway ride is apassion ride hard is a belive many crash always up back again and try sometimes smarter sometime...........well you itReply · Like · Follow Post · Yesterday at 2:33am

delphinideon December 2, 2013 at 9:24 am

(http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-reviews/final-review-niner-wfo-9/comment-page-1/#comment-165223) said:

Watching your video of Uncle Nazty again takes me to a happy place

I currently have a Niner RIP.9.RDO and am excited about the newWFO..thanks for the review. One thing I noticed about my RIP 9 is that itlikes to dive in the front when jumping off of things; I really have to workhard not to land straight on the the front even with speed. Fortunately,the suspension has saved me every time from going over the bars…buthow does this bike feel when launching off things? Does it dive in thefront?

How does it feel pedaling uphill over really rocky technical terrain? Didthe long wheelbase bob or spin out a lot, or did it just roll up an overstuff?

One of the criticisms I have read from armchair engineers about this bikeis the ‘high front end’. Did you feel like the front end was up too highwith the 29er wheels and 160mm of suspension, or was the front endsnappy enough to ‘roll around’ (not over) object if you need to?

Thanks Greg!

Greg Heil (http://GregRidesTrails.com)on December 2, 2013 at 10:47 am(http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-reviews/final-review-niner-wfo-9/comment-page-1/#comment-165224)said:

Hey delphinide,

Great questions!

1) It felt fantastic in the air, although I’m not really sure what youmean by “diving” in the front. Do you mean upon take off, orupon landing? If your fork is compressing too much uponlanding, you might want to bump up your air pressure or adjustyour rebound speed. If your bike is diving on take off, I’m notreally sure what that means… perhaps it’s a technique thing thatyou’re having issues with, as I can’t say I’ve ever really felt whatyou’re describing.

2) It rolled great on the uphills. On rocky terrain I ran thesuspension full open or in pro pedal, and it did great. However,there were times when my legs just weren’t up to the 1×11drivetrain While I’ve heard that the 1×11 doesn’t sacrificemuch gear range on the low end, I personally think my own2×10 setups have more low end than the 1×11 X01 I was riding.Over time, though, I was definitely getting used to the 1×11.

3) The front end is definitely high… however, I ride a size smallNiner, so for me the front end could feel higher than it might forsomeone on a size large frame. So you can say I’m used to tallfront ends on 29ers

That said, I made regular use of the travel adjust feature on thePike. As mentioned above, the travel adjust drops thesuspension travel by 15 mm, which makes the bike feel verydifferent. Dialing down the suspension drops the front end,making it feel a bit more XC and making it handle muchsnappier. In mellow terrain with no big features, I would often runthe fork with the dialed-down travel for a snappier, moreresponsive ride.

Hope this helps! If you have any other questions, please let meknow!

dgaddison December 2, 2013 at 11:03 am(http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-reviews/final-review-niner-wfo-9/comment-page-1/#comment-165225)said:

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I haven’t ridden this bike. But, re: the high front end – there’s justno way around that on this kind of bike. 29″ wheel, plus lots oftravel, the bars are gonna be up high. Chances are though, ifyou like a low front end you’re not looking at 160mm travel29ers.

Greg Heil (http://GregRidesTrails.com)on December 2, 2013 at 11:07 am(http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-reviews/final-review-niner-wfo-9/comment-page-1/#comment-165226) said:

Yes, +1 to that There’s physically no way to reducethe height of the front end.

copo835on December 2, 2013 at 1:22 pm(http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-reviews/final-review-niner-wfo-9/comment-page-1/#comment-165229) said:

thank you!!!!!! now i can sleep at night

afullsodacanon December 3, 2013 at 12:07 am(http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-reviews/final-review-niner-wfo-9/comment-page-1/#comment-165239) said:

Man, you are really living the life getting to ride these awesome bikes. Iwish I could test ride them. Sign me up! lol