Those of you who follow our facebook page have probably seen the happy face of Justin, the winner of the IMBA Niner raffle at Sea Otter. Part of the most successful Sea Otter IMBA membership drive ever, this bike is spec'd with a Niner Carbon Bar, Stan's Wheels, Ergon Grips, Fizik saddle, Thomson seatpost and stem, SRAM components and Continental Tires. Justin had joined IMBA 6 months ago, but when he saw the bike on offer, decided to renew early - boy, is he glad he did!

For those of you who couldn't attend Sea Otter, don't despair - there are still 8 frames on offer via charity auction (at last glance, most of the framesets were still below MSRP). 100% of the proceeds from these auctions will be donated directly to IMBA. These auctions are open to most countries (with a few exceptions due to individual shipping/customs restrictions). Winners are responsible for any customs/duties. See the online auctions for complete shipping details.

Click here to view the auction and bid! Bidding ends this Wednesday night! 

On the other side of the USA, Dejay, Rebecca and Donna from the Niner / Stan's / Ergon racing team had a great time at Singlespeed-a-palooza, hosted by Niner demo dealer Dark Horse Cycles in Montgomery, New York. The weather conditions were epic, and so was the racing, with both Dejay and Donna taking second, and Rebecca taking a big win on her birthday! 

Cyclingdirt has posted some excellent interviews with Rebecca and Dejay, check them out:

As Niner grows, so does our R&D budget, and sometimes we get to have fun spending it.  A few years ago, we committed to a heavy investment in testing procedures and protocols, and when there wasn't a standard test available, we set out to create what we need, ourselves.   

From this innovation comes Betty, our beloved test fixture, designed in-house.
 Betty is a component swappable, extendable, test fixture that lets us check stiffness and strength in many direction.   

Niner has three Betties around the world - with our engineering and R&D guys and in our production facilities - each designed to insure that our frames are reaching or exceeding intended stiffness and strength parameters. In order to have a baseline for these figures, we've tested all Niner models and we've put them up against our competitor's frames - this gives us hard data, and lets us know exactly how our bikes stack up against other options.  

This versatile test fixture is even compatible with tests we haven't designed yet - as bikes change, this will be key to new developments. Critical evaluations we currently perform include torsional stiffness, rear triangle stiffness, bottom bracket stiffness, vertical compliance, and pedal load strength (we have a few others, but they are secret!). 

While not the only way we test our new designs, Betty is a very important tool we have for delivering superior 29er bicycles - letting us know what we're doing right, and what can be improved in each model before it goes into production.  

In the picture above:  

An early prototype RIP 9  frame is being tested on Betty.  This test is a test we do specifically for CVA suspension and reproduces load on the rear triangle from chain torque with the bike inclined 20 degrees and in granny gear.  Since the triangulation of the rear triangle is so crucial to CVA and stiffness, this test is a critical component to insuring that CVA bikes put your power into the rear wheel, rather than lose it through flex of the rear end.  This test can be done with weights to just insure stiffness, or, in the case of this picture, on an 'Instron' machine which can continue pushing on the test fixture until failure.  

Picture below:

This drawing depicts our 'torsional test' which simulates the twisting of the frame from torsional forces (mostly steering/leaning/accelerating/torquing forces).  The head tube is locked into the jig fixture and the drop outs are on a huge rotating cartridge bearing attached to the weight arm.  The test can be performed with weight plates, as shown in our drawing, or with the Instron testing machine.  

We spend a lot of time here at Niner talking about the Air 9 Carbon, but we thought it was time to focus on a bike that doesn't get as much attention, the E.M.D. 9.

At Niner, we all remember our first 29er ride, how amazing it was to fly across terrain on big wheels for the first time. For a lot of people, this first 29er ride happens on our E.M.D. 9, which is why we have made every effort to make it a well-detailed member of the Niner family.

We believe that your first 29er should ride as well as your 10th. We incorporate the same Niner geometry into the E.M.D. 9 as we do the Air 9 - giving every Niner hardtail the exact same handling and steering characteristics built into their ride.

While a less expensive material, we put a lot of time into selecting which the alloy we would use for the E.M.D. 9, and we spent as much time designing the tube shaping as we do any of our frames. This frame features the same chainstay shaping, reamed and faced head tube and bottom bracket, chased BB threads, and faced disc brake mount tabs as are also included on the Air 9.  

The E.M.D. 9 has the same fit and finish features as any other Niner - we offer the same high quality paint, the same headbadge and, of course, the same Pedal Damn It on every frame. The E.M.D. 9 is currently available in Hot Tamale and Moondust - two colors that look great with almost any component selection. We also offer our Niner components to match - Niner carbon and alloy bars are available in both red and moondust options.  

Our favorite feature of the E.M.D. 9? The Riders. Our E.M.D. 9 riders are some of the most passionate folks on the trail. It is always fun to see a new build posted - they are almost always carefully selected and considered. Check our facebook page to friend other E.M.D. 9 riders, see E.M.D. 9 builds and to ask your E.M.D. 9 questions.

Air 9 - Medium

Jet 9 - Large and Medium

Rip 9 - Medium

907-222-1967 

2600 Spenard Rd. Anchorage, AK 99503 

For those of you in Georgia, The Hub Bike Shop should be a familiar name. Open for 10 years, Brian Molloy's store is located right next to Jittery Joe's coffee, so you can get your buzz and your 29er fix in the same trip.  

In Five Points area, only a few minutes from a great local trail network, the folks at the Hub lead a Tuesday MTB group at 6:15 every week (call shop for more info) and every Friday from 5-6 have a happy hour at the store - BYOB and pull up a chair (maybe you will find something to put on your YAWYD)!  

The hub caries a ton of great bikes, including a few Niner demo rigs. Take advantage of their in-house fit specialist and get set up on the 29er of your choice.  

The Hub has these demo bikes in store, and has access to the East Coast Niner Fleet, too. Call and let them know what you want to ride:

EMD - Large

S.I.R. 9  - Medium and Small

Jet 9 - Large

1220 S Milledge Ave, Athens, GA 30605
706-355-3989