Niner Jet RDO Update

I'm lacking some good photos so the ones above will have to do. I packed one of my nicer cameras with me on today's ride but totally forgot I wanted to take some updated photos because I was having so much fun!

I thought I would do a quick post about my thoughts on the RDO since I've been riding it a few months and have done several races on it, plus I finally got my hands on the SID XX World Cup fork.

First the SID XX WC, awesome! I'll get a couple of questions answered right off the bat.

Weight: After cutting the steerer tube and comparing the weight with the Reba XX; SID XX WC 3.07 lbs w/15mm Axle - Reba XX 4.02 lbs. So, basically 1 lbs lighter.

Stiffness: Keep in mind that I'm only about 140 lbs and although I could feel occasional flex with the Reba it never was an issue for me. I haven't had the chance to ride the SID on all the trails that I could feel a little twist in the Reba, but there does seem to be a feeling of much more stiffness. I have yet to feel the front wheel twist in rocky stuff.

Ride: So I really wanted a fork to match the new RP23 Kashima for high speed small bump compliance. Setting up the positive and negative air pressure somewhere between 95 and 100 psi (I need a better pump), high speed small bump compliance is awesome! Large bumps get soaked up easily too and compression dampening is smooth and linear feeling. I have the rebound set one click slow from the middle (not sure how many clicks to what direction, just found the middle went slow one click). So far the rebound rate is the only adjustment I have made.

The RDO overall gets me excited every time I ride it! I have increase the rear shock pressure up to about 100 psi to give it a firmer ride but this does not seem to affect the small bump compliance much if at all. I slowed the rebound setting a click or two. Right now the bike is dialed in.

I expect the RDO to be a trustworthy rig for next season. The first race I did was the Steamboat Stinger, which was five days after getting the frame and building it up. I had some setup issues and wasn't completely comfortable for that race. I managed to biff a tree and break the carbon bar end off my my Ergon GX2 about 4 miles from the finish, and about a mile from the finish I had a cramp in my calf as I was clearing the last few feet of a rock pile in which I fell over and scratched the finish on the left chainstay. That hurt! But is was going to happen sooner or later I'm sure.

I also raced the Winter Park King of the Rockies, the end of the Winter Park series. I got my ass kicked, but I was expecting that since I have been focused on the endurance races. The Winter Park races are a ton of fun and this last one had a good amount of mud, water, a water crossing, lots of rocky fast descents. The RDO never missed a beat (I missed several though).

Then the last race I did was the Pleasant Valley Derby, the last race of the RME series. I had a somewhat self inflicted mechanical at this race. The cable housing for the rear derailleur broke in half right were it exits the bottom bracket. Without out a solid cable housing here I had ghost shifting like crazy. I couldn't get to the top of the little grunt climbs because I kept dropping gears. Finally I broke the chain at which point I pulled out of the race at the next opportunity. It ends up I had to much bend in the cable housing as it came out of the bottom bracket and it put a lot of pressure on the cable ferrule. A bit of a learning curve on the setup, all fixed now.

With all that I want to do another race yet this year. I'm planning on heading down to Texas for the Palo Duro Marathon (50 miler) in November. I did it last year at the last minute with little to no training. This year... well lets say I have slacked in my training lately. I just hope I don't get too fat between now and then!

Comments

[Bill]

Hey,
Thanks for the update - My J9RDO is coming.....Setup will be similar to yours so I'm am liking your
set-up notes.
Thanks,
b.

[John]

I'm just putting my RDO together, I been following your blog, I also have a air 9c just like you. What are the difference in set-up like Stem length and seat. Does it come close to the air 9C how much did you have to change to make it fit the same?

[Mike Berg]

I'm using the same size stem, pretty much everything uses the same parts except I flip the stem for a negative rise and also flip the 9er bar for more negative rise.