Niner RIP 9 RDO — Trail Bike | Bike Review

Two years on the Niner RIP 9 RDO 29er — the second RIP Steve has spent real time on. Started as a Five-Star Limited build with XO AXS, now running GX AXS. Ridden everywhere from New Mexico to Arizona to Moab. The bike that expanded what was comfortable to ride.

Drivetrain

The bike originally came as a Five-Star Limited build: XO AXS shifting, carbon crank, XO cassette. Those parts eventually moved to one of the XC bikes, and this RIP became the fun/party bike. It’s now running GX AXS with a Descendant crank — simple, reliable, and appropriate for how it gets used. A power meter in pedal or crank form gets added depending on the ride.

Wheels & Tires

Stock Schwalbe Hans Dampf and Nobby Nic tires throughout. They’ve held up well across New Mexico, Arizona, and Moab — different terrain types, different conditions. The front is more aggressive than strictly needed, but the confidence from the extra grip up front is worth it. The brakes were bumped to a 200mm rotor in front for more power on heavier and steeper terrain.

Cockpit & Setup

Stem swapped from 40mm to 50mm for better fit and handling. During a winter shock service the Fox caps came out orange, so an orange Race Face stem went on to match — that’s the kind of detail that happens when you’re working on your own bikes. The Fox dropper replaced the original KS post and has been trouble-free.

What This Bike Did

This RIP is the bike that expanded what was comfortable to ride — bigger drops, rougher terrain, higher speeds. That confidence translated directly to the XC bikes too. When you spend time on a capable trail bike, you stop riding defensively on the shorter-travel bikes. The full control of high- and low-speed rebound and compression on the Fox suspension is a big part of that — properly set up, it handles almost anything.

The RIP frames lack UDH and can’t run Transmission, but for a party bike, AXS is more than enough. GX AXS upgrade kits were cheap when this got updated, so that’s what’s on it.