With three new single speed bike builds in the Niner range this year, a lot of riders are probably asking, “why ride a single speed bike?” Indeed, we even ask ourselves what on earth is so awesome and so relevant about a bike with just one gear.  Isn’t riding a single speed bike really difficult? And if you somehow manage to make it easier, don’t you end up making it skull-crushingly slow?  The answer to both of those questions is YES, most definitely!   But don’t stop reading just yet. Riding single speed bikes can be awesome. And there are some really beautiful things ab ..read more

Niner rider and Wattie Ink athlete ambassador Yuri Hauswald has a small fleet of Niners to choose from, but his go-to rig for racing and daily rides is our RLT 9 RDO frame and fork, in size 56cm. This workhorse carbon frame and fork is among our most popular gravel bikes. Yuri's RLT however is far from stock when it comes to the build. As a gravel and endurance specialist, he's custom-fitted a number of parts that make the machine unique.  Up front, he's using a Wave handlebar from Coefficient Cycling. It's average in width at 42cm, but the shape is designed for substantially more t ..read more

Presenting Episode 2 of Niner's Ghost Towns and Gravel: Exploring Manhattan, Nevada. The Legend of Charles Breyfogle continues as Yuri and his intrepid riding partners Bridgette and Tony pedal onward to Manhattan. This is their quest for gravel road gold and a journey into gold mining history (and modern oddities) as these gravel riders explore the old roads surrounding this Nevada ghost town. Manhattan, Nevada was founded in 1867 as part of a gold and silver mining boom. Fortune seekers from around the world flooded into the area. Mining continued as recently as several decades ago. Today ..read more

Words by: Yuri Hauswald Photos: Snorri Thor It’s not called the land of Fire and Ice without good reason. Iceland sits on a mid-oceanic ridge between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates and lies above a mantle plume, a powerful flow of magma that is located in the central highlands near Vatnajokull, which means that this place has been on fire for eons. Volcanoes and glaciers have, literally, shaped the geologic and human landscape. And you know what else Iceland has because of all that geologic activity? Gravel roads. And it’s gravel that brings me back to the land of Fire and Ic ..read more

Bears do it, so do European hedgehogs. And few, until recently, knew that the fat-tailed dwarf lemurs of Madagascar do it, too. I’m talking about hibernation. You’re probably wondering why I’m talking about this state of inactivity and metabolic depression in endotherms (warm-blooded beings). Well, in every athlete’s season, just like with different animal species, there comes a time when rest/inactivity is necessary to help recharge the depleted batteries of a full year’s worth of training/racing. While for most animals hibernation is regulated by temperature, for athletes it’s more based on ..read more

Rebecca Rusch puts hours and hours on the bike each year, switching between mountain bikes and gravel bikes and even throwing in the occasional fat bike ride. Here she talks about the difference between a cyclocross bike and a gravel bike ..read more

There's no doubt that this is one of Kristin Taylor's biggest cycling events, ever. As one of Niner's featured athletes in the Road to Kanza sereis, she's worked hard to prepare. Other than putting in a lot of miles on the bike, she's worked with a bike fitter, solved some knee pain issues and gotten her bike dialed in. Here's how her RLT 9 will roll out at the starting line for the Dirty Kanza. Kristin's bike after the rain: Niner RLT 9 alloy Niner RDO Gravel Fork Niner alloy wheelset Saddle is a little undecided. Either a WTB Deva or the SDG Allure (pictured) Axiom rear blinky light (To be ..read more

When you win big races, like, say, the Leadville 100 or the Dirty Kanza 200 or....well, you get the idea. When you put as much time in the saddle as Rebecca Rusch does, and you're one of the most successful endurance riders, ever, you get to know your bike well, like really well. And, you put a lot of thought into the bits you hang off that frame. Here's a look at the Queen's setup for DK. Hats off to the Queen's bike, in detail: Niner RLT 9 RDO frame Niner RDO Gravel fork Zipp 303 Firecrest wheelset SRAM Force hydraulic disc brakes Maxxis Rambler 40c tires The Back End and Drivetrain: SRA ..read more

Watch the story of Amanda "Panda" Nauman's ride that started at the Pacific ocean, in the sand, wound its way through the desert and finally into the mountains and the snow. To meet and follow Niner's other four riders on their Road to Kanza, go HERE. https://youtu.be/cfNQXjmYUT4 ..read more

So, when you have 200 miles of gravel ahead of you, what do you ride? Here's a look at how Menso de Jong sets up his carbon Niner RLT 9 RDO for the long haul. (We doubt the sparrow is going to make the trip, but hey, it does have wings...) Breaking it down, bit by bit for the sparrow's approval: SRAM Rival 22 hydraulic disc brakes SRAM GX long cage rear der to handle an 11-36 cassette SRAM Rival/Stages cranks with 34/48t and 180mm length VP Components VX Trail pedals with about 7500 miles on them. Selle Italia SLR seat with the same 7500 miles on it. Lezyne seat bag and Menso also let us kno ..read more