2009 Niner W.F.O. 9 – Long Travel 29er

Niner Bikes started off Eurobike with a bang. Check out the new W.F.O. 9 that will be available in 2009. This is a post from the guys at Niner that can be found on this thread on MTBR.com.

Well, Eurobike has officially started, and we’ve officially launched the 2009 W.F.O. 9, but since most of you are not at Eurobike, we figured we’d share the love (and we’re really excited to show you what we’ve been up to over here).

So here are a few pics of the all new, 2009 W.F.O. 9. This bike is for real but you’ll have to wait for early 2009 to get one. And so is the fork. We’re launching the W.F.O. with Marzocchi and their all new 2010 Marzocchi 44 29er fork. This fork will be an OEM exclusive to Niner for the launch of the WFO 9, but will be available aftermarket. Our version will feature a custom lower leg color and graphics (not shown in the picture) to match the bike, plus it will come with a crown and steerer tube featuring a 1.5″ to 1 1/8″ taper design, to match our head tube.

We spent a lot of time and energy developing this bike and it’s been a nail biter trying to keep it from you guys. We’ve been reading posts and seeing things pop up, and we’ve been itching to tell you, but we had to wait.

We also put down on paper the complete genesis of this bike, from the original prototype to this version, and how we came to where we are now. Check out this link to the pdf explaining the whole story:

http://www.ninerbikes.com/widefullop…letter_wfo.pdf

As of now, the frame and fork will be available to the public early in 2009 (exact date to be announced). There will be two different versions of the frame. One will be a 135mm rear triangle and come with a FOX RP23 shock and retail for $1899. The other will feature a 150mm rear triangle (with a maxle thru axle system) and come with a FOX DHX Air 5.0 and retail for $2099.

So check out the link and see some of the other cool features we’ve included in the production version of our all new bike.

And don’t think we’re done surprising you, we have more up our sleeve and will only reveal it at this year’s Interbike.

Chris and Steve
Niner Bikes

198’s Thoughts on the Niner WFO

Looks like a killer 29er. The Marzocchi 44 29er should be a great addition to the 29er lineup of forks and it will be a direct competitor to the new 20mm TA Reba. The 44 will use the same 15mm QR TA that can be found on the 32mm Fox lineup. The model that this frame is designed around uses the new tapered steerer tube like the one on the Gary Fisher Roscoe. It tapers down from 1.5 to 1-1/8 for the benefits of 1.5 at the weight of 1-1/8.

I really like the addition of the ISCG tabs. I think we are going to see the 5″ bike category (this is a 5.5 inch frame) adopt these tabs as more of these bikes use chainguides and SRAM’s new HammerSchmidt.

I think what I am most excited about with the W.FO. 9 is the option of the 150mm rear spacing with the 12mm Maxle. The bigger wheels are really going to benefit from the increased rear end stiffness that this spacing provides.

Even with all of these great features…it is all going to come down to how it rides. For a long time, I have been in the anti-long travel 29er camp. I really like 26 inch wheels for my longer travel bikes. Will the bike feel to big on big technical obstacles? Will the big wheels become cumbersome in the terrain that 6 inch bikes love to handle? We will just have to see in 2009…