Back in 2009, Niner released their leggy 140mm gravity racing machine called the WFO 9. The bike’s travel was bumped to 150mm in 2014, and much to Ninerds’ disappointment, the model was discontinued sometime around 2016 or 2017. Last year Niner released an electric version of the bike dubbed the WFO e9.
Today, the non-electric WFO 29er is back with more squish than ever before: 170mm of rear-axle travel and 180mm under the handlebar. Unlike the WFO e9, this version rolls on 29er wheels front and rear.
The 2021 carbon fiber model can be ordered with a variety of component collections, painted either black or red. As ever the WFO 9 RDO builds use a star system to differentiate the part spec, with prices ranging between $4,800 and $10,100 across five different build options. The 2-Star bike gets a SRAM SX Eagle drivetrain, Fox Float X2 Performance shock, and Fox 38 Float Performance fork. A level up, 3-star builds receive GX Eagle drivetrains and Fox Factory, Kashima-coated suspension while the 4-Star bikes get a full Shimano XT kit, including Shimano four-piston brakes. The two different 5-Star bikes both have carbon rims and all of the top trimmings, differentiated by their SRAM X01 Eagle wireless or cable-actuated drivetrains, though both of them use a cable-actuated dropper post.
All of the builds use 200 or 203mm rotors front and rear for max stopping power, and a 29×2.6″ Schwalbe Magic Mary tire up front followed by the same size Hans Dampf on the rear.
On the geo table, the WFO9 RDO’s flip-chip morphs between two stances that should both work well on steep trails. The effective seat tube angle ranges from 77° and 77.7°, and the head tube similarly leans between 64° and 64.7°. The reach measurements across the three sizes are 430, 450, and 480mm in the low position, growing by 7mm in the high position, and the chainstays are a short 435mm in high, and 438mm with the chip flipped to low. Riders of medium heights may have trouble sizing up, as the seat tube lengths jump between 390, 419, and 462mm.
Head over to the Niner website for further details.
