30 May 2012 - 9:00One of “Those” Days

You know exactly the ones I’m talking about. The kind where you wake up in a foul mood and very little goes right. And it’s raining cats and dogs. And I’m writing out all the bills for the end of the month. Meh. At least I can pay them.

Air 9 RDO

After reaping the joys of business ownership, I set about the task of building JayPro’s new hardtail, a Niner Air 9 RDO. It sure is a svelte looking frame.

cramped rear caliper mount

It wasn’t smooth sailing though, the aesthetically pleasing yet impossible to reach with any kind of a tool rear brake mount had me cursing up a storm for about an hour while trying to line it up properly. I had to do a line swap too, as this new design runs a lot more line under the down tube. I eventually outsmarted it, but only just.

do the cables and BB fit? yes, but barely

I knew I was going to fight a pitched battle with the internal cable routing too, so I took a minute. I ate, so I wouldn’t fly into a low blood sugar rage, then I made a plan and stuck to it. With only a few miscues, I had successfully run the cables in relatively short order. This design uses full housing from shifter to derailleur, which is easier to instal than the cables on the A9C, but not optimized for ease of use.

And now I’m going to say my piece on internal cable routing now. BAD IDEA. Changing cables still requires the removal of the crank and BB, which is time consuming, and a huge pain in the ass. I’m not sure if whoever was in charge of this feature has ever had to replace a cable in a parking lot, or in the pits at some race, but it sure as hell is not race day convenient. That and the location of the rear brake are the only two problems I have with this bike.

fast AND light

It is otherwise a beautiful machine, weighing in at just 20.5lbs as you see it here. Despite my little mechanical niggles, I think this will be a very capable race rig, provided you bring it to the start line ready to go. It’s stiff, light, and is sure to strike fear into the hearts of those that line up against it.