Eurobike 2019/Product News: The fact that gravel is no longer just a passing trend, but a serious movement in cycling, is evident not only from the large number of gravel events, but also from the many gravel bike models presented by the manufacturers. With the Niner MCR 9 RDO, the bike specialist is launching a full-suspension gravel bike.
At first glance, you could almost think that the Niner Gravelfully is a mountain bike with drop bars. But if you take a closer look, you can see quite quickly that it is a real gravel bike simply because of the geometry, the faster handling and the ergonomic fit. For better comfort, however, you have full suspension, like on mountain bikes, which has half the spring travel of standard MTBs. With 40mm of spring travel at the front and 50mm at the rear, the Niner Gravel-Fully does justice to the changed weight distribution on Gravelbikes, since there is more load on the middle than on an MTB, where there is more load at the front.
This is all the result of years of work. Many efforts have been made over the years to make drop bar bikes more comfortable. However, most designs use primitive, undamped flex points or elastomers that simply dampen vibration. This does not meet the fundamental goal of real suspension, which is to keep the tire contact patch from bouncing off the ground. Because more tire contact means more control. The aim of the development was also to get the most technically mature, tunable suspension system with a minimum total unsprung weight.
At the heart of the Niner MCR is the patented, proven Constantly Varying Arc (CVA) suspension system. It debuted in 2008 and has been gradually developed since then. However, the basics haven't changed: CVA is stable yet smooth when climbing and pedaling, supports downhill and offers the best control and safety in every situation.
So that every rider can use the bike for their individual needs, the Niner MCR 9 RDO comes as a 650b version for the right bikers who want to be a bit faster on the road. There is also a 700cc variant, which is probably aimed more at the racing cyclist among gravellers and makes a fast yet comfortable gravel experience possible.
Niner MCR 9 RDO features
- Removable front derailleur mount
- Integrated mounts for individual frame bags
- Multiple bottle cage mounts in the frame triangle
- 12×142 thru axle
- Flat mount disc brakes