Niner

Air 9 Carbon 3-Star XT Complete Mountain Bike - 2016

While adding two optional standards to mountain bike wheel sizes may not be considered an explosion, it does complicate the industry landscape a bit more than the days when eight-cog cassettes and 26in wheels were just a given. The advent of 29ers and later 27.5in hoops has essentially cubed the choices available to off-road cyclists. These options can get overly specialized for the indecisive cyclist; however, for someone with a focus on pure, durable, XC speed, Niner's Air 9 Carbon 3-Star Complete Mountain Bike brings a long tire-to-trail contact patch, terrain-devouring capabilities, and reliable, no-frill kit to the singletrack network. It's a frame/wheel combination that demands speed a groupset that simply shrugs and carries on, regardless of trail abuse.

The Air 9 Carbon carries a few more grams of weight than its RDO cousin, the latter of which places more of a Hollywood starlet's emphasis on losing weight at all cost. That doesn't mean the Air 9 is a Clydesdale, though; the current iteration tips the scales at a more than reasonable 1,480 grams. Given that this is an actual weight for a size medium (we weighed it ourselves) and it's still only 400 grams heavier than the RDO's claimed weight, we won't begrudge the Air 9 Carbon those few extra grams — especially since it puts the non-RDO model in the self-sponsored cyclist's price range.

Everything else about the frame is the same as the RDO: the lines, the measurements, even the mold itself — the only difference is that the Air 9 Carbon features a slightly heavier material and a less complicated lay-up. Like the RDO, this frame's signature lines, which loop from the head tube through the bottom bracket and seat junction into the rounded rear triangle, aren’t chosen for aesthetics. Rather, they’re the product of extensive computer-based finite element analysis aimed at minimizing chatter and guiding impact forces to the stronger parts of the frame. Chain torque goes directly to the rear wheel via the oversized PF30 bottom bracket shell and squared chainstays, while trail vibrations are subdued by the subtly arched seatstays.

Niner ties the bottom bracket to the laser-precise steering of the tapered head tube with a large down tube to ensure the frame tracks true and responds to every input. It may have to take its time through enduro-grade rock gardens, but when the trail goes up or the root lattices give way to a ribbon of hardpack, the trendy, 6in brutes will be gasping in its wake. The bottom bracket and chainstays also enjoy some drive-side titanium armor to protect against chain drop, chain suck, and the bits of flying trail debris that mar paint jobs.

The frame's shaping and several generations of R&D field abuse help to ensure that it's every bit as capable of absorbing abuse as the latest version of Shimano's yeoman one-by XT kit. The XT M8000 brakes themselves deserve special mention because many of us at Competitive feel that they're the best balance of price, weight, and on-trail functionality in the industry. Even if we do occasionally splurge for bling at other areas of a bike, XT brakes surface again and again on our own hobby builds.