New Niner ORE 9 RDO takes you
Niner Bikes has launched its second gravel bike, the ORE 9 RDO, with specs and geometry that provide XC MTB levels of off-road performance without an extravagant price tag
ORE stands for Off Road Explorer, a set of initials that tells you a lot about Colorado-based Niner’s latest gravel bike. It’s a new, more MTB-adjacent gravel bike that joins the long-running RLT 9 RDO in Niner’s gravel bike line-up. Niner says it dares ORE 9 RDO riders to dig deep and explore the edge of their orbit.
Gravel riders are choosing ever-wider tyres as they improve ride comfort and roll-over. Niner is ahead of the game, offering clearance for 50mm 700c or 2-inch 650b rubber for both its new ORE 9 RDO and the RLT 9 RDO gravel bikes.
Gravel riders are also adding suspension forks to gravel bike frames that aren’t designed for them, but with the ORE 9 RDO Niner has optimised the geometry for suspension from the outset. Fit a fork with up to 40mm travel and you’ll have a more controlled ride on singletrack and more extreme gravel terrain and a suspension-adjusted ride position.
And what does RDO mean? It signifies Race Day Optimized and is a term Niner also applies to the carbon fibre construction of its MTBs. It’s engineered to be light and stiff enough to race, while still offering the necessary compliance not to beat you up.
Niner’s curing process for its carbon fibre pushes out more resin, so that there’s more of the structural carbon fibre and less of the bonding resin in the finished frame, resulting in a frame and fork that are light and stiff.
Niner’s frame geometry for the ORE 9 RDO is engineered for stability too, with a slack 69 degree head tube angle, 70mm bottom bracket drop and 435mm chainstays across all frame sizes.
The frame features a UDH derailleur hanger, so it’s compatible with SRAM’s Full Mount rear derailleurs, allowing either a mullet build with a T-Type MTB mech or a 13-speed build with SRAM Red XPLR AXS. There’s a T47 bottom bracket, offering more drivetrain options and helping to add stiffness to the frame. Internal routing allows you to add a dropper post, for even more capability on steep terrain.
Want to go further? There are mounting points for a top tube and frame bag, as well as three water bottles. Niner has deliberately kept the number of mounts smaller than on the RLT 9 RDO and not included fork leg mounts, so there’s less chance of snagging on more technical forest trails.
Niner has been making bikes since 2005, when it launched the steel ONE 9 single-speed bike. Uniquely, from its foundation it only sold mountain bikes with 29 inch (700c) size wheels, at a time when 26 inch was the standard size for MTB wheels. Twenty years later, 26 inch wheel MTBs have all but disappeared and 29 inch has become the standard size for MTB wheels.
It was at the forefront of the gravel bike wave too and has been making its line of RLT 9 gravel bikes since 2013, long before gravel went mainstream. The RLT 9 is now available in Reynolds steel or aluminium as well as the flagship carbon RLT 9 RDO.
You can buy the Niner ORE 9 RDO in two full builds, both of which are affordable without compromising performance and would be worthy of future upgrades.
Choose between Shimano GRX 1x 12-speed with DT Swiss G1800 Spline wheels with Schwalbe G-One Allroad Evo Super Terrain 45mm tyres or SRAM Apex XPLR 1x 12-speed with Niner alloy wheels and Schwalbe G-One Allround Performance Raceguard 40mm tyres.
The Shimano build is priced at $5,229 (£3,499, €4,499) and the SRAM build at $4,299 (£3,199, €3,999). US riders can buy from Niner’s authorised dealer network, while UK and EU riders can buy direct from Niner.
The ORE 9 RDO is available in six frame sizes from 47cm to 62cm. Oh, and it’s been tested to MTB standards, so it can handle whatever you choose to throw at it, and there’s a lifetime warranty for the Niner RLT 9 RDO frameset for the original owner.
beyond the roads less travelled
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“It’s engineered to be light and stiff enough to race, while still offering the necessary compliance not to beat you up”
“Niner was at the forefront of the gravel bike wave and has been making its line of RLT 9 gravel bikes since 2013, long before gravel went mainstream”
Fitments for top tube, frame bag, and 2 water bottles inside front triangle
T47 threaded BB is wider allowing greater drivetrain range and added frame stiffness
Lifetime frame warranty
Tested to MTB ISO standard for rowdy off-road rides
Dropper post compatible with 27.2 seat post diameter
Slacker geometry balances stability at speed with confident cornering
UDH derailleur compatible with a mullet-style drivetrain
Suspension corrected up to 40mm
Clearance for up to 700x50c tires