Niner RLT 9 Gravel Bike Frame

Niner RLT 9: The Versatile Swiss Army Knife of Bikes

Niner has always been proud of their independent streak, so it should come as no surprise that it designed a bike that defies definition. The RLT 9 won’t let you place it in a tidy little box. Why would it? It’s way more fun to be the “Swiss Army Knife” of bikes.

So how do you choose between Niner’s RLT 9 and their BSB 9? The BSB 9 wears its cyclocross label proudly. It’s built for dedicated cyclocross riders who want a bike that will let them dominate the competition. The RLT 9 is different. You never have that moment of hesitation where you pause and consider whether this is the “right” bike for what you are doing. With the RLT 9 you just go. In fact Niner wants the RLT bike to be your go to bike for everything. And the reason it can be is because it has Fire Road Geometry.

Fire Road Geometry means that the RLT 9 has a slacker head tube, lower bottom bracket and longer chainstays. It means it’s stable on the rockiest of roads, yet comfortable enough for long rides. But it also means if you want to do some serious offroading it is ready and willing for that as well. It’s made of lightweight hydroformed alloy tubing with construction similar to the Air 9.

The RLT 9 may be lightweight, but it’s tough. The RLT 9 has clearance for 45mm tires, perfect for that mountain epic, but if you want to tear it up on the local cyclocross course you can do that too. Remember this bike is your swiss army knife, open it up and see what it’s capable of.

Internal Cable Routing and Di2 Compatibility in the RLT 9

Should you want to stretch the bounds of what the bike is capable of, perhaps in a cyclocross competition, perhaps offroad on you favorite mountain trail, one thing you will really appreciate is the internal routing of the cables The cables enter the down tube behind the head tube and exit below the bottom bracket. This keeps the cables away from you at all times and makes setup easy and maintenance low. And it is Di2 compatible with a seatpost wiring port.

Niner has one more exciting improvement for this year’s RLT 9. Niner has a reputation for making the finest carbon forks in the world for road bikes, and now for the first time they produced a full carbon, gravel tuned and custom painted Niner carbon fork just for the RLT 9.

So if you want a bike that isn’t a little bit of everything so much as a lot of everything, the RLT 9 is your bike.

Also check Bianchi Gravel Bikes.