Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Forums

Rip 9 RDO Custom Build-- cross-check and verify please?

Jump to Latest
1 - 20 of 101 Posts
F

flybigjet

· Registered
Joined
·
105 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
First, greetings to all. Long time listener, first time caller.

I've been riding a 26" Specialized FSR Pro Carbon for about seven years, but have finally decided to jump up into deep end of the 29'er pool after spending most of the summer demo'ing bikes. I tried the Rip 9 RDO and flat-out fell in love with it.

I've started a custom build of a Niner Rip 9 RDO, but since it's been a while since I built up a bike, I'd appreciate a look-over to see if there's anything I've missed . Or, if you have suggestions on a better component or something that doesn't work well together, any input would be *very* appreciated (and yes, feel free to mock on Grip Shift, but I've been riding them for 20 years and have been very pleased. Never could figure out those trigger things!)

Build is to be mostly for trail/XC, with the occasional (non-psychotic) downhill. Weight isn't the most important consideration, but rather the focus is on excellent components that work well together. I'm 48, 6' even, 190 lbs. plus gear, and have been seriously riding mountain bikes for about 20 years and road bikes for over 30 years. One variable is that I have a fused cervical spine and a mostly destroyed shoulder (war wounds), so certain build compromises (e.g. stem length and bar rise) are necessary.

Budget is out the door at under $6000. Right now, I'm right within a case of beer or two of that.

Here's the build:

FRAME: Niner Rip Nine RDO (Large)
REAR SHOCK: Fox CTD
FORK: RockShox Pike RCT3 Solo Air 140mm, 46mm offset
HEADSET: Cane Creek
STEM: Syntace Megaforce 2 (50-70mm, TBD)
HANDLEBARS: Easton EC70 Carbon high-rise, 720mm
GRIPS: ODI Cane Creek twist shift length lock on (90mm)
BAR ENDS: Cane Creek Ergo II (w/ stiffening plugs)
BRAKES: Front/rear Magura MT-6 disc
BRAKE ROTORS: 180f/160r Magura Storm SL
BRAKE ADAPTORS: North Shore Billet
SHIFTERS: SRAM X0 10-speed 2x10 Grip Shift
CABLES: Jagwire MountainPro
FRONT DERAILLEUR: SRAM X0 2x10 direct-mount
REAR DERAILLEUR: SRAM X0 Type 2 10-speed [edit] medium-cage
CRANKSET: SRAM X0 38/24 (175mm)
CHAIN: SRAM XO
CASSETTE: SRAM 11-36T
PEDALS: Crank Bros. Candy 2
WHEELSET: Stan's NoTubes ZTR Flow EX 29
TIRES: Maxxis Ardent [edit] 2.4 f / 2.25r EXO
SEAT POST: RockShox Reverb Dropper
SADDLE: WTB Pure V Team

PLEASE-- any suggestions or input is greatly appreciated!

R.
 
#2 ·
Ok same weight & height as you.

Ride a lge Rip9 RDO

50mm stem

760mm Nuke Prof riser bars on my alloy Rip9 & 780mm Niner bars on my RDO.

2.25 Ardent is ok on the rear but crap on the front IMO, the 2.4 is much better.

180mm rotors front & rear IMO
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
Discussion starter · #3 · (Edited)
muzzanic said:
2.25 Ardent is ok on the rear but crap on the front IMO, the 2.4 is much better.

180mm rotors front & rear IMO
Click to expand...
Thanks for the quick reply-- a few questions:

Would you recommend 2.4's on front and rear, or a 2.4/2.25 combination? (running wide in the front and narrower in the rear seems semi-counterintuitive to me).

I'm perusing the Search function and it seems like there's a "ask ten people, get twelve answers" vibe on rotor size. Some swear by 180/180, some love 180/160. And flame wars on tires around here? Yikes!

There I times I miss V-brakes and Velociraptors. At least they were simple!

Thank you!

R.
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
rufus said:
Without doing the tooth-count math, I think you can get away with a mid-cage RD for the 2x10 system.
Click to expand...
Funny you should say that. I was at my LBS today and was talking about this exact issue. SRAM states that the cutoff for a medium cage is 37T. Doing my math with a 38/24 and 11/36, I come up with 39T.

The tech says that the measurements are conservative enough that things will work fine, and I'll eliminate a lot of noise and chain slap.

Medium cage it is!

Thanks!

R.
 
#6 ·
I run 180/180's and 180/160's. Both work fine for AM use for me.

Bigger tire up front is often used. You get a little more cornering traction & flotation through loose stuff up front this way (or so it feels) and you save a little weight on the back end. If the back drifts or sinks a little, no big deal. If the front drifts or sinks, you could be in trouble quickly. Also, many frames have less room in back, so it really just works out this way. You can run the same size F/R if they fit, it's fine. I do it both ways...just depends on the time of year and what tires I'm using.
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Thanks--

So now I guess I need to decide between 2.25 and 2.4 in back. Frame clearance won't be an issue on that beast of a rear triangle. Weight for the 2.25 EXO and 2.4 EXO are essentially the same.

Query: Would the 2.4 rear give me better climbing ability due to the larger contact patch? I've never run tubeless before, so I'm sort of learning as I'm going. I suppose I'm partial to running the same tires (just a personal preference)-- and if there's no real weight savings, I don't really see a downside to the 2.4 on the rear.

Cheers--

R.
 
#8 ·
2.4 you can run a little less air in, so a little more traction on real steep tech climbs. If your trails are more mellow, a 2.25 will be more than adequate. Since you mentioned trail/XC with moderate downhills, why don't you look into a 2.4 ardent front with a 2.35 Ikon rear. That's a fast fun combo with a lot of capability, up and down.

For what it's worth I've run a 2.2 ikon rear 2.25 ardent front on some very nasty terrain, and while it was less than ideal, it worked.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Thanks for the input. I'm stressing about a crank issue at the moment, so tires are on the back burner at the moment (although if I put them on today, I think I'd try a 2.4 Ardent up front and 2.35 Ikon rear).

My current dilemma is with the crankset. I had spec'd an XT M785 crankset w/ XTR bb. However, my LBS isn't thrilled with that combination due to the SRAM direct-mount front derailleur and recommends going with a SRAM X0 crank and bottom bracket (GXP?) Both cranks come in 38/24 but the SRAM setup runs almost $300 over the cost of the XT setup. Trying to determine if that's money well spent, or if I'm just increasing the cost of the build for no good reason.

Sigh. I've asked several guys smarter than me about this, and I've gotten almost exactly half of them to say it'll work, and the other half to say it won't.

Grr.

R.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
After a bit more research (read: hours and hours on the internet when I should have been sleeping), I made a few changes to the build. I *think* I caught most of the buffoonery, which is always of the good. Just a few more things to work out yet.

I hope.

As always, any thoughts are appreciated.

R.

HEADSET: Cane Creek 110 Zero Stack
BRAKE ROTORS: 203f/180r Magura Storm SL
CRANKSET: SRAM Truvativ X0 2x10 38/24 w/ Ring Guard
BOTTOM BRACKET: RWC Zero Series Ceramic Hybrid GXP
FRONT TIRE: Maxxis Ardent EXO 29 x 2.4
REAR TIRE: Maxxis Ardent EXO 29 x 2.25
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
So. I finalized the build today and have moved on to sourcing parts. Had to change a few things (the crank most notably) to get the bike to shift properly. I'm out of town at the moment, but I hope to have the bike up and running early September. This is basically a retirement present (from one of my jobs) to myself. Unfortunately, there's no free lunch, so it looks like I'll be going through this again this winter and building up a Pivot Mach 4c for my Most Excellent Wife.

NINER RIP 9 RDO (CUSTOM BUILD)
- FRAME: Large Niner Rip Nine RDO (color: Rally Blue)
- PROTECTION: 3M clear protective material on downtube, RaceFace Crankarm Boots (color: black)
- REAR SHOCK: Fox CTD tuned to Niner’s specifications
- FORK: RockShox PIKE RCT3 Solo Air 140mm, 46mm offset (color: black)
- HEADSET: Included with frame (color: black)
- HEADSET SPACERS: (color: black)
- STEM: Race Face Turbine, 6° up, 60mm reach (color: black)
- HANDLEBARS: Race Face Next High Rise Carbon 3/4"Handlebar, 0.75” rise, 725mm width, 8°rear sweep, 4° up sweep (color: matte carbon)
- GRIPS: Cane Creek lock-on grips for ODI clamps (color: black)
- GRIP CLAMPS: ODI lock-on clamps (color: black)
- BAR ENDS: Cane Creek Ergo Control II
- STIFFENING PLUGS: Specialized CNC Alloy Bar End Plugs
- BRAKES: Front & rear Magura MT-6 disc brakes (color: black)
- BRAKE ROTORS: 203f/180r Magura Storm SL six bolt rotors
- BRAKE FLUID: Magura Royal Blood Mineral Oil
- BRAKE ADAPTORS: Magura 203/180 post mount
- SHIFTERS: SRAM X0 2x10 Grip Shift (color: black/red)
- CABLES: Jagwire Mountain Pro shift cable kit (color: black)
- FRONT DERAILLEUR: SRAM X0 2x10 direct-mount (S3 low) front derailleur, bottom pull
- REAR DERAILLEUR: SRAM X0 Type 2 10-speed medium-cage derailleur (color: black/red)
- CRANKSET: 2015 Race Face Turbine Clinch, 175mm, 24/38 (color: black)
- BOTTOM BRACKET (73mm English): Race Face Cinch
- CHAIN: SRAM PC1071, 10 speed
- CASSETTE: SRAM PG 1070, 11-36 MTB
- PEDALS: Crank Bros. Candy 2 (color: silver)
- WHEELSET: Stan’s NoTubes ZTR Flow EX 29 15mm/f, 142x12/r
- HUBS: ZTR 3.30
- SPOKES: DT Swiss SuperComp spokes
- NIPPLES: DT Swiss Alloy nipples
- FRONT TIRE: Maxxis Ardent EXO 29 x 2.4
- REAR TIRE: Maxxis Ardent EXO 29 x 2.25
- SEAT POST: RockShox Reverb dropper, 30.9, 380mm
- SEAT COLLAR : Niner 34.9 (color: black)
- SADDLE: WTB Pure V Team
 
#12 ·
It all looks quite good.

Things I would do.

Blue crank boots.
Blue head set spacers.
180 rotors front & back
760mm wide bar ( you can always cut down if needed but you can't add.
The wheel set that you are looking at are ok ( I have some ) but do yourself a very big favor & get some made up with Light bike carbon rims, lighter, stiffer & only a few hundred dollars more.

Long term you will thank your self.

flybigjet said:
So. I finalized the build today and have moved on to sourcing parts. Had to change a few things (the crank most notably) to get the bike to shift properly. I'm out of town at the moment, but I hope to have the bike up and running early September. This is basically a retirement present (from one of my jobs) to myself. Unfortunately, there's no free lunch, so it looks like I'll be going through this again this winter and building up a Pivot Mach 4c for my Most Excellent Wife.

NINER RIP 9 RDO (CUSTOM BUILD)
- FRAME: Large Niner Rip Nine RDO (color: Rally Blue)
- PROTECTION: 3M clear protective material on downtube, RaceFace Crankarm Boots (color: black)
- REAR SHOCK: Fox CTD tuned to Niner's specifications
- FORK: RockShox PIKE RCT3 Solo Air 140mm, 46mm offset (color: black)
- HEADSET: Included with frame (color: black)
- HEADSET SPACERS: (color: black)
- STEM: Race Face Turbine, 6° up, 60mm reach (color: black)
- HANDLEBARS: Race Face Next High Rise Carbon 3/4"Handlebar, 0.75" rise, 725mm width, 8°rear sweep, 4° up sweep (color: matte carbon)
- GRIPS: Cane Creek lock-on grips for ODI clamps (color: black)
- GRIP CLAMPS: ODI lock-on clamps (color: black)
- BAR ENDS: Cane Creek Ergo Control II
- STIFFENING PLUGS: Specialized CNC Alloy Bar End Plugs
- BRAKES: Front & rear Magura MT-6 disc brakes (color: black)
- BRAKE ROTORS: 203f/180r Magura Storm SL six bolt rotors
- BRAKE FLUID: Magura Royal Blood Mineral Oil
- BRAKE ADAPTORS: Magura 203/180 post mount
- SHIFTERS: SRAM X0 2x10 Grip Shift (color: black/red)
- CABLES: Jagwire Mountain Pro shift cable kit (color: black)
- FRONT DERAILLEUR: SRAM X0 2x10 direct-mount (S3 low) front derailleur, bottom pull
- REAR DERAILLEUR: SRAM X0 Type 2 10-speed medium-cage derailleur (color: black/red)
- CRANKSET: 2015 Race Face Turbine Clinch, 175mm, 24/38 (color: black)
- BOTTOM BRACKET (73mm English): Race Face Cinch
- CHAIN: SRAM PC1071, 10 speed
- CASSETTE: SRAM PG 1070, 11-36 MTB
- PEDALS: Crank Bros. Candy 2 (color: silver)
- WHEELSET: Stan's NoTubes ZTR Flow EX 29 15mm/f, 142x12/r
- HUBS: ZTR 3.30
- SPOKES: DT Swiss SuperComp spokes
- NIPPLES: DT Swiss Alloy nipples
- FRONT TIRE: Maxxis Ardent EXO 29 x 2.4
- REAR TIRE: Maxxis Ardent EXO 29 x 2.25
- SEAT POST: RockShox Reverb dropper, 30.9, 380mm
- SEAT COLLAR : Niner 34.9 (color: black)
- SADDLE: WTB Pure V Team
Click to expand...
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#13 ·
I second the wheel choice. What's a few hundred more if you are going to build such a nice bike? I built up a similar Jet 9 and the only error I made was the wheel (well and starting out 2x10). I chose a cheaper wheel with Sub Ringle Black Flag Pro...by no means a bad wheel like the Flows, but I wish I went wider (like the flow) and better hubs. In other words, I wish I had bought the wheels I wanted out the gate instead of now lusting after them 2 years later.

Stans will cost you $600.....spend $400 more and you can get I9 Trails or Enduros or CroxxMax or you can go the custom route and get some Light Bike Carbon rims laced to nice hubs like Muzz suggests.

Otherwise, nice rig....You might want to throw on one of the rock guards Cytoe makes.
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
Blue crank boots, Blue head set spacers: I really wanted the black frame, but the blue was $900 less. Paint doesn't make you ride faster. I ended up going with as much black as possible (the original idea was red accents on the black frame).

180 rotors front & back: Weight penalty of the 203 on the front is negligible (~25 grams or so?). I have a 200/180 on my old bike, and really like the feel. I'm a clyde, so more area to disperse heat isn't bad. I zorched the 180/160 rotors on the mountain when I demo'd the bike.

760mm wide bar. Tried the wide bar, did not like. I've got a blown shoulder, so the narrower bar helps. I'm currently on a 680, so I'm going wider than I've had as it is.

The wheel set that you are looking at are ok. I emailed my LBS guy about this. Never heard about Light-Bicycle rims.

Thanks for the inputs!

R.
 
#15 ·
WoodstockMTB said:
Stans will cost you $600.....spend $400 more and you can get I9 Trails or Enduros or CroxxMax or you can go the custom route and get some Light Bike Carbon rims laced to nice hubs like Muzz suggests.

Otherwise, nice rig....You might want to throw on one of the rock guards Cytoe makes.
Click to expand...
These I9 wheels are very good options as well.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#16 ·
All very good points.

If you are a Clyde There is no way I would suggest the stan's hubs when you pull the 142x12 axle out & have a look at it, there is so little size to it, Very thin IMO.

Rear hub choice is very important for a Clyde.

flybigjet said:
Blue crank boots, Blue head set spacers: I really wanted the black frame, but the blue was $900 less. Paint doesn't make you ride faster. I ended up going with as much black as possible (the original idea was red accents on the black frame).

180 rotors front & back: Weight penalty of the 203 on the front is negligible (~25 grams or so?). I have a 200/180 on my old bike, and really like the feel. I'm a clyde, so more area to disperse heat isn't bad. I zorched the 180/160 rotors on the mountain when I demo'd the bike.

760mm wide bar. Tried the wide bar, did not like. I've got a blown shoulder, so the narrower bar helps. I'm currently on a 680, so I'm going wider than I've had as it is.

The wheel set that you are looking at are ok. I emailed my LBS guy about this. Never heard about Light-Bicycle rims.

Thanks for the inputs!

R.
Click to expand...
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
Discussion starter · #17 ·
Did a bit of research today. Considering one of the following:

Flow EX rims w/ red I9 hubs (custom build) - $950
Ibis 928's - $1300
Ibis 941's - $1300

I'm 200 lbs. plus gear, so a somewhat burlier wheel is a good idea. Kind of leaning towards the 941's if they'll fit between the rear triangle. They would probably change my tire selection as well.

And, of course, there's the question of if they ever get released. I'm not home until the second week in September, so there's a bit of time to play with.

My absolute cap on wheels is $1300. I'm already way over budget, so I've got to draw the line. I like the idea of the wider Flow EX's, and a better hub might be fun. The Ibis are getting good reviews-- however the 928 is a bit smaller than the Flow (would that make a difference?), and the 941's don't exist yet.

Here's the basic weights and numbers:
928: 28mm external, 22mm internal (1580g)
941: 41mm external, 35mm internal (1770g)
Flow EX: 29.1 external, 25.5 internal (1962g) (stock build, not with I9's)

I have to admit, the thought of dropping 2-300g or rotational mass is appealing.

Any comments? Thoughts? Suggestions? I'm NOT going over $1300 otd (and even that's a stretch-- I had to bribe my wife with a spa robe today to get approval).

I have until Monday to make the decision.

TIA--

R.
 
1 - 20 of 101 Posts
About this Discussion
100 Replies
13 Participants
Last post:
flybigjet
Mountain Bike Reviews Forum
posts
16M
members
534K
Since
1990
A forum community dedicated to Mountain Bike owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about bike parts, components, deals, performance, modifications, classifieds, trails, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
General Discussion Downhill - Freeride California - Norcal Shocks and Suspension Passion