REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

2021 Nimble 9 SS 27.5

5230 Views 23 Replies 11 Participants Last post by Grinchy8, Mar 13, 2022

Sanchofula

Discussion Starter · Nov 14, 2021 (Edited)

I just finished the build this morning, it’s my first single speed in probably ten years other than riding muni.

I’ve been trying to find a hardtail that’ll serve dual purpose for pump/jump and light trials.

Build: (all but brakes and dropper are parts bin stuff)
Medium Chrome N9 Frame
Manitou Mattoc Pro 29/27+ 140mm (a-c 562mm)
Chromag Cockpit, 760mm 30mm Riser Bar, 35mm Stem, Fat Paw Grips
TRP Slate T4 Brakes
DT Swiss 350/Scraper i45/DHF 2.8/SS Gear Clamp 20t (rebuilding with WTB KOM Tough 30/DHF 2.5 WT/“dingle speed 20/22)
Canfield 160mm Cranks/28t Oval Chainring
RF Nylon Pedals
TransX Cableless Dropper 100mm/Hope QR Clamp
Brooks Cambium C17 Cutout Seat (pending)

First ride:
Looks like a hardtail, rides like a hardtail. I need to focus on riding more forward to avoid being hammered by the rigid rear end 😆

It’s an agile bike, esp running a medium frame ( I’m 6’ tall). I have the wheel centered in the sliding drops so the CS at ~428mm which is a little longer than my other bikes, but it still manuals easily.

In terms of handling at speed, it’ll take some time get used to a hardtail, the plus tires mute trail feel, so it’ll be nice to get the skinnier tires mounted up.

In terms of geo, the long a-c short travel fork works well, though I could see riding it with a longer travel fork; though the drop at full compression would be staggering 😬

The bb height is 315mm, not too bad for a hardtail esp with short cranks. I’ll probably swap to 150mm cranks in time.

The build went really fast without a geared drivetrain and dropper cable. I do wish someone made a cableless dropper with more travel, the KS ETen is 125mm.

It’ll be a fun bike for goofing around and way more practical than a trials bike or straight DJ.

A Medium is not too small.

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racefit

· #2 · Nov 14, 2021

Nice looking build. Reminds me of some of the BMX bikes I’d see at the track in the 80’s.

Be sure to post your thoughts on running SS with 160mm cranks. Lots of chatter about short cranks these days, but not much on SS.

I switched from 175mm to 170mm on my SS last year and so far so good. Have been wondering about going shorter.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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stripes

· #3 · Nov 15, 2021

Ben: the Canfields feel much more forward to me after coming off the GGs. It’s taking some getting used to, but it’s totally worth it

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jay_paradox

· #4 · Nov 15, 2021

Looks sweet! Why do pictures post as links now?

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Sparticus

· #5 · Nov 15, 2021

Nurse Ben said:
Chromag Cockpit, 560mm 30mm Riser Bar, 35mm Stem, Fat Paw Grips

Looks way sharp!
560mm bars? Is that a typo, Ben?
Have fun getting used to it!
=sParty

Reactions: 1

Grinchy8

· #6 · Nov 15, 2021 (Edited)

Looks sweet. Agree that the chrome finish makes it look like a big bmx.
I’m intrigued by the idea of running the seat lever dropper for this use case. Cool idea! Considering stealing it.
<stolen! Trying the Ks 175mm option. It’s heavy as an anchor, but not rotating weight at least >

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Sanchofula

Discussion Starter · #7 · Nov 15, 2021

Grinchy8 said:
Looks sweet. Agree that the chrome finish makes it look like a big bmx.
I’m intrigued by the idea of running the seat level dropper for this use case. Cool idea! Considering stealing it.
<stolen! Trying the Ks 175mm option. It’s heavy as an anchor, but not rotating weight at least >

125mm? I hadn’t seen a 175mm version

Reactions: 1

Grinchy8

· #8 · Nov 15, 2021

It’s the KS budget post

Sanchofula

Discussion Starter · #9 · Nov 15, 2021

Grinchy8 said:
It’s the KS budget post

Is that the post without hydraulics?

I was wondering about that sucker, it’s manual up and down, could be a challenge to use on the fly.

Grinchy8

· #10 · Nov 15, 2021

Nurse Ben said:
Is that the post without hydraulics?

I was wondering about that sucker, it’s manual up and down, could be a challenge to use on the fly.

I assume it has auto up when lever pulled and you pull lever and sit to make it go down. Nothing I read said it was full manual. But it is awfully cheap, which I assume is because of inexpensive materials, but I am pretty sure there is a cylinder in there 😬
800g. A decent post nowadays is 350g lighter.

BadgerOne

· #11 · Nov 15, 2021

Nice, looks great. My N9 frame should be landing today or tomorrow. I'm your height, and my concerns about frame size have been refreshed. I ordered a large. I have a long torso, so I may be okay, but we'll see.

Sanchofula

Discussion Starter · #12 · Nov 15, 2021

BadgerOne said:
Nice, looks great. My N9 frame should be landing today or tomorrow. I'm your height, and my concerns about frame size have been refreshed. I ordered a large. I have a long torso, so I may be okay, but we'll see.

It depends n your use, but I wanted something small and playful, a large would have me stretched out more. The way I'm sized n my three bikes is ~480 mm from the tip of the seat to the center of the bars; I use the same fit on all my bikes. On my Shred sz 3 I have the seat centered and the headset in the short position, on the Tilt sz Large I have the seat slid forward ~ 20mm.

I think I could ride a medium Tilt, the only issue would be shorter HT/ST.

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69tr6r

· #13 · Nov 17, 2021

Nice bike! Love the chrome. I've got a used 2017 frame coming (cherry cola), and will build it up with parts bin stuff. Can't wait!

Is the BB height a typo? 415mm? Seems like it should be 315mm?

Sanchofula

Discussion Starter · #14 · Nov 17, 2021

69tr6r said:
Nice bike! Love the chrome. I've got a used 2017 frame coming (cherry cola), and will build it up with parts bin stuff. Can't wait!

Is the BB height a typo? 415mm? Seems like it should be 315mm?

Yeah, 315, fixed it!

I was comparing the Yelli to the N9 and the Yelli has a bb height of 315, which is kinda low, so I guess the N9 really is designed for smaller wheels.

Last night I got my Surly 22t, so I made a dingle speed with a 20/22, the 28 x 22 just fits; gotta pop the chain to remove to the smaller cog, the 28 x 20 puts the axle in the middle of the sliders.

The oval chaninring works pretty well, I have a steel 28t round but I think I'll just use the oval.

This weekend I'm gonna try the bike at the park in either Truckee or South Shore.

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Grinchy8

· #15 · Nov 17, 2021

Nurse Ben said:
so I guess the N9 really is designed for smaller wheels.

?
Pretty sure N9 was envisioned way back in the day as a 29er, first of breed too. Maybe the BB height hasn't been updated along with the subsequent slackening over the generations?

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flymybike

· #16 · Nov 23, 2021

Grinchy8 said:
?
Pretty sure N9 was envisioned way back in the day as a 29er, first of breed too. Maybe the BB height hasn't been updated along with the subsequent slackening over the generations?

The Nimble 9 has always been a 29er and yea, it was the first slack / short chainstay 29er. The geometry of the bike has changed a few times over the years, the most recent is spot on with fun modern geo IMO. The BB height is a balance of high enough to be great in rock tech riding with 29" wheels and just high enough that if you run 27.5, it won't feel too low in most situations. I've run 27.5 quite a bit and love it but still prefer 29" personally.

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LewisQC

· #17 · Nov 23, 2021

Really nice build Ben. Looking forward to your riding impression

BadgerOne said:
Nice, looks great. My N9 frame should be landing today or tomorrow. I'm your height, and my concerns about frame size have been refreshed. I ordered a large. I have a long torso, so I may be okay, but we'll see.

If it can ease your concern, I'm 6'2'' and riding an XL. For general riding, it is perfect. I really don't feel it's too long and it's the most confortable bike I have owned. I can do 40km technical ride and not feeling too sore the next day... YEMV but you should really be ok with a large. I really love this bike. I rode it more than my Ripmo this summer.

I'm really curious about 27.5+... We had a Middlechild (RSD) in 27.5+ mode and this little bike was really fun, even if not my size. Wish I could try it on my Canfield. My son's Hightower is a 27.5+ but I would have to swap everything to try it (or by a new driver) cause I'm running 12 speed and his bike is 11 speeds...

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Grinchy8

· #18 · Nov 23, 2021

LewisQC said:
My son's Hightower is a 27.5+ but I would have to swap everything to try it (or by a new driver) cause I'm running 12 speed and his bike is 11 speeds...

For around $50 you can have a single speed cog on that driver. Use the derailleur for your tensioner. Good for experimenting!

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AgentX

· #19 · Mar 10, 2022

Anyone running a mullet N9? Figuring with appropriate fork length jiggering it'd have the same BB height as the pure 27.5er in this thread, but just idly wondering...

I have an old Evil Sovereign I love, but the BB just feels sky high compared to the more modern F/S bikes I finally moved to. (older Balance, and a Riot...and now a 2020 Balance...) Was thinking of a N9 as the ultimate goal to update the hardtail side of the (un)stable.

Grinchy8

· #20 · Mar 12, 2022

@AgentX Do you want me to measure the bb height? I have an N9 setup as a plus mullet.

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