Last month I got a chance to stop by the Niner booth at Interbike to chat with Carla about big wheel bikes. Believe it or not, I still haven’t personally ridden a Niner so it was torture for me to see such beautiful 29ers on display with nowhere to ride them. Carla and I chatted about the recent endorsement from the former prez George W. and it sounds like “the decider” will be getting his own Niner bike (or two) very soon.

The Niner line-up for 2011 is mostly unchanged from 2010, though there was a hardtail version of the popular R.I.P. 9 on display (photo above). The R.I.P. 9, for those who aren’t familiar, is a 29er with 4.5 inches of travel and Niner’s exclusive CVA suspension technology. CVA stands for constantly variable arc and the company claims the design “works very differently from other full suspension bikes on the market” by placing the instant center in a more general location in front of the drivetrain. Judging by the videos and explanations posted online it certainly sounds like an innovative solution.

The recently re-introduced J.E.T. 9 with custom matched Rock Shox Reba XX fork.

CVA suspension technology is just one of the in-house designs being used by Niner. The company also produces its own eccentric bottom bracket design (called Bio-Centric) and sits on the cutting edge of frame design with tapered head tubes and integrated headsets. And let’s not forget the sexy Niner Carbon fork – is that thing even legal on a mountain bike?

One of the other things that I enjoy seeing from Niner is the different frame materials the company is using to build 29er bikes: aluminum (W.F.O., J.E.T. 9, etc.), steel (S.I.R. 9 and M.C.R. 9), scandium (AIR 9), and carbon (AIR 9 Carbon). Riders who are new to the 29er scene often assume 29er bikes are heavy or clunky on the trail so Niner uses these materials to deliver the lightest, most durable builds possible.

While I still haven’t gotten the chance to ride a Niner I’m stoked to see how the company constantly pushes 29er technology and design to the next level. Where will 29-inch wheels show up next? Watch Niner and you’ll see…

Here’s a quick news item from a couple weeks ago for those of you who don’t really give a s%!t about the Durango to Moab trip.

After realizing that most members of “Peloton 1″ (the friends and secret service guys who ride with former President George W. Bush) were riding 29ers, “W” asked the local bike shop in Kennebunkport, ME if he could give one a try. The shop owner called up Niner co-founders Chris Sugai and Steve Domahidy and they showed up with demo in hand for Bush’s regular mountain bike ride.

“Mr. Bush is really fast” said Domahidy, ”and a very good technical rider, too. He was flying on the Jet 9 and at the end of the ride said he dropped 3 minutes off of his fastest time!”

Not a bad endorsement, even if it came from someone other than the former leader of the free world! Amateurs and pros alike would love to drop 3 minutes off a personal record just by jumping on a different bike. The Niner Jet 9 is the company’s “race ready” bike and offers 3 inches of travel at $1,749 which seems like a steal. I’m guessing they offered Bush a price slightly below retail.

Bush is a tall guy so it seems like a 29er should be a good fit. I wonder why no one told him about big wheel bikes earlier?

via gearjunkie.

I know, I know – by now some of you are sick and tired of hearing about 29ers. I promise this is my last 29er post from Interbike and I plan on taking a self-imposed vow of silence on big wheel bikes until October. Hopefully by this time next year we’ll just be calling 29ers “mountain bikes.”

Judging by the showing at Interbike, Niner continues to push the 29er envelope with bigger travel, interesting frame materials, and killer design. The Niner guys weren’t at Outdoor Demo this year – probably because they were absolutely mobbed last year – so I didn’t get to ride any of these rigs. Instead, here are some pics and comments to whet your appetite.

See that little paper label where the head badge should be? That says “Prototype” and it’s why I love going to Interbike. This frame looks very similar to the AIR 9 Carbon and sports the new Niner carbon fork. Big wheels came from the road cycling scene so why not borrow carbon forks as well? A fully rigid, single speed mountain bike isn’t for me but I’m sure someone is drooling over the possibility of this bike right now.

Internal cable routing on the AIR 9 Carbon frame. Beautiful.

The Niner S.I.R. 9 is actually an acronym meaning “Steel Is Real” and after riding a couple steel 29ers at Outdoor Demo I have to say I’m sold. Niner uses Reynolds 853 steel which is the same stuff in the Raleigh XXIX and it’s smooth as butter. This bike is a hardtail but apparently no one told MTBR (pic below) – they gave the S.I.R.the nod for “Best FS 29er Mountain Bike.” Steel is definitely more springy than aluminum but I wouldn’t quite call it full suspension

The mega popular AIR 9 also comes in scandium tubing which seems to be catching on more and more these days. Scandium is lightweight and not super stiff like aluminum or (sometimes) carbon. Niner continues to experiment with different materials and frame configurations and remains on the cutting edge of 29er technology.

Close-up of the Niner Bio-Centric bottom bracket. You can get all the details about the technology here but one of the advantages of an eccentric bottom bracket system is it makes perfect chain tensioning dead simple.

I didn’t get pics but also check out the Niner W.F.O. 9 – a 5.5″ rear travel 29er mountain bike. Sick.