Niner WFO Review

Mountain bikes have been in production since the early 1980's. In fact my first MTB was a 1985 Ross then I progressed to 3 other hardtails and eventually full suspension. Companies are always looking at a way to get the upper hand over the competition and to make riding a bike faster an easier thing to do for the average Joe.

Niner bikes have been at the forefront of the big wheel revolution. Not just 650B but true Wagon Wheels the big 29" style wheels and as their name indicates it is all they make. The company makes no qualms about it they are firm believers that bigger is better when it comes to wheel size. Niner offers a variety of bikes that satisfy most genras of Mountain Biking. The Niner WFO 9 is designed to be a Enduro machine with the ability to tackle rough terrain at high rates of speed while allowing the rider to climb to the top of the descents.

"From early trips to Whistler and passionate lift-line discussions about wheel size to numerous Burro-Down laps at truly negligent speeds, the WFO 9 has always been a curiosity. A bike without an easy niche except for those riders who are quite certain it’s the best bike on the planet – those converts who choose the WFO 9 to confidently dissect bike parks and black diamonds every weekend. This bike has changed how a lot of riders view long-travel 29ers, evolv¬ing from an outlier in the Niner lineup to a bike whose time has come. With trail bikes becoming more and more capable, we’ve shoved the new WFO 9 off the “all mountain” fence firmly into gravity territory. Lower. Slacker. More Travel. So, grab your music, Leatt and full-face before you roll out the door.

While the WFO 9 is an efficient pedaler and will do AM magic under those who have the legs for the climbs, it’s when you adjust your goggles and drop in that it truly shines. You might imagine that the bike’s 150MM of travel puts it into a familiar category of bikes, but it doesn’t ride that way. Coming from a trail bike, the WFO 9 will feel big and capable. If you spend time on DH bikes you will instantly feel at home, except the WFO 9 is likely several pounds lighter than your DH setup. That’s a few extra laps and a few spots higher on any leader board. The long wheelbase puts you in charge of where the bike goes and if you’ve ever had trouble carrying enough speed into that set of 30’ tables, prepare yourself for some hair-raising-shit-eating-grin-overshooting-to- HYFR.

The big wheels bring the kind of speed through the chop and stability in the air that any rid¬er will benefit from. Whips? Snap hard and get sideways. Scrubs? Push a bit earlier to break the increased traction and get the bike down. The wheels stay out of the holes on techy lines, allowing you to get away with 6” of travel in serious clenching moments that just wouldn’t be fun on a trail bike. Float down your favorite trail and wonder when they made it easier. They didn’t.

Bottom line is, all those guys who said 29 will never be fun on big terrain were just plain wrong. That’s okay though, we weren’t sure ourselves when we made the first WFO 9 in 2009. But it’s 2013 and we’ve done the homework. This is the new WFO 9 and it redefines what a Niner can do."

Niner WFO 9 Test