Scott’s Niner BSB 9 RDO
Scott, a Florida based Gainesvilleite, is another convert to the world of dirt, limerock and gravel cycling and racing.
After much deliberation, Scott chose the BSB 9 RDO frameset, which is Niner’s primo drop bar offering. The BSB 9 RDO has tire (tyre) clearance for 40mm of rubber, dependent on tire brand.
Scott has been punishing the local Gainesville crew on this bike lately, what a nice bloke. He’ll be accompanying the Gainesville crew + Gravel Cyclist to some races in Georgia and Florida over the next few weeks. Expect photos, race reports and videos. Fun stuff!
Frame: Niner BSB 9 RDO carbon – internal shifting with provision for mechanical or electronic drivetrains.
Fork: Niner RDO Cyclocross fork, 1.125″ – 1.5″, disc brake only.
Headset: Cane Creek.
Seatpost: Niner Carbon.
Saddle: Cobb SHC (fugly test SHC in photos).
Wheelset: American Classic Race 29’ers.
Tyres: Clement X’plor MSO in 40mm, tubeless.
Handlebars: Unsure, have to ask Scott…
Stem: 110mm, have to ask Scott…
Shifters: SRAM Red 11 speed.
Derailleurs: SRAM Red 11 speed, Wifli rear derailleur.
Crankset: SRAM Red CX crankset with 46 / 36 chainrings.
Bottom Bracket: SRAM.
Pedals: Ritchey Paradigm Mountain.
Cassette: SRAM 11-27.
Brakes: TRP Spyre SL (mechanical, carbon actuation arm).
Bottle Cages: Whatever Scott found in his spare parts stash.
Photo Gallery – Move your mouse over each image to see a larger version. Alternatively, click on an image to see it Full Size from Flickr, which will also start the gallery view.
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Any chance someone can send me an email address…we are trying to start a “gravel group” here in JAX and I could use some help… email is [email protected] – Thanks
Shawn, ping us at [email protected]
David Jordan is a guy you should make contact with – he’s on Facebook, and he knows a lot about the dirt road scene in JAX.
Nice, but I’m wondering more about his “deliberation”. Why, for example, go for the BSB (which is Niner’s cyclocross offering) rather than Niner’s RLT (which is more gravel oriented)? I’m trying to decide between these two as well, which is why I am wondering!
Peter, re: Scott’s deliberation, it came down to frame material and shock absorption on dirt and gravel surfaces. Scott has raced Roubaix type events in the past aboard aluminium and carbon frames. He much prefers the vibration dampening properties of carbon over aluminium. The geometries on the two frames are very similar, so there was nothing to worry about there. Tyre clearance on the gravel specific RLT is 1.75″ (about 44.5mm), which is marginally more than the BSB 9 RDO.
Off topic a little here; in my humble opinion, I think a true gravel bike should have clearance for at least 1.8″ or 2.0″, so you can use nice tyres like the Specialized Renegade 1.8″. 40mm tyres are pretty awesome for most of the gravel and dirt roads I have ridden. However, when you’re descending knarly gravel chunk roads as I’ve seen in parts of North Carolina and West Virginia, I want the option of running bigger!
Thanks, that makes sense and I would choose carbon for the same reasons. The Niner website indicates that the RLT has a little longer wheelbase for stability. I occasionally race cyclocross, so just curious about the stability vs tight cornering ability of the RLT vs the BSB!
Scott’s first legit race is on the bike this weekend, so we’ll see how it goes!
I know it has been a while since this was published but I am looking at the same set up and wondering if you are getting any tire rub inside the frame with the MSO 40. I know the frame technically fits a 40 but I wanted to run a WTB Nano 40 and was told by Niner that it would probably rub. Your clearance looks very tight and I’m afraid it would rub under hard efforts so I wanted to know your experience.
Hello and thanks for writing. The bike’s owner, Scott, has experienced no tyre rub with the MSO 40. However, I could see this being an issue with MSO 40 tyre. In my experience with the MSO 40, they aren’t always the straightest of tyres (as in rolling round / straight), and that could definitely attribute to some frame rub. Clearance is indeed tight, which has been a complaint of mine concerning the new wave of “gravel bikes”.
Hey, I just found your website – new to the gravel grinder scene – and I have found it motivating and informative!
I bought the Niner BSB 9 RDO about a month ago and have been hemming and hawing over wheel choice. I intend on racing CX (not UCI) this fall but want to ride as much gravel and easy off road as I can until then. I like the idea of the AC MTB Race 29ers. How narrow of a tire do you think you could you put on that wheel – so I know what my options are? My intension is to run tubeless.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Lee
Hi Lee,
My guys on the Gravel Cyclist team have used the Clement X’Plor MSO (can be configured tubeless) in 40mm, or the excellent Maxxis Rambler in 40mm on these wheels. Check out my recent review of this tyre. Both of these tyres on that particular wheelset will fit in an RDO.
Thanks for your question.
JOM
Hi JOM,
Thank you for the reply. Yes I did read both of those reviews, I think I want to go larger that a standard cx tire (31mm) but not as large as 40mm. I cannot find a minimum tire size recommendation from AC and was hoping you could offer some guidance on how narrow I could go on the MTB Race 29.
Lee, you need to post your question to American Classic directly. We haven’t run anything narrower than a 38mm tire on these wheels. With that said, I have seen a 38mm Challenge Gravel Grinder tyre installed onto an American Classic Wide Lightning wheelset, which features an even wider rim bed.
Sorry I wouldn’t provide the answer you were looking for.
Thanks JOM,
No worries – still a fan.
Ride fast,
Lee