rigid air 9 for my daily workout bike

[DTP]

my Bikes:

- Jet 9 RDO (for trails)

- Jet 9 alloy (for my daily 25 mile ON ROAD workout)


my concerns:

- I am looking change my Jet 9 alloy to an Air 9 RDO for my daily ON-ROAD workout

- if i would be getting an Air 9 RDO. Should i think of going rigid or hardtail?

- would i be better off using my jet 9 alloy?

- should i get a road bike instead?

[Adim_X]

I think this is a good opportunity to start looking at cyclocross bikes trail worthy.... yet road worthy.....

[mopartodd]

A roadbike would give you more variety.

[SlowPokePete]

I would go for a road bike.

It's really nice to zip along at speed ... which is what a road bike is all about.

I have a carbon, high end road rig that I don't ride much, since I'm not a fan of traffic and I prefer woods riding. But when I do get out there on it, it is so nice to feel the speed and watch the miles click away.



SPP

[ozynigma]

Easy, rigid and singlespeed will give you a great workout.

A couple of days a week I do a similar pavement commute 2 x 21 kms on a rigid SIR 9 with carbon Niner fork and 35mm slick tyres.


Untitled by ozynigma, on Flickr

[oldskoolm4]

Why would you want a mtb for road? Not trying to be rude just curious.
I'd go with a road bike. I ride the hell out of mine.

[DTP]

Why would you want a mtb for road? Not trying to be rude just curious.
I'd go with a road bike. I ride the hell out of mine.

reasons:

i never had a road bike, no one in my group has one. i am kinda bored when i ride on the road (no offense to roadies).

although, a few buddies are asking me to get one coz they want me in their team. i just dont see myself having the heart of a roadie.

i know nothing about road bikes.

i dont mind going 50 miles on a MTB

thats the plain truth and thanks for taking the time to reply.

[GSJ1973]

my Bikes:

- Jet 9 RDO (for trails)

- Jet 9 alloy (for my daily 25 mile ON ROAD workout)


my concerns:

- I am looking change my Jet 9 alloy to an Air 9 RDO for my daily ON-ROAD workout

- if i would be getting an Air 9 RDO. Should i think of going rigid or hardtail?

- would i be better off using my jet 9 alloy?

- should i get a road bike instead?

You need a rigid carbon singlespeed.

[DTP]

You need a rigid carbon singlespeed.

This is exactly what i rode earlier today... a rigid AIR 9 carbon and it being SS did not help either. It was a demo bike from my local niner dealer.

it being:

RIGID: was not for me. i wouldnt go rigid on the trails. on road, i would ride it! only if its smooth asphalt. the problem here is that potholes are everywhere especially during the rainy season.

SINGLESPEED: as first it was awesome, cadence was good and the Q rings performed exceptionally. When I hit the top speed for that gear that was it. I had to wait until the spped was right so that i can resume pedaling. maybe i should experiment on the proper gearing.

CARBON: was the best part of it all. It climbs were easier and the overall feel was good

HARDTAIL: I loved the abrupt acceleration that helped me get out of the traffic (literally between cars). it felt like it had a punch that made the bike nimble. I dont know if its because of it being a hardtail, due to the Q rings or because it weighed 18 pounds.


would i go:

singlespeed - no

rigid - no

carbon - yes

hardtail - maybe

Q rings - although i dont know much about this it looks interesting


the only problem with being hardtail is that on high cadence i tend to "bounce" on the seat when i get to a cadence of 85 and above.

[ozynigma]

Hi DTP, a few comments;
1) Rigid or suspension fork, your call for your conditions.
2) SS, its an acquired taste, I first rode SS for medical reasons, now I love it so much my geared commuter options sit at home. You have to have road gearing though not mountain gearing. I rode my SIR9 with 32/20 mountain gearing and slicks and it was awful above about 17km/hr. My current gearing is 48/18 or a bit over 70 gear inches. I can cruise anywhere from 20 to 30km/hr at different cadences. The trick is to have your gearing so high that you can only just climb your steepest hill out of the saddle. Then you cruise the rest with a varied cadence and occasional out of the saddle burst.
3) Carbon, no contest, if you can afford it. For a commuter I can't justify the extra cost of a Niner carbon frame over a Niner steel frame.
4) Hardtail, definitely go the hardtail, your potholes can't be that big.
Re the bouncing, that sounds strange and you might have to look at your pedalling technique and bike fit because 85 is not a high cadence. For me SS reduces my average cadence and I use 180mm cranks so I am tending to pedal bigger slower circles.
Re your post about why not a road bike, I agree completely. For my commute I find the more upright position and wider stance of a flat bar mtb far more comfortable to ride and more confident to manouvere. I also love the all weather and all conditions performance of disc brakes over rim brakes.

[JeffS]

Ride what you're comfortable with.

That said, for the price of just an RDO frame, you could go on ebay and buy something that you would be happier with in the long run.

[dremags]

I say rigid with gears. I'm building one myself because I'm tired of my cross/road bike. A mtb can be almost as fast as a road bike with the right rider and I'm starting to really like the mtb geometry better then the road.

[DTP]

luvin your comments! i am learning so much from you and i really appreciate it!

THANK YOU