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Show your SIR 9's!

296K views 570 replies 211 participants last post by  offrhodes42 
#1 · (Edited)
There are a few SIR 9's separately around the forum, but I seek a big heap of photos and spec talk around this most desirable piece of metal. Hope I get some company.

I'll start off with my own: a 2008 SIR 9 , large, color tang. Wheels are Chris King hubs built with Mavic TN719 and some Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2,25", the rest is stuff like XTR pedals on Middleburn cranks, Avid Juicy 7 brakes, Thomson/ RaceFace controls on King headset, WTB saddle on Thomson post. Oh, and sorry about the duct tape on the seatpost to all you eagle-eyed connoiseurs. It's handy, if not beautiful.

Weight is somewhere around 10,2 kg (22,5lbs).
 

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#177 ·
1x10 with XT 2012

24.8 lbs
Crests/240s/Ti spokes (1460g)
Tubeless Racing Ralphs Snake Skin
Exotic Ti post
Selle Italia SLR XC Gel Flow
FOX F29 80mm (2010, non-FIT)
1x10 Full XT (2012) Transmission
Elixir 5's (soon to be replaced by R1s)
XTR pedals

I have used it SS and 1x9 with rigid fork. Now this is v3.0 with 1x10 and the FOX.
 

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#180 ·
having recently converted my Sir to 1x10 and Fox Fork ( similar to Dr Biele but more clunky X9 components) i have found that gearing the SIR and providing it more cush up front exposes its flex as a weakness.

It seems to run best with a Niner Carbon fork and SS where the flex and give allow the bike to dig in and spring around. When suspended and geared your riding position is more fixed and you can feel that frame siphoning the energy from each pedal stroke.

Best leave the SIR as an SS or just a cruiser, to ask anything more requires moving to something else. I still love my SIR and its now the oldest bike in my quiver. All above is not a critisism is just my observation.
 
#182 · (Edited)
That sounds backwards to me. You generally apply a lot more torque to the pedals & frame when riding SS, grinding hard up a climb, pulling on the bars, mashing the pedals. So that's when you want a stiffer frame so that torque doesn't go into flexing the frame. With gears, I tend to do more sitting and spinning, so I'm not flexing the bike as much.

If you are a big and/or strong rider, then the SIR9 might just be too flexy for you, especially if riding SS. I'm not big or strong, so it works well for me. I like the ride feel and the handling. I never notice the flex on the trails, but if I'm riding on pavement and wiggle the handlebars I can really feel the frame wiggling under me. If I try this with my Tallboy, it doesn't wiggle at all, and it's a full-squish bike with a 120mm fork on it.

I have had my SIR9 set up as 1x9 and as SS, and I like it both ways. I haven't tried a rigid fork on it, though. I have a 100mm Terralogic fork on it, and I think that is the perfect setup on a hardtail, especially for SS riding. I might try a rigid fork with a high-volume tire someday, but I ride in rocky terrain and after riding rigid (on my old titanium 26er with steel fork) for an hour or so I start feeling beat up.
 
#183 ·
I have 2 sirs one is set up SS full rigid and the other is geared with fox. I also own a One9and a Jet9 so I can compare. The Sir's are very stiff in the rear triangle for a steel bike which provides very good power transfer. This is why most find the Sir very good as a full rigid SS. The rear triangle of the Sir is not 853, just the front triangle. If you torque the bars while seated by lifting one side and pushing down on the other, they are more flexy than the One and way more flexy than the Jet. This doesn't mean much though in actual riding since I have never met a bike that I could not flex in this way. There are almost no actual riding situations that I can think of where you would be seated and pulling up with one hand and pushing down with the other on the bars. In reality, when you would be pulling up on one side of the bars is when you are standing and in that situation, the seat can move from side to side and there is not that much flex. The 853 steel provides an exceptional ride full rigid and allows you to ride a full rigid for hours at at time. It is true that I am faster on the One and Jet than one the Sirs by a little bit, but the Sirs are more comfortable than the One and obviously, the rear suspension on the Jet allows flying over some spots that are not possible with hardtails and provides more comfort, but the extra weight also wears you out faster. Since I don't race at 57, if life conspired that I could only have one bike it would be a Sir. Although in the last year, I have ridden my One the most since I am enjoying front suspension and SS. Last year I rode my SS Sir the most. So if I could only have one bike it would be a SS Sir with suspension at this age.
 
#189 ·
If you read the description it says that the bearings have a triple wiper seal and are filled with Phil Wood Grease so the crank "set" includes the bearings. And yes, this crank will fit the Niner EBB and is in fact the type of crank they recommend (the type with external BB bearings).
 
#192 ·
SIR9 Build

Having bought a 2009 Rootbeer frame (Large) on eBay I'm gradually finding bits for my first 29er build.

I'll have a Reba RL 1+1/8" steerer suspension fork - can I use any 1+1/8" headset, or are headsets 29er specific? I know it sounds like a stupid question, but there's a Cane Creek headset (S3 Plus 5) that is advertised as "suiting 29er's" :confused:
 
#194 ·
There are 3 basic type s of headsets and a few other variations to boot. There are: Traditional, Integrated, and Zero Stack. Sir's take what is called a traditional headset that is pressed in. I am not familiar with that specific Cane Creek model, but you can contact them and they will tell you what models will work for traditional headtube designs.

I like the Surley kit but it is not particularly light. If you want light then the best aluminum sprocket in my experience is Niner. If you want steel then Surley are very robust. If you want Ti or custom or aluminum center with steel teeth then Homebrew Components who is on this site is the best for those.
 
#195 ·
To answer a couple of your questions.

Cane Creek probably refer to it as suitable for 29'ers because it has a minimum stack height outside the head tube. 29'ers are higher in the head tube than 26'ers so a lot of riders run less spacers.

Chris King do a high quality stainless steel sprocket and spacer kit with an optional ti locking ring for a bit extra. Check out aspirevelotech.com
 
#197 ·
Just Finished

Shared this in other forums, but thought it
d be really at home here!

Sir9: size large rootbeer
Niner Steel rootbeer fork
White Ind square taper bb
White Ind ENO cranks
White Ind 34t Chainrin w bashguard
Shimano XT Pedals
Chris King No Threadset
Pro Carbon 80mm Stem
Pro Carbon Hi Rise Bars
Ritchey WCS Ergo Foam Grips
Shimano XT Brakes (Black still need to shorten lines)
Ice Tech Rotors 160
Thompson Seat Clamp
Thompson Masterpiece Seatpost
Brooks Swift Titanium Saddle
Chris King SS cog 19t w spacers
White Ind ENO disc Hubs built onto Stans Archs
Loaded Titanium Skewers
Conti Mountain King
Maxxis Ikon 2.2 Rear
 

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#198 ·
Shared this in other forums, but thought it
d be really at home here!

Sir9: size large rootbeer
Niner Steel rootbeer fork
White Ind square taper bb
White Ind ENO cranks
White Ind 34t Chainrin w bashguard
Shimano XT Pedals
Chris King No Threadset
Pro Carbon 80mm Stem
Pro Carbon Hi Rise Bars
Ritchey WCS Ergo Foam Grips
Shimano XT Brakes (Black still need to shorten lines)
Ice Tech Rotors 160
Thompson Seat Clamp
Thompson Masterpiece Seatpost
Brooks Swift Titanium Saddle
Chris King SS cog 19t w spacers
White Ind ENO disc Hubs built onto Stans Archs
Loaded Titanium Skewers
Conti Mountain King
Maxxis Ikon 2.2 Rear
Very nice! What's the weight (must be quite light I imagine...)?
 
#206 ·
Here's mine

Fair enough.

Just putting the finishing touches to mine, and here she is (built from bits bought off eBay and online retailer clearance sales). Frame is a Large. It's had a fair bit of use but still seems OK. Tubeless wheel set up with Stans milk (local area is thorny).

Still need to cut and bleed the rear brake hose and change the chain from SRAM PC7X to a PC870 8 speed - my drivechain is 3/32" but that 7 speed chain is 1/8" and thanks to MTBR forums I've discovered that's not a good thing!

Also putting on some Ergon GX2 grips and carbon bar ends when I can afford them...

Oh and I will probably cut the steerer down further to get rid of some of those spacers, and am on the lookout for a cheap Niner carbon fork to try...

Weight is 24lbs on the nose. If I can find a Niner carbon fork on eBay it should drop by 2lbs.
 

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#207 ·
Fair enough.

Just putting the finishing touches to mine, and here she is (built from bits bought off eBay and online retailer clearance sales). Frame is a Large. It's had a fair bit of use but still seems OK. Tubeless wheel set up with Stans milk (local area is thorny).

Still need to cut and bleed the rear brake hose and change the chain from SRAM PC7X to a PC870 8 speed - my drivechain is 3/32" but that 7 speed chain is 1/8" and thanks to MTBR forums I've discovered that's not a good thing!

Also putting on some Ergon GX2 grips and carbon bar ends when I can afford them...

Oh and I will probably cut the steerer down further to get rid of some of those spacers, and am on the lookout for a cheap Niner carbon fork to try...

Weight is 24lbs on the nose. If I can find a Niner carbon fork on eBay it should drop by 2lbs.
Spencer, it's looking good. I like the white fork. I will most likely put a Niner steel fork in Root Beer on it in a month or so.
 
#209 ·
Clean, Green

My main bike is a One 9, so I built this up for the wife. She chose the frame color and I built up the frame with nearly identical parts to my Niner (good to have a back up). Lucky for me she rides the same size frame, so I think I might end up putting quite a few miles on this green machine. Set up as a 1x9 for easy conversion to SS if desired. :thumbsup:

Bicycle tire Bicycle frame Bicycle wheel Tire Bicycle fork


Bicycle tire Tire Bicycle frame Bicycle wheel Wheel
 
#215 ·
new do-it-all Kermit Green SIR 9
she is set up SS First ( I have the 1x9 drive-train in the bin)
Niner SIR9 Medium frame Kermit
reba rl 100mm fork
Stan's arch EX wheels
Niner kermit Flat top bar
Niner kermit carbon seat post
salsa QR binder
wtb rocket v slt TI saddle
CK red head set
Kermit Green Osi Grips
Shimano SLX brakeset w/ HSX rotors
race face deus crank arms
Niner 32t chainring
Niner 20t cog
s-works fast track 2.0 rear tire - tubeless
schwable Nobby Nic 2.25 front tire - tubeless
2 specialized water bottle cages
xtr trail pedals
weight 22.44
 

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