Niner was never in doubt about the potential of long-travel 29ers.

A decade ago, when most of its rivals believed that packaging the 29er wheel into a long-travel frameset was too challenging, Niner was marketing its 140mm enduro bike.

After a few years without a significant frame update in the enduro segment, Niner has now released a new WFO 9 RDO.

Read more: the best enduro mountain bikes 

This new bike is configured as a true double-black descent capable enduro bike, with 170mm of rear travel and 180mm up front. Compared to the standard 9 RDO, it has 30mm more rear squish to absorb those big drops and large terrain impacts.

With its characteristic cage struct surrounding the shock, the new WFO 9 RDO looks different to most of Niner’s legacy enduro bikes. Although its vertical lower shock mount is similar to many rivals, the frame does look different, with its cross members and single-piece rear triangle – both these design features notably increase lateral stiffness.

The WFO 9 RDO is not lacking in travel

Niner’s product planners have equipped the WFO 9 RDO range with 38mm stanchion forks, which sets the bike at a 64 ° head angle, balanced by a 77 ° seat angle. All the available 180mm fork options, have a 44mm offset.

Geometry is adjustable, courtesy of a flip-chip on the aft section upper link. If you are nervous of pedal strikes or wish to quicken steering a touch, the flip-chip can raise the WFO 9 RDO’s bottom bracket by 9mm and steeped its head angle by 0.7 °.

Reach numbers are decent, across all three frame sizes. The WFO 9 RDO small has 437mm of reach, followed by the medium with 457mm and 487mm on the large.

Kinematics are designed for the latest generation of air shocks, as opposed to long-travel coil suspension, the WFO 9 RDO using Niner’s CVA linkage layout. The two frame triangles can react independently to terrain inputs, linked by dual co-rotating links.

A good platform for your extreme enduro build

The frame doesn’t feature an oversized seat tube, popular with many newer 29er enduro bikes. Designers at Niner settled on the 30.9mm size tube size, which should accommodate a 200mm dropper post.

There is adequate drive side chainstay clearance to run a 36t chainring, if you need all the speed, and drivetrain compatibility should be great, with SRAM’s universal derailleur hanger system present.

Riders who dislike the potential creaking of a misaligned pressfit bottom bracket, will be heartened that Niner has opted to finish the new WFO 9 RDO with a 73mm threaded bottom bracket.

With its huge suspension travel numbers, Niner knows the new WFO 9 RDO is going to live a tough riding life, in the terrain firing line. A downtube shuttle guard is supported by additional frame protection, to prevent debris or terrain strikes from ruining your shiny new 170mm 29er.