The Niner WFO was ahead of its time when it came out many years ago, Steve Domahidy and Chris Sugai showed off their all mountain 29er to us at Sea Otter with great pride but it was always a struggle to get the best forks and the best tires in this category of 29er.

The old WFO was decent but it was nothing like this new bike. See: https://www.dirtragmag.com/reviews/niner-wfo for info on the outgoing model. It was steep with a 70 degree head angle, tall, long and it looked like a complicated behemoth frame for a bike with 140 mm of travel and 17.9 inch stays.

That's why we were pumped to see the new WFO. It has 150 mm of rear travel and it sports a 67 degree slack head angle. It is lower to the ground and the top tube is shorter for better all mountain fit. The frame now looks small, compact and playful.



And here's the kicker, the chainstays are short at 443 mm or 17.4 inches. Since the CVA is not the most space efficient rear suspension out there and since Niner likes to allow for very big tires, Niner pulled off this feat by making the hard but brilliant decision that this bike will be 1x11 compatible only. This means no front derailleur can ever be installed on this bike. The rider has to live with SRAM 1x11 drivetrains or custom 1-chainring system in the front with guide. Niner is among the first in a wave of companies to do away with the front derailleur. Specialized Epic World Cup Edition is another. Does Mtbr feel this is a sound decision? Why yes. If the performance gains are significant such as in a 29er with short stays, this is a worthy move since the SRAM 1x11 system is an A+ game changer of a drivetrain. It works and it has range. The only downside is the XX and XO 1x11 systems currently available are quite expensive.



The chainstays are short at 17.4 inches compared to last year's 17.9 with less travel. However, these are not the shortest as the other dramatic entries in this field are the Specialized Enduro 29er with 16.9 inches with 155 mm of travel. And the new BMC TF01 with 17.1 inch stays with 150 mm of travel.

Having ridden the competition, we can say that this category of bike really has something to offer beyond those newfangled 27.5 rigs even. When the going gets loose and chunky, a well-built high travel 29er can plow through obstacles and still carve the corners and play in mid-air. We can't wait to try out this new WFO.

Niner did some studies btw comparing descending speeds of 29er and 27.5 all mountain Bikes. The venue was the lift-assisted trails of Keystone Bike Park in Colorado. This is a true all mountain course with chunky rocks and raucous descents. Of course the source may be biased given that Niner is a 29-inch wheel sized only company. But we don't doubt their general findings that in these conditions, a well designed 29er is faster.





WFO 9 Details - From the Manufacturer

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, evolving 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-****-eating-grin-overshooting-to-HYFR.

The big wheels bring the kind of speed through the chop and stability in the air that any rider 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 ok thoughk we weren't sure ourselves when when we made the first WFO 9 in 2009. But it's 2013, we've done the homework. This is the new WFO 9 and it redefines what a Niner can do.
  • Airformed Alloy Full Suspension from the 29er-Only Mountain Bike Company
  • 150mm of Patented CVA Suspension is Controlled and Sensitive
  • Compatible with 150-170mm Forks
  • Tuned for CVA - RockShox Monarch Plus RC3
  • ISCG 05 Tabs and Offset Linkage Design for Chianguide Compatibility
  • Forged Suspension Linkage and Unique Niner Alloy Hardware
  • 142mm x 12mm Rear Spacing
CVA™ Suspension
The WFO 9 features Niner's patented CVA™ suspension (U.S. Patent No. 7,934,739) and delivers 150mm of fully active travel with superb compliance and damping via a tuned for CVA™ RockShox Monarch Plus RC3 shock. The three modes of the RC3 offer a bit more pedaling efficiency when you need to stomp up to the next stage and the increased shock length and stroke maintain a low leverage ratio for best performance. For those seeking the technical advantages of 29" wheels combined with pedaling efficiency and remarkable sensitivity, CVA™ is the front-runner. The result? A faster, smoother ride up and down the trail.

Versatile Geometry
The WFO 9 geometry has been totally revised. Shorter chain stays, slacker head tube angle, shorter head tube, shorter top tube, lower BB height and a lower stand over announce that this bike is ready to get it on.

Airformed Tubing
The next installment of Niner's airformed trilogy is complete. Shaping the WFO 9 frame tubes with compressed air in a heated mold gives us greater control over wall thickness and material uniformity, allowing the use of less metal. The new WFO 9 is over 300g lighter than its predecessor - total Medium frame weight is 7.3lbs (no Maxle or seat collar) compared to 8lbs (no Maxle or seat collar) for the old model.

Tapered Headtube
The increased surface area of a tapered headtube allows for a larger downtube, increasing strength and rigidity at this critical intersection. Tapered fork steerer tubes measurably reduce fork deflection, which means your WFO 9 tracks straight and true. The full spectrum of riders from XC racers to those who "only ride park" benefit from these features which is why we incorporate the technology in all our frames.

Attention to Detail
  • Dedicated 142 x 12mm drops are custom-forged for a sleek look that flows seamlessly to the stays
  • Derailleur hanger mounted inside of drop out for better protection and to preserve the clean lines (optional hanger available for Shimano's new DM standard)
  • New post-mount rear brake mount is hollow to reduce weight
  • Custom forged seat stay and chain stay yokes reduce weight and maintain the lines of the airformed tubes
  • Bigger Enduro MAX bearings increase durability by distributing suspension load over a larger bearing race and allow the use of new larger-diameter alloy hardware
  • Chainstay/Seatstay tree replaced by massive asymmetrical brace, increasing rigidity and incorporating the look and feel of its shorter travel brethren
  • Seat Tube Main Pivot is integrated directly into the tube rather than welded to the front of the seat tube
  • Custom Forged BB incorporates the lower forward pivot, ISCG 05 mounts, lower shock mount and BSA BB shell in one beautifully shaped (hollow) work of art. The keyed lower forward alloy pivot bolt does double duty as the third ISCG 05 tab.
  • Full housing from shifter to derailleur with dropper routing along the top tube
  • Zero Stack/Inset head tube is Angleset compatible