I was riding my Monstercross bike out near Russian River on the Islands in the Sky loop. I was with a friend who was riding the Evil Chamois Hagar, a slacked out gravel bike with an MTB drive train and of course drop bars. It was a 1.5 mile 895ft climb at nearly 12%. I was definitely smoked on the climb by my friend. Fitness is probably to blame but I’ll blame a few seconds on the 6lb bike weight differential.
After the climb there was a 1.3 mile 10% grade descent down the backside of the mountain that was on loose, dry, trails. A flowy washboard if such a thing exists. I’m running WTB Byway tires which have a slick middle and knobby edges for grip.
Not ideal. After the descent we climbed back up and started the descent back to the car. A crazy descent over 1 mile dropping 850 ft at 13.5% average grade. This was pretty rough, muddy, and not well traversed trail. I’m not afraid to admit that I walked portions.
The wrong bike blues
The whole ride I wasn’t quite comfortable.
On the first climb, while pedaling a 26 pound bike up that 12% grade, I watched my friend with his carbon fiber 20 pound gravel bike dance away from me.
Under my breath I wished for a lighter bike.
On the first descent, while my rigid fork rattled my bones and I washed out on every turn I wished, very much out loud, that I had grippy tires and a suspension fork.
On the subsequent climb over loose foliage, under my breath again, I wished for grippy tires and a lighter bike.
And finally, on the enduro bike worthy descent back to the car I wished for suspension, 29” wheels, and grippy tires. This time I was screaming for it.
Picking the right bike
I had brought the wrong bike. But what bike should I have brought?
My over forked Stumpjumper? It certainly would have been nice on the last ride down but would’ve been exhausting at worst and slow at best to spin up the steep climbs.
Should I have brought a gravel bike? My friend seemed to be pleased with the Chamois Hagar for almost everything except the hairy bits of the final descent. I personally do not prefer drops for descending and the tops don’t give you great access to the brakes.
Should I have turned the monstercross bike back into a hardtail with a 130mm fork and flat bars? It would have made the descent a lot more fun but I can’t imagine adding another 5lbs of Rockshox Recon RL fork to the bike on that climb.
I tried to ignore the the fact that I brought the wrong bike. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to do that ride often. It’s two hours away from my house. Still the thought persisted. It rattled around my head until I found myself online shopping one day for XC bikes.
Building the perfect XC bike: Niner Air 9
I could build up a nealy 20 pound bike with a lightweight fork and frame, maybe even with a dropper!
One day the perfect frame went on sale. A Niner Air 9 Aluminum hardtail that on paper only came in at 1661 grams. At $450 I told myself it was a steal. It’s not like I was buying a complete bike for three grand. It’s just a frame. I’ll take my time building it up and spread the cost across a few paychecks.
But it wouldn’t hurt to look right?
So I pulled up my trusty spreadsheet and started to get the team together.
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Hunt Race XC Wheels, 1647 grams and only $381
S-works Fast Trak tires weighing 1162 grams at $140
Rockshox Reba RL A9 120mm fork, 1602 grams at $380
A full Shimano 12 speed SLX groupset weighing 2379 grams at $590
It was finished off with PNW dropper, lever, handlebars, and grips. A specialized power comp saddle Raceface bb and stem and a Deore chain. The whole bike came in at $2334.50 and weighing 10.4 kg or 21lbs.
Before I knew it I had purchased everything within weeks of the frame purchase.
There was only one thing left to do, build it.
True build ended up tipping the scales at 23 pounds, this I had figured was from the amount of sealant I used to seal the tires as well as the frame being 400 grams heavier than what I had found online. These things happen when you ride the large frame. Sure I could have shaved some weight with an XT groupset and a SID ultimate fork but that would have added an extra $1400 dollars to the build. I figure if I really need to shave some weight there were a few other places I could do it for less money down the line.
So was it the right bike for the ride? I wouldn’t know I haven’t been back.
What I do know is this.
I took this XC bike out on my normal gravel ride, which includes a 1000ft ascent and descent on paved roads before actually riding gravel and this thing rips. I kept the same pace on the road sections while blowing the dirt section times out of the water. This bike is fast.
It also cost me $2300 so I better get out there and ride it a lot more.
What XC bike do you ride? Is it a Niner Air 9? Did you build it or did you buy it?
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