This is the information for the Jet 9

- all measurements are based off of an 80mm travel fork
- 30.9mm seat post size, 350mm length recommended
- 35mm seat clamp size (not included)
- 34.9mm Front derailleur size, top mount (bottom swing) bottom pull derailleur req.
- 68mm BB shell

Niner took the critically acclaimed CVA™ suspension design from the R.I.P. 9 and brought it over to the all new Jet 9, reduced the travel, lowered the weight, and gave the Jet 9 a more race inspired geometry. Our goal was simple, combine the fully active, incredibly efficient CVA™ suspension system with the handling characteristics of our award winning hardtail frames and create a fun, fast offroad machine capable of handling the rough stuff at a race ready weight.

Although the Jet 9 is designed around the same handling characteristics as our hardtail frames, many things change on a full suspension bike that make this a lot more difficult than plugging the numbers in from our rigid bikes. BB height difference and chainstay length change to accommodate rear wheel travel and the head tube angle has to take into account sag of the rear suspension. In order for all of these changes to come together into a tight package, Niner started from scratch and went through the same exhaustive prototyping that ALL Niner frames get. We spent countless hours both in the computer and on the trail dialing in everything from the head tube to the rear drop out. The result is a fast, nimble cross country machine.

You can see by the geometry chart above that our head tube is still a steep 72 degrees. Once again, this is to account for the larger trail number (see trail chart) of the 29” wheel. Thetrail chart is showing the difference in trail between a 29” and 26” wheel at 71 degrees and a 29” and 26” wheel at 72 degrees. In order to maintain the tight, fast handling of our hardtails, the Jet 9 continues with a steep 72 degrees. Through our testing, we realized that the larger size of the 29” wheel offers so much increased stability that a shorter trail measurement did not adversely affect the handling of the bike at high speeds but made for faster slow speed handling. This was an ideal situation for the Jet 9, giving it the ability to fly down high speed descents while still having amazing steering characteristics around even the tightest hairpin corners. In addition, the steeper head tube angle on the Jet 9 keeps the wheelbase short and tight and works brilliantly with either an 80mm or 100mm fork.

As you can see, the small frame has a half a degree slacker head tube angle. We found out through testing that we could kick the head angle back by half a degree on the small frames without any repercussions. At some point, there is a diminishing return on a short wheelbase, and we found that the slacker head tube angle on the small frames allowed for a slightly longer wheel base and increased stability for the shorter rider. In addition, this slightly slacker angle increase toe clearance with the front wheel.

The sloping top tube of the R.I.P. 9 carries over into the Jet 9. This is, of course, to offer more stand over clearance. Since the Jet 9 has a taller bottom bracket height, and a longer seat tube (for use with a shorter seat post), it was absolutely necessary to drop the top tube down for added clearance. In addition, the downtube, like all of our Scandium and 7005 series frames, has a custom butted and proprietary bent downtube which both adds strength while offering clearance for those tall, pesky fork crowns.

Looking back at the geometry chart, the Jet 9 has a noticeably longer seat tube length than the seat tube length on the hard tail geometry. This reason is two fold: since we knew that we were going to be sloping the top tube and using a gusset, it just made sense to extend the seat tube for added strength since the standover height was being taken care of by the top tube/seat tube gusset. In addition, the seat tube is bent to allow room for the rear wheel travel, so Niner wanted there to be as much seat tube above the bend as possible to allow for maximum seat post adjustment. On the small frame, there might be a limited amount of seatpost adjustment, but it’s enough to get the seat down and out of the way on those hairy, steep descents. The bent seat tube was absolutely necessary to keep the chainstay short and allow enough room for a front derailleur and clearance for the rear seatstay bridge while maintaining proper tire clearance around the bridge. All of this is extremely tight, and Niner worked tirelessly until the puzzle was solved and the tri-fecta of tire clearance, bridge clearance, and derailleur clearance was met.

By the geometry chart, the seat tube angles appear to be flip flopped, with the small and medium frames getting slightly slacker seat tube angles than the large and extra large frames. This is correct and for a reason. As riders get taller, they typically have more seatpost sticking out. This stands to reason. Since the seat tube angle that is measured on the geometry chart is “effective” and is only measured to the junction of the effective top tube line, taller riders will easily raise their seats above this junction. Because of the bent seat tube, any height of the seat above the effective top tube line will cause the effective seat tube to become slacker.

In keeping with Niner’s philosophy of geometry, the Jet 9 has extremely short chainstays for a 29” wheel bike. This helps in tight singletrack and switchback situations, keeping the wheelbase tight and manageable while keeping the riders weight over the rear wheel for added grip in climbing situations.

Every size frame comes with two water bottle locations: one in the main triangle and one on the underside of the downtube. On the small frame, some larger water bottles may not fit into the main triangle cage location.