How to slacken HTA on Niner RKT RDO?

Pampa

Well-Known Member
My 2017 Niner RKT has a HTA of 70*, with a 120mm Fox fork (71* with a 100mm Fox fork). The trails I want to ride now have longer, more rocky/technical descents that what I was riding before and this geometry is not very confidence inspiring, especially after eating it bad enough that I cracked a helmet. Other than this problem, I like the bike's geometry, I invested quite a lot in the buildup and fine tuning it, and it's in great shape so I'd hate to have to sell it when it still has a lot of life for me.

The bike has an integrated headset (from Niner specs: 1.125" x 1.5" tapered integrated "Campy style" Cane Creek IS42/28.6 IS52/40). I saw a company that put out an adaptor for this type of headset not long ago but it's made for headsets with IS41/28.6 at the top, so it's not compatible with my frame (Slack-R). The difference between the IS42 and IS41 is 0.8mm. It's a long shot but... I'm wondering if anyone knows about a spacer 0.8mm thick that I could fit between the frame's upper "cup" and the IS41 part.

I've dig some and found put a higher profile front tire (not sure that'll do much though) and change one or both bolts on the rear shock to shorten the eye-to-eye distance of the shock. This is supposed to change the HTA by 0.5-1.5 deg on bikes that have long travel rear socks (DH/Enduro) but my RKT has a 90mm shock, so the effect would be much smaller and I'd shortening the already short travel rear suspension.

Any other ideas on how to accomplish this?
 

Jmann

Never gonna let you down.
Cane creek and wolf tooth both make adjustable headsets, but not in your size. I have no idea if they can be made to work with your frame. Not sure of your fork model, but you could possibly bump your fork up to 130mm. I wouldn’t mess with the shock.

I think your best bet is to get a dropper and do the best with what you have. At least you can get your weight back to avoid going otb.
 

Pampa

Well-Known Member
New bike time is the right answer.
Yeah, I know. I might put my RKT on the market and see what I can get for it. I've been looking for a used Pivot Mach 4 SL frame. I should've pick that one (Mach 429 SL back in 2017) instead of the RKT.
 

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
32 or 34mm front fork?

If it's a 34, I'd say longer air shaft which would also give some more bottom bracket clearance assuming it's an XC bike with low clearance. I doubt a 32mm can go to 130mm.

But 100% buy a dropper first!
 

Pampa

Well-Known Member
32 or 34mm front fork?

If it's a 34, I'd say longer air shaft which would also give some more bottom bracket clearance assuming it's an XC bike with low clearance. I doubt a 32mm can go to 130mm.

But 100% buy a dropper first!

32mm fork. The BB clearance it's not bad, at lest I haven't noticed any problems ever. The dropper can only things better but I already ride with my butt behind the saddle in tricky descents. I guess the main thing is that I'll be able to avoid getting my nuts hit with the saddle - it has happened :)
 

Pampa

Well-Known Member
Check to see if you can get a ibis ripley demo if your leaning dwlink.
Nice bike! The rear shock cutting through the middle of the triangle kills me though :) I want this bike for a bikepacking race (Colorado Trail Race, as the TD is not happening this year) and this setup won't let me have a frame bag. It's also more trail oriented than what I'm looking for at 66.5 HTA! That's a big change from 70 deg :) I've been riding Niner bikes for years, which all have steep HTAs (70/71 for the SS Air 9 and Air 9 RDO). I was thinking about 68.5/68 would be about right but I guess I have to try and see. The 3rd bike in the mix when I decided for the RKT was a Santa Cruz Tall Boy 3 (68 deg). I'm also looking for one of those frames/bikes to try.
 

Pampa

Well-Known Member
I sent an email to 9point8 asking for ideas to hack this and they told me they'll be releasing a version of their adjuster for IS42 in the Spring. I can wait a couple of months so we'll see. I still plan to get a dropper.
 
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