First Look Friday: Niner JET 9, Kitted Wonder Ring, SRAM X1 drivetrain

First Look Friday is an introduction to the products that we are currently testing for review. This week we’re featuring a Niner Jet 9, a Kitted chainring, and SRAM’s X1 drivetrain.

Niner Jet 9 Carbon

The Jet 9 Carbon is Niner’s cross-country offering featuring a carbon front triangle and an alloy rear. The seat post and handlebar are also carbon. We have the orange/ blaze yellow colour way in for testing, there is also a more conservative black/ slate grey option for those seeking a little less attention.

The 2016 three star XT specification features a full M8000 XT groupset with the option of running it 1x or 2x. Notably, Niner have gone with the bold choice of fitting a Rock Shox Pike to the front. Our test model, however, is an interim build and features the previous generation of XT components and a Rock Shox Reba.

Features:

• Carbon full suspension front triangle with alloy rear triangle
• 100MM of CVA suspension is efficient in every chainring
• Compatible with 100-120MM Tapered Forks
• Tuned for CVA – Rock Shox Monarch RT with Fast Black coating
• Forged alloy suspension linkage and unique Niner hardware
• 142x12MM rear spacing
• PF30 bottom bracket
• Extra small size with industry leading standover
• Available in: Orange/Blaze Yellow or Black/Slate Grey

2016 Niner Jet 9 Carbon XT Specifications

• FrameJET 9 CARBON – Orange/Blaze Yellow and Black/Slate Grey
• ForkROCKSHOX PIKE RC SOLO AIR 120MM, 110X15MM
• WheelsNINER ALLOY, 110X15MM FRONT, 142 X 12MM REAR, NINER GRAPHIC
• TiresMAXXIS IKON SC 2.35 F, 2.20 R
• Brakes and RotorsSHIMANO XT M8000 ICE TECH PADS, 180/160MM RT86 ICE TECH ROTORS
• Brake LeversSHIMANO XT M8000
• Front DerailleurSHIMANO XT M8000 11SP (IF APPLICABLE)
• Front ShifterSHIMANO XT M8000 2/3SP I-SPEC II (IF APPLICABLE)
• Rear DerailleurSHIMANO XT M8000 GS 11SP SHADOW PLUS
• Rear ShifterSHIMANO XT M8000 11SP I-SPEC II
• CassetteSHIMANO XT M8000 11-42T
• ChainSHIMANO XT HG-600 11SP
• CranksetSHIMANO XT M8000 36/26T (32T 1X)
• Bottom BracketSHIMANO XT MT80
• SaddleNINER CUSTOM WITH CR-MO RAILS, NINER GRAPHIC
• Seat postNINER CARBON SEAT POST, 400MM, NINER GRAPHIC
• HandlebarNINER FLAT TOP CARBON, 710MM, NINER GRAPHIC
• Stem NINER ALLOY STEM, NINER GRAPHIC
• NinerNINER GRRRIPS L/O NYLON

Pricing

JET 9 Carbon XT 1x R59,109.30
JET 9 Carbon XT 2x R61,858.57
Frame only R27,221.03

Kitted Wonder Ring

South African company Kitted manufacture a number of products aimed to solve your drivetrain woes. Their retention chainrings currently cater for 104BCD and 94 BCD (SRAM 1x cranks), they also recently introduced a direct mount chainring for SRAM BB30 cranks with removable spiders. Kitted also offer a 42T cassette range extender.

We’ve been given a 32T Wonder Ring to bolt onto one of our test bikes. This chainring sells for R500 and is available through the Kitted website.

SRAM X1

SRAM released their first 1 x 11 speed mountain bike drivetrain in 2012. Much to their own surprise, it was adopted by pros, amateurs and manufacturers alike. Following XX1 was the slightly toned down X01 range which was still on the expensive side.

Roll on another year and SRAM’s X1 was introduced in a bid to offer the same performance and reliability, but in an even cheaper package. It is still the same groupset, but it is now carved out of alloy rather than made from carbon and we no longer have the option of a Twist Grip shifter.

All of this means it weighs in at 1750g (vs 1525g for X01 and 1473g for XX1) which is still competitive thanks to the lack of front derailleur and shifter.

Recommend retail price: R13,500.00

Features:

• Single ring, 11 speed drivetrain
• 10 – 42 eleven speed cassette that uses a proprietary XD driver body
• Eleven speed X1 X-Horizon rear derailleur with Cage Lock
• Aluminium crank arms
• 30, 32, 34, 36 or 38 tooth X-Sync chain rings in both direct or standard mount and 26, 28 and 40 tooth direct mount only
• Eleven speed trigger shifter