RIP9 all-mountain makeover

Getting a race bike freed the RIP9 from being my do-it-all bike, so I gave it an all-mountain makeover. (And by 'I', I mean Mike, who actually did the work - thanks Mike!). Not that I'm very aggressive or planning to do drops or jumps, but the watchword is differentiation. Why have two bikes if they aren't all that different?

So far, the changes are on the front end:
Front fork: new 120mm Reba XX w/ 20mm thru axle and tapered steerer in place of old 100mm Reba Team w/ 9mm QR.
Front wheel: new Stan's Flow rim w/ Hope Pro 2 hub in place of old Salsa Delgados rim w/ XT hub
Grips: Odi lockon grips in place of my worn down rubber ones
Tires: new Kenda Nevegals on front and rear (thanks, John!)

Possible future changes:
Rear thru axle (the RIP has replaceable rear dropouts)
Gravity dropper seatpost (so I can experience the joys of seatpost failure like everyone else who has one?)

Before

Now things are getting serious... Let's do this!

The essential ingredient

I dub thee, "White Chocolate"

New RIP9 frame

My warranty replacement RIP9 came in. Thanks to Chris at Adams Ave for working with Niner and building up the bike. The '09 model features major changes from the old version, including tapered head tube, hydroformed tubes, and replaceable rear dropouts (allowing rear thru-axle w/ adaptor dropouts)

RIP9 frame failure

My Niner RIP9 frame broke while climbing Cowles Mountain. Complete break of the two tubes running between the seat and chain stays. The frame was just under 2 yrs old - good timing, it's warranted for 2 yrs. Niner offered to replace the rear triangle for free or upgrade to the current model frame for $250. That's a great deal (the new frame has lots of improvements) so I'm taking it.

 

Niner