America meets Italy in this one-off custom build 

By Oscar Huckle

Published: Wednesday, 23 October 2024 at 15:00 PM


This is my Niner RLT 9 RDO – a multi-faceted gravel bike that’s at home on both the race course and for fully loaded bikepacking.

Like most of my bikes, it’s a full custom build, so you’re unlikely to see one in this spec anywhere else. 

It’s my main testbed for anything gravel and it’s seen everything from everyday thrashings testing the latest kit through to bikepacking trips and a sadistically tough ultra-endurance race.

The RLT 9 RDO (short for ‘Road Less Travelled’) is Niner’s top carbon gravel bike. It is far more conventional than the MCR 9 RDO full-suspension gravel bike – who remembers that bike? 

The RLT 9 RDO has proven an excellent jack-of-all-trades. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

Despite being launched in 2020, the RLT 9 RDO still holds its own against the latest gravel bikes

Very few gravel bikes can perform the double duty of gravel racing and bikepacking as adeptly as the RLT 9 RDO. 

How did the Niner start life? 

Norco Threshold C against a haystack
The Niner replaced my Norco Threshold C. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

Before the Niner, I owned a Norco Threshold C – a cyclocross bike that was ahead of its time with its wider-than-average 38mm tyre clearance. 

I quickly outgrew the bike – I started to ride more adventurous terrain and I got fed up with continuously de-clogging mud in the winter Chiltern slop. I needed something that would future-proof my riding. 

Enter the Niner. 

Niner RLT 9 RDO against a tree
There’s even routing for a dynamo light. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

Mounting points to carry everything but the kitchen sink? Check. 50mm tyre clearance? Check. 

Further sealing the deal were the fully guided internal cable routing (because who has time for fishing?), the sensible headset and the bottom bracket standard

I expect some might raise an eyebrow over whether PF30 is sensible, but it offers good compatibility with all cranksets and I’ve always found it a reliable press-fit standard. 

Finally, just take a moment to admire that classy Baja Blue / Sand paintjob. 

Niner RLT 9 RDO against a tree
I love the topographical graphics. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

While red is typically my favourite colour, the blue here is deep and rich, and I particularly love the topographical map graphics – in keeping with the RLT name. 

But the stock builds Niner offers didn’t quite do it for me – I wanted to build the bike my way. 

Bike components for a new bike build
The original build. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

I bought the frame in October 2020, in the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and the bike took almost a year to build up.  

Why the long wait? There was a big delay on the gravel groupset and wheels I wanted to spec it with. 

I hadn’t found the SRAM Rival 1 groupset particularly durable on my Norco and the gear ratios weren’t very forgiving – a 42t chainring paired with an 11-36t cassette. 

I didn’t want to go for Shimano GRX either. The variants around in 2020 were all 11-speed, which SRAM and Campagnolo had already superseded, and being brutally honest, Shimano brakes don’t do it for me. 

Campagnolo Ekar on Niner RLT 9 RDO
Campagnolo Ekar was the obvious choice. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

Campagnolo Ekar felt the right option, having launched the same month I ordered the frameset. With 13-speed, wide-ranging gear-ratio options, mechanical shifting, class-leading braking and fabulous lever ergonomics, it met all of my criteria. 

Unfortunately, it took the best part of a year to arrive. I slowly got more excited for the build as components were delivered one-by-one throughout the year – akin to making progress on an advanced jigsaw puzzle. 

Campagnolo Ekar shifter
In my view, the lever ergonomics are second to none. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

I opted for a matching set of Campagnolo Shamal wheels – their 21mm internal rim width (reasonably progressive at the time) meant they could serve double duty on this bike and as a more compliant option on the road. 

Early in 2021, myself and a group of friends decided we’d ride the King Alfred’s Way in September, a 350km gravel loop encompassing many of southern England’s best trails. 

I’d done all my training on the Norco and, as September approached, I grew worried about tackling some of the steep climbs fully loaded on the tall gear ratios. 

Fulcrum Rapid Red 500 on Niner RLT 9 RDO
The Fulcrum Rapid Red 500s were a last-minute addition, but they’ve been great. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

With the Shamals nowhere in sight and the delivery date repeatedly delayed, I bit the bullet on a set of Fulcrum Rapid Red 500s in a desperate bid to use the Niner on the bikepacking trip. 

I wasn’t able to borrow the Zipp 30 Course wheels from my Norco because Zipp didn’t manufacture a Campagnolo N3W freehub at the time. 

Fortunately, the Fulcrums weren’t a heavy, throwaway wheelset and I’ve kept them to this day – they offer an impressively compliant ride quality and are reliably built. 

As such, I tend to keep these wheels for winter and then bring the Shamals out to play in the summer. 

A meticulously curated build 

Niner RLT 9 RDO
The Easton bar has a pleasing amount of flare. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

With the big-ticket Italian fare out of the way, the rest of the components were fastidiously selected for my lofty demands. 

I’m running an Easton EC70 AX carbon handlebar – I opted for carbon for the increased compliance. It’s 40cm wide (I prefer a narrower bar) with a pleasing but not over-the-top 16-degree flare. 

The Easton bar takes the sting out of rocky trail features and the flared drop profile inspires confidence when descending. 

Chris King Dropset on Niner RLT 9 RDO
Chris King for the win. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

The bar is paired with an own-brand 100mm Niner stem, which sits atop a Chris King Dropset headset – providing there’s a compatible option, I tend to run a Chris King headset on all my bikes because of its longevity. 

The seatpost is a Roval Terra, a very recent addition that replaces a Specialized COBL-GOBLR I’ve run for years – the rubber in the cobra-shaped head had started to fail. 

Roval Terra seatpost on Niner RLT 9 RDO
The Terra’s carbon layup has been optimised for compliance. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

One of the oldest components on the bike is the Fabric Scoop saddle, a long-standing favourite of mine, alongside the Specialized Power Pro Elaston

The wheels are wearing a set of Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RC-X tyres I reviewed recently. A hardier offshoot of the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RC, they’ve proven resilient performers, but it’s a shame they top out at 40mm – I typically like to run wider rubber. 

Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RC-X tyres on Niner RLT 9 RDO.
The Cinturato Gravel RC-X tyres are brilliant. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

I’ll probably replace them soon with my favourite Vittoria Terreno Wet tyres in a 45mm width for winter. 

If you’ve read my BikeRadar Builds articles on my Pinarello GAN K and my dearly departed Specialized Allez DSW SL, the beady-eyed of you may notice some shared finishing touches. 

Jagwire Mini Tube Top Frame protectors
Details… Oscar Huckle / Our Media

I’ve used Jagwire Mini Tube Top Frame protectors on the cables and hoses where they contact the frame to avoid any unnecessary rub.

I’m also running Silca Nastro Cuscino bar tape, which is luxuriously tacky and hard-wearing, but in a thicker 3.2mm width to cope with the bigger off-road hits. Another Silca product is the Sicuro titanium bottle cage, which I have two of – yes, they’re expensive but they look the business – and they just last.