Giveaway IV
Custom TLW Niner RIP9 RDO
Rusty Trombone
Photos by Trevor Lyden
Alright folks, hot on the trail of our last giveaway, the Trek Remedy Grim Sleeper is this golden rod. A brand new Niner RIP 9 RDO frame painted by our good friend Tony Baumann up in Bellingham, Washington. The Rusty Trombone was unveiled to the public at the Sea Otter Classic and displayed at Niner’s booth all weekend long. From the sounds of it, lots of people stopped to check it out and we’re very excited to give this thing away to one of our awesome fans!
THE BUILD
After securing the 140mm Niner frame as our next build, we decided to contact Fox for a custom rear shock and 150mm fork. We love working with their custom decal department, headed by Ray Tracy, plus, let’s not lie, that Kashima gold looks mighty nice on the Rusty Trombone.
After suspension spec was settled we got in touch with Jason Schippers at TAG Metals. TAG made a little push in the MTB world a few years ago after creating a strong name for themselves in the moto world but kinda faded away. We saw their new stuff and liked the subtle looks and decided to chat with Jason about the direction of the brand moving forward. It seems they’ve reenergized their MTB division with several new products and we’re stoked to hang them on our latest giveaway bike!
We used the T1 dropper post, which is available in 150 or 170mm heights, a T1 saddle and their $59 T3 Nylon pedals. The cockpit sports their T1 carbon bars, available in several rises and a T1 stem. One of our favorite parts from TAG are the Section grips! We actually stole the first set and put ‘em on a test bike for an upcoming review and made Jason send us another set.
Moving on to the rolling stock, we worked with Heather McFadden and the crew over at WTB for rims and tires. Rather selflessly, once we showed Heather some pics of the frame she suggested an introductory email to Alec White of White Industries. Despite the short timeline and rushed schedule White Industries was able to get some beautifully crafted gold hubs over to WTB who rushed a build with some custom stealth and gold decals.
Shimano once again dialed us in with a silent and reliable XT drivetrain that will drive and stop the owner of this bike for many miles! In typical Loam Wolf fashion, we opted for 180mm rotors because we assume anyone who wins this bike loves going as fast as possible and will need maximum braking power!
We love trying to tie in a unique bit of flavor whenever we can and for this bike we worked with Erik Saunders of Memory Pilot for this super bitchin mud guard! The painstaking work was well worth it as the goldish-bronze color matches just right. Memory Pilot also created 15 more of these mud guards that we’re going to put up for sale in our web store to coincide with this bike launch. So don’t miss out.
As it always seems to go when something’s promised for a deadline, things got a little bit delayed and time was ticking fast so we took the frame and all our parts to Drew Barber at Sagebrush Cycles here in Bend, OR. Drubaba, has made a name for himself as a bike builder for the stars here in Bend as his attention to detail and passion for building custom bikes are impressive to watch.
It goes without saying that we extend a huge and sincere thank you to all the brands who have helped make this build possible and to Tony and Drew Barber for your work as well. Without brands like these that support our dream builds, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do, so we ask that you thank and support them as well! It would really mean a lot to us if you let them know how much you appreciate their generosity so we can keep building more bikes to give away to our awesome Pack!
It goes without saying that we extend a huge and sincere thank you to all the brands who have helped make this build possible and to Tony and Drew Barber for your work as well. Without brands like these that support our dream builds, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do, so we ask that you thank and support them as well! It would really mean a lot to us if you let them know how much you appreciate their generosity so we can keep building more bikes to give away to our awesome Pack!
Niner Bikes | Made Rad | Tag Metals | Ride Fox
WTB | White Industries | Shimano | Memory Pilot
HOW TO ENTER
Visit our web store here. Every $5 spent earns you one (1) entry to the giveaway.
Sweepstakes open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec). Sweepstakes will run from April 20, 2019 to Aug 5th, 2019.
Complete Spec Breakdown
2019 Niner RIP 9 Carbon Frame; 140mm
Paint by Tony Baumann / maderad.com
SUSPENSION
Fork: Fox Factory 36 Grip 2; 150mm
Shock: Fox Factory DPX2
DRIVETRAIN
Brakes: Shimano XT; 180mm
Shifter: Shimano XT; 11s
Derailleur: Shimano XT
Cranks: Shimano XT; 175m
Chainring: Shimano; 32t
Cassette: Shimano; 11-46t
Chain: Shimano
WHEELS
Wheels: WTB
Hubs: White Industries
Tires: WTB Trail Boss 29×2.6
COCKPIT
Handlebar: Tag Metals T1 Carbon
Stem: Tag Metals T1
Seatpost: Tag Metals T1; 170mm
Saddle: Tag Metals T1
Grips: Tag Metals Section
Pedals: Tag Metals T3 Nylon
