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I've seen some of these at good prices (e.g. £995 for ex-hire), but can't find many reviews. Any experiences? I'm thinking about a hardtail for old fashioned cross country.
Would I be better saving up for a Chisel? Any other alternatives at a good price?
Any info gratefully received.
I had an Air9 Carbon - it’s was VERY VERY stiff, it was also extremely light at the back which I found a little unsettling. I replaced it with a Titus El Viajero. It’s not quite as light, but will still build into a sub 10kg bike, but I find it better almost everywhere.
Mine’s now 9.7kg with 2.4 tyres and a 100mm fork.
My wife raced an Air 9 Carbon going back a while. It was a gorgeous bike, but had its faults - far too stiff and harsh in the rear end (especially in the xs/s size she had) so as to be almost unrideable on anything bumpy and the paint chipped if you even looked at it sideways, so it looked battered after just a season of use.
Both it and a Niner EMD I had suffered from horrendous chain suck issues, which I’ve not experienced on any other brand before or after. The paint on the EMD was similarly soft, but it rode oh so nicely - completely the opposite to the Air 9.
Every now and then I find myself tempted by and RKT 9, but won’t be going there again.
I’ve got the second generation Air9 RDO frame. It was built with a bit compliance than the original frames but it is a razor sharp and racing bike. You need to ride it precisely or it can get out of hand pretty quickly. As others have said the rear is fairly unforgiving and I find the geometry a bit too steep for steep technical stuff. Mine has a 27.9 diameter seat post which also makes dropper posts a bit more limiting ( I use a KS LEV). In all not bad, light but there are more progressive frames out there. The third generation frame is altered to 120mm forks AFAIK.
Thanks all. Anyone tried the alloy Air 9?