Niner RIP 9 -3 STAR XT (2013)

The reputation of the R.I.P. 9 is unassailable – in the six years since its introduction it has helped define the new-school genre of trail ripper both with riders and the cycling press. So how can it be improved? Keep the attitude, boost performance, shed unwanted weight and build on the legend. The changes to this new beast can’t really be called “evolutionary,” because the word implies a slow process of incremental gains and small strides. That just doesn’t describe the changes to the new R.I.P. 9 – there’s nothing incremental about a kick in the pants.