Bike Nirvana
Yet another cycling blog
Custom build: Niner RLT 9 Steel
January 10, 2017
When I got the Giant Toughroad that I christened the "grocery bike," it became my go-to bike. I rode it to Mt. Sinai via Timberland, I climbed the "Reverse Palace" and Antipolo with it and we racked up more than 500 kms easily. When I was previously asked which one bike I would retain, it was a definitive answer that it is the one.
But I was bitten by the "closing of the year sales" bug leading to successive projects with the Eddy Merckx Blockhaus 67, the Giant Propel Advanced frameset, and just as Christmas ended, the Colnago V1-r frameset. I also fell in love with the Shimano Di2 technology at the Ultegra level along the way. To me, it is a great electronic groupset with excellent price to performance ratio.
With the Blockhaus 67 retired and the commissioning of the V1-r and Propel Advanced, my journey to road bike building is about to end.
But then the grocery bike's Guide R hydraulic brakes seized, which hasn't been used since the arrival of the Blockhaus 67. Searching the web and friends' revelation about the issue that plagues this particular SRAM model opened an opportunity (I'm trying to be positive here) to build something for the road less traveled.
It's complicated...
Actually, I was in a more complicated situation. Prior to this brake issue, I ordered a wheelset from Italy just for the Toughroad hoping to bring its weight down just a little bit. Alas, more than 5 months has passed but the Gipiemme Tecno 1.55 Ultralight has not arrived and I thought they never will, so I commission Edward of Carbon Nation Cycling to make me a wheelset for the Toughroad.
A stroke of luck (or badluck), the Gipiemme arrived. I will now have three (3) wheelsets for the Toughroad! I thought of cancelling the order and forfeiting the deposit from CNC to minimize my expense but I just couldn't tell Edward about it.
On top of it, the Gipiemme won't fit the Toughroad as I discovered that its axle is 142x12 while the Toughroad has an O.L.D. of 135. It will be an easy decision to get a Colnago Prestige that fits the wheelset, but I thought of something different. Both the Propel Advanced and V1-r are carbon fiber bikes, so why not titanium?
I knew already that Lynskey is out of reach, so I looked around for other options. In the end, I didn't like what are available and the interest in titanium frames ceased. How about steel? This is when the Niner RLT 9 Steel came into focus.
Why the RLT 9 Steel?
The single driving factor that led to the purchase was price. The frameset is on sale. Other than the price, another consideration was the material being steel. I don't have a steel bike in my stable and I want to experience riding a "steel horse."
Another one is the geometry. The Niner RLT 9 Steel in size 47 offers a long wheelbase like the Toughroad and based on experience, it should translate to more stable and comfortable ride. The rear center of the RLT 9 is 435mm, compare that to the V1-r's 398mm and the Toughroad's 625mm! Well, that explains why the Toughroad is a sluggish bike, by design.
The head tube angle is close to the Toughroad (71.5°) at 70° whereas my Colnago V1-r is at 73°. Admittedly, the V1-r is a very agile bike. What's interesting is that the fork rake of the RLT 9 is 45 compared to 43 of the Blockhaus 67. I don't own a bike with published fork trail data, so I'll never know if that is a significant influence in the steering. Only by feel, that the V1-r seems to have less trail resulting to faster steering.
It is also interesting to find that the head tube lenght of the RLT 9 is 110mm, shorter compared to the 125mm of the V1-r.
The RLT 9 steel frame weighs in at 2.125 kg, the carbon fork at a surprisingly heavy 610 g, and the headset for another 200 g totalling to almost 3 kg! The Toughroad comes in at around 10.8 kg as a comparison. If I can make this bike weigh less than 10.8 kg, then I've succeeded somehow.
The purchase process at Gran Trail Cycles of the RLT 9 wasn't as straightforward as it should be, but in the end I got it.
Components choice
I bought Deda dropped bar and stem to complete the Italian dressing and to complement the American main course, I selected SRAM Apex with the intention of making this build purely mechanical. Alas, it didn't materialize as Life Cycle cannot complete the SRAM Apex parts that in the end forced me to add Japanese flavor into this recipe.
The disc brakes are Avid BB7 Road SL mechanical disc brakes.
I purchased the reliable Tiagra 4700 groupset and a Praxis Works bottom bracket (because the Shimano is out of stock!) from Pao Bicycle Shop.
I made sure about the cabling quality this time and invested on Jagwire Pro Road Complete from Bike Parts Ph instead of the basic cables that came with the groupset.
The build started early in the week and was progressing well when I realized that one set of Jagwire Pro Road Complete isn't enough. The 1700mm LEX-SL Shift Housing was consumed in its entirety just for the rear derailleur, as does the 1700mm KEB-SL Kevlar®-Reinforced Brake Housing. A trip to Cartimar was an exercise in futility as there's only one store that stocks Jagwire kits and they don't have it in Ice Grey color. In the end I found what looks like a generic Jagwire cable set in some silver color that barely matches the color of the Pro Road set.
The build continued without any hiccups and it's ready for the Saturday shakedown ride that uncovered a few issues.
After fixing the front derailleur shifting and the headset, the bike felt perfect. The Tiagra 4700 is an excellent groupset at this price point and there is no need for an upgrade.
The Di2 addiction
When a friend offered me his Ultegra 6700 Di2 groupset for cheap, I can't resist that. It's and old 10-speed model that has an external SM-BTR1 battery and SM-EW67A-E junction, aka control unit.
The design goal of the Niner RLT 9 Steel build is to be a purely mechanical implementation and I was on track to keep it that way. The Ultegra 6700 Di2 must go to the marketplace, but I played with it first.
I combined the 6700 series front derailleur, read derailleur, and brifters with the newer SM-BTR2-1 battery and SM-EW90-B junction box.
But I screwed up the Di2...
In my excitement, I upgraded the connected components to the latest firmware, leaving the old battery and junction box in their old firmware. This rendered them unoperational. Moron.
In order to upgrade the old battery and junction box, I need the SM-PCE1 PC linkage device. I heard Cristy's Bike Shop has that and I have to rent it. I was doing my usual rounds at MOA when the front derailleur falters and won't shift to the big chainring. Upon investigation, I found out that the screw holding the cable guide underneath the bottom bracket is gone! At this point, I knew that installing the Di2 is easier than finding a screw.
Ultegra Di2 cable routing
The RLT 9 Steel is designed for electronic cable routing and has the necessary exit holes for the front and rear derailleurs, as well as the junction A or digital display. Like the Colnago V1-r, the frameset does not include rubber grommets and I have to either buy the Shimano Di2 grommets or fabricate a few myself.
I also found out that the junction box will not fit into the hole via the bottom bracket and the only entry is through the seat tube. This means that the electronic wires must be pulled out of their respective exit holes in order. My DIY cable puller is necessary ti ease the cable routing.
I secured the electronic cables for insertion via the seat tube.
The 1200 mm cable is routed first to the top tube exit where it will connect to the junction A.
Here's how the cables are converging inside the frame as seen from the bottom bracket.
The 750 mm electronic cable is next, which is routed inside the chainstay for the rear derailleur.
Finally, the electronic cable leading to the front derailleur finds it way out.
After the cables have been routed, it was just a matter of connecting them to the rest of the components and everything worked like a charm.
Final configuration
In the short period that the RLT 9 Steel have the Tiagra 4700 groupset, the weight came to 10.78 kg, exactly like the Giant Toughroad. By substituting the Ultegra Di2 groupset, the weight went down to 10.28 kg.
| Frame | Niner RLT 9 Steel |
| Fork | Niner RLT 9 carbon fiber |
| Headset | Niner (FSA) |
| Seatpost | Deda Zero |
| Stem | Deda Zero, 80mm, 6-degrees |
| Handlebar | Deda Zero |
| Saddle | Charge Spoon |
| Shifters | Shimano ST-6770 |
| Front Derailleur | Shimano FD-6770 |
| Rear Derailleur | Shimano RD-6770 |
| Brakes | Avid BB7 Road SL |
| Cassette | Shimano CS-6700, 11-28T |
| Chain | Shimano CN-HG501 |
| Bottom Bracket | Mortop PF3024 |
| Rims | Gipiemme Tecno 1.55 Ultralight wheelset |
| Tires | Clement LAS 700x33c |
| Weight | 10.28 kg |
Final thoughts
This is my third and final road bike that completes the experience from aluminum, to carbon, and finally steel all with Shimano Ultegra Di2 drivetrain.
I have logged over 560 km on the Eddy Merckx Blockhaus before its parts were donated to the Colnago V1-r. The Blockhaus 67 is a fine climbing bike and it could be my only road bike, seriously.
The Giant Propel Advanced is the fastest and lightest bike in my stable. I love how the road imperfections at my usual route get dampened. Perhaps it's because of the Reynolds Assault + Continental Gatorskin tubular tires but I wouldn't really know as I have yet to test the wheelset and tire combination on any other bike. Sadly, the Propel Advanced hasn't gone beyond MOA even if I logged over 370 km on it already.
The most agile and sporty bike has got to be the Colnago V1-r, this bike really needs a better rider. Currently, we have logged nearly 500 km and have gone to places I never thought I would ever be. It could be the lightest bike if I swap in the Reynolds Assault and tubular tires into it bringing the weight to around 6.9 kg. The ride on the V1-r isn't smooth and relaxed by any means, it always challenges you to push harder.
So where does the Niner RLT 9 Steel fit in? A more comfortable and heavier Blockhaus 67 is probably the best way to describe it. Because it is made of steel, vibration and noise is dampened before reaching the cockpit. The Deda cockpit installed in the RLT 9 is the same one originally on the Blockhaus 67.
The confidence of leaving the pavement to hit the hardpack and loose gravel is the benefit of being able to put in the Clement LAS 700x33c at 70 psi. The RLT 9 Steel deserves rougher terrain and while I'm tempted to bring this to Heroes' Trail in Taguig, the agility in steering compared to my Niner Jet 9 RDO could pose a problem.