Thanks to Reddit, I bought a steel niner rlt9 as my first gravel bike (I’m 5’6 and the 50cm frame fit me well). I rode the mountains in Bled ([recap video, ya’ll, Bled is AMAZING for gravel!](https://youtu.be/kyRv8IEzhfM)) and it surpassed my expectations in what it’s capable of handling. A rugged, heavy (literally) duty bike with plenty of mounts for a bikepacking adventure. Happy to answer any questions regarding the bike and its specs! I am often an in-between size and was leaning towards a Canyon grizl (xs and s). I bought the stock version and swapped out the 1x chainring from 42t to 38t which brought my gear ratio to under 1. I also installed 165mm cranks.
Things I considered:
\*Size: I needed this to be about 10mm smaller than my road bike all around
\*Wheel size compatibility: I wanted the option to switch between 650c and 700(very wide clearance)
\*Mounting points: I wanted as many as possible (down the fork, seat stay, top and down tube, under the tubes
\*2x and 1x compatibility: In case I want more gear options. It came with 1x and I wanted to try it! I feel better knowing I can swap it if I’m feeling like I’m riding more road.
\*External cables: for ease of repairs and packing it for travel
\*Tubeless ready + disc brakes: these are already very common for gravel/mountain bikes.
\*Material: I have some piece of mind knowing this can withstand some rough tumbles, hence steel
Thanks for reading!
by Bikewithcarolin