JET 9 RECALL: LETTER TO NINER RIDERS

We would like to apologize to Niner owners who have been patiently waiting for us to address the problems you have been experiencing with the Jet 9. Please understand it has nothing to do with Niner ignoring or not caring about our customers.

The fact is we have been very hard at work analyzing the issues with the Jet 9 so that we could fully understand the warranty cases we received and provide a definitive solution. This analysis included destructive testing, metallurgical study and FEA computer modeling. Using these methods we examined the quality of the base metal, filler material, heat affected zone of the weld, structural design and finish quality of the frames. We built over 20 new prototypes and tested them in every way imaginable.

In light of test results and after many hours of discussion on how best to serve our loyal customers, we decided to voluntarily recall Jet 9 frames with serial numbers from P8071682 to P8400454. These frames risk welding defects in the front and rear triangles that may lead to a premature failure of the frame. Unfortunately, there is no way to visually check for these weld defects. We must require that you stop riding the frame immediately because a failure could occur at any time.

We cannot overstate our concern in regards to these issues, and are investing significant portion of company resources into correcting the issue in the most expedited manner. Niner puts a lot of care into producing bikes that we are proud to put our name on. Our goal is to provide excellent customer service and we realize that ths recall is a huge inconvenience. The amount of time we have put into this testing process has caused production delays, leaving orders unfilled. We know that customers spent hard earned money on a Niner and now we are asking that you to send the frame back for replacement. For some people this is a second time. We cannot begin to explain how sorry we feel about this, but we promise we will make things right and thank you for your purchase, understanding and support.

More information can be found here

Jet 9 Production Update

Okay, so we’re not going to beat around the bush on this one. The JET 9's will be delayed again. It's always something, right?

Well, the frames are almost finished, actually, the frames ARE finished and ready to go. Now it’s a delay in the linkage that’s clogging the works. We are really putting everything we have into making the JET 9 not only the best functioning bike we can design, but also the best looking rig that we’re capable of. In that effort, we were really pushing for a mirror polish finish on the linkage and we were unhappy with the level of “mirror” we were achieving with standard polishing and clear ano. So, months ago, before production, we started testing chrome plating. This is not the chrome plating from your 1981 Mongoose BMX bike that just flaked off after a month, this chrome plating has been refined and is amazingly thin (about .01mm thickness). It also doesn’t come off. We literally dragged the test linkage through the streets to see the effect on the chrome plating, and although it did scratch, it never flaked, no matter how much abuse we hammered into it. We dented, bent, banged and otherwise destroyed the chrome plated test linkage, and it just grinned and kept shinning. It seems that the worst thing you can do to it is touch it, and put your finger prints all over it.

That being said, we decided to go with this chrome plating for production, and wanted you to get your frames and be totally blown away with and surprised by the mirror finish on the Jet 9 linkage. Well, some things don’t go as planned. The plating process is taking longer and becoming more difficult to achieve than we had first expected. We are getting them all done it is just taking time to do it right.

We know you’re probably pretty eager to get your hands on the new frames, and we’re just as miffed about it as you are. We’re doing everything in our power to rectify the problem and deliver the Jet 9’s with the beautiful linkage we set out to deliver. Again, we know, another delay. We apologize sincerely, we expect to have frames to your local Niner Dealers around April 28th. This is the final stretch, we're almost there, please hang in there with us.

If the delay is an issue please contact Ryan ryan@ninerbikes.com.

We have had a lot of calls about the compatibility of the FOX F29 and the Jet 9. We did extensive testing of early prototypes of the FOX F29 in both the 80mm and 100mm versions while we were in development. (Thanks FOX!!) We can happily say the F29 will work brilliantly with the Jet 9. We do recommend you use the consumer version with the 44mm offset verses the Gary Fisher OEM version at 51mm. Rock Shox Reba and all other current 80mm-100mm travel 29er forks will work as well.