Current Jet 9.

Niner Bikes, the maker of uber-hot 29-inch-wheeled hard- and soft-tails, has just recalled its Jet 9 full-suspension bike over problems with broken welds. The voluntary recall, which is not in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, affects 500 to 600 units.

“We’ve only had a few cases where the frames break,” said Niner’s Chris Sugai, “but because it’s a weld issue, we can’t tell if it’s five frames out of a batch or a hundred percent. We think it’s better to get all those bikes off the trails.”

No injuries have been reported. The recall affects frames with serial numbers P8071682 to P8400454.

A company statement said, “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.”

Re-engineered 2010 Jet 9.

Jet 9 owners have the option of replacing their frame with the 2010 redesigned Jet 9, which has a “tapered head tube to accept new 80-100mm tapered forks, hydro-formed tubes for added stiffness without increasing weight, forged frame pieces for added stiffness.” They can also get a new, heavily discounted Niner or replace it free of charge with the R.I.P. 9. That’s a tough call–I love the R.I.P. and almost dumped half my quiver of 26ers to make the switch to it.

See Niner’s recall page for more information. Or: 877-646-3792, info@ninerbikes.com, or www.ninerbikes.com.

Tagged as: cycling, mountain biking