I'm not sure if the steel or aluminum versions have been updated as much as the carbon RDO version. All three have the same updated fork with internal dynamo wire and brake hose routing.
The carbon RDO version has dropper post, mounts galore and fits 650b x 2 or 700c x 50 tires. The mounts for custom bags look really clean.
The claim of a "longer wheelbase for better stability" is a letdown as the first generation RLT 9 RDO could be a little quicker handling. Stability has never been an issue for me. Actual geometry charts remain to be seen.
Switching from 15 mm to 12 mm thru axles in the front is a good thing as some centerlock rotor setups have lockring issues with the 15 mm variant. Hopefully Niner will put 160 mm rotors on the factory builds and stop imagining that 140's are better because some paid pro rides them.
I can say that I beat the crap out of my 2015 RDO. I'd like to compare the new gen2 version with the Trail Donkey 3.0.
https://gravelcyclist.com/bicycle-te...learance-more/
-Tim-