OK - my wife is working with our LBS to get her first mtn bike in over 20 yrs. She is an accomplished road bike racer and last road mtn bike with the Trek 830. She is now looking at the Niner Jet 9 RDO or the Trek Superfly 100. She eventually wants to race (50+ category). Would love to hear opinions either way.

Those are two reputable companies that make good products and stand behind them. But, at that price point(and that category of bike), there are so many options. I think you guys should hit demos(or rent) and get her on as many bikes as you can. Maybe even consider getting a fit done by a local specialist.

Also, you could get a very solid ride at a lower price point. Might be something to consider, since she has not ridden a mtn bike in 20 yrs.

NINER every time! (Yeah I am a TREK hater with the Lance crap going on!) NINER has put so much work into being a quality specialty company. I really like their commitment and engineering. Trek is so corporate.

Yawn. You have to understand that Trek probably employs more gnar-shredding, air-getting, beer-drinking engineers who are avid riders than Niner does. Just because they're a big company doesn't mean the people who work there don't care.

The Lance argument should be a non-starter. If you were sponsoring a pro team in the last fifteen years, you probably had dopers on your bikes. To single out Trek seems a little harsh. I know that "everyone else was doing it" is not an excuse but it is the truth.

FWIW, I don't work at a shop that sells Trek, I've never ridden a Trek and I don't know anyone who works there. I just hate using the anti-corporate angle selectively against "uncool" brands. Niner is a company too. Use the "uncool" argument if that's what you mean.

To the OP: Tell her to ride both bikes (or the closest version the shop will order without commitment) and pick the one she likes best.

Both of those are great bikes. I went through the exact same dilemma last year. I wanted a high end full suspension 29er with the best suspension. I demoed many bikes including the superfly, RDO, Tallboy and Scalpel. After riding the RDO I had made up my mind. I now have the Niner Jet 9 RDO. I felt it was superior in every way. I now have around 1000 hard miles on it and love it. My hard tail is in the basement collecting dust.

Here is a picture from todays ride.

My grief with Trek and companies like them is their shock and horror at the recent announcement. YEAH, they were totally in the dark. Now their lawyers want the money back!

Sorry to derail the post Freerunner. Riding both and others is always solid advice. From the sound of your name, do you jump on buildings and playground eqt and get on American ninja?

I see your point but sponsorship is just advertising, right? Companies give teams product in order to make it look good and win races. As soon as the product stops looking good, you can be sure they're going to remove their endorsement (and claim to be as blindsided as Michael Oher). I'm sure a few people suspected something was up but until it stops making them money, there's no reason to stop providing product.

Trek was in the same position as Nike. It would have been economic suicide to pull sponsorship from someone who has never actually tested positive, was the face of one of the most prominent cancer awareness companies out there, and who, until recently, a lot of people (particularly those who don't follow professional cycling, which is probably 99.9% of Trek's market) thought was clean. I don't condone doping, and I have little respect for Lance as an athlete, but you have to realize the companies were in a tough position, and they are companies...they have to make business their priority if they want to succeed.

Fred's bike looks seriously high-budget. I doubt your wife will be on a Niner quite that spec.

But she doesn't need to be. Do you have any other local brands to consider? I think Niner is good, but you might want her to test ride a 26" FS bike as well, particularly if she's under 5'8". I know companies are starting to figure out how to make small-frame 29er geometry work, but I don't drink the kool-aid. You might be able to get a better deal on a 26", but what she thinks of the ride is much more critical.