Niner Bikes pausing operations – Canadian Cycling Magazine

Niner Bikes, the Colorado-based brand that helped pioneer its namesake wheel size over 20 years ago, may be joining the growing list of brands to fall victim to the current downturn in mountain biking. United Wheels, the owner of Niner as well as Huffy, Batch Bikes and Buzz Bikes among others, confirmed it is “pausing operations” on the storied U.S. brand.

The news was first reported by N-1‘s James Huang and confirmed by Escape Collective then by an official statement to Bicycle Retailer.

“United Wheels is pausing operations for Niner while it evaluates and realigns the brand’s strategic direction.  This decision reflects a broader review of how United Wheels allocates focus and resources across its portfolio of brands.  We are taking disciplined, responsible steps to manage through it,” the statement to BRAIN reads, adding that it will continue to support Niner owners and dealers through “this transition.”

It’s not entirely clear at this point what exactly pausing operations looks like. N-1 reports that the brand is laying off all of its employees. United Wheels’ statement makes it sound like at least a service and warranty department will be retained, though that could happen through one of its other brands.

Niner’s big role in big wheels

Niner was founded back in 2005 around the potential of the 29″ wheel size. Being early to big wheels helped the Colorado brand stand out, and helped the then-new wheel size gain broader traction in the market. Since then, Niner’s expanded into gravel.

United Wheels purchased Niner back in 2017, when the 29″ wheel pioneers first declared bankruptcy. Since then, Niner has struggled to build momentum with its new bikes. It launched the first full suspension gravel bike, the Magic Carpet Ride, years before any competitors followed suit. At Sea Otter this year, Niner was showing its first eMTB along with several other new bikes. The news of Niner’s demise comes, unfortunately ironically, as the industry is on the verge in another revolution in wheel size. This time moving from 29″ to 32″ wheels.

With the announcement of this pause, Niner joins a growing list of brands that are struggling with the crash that’s followed the COVID bike boom. Some, like Rocky Mountain, Kona and YT, are starting to bounce back. Others, like Knolly and several smaller U.S. brands, are still struggling.