Colorado-based bike brand Niner – which produces 29-inch wheeled mountain bikes and, more recently, gravel bikes – has been making lay-offs and could be going out of business, according to reports.
The story was broken on social media by veteran cycling journalist James Huang, who has worked across several titles including BikeRadar, CyclingTips and Escape Collective, and now runs the Substack cycling publication N-1 Bikes.
"Breaking news: Niner Bike is no more", reads Huang's post, which then uses quote marks to add "Winding down operations today," before stating "all employees have been laid off… such a gut punch."
However, Chris Wolff, the company's e-bike manager, told Escape Collective: "The brand isn’t shutting down or going away, just taking some time to adjust to the very challenging environment."
There has been no official confirmation of the news on Niner's website or social media platforms, but Escape claim to have confirmed the situation described in Huang's post by contacting unnamed employees of the brand.
Niner is a well-loved but niche brand, founded in 2004–05 in California by Chris Sugai and Steve Domahidym (who later left to form Viral Bikes) with help from a bunch of bike enthusiasts and a cash injection of $750,000 raised by family and friends. Having launched with a singlespeed steed, it rolled with the growing popularity of 29er mountain bikes, which became the bike of choice for many cross-country riders before the evolution of the 650b 27.5” wheel.
The brand has had brushes with administration in the past, and in 2017 it filed for bankruptcy before being acquired by a collective of Colorado investors, as reported by Bicycler Retailer. A year later the brand was purchased and effectively saved by UWHK Limited (United Wheels HK Ltd, formerly Emersion International, a Hong Kong–based investment firm that owns Huffy Corp), with Sugai remaining at the helm.
The brand added gravel bikes to their stable, including the impressive ORE 9 RDO, and peaked with 300 dealers across the United States, selling bikes in 40 countries around the world. However, recently clouds have been gathering around the company.
"Niner has certainly had its challenges in recent years, but it was an early innovator in both 29" wheels and gravel, not to mention just a wonderfully scrappy little brand that ruffled more than a few feathers and was staffed by some solid people," concludes Huang's post. "I'm super sad to see them go, and wish all their employees all the best as they figure out how to move forward."
We'll bring you more on this story as it unfolds.
