Up until spring 2014 I had a bike for almost every occasion. A cyclo-cross bike, road bike, commuter bike, singlespeed hardtail (a concoction job) and my most used bike – a beautiful carbon hardtail. Then the humble garden shed got broken into.

I was left with the cyclo-cross bike and my commuter bike. Clearly the thieves didn’t want to ride a lilac bike with a basket on the front, and the cyclo-cross bike didn’t have pedals on it. My guess is they were a gang of thieves on foot, who left by bike!

Claiming insurance was a breeze and as it was only my road bike that could actually be replaced like-for-like in NZ I opted for a cash payment. It wasn’t a large sum as the stolen collection was largely a motley bunch. I then sold the cyclo-cross as it was too big for me so I hardly ever rode it. An ill-fitting bike is never a pleasant experience.

And so comes the very short story of how I bought a ONE 9 (and Niner Distribution Ltd!).

I had for awhile been coveting/riding/stealing my lovely James’ Niner ONE 9 RDO so contacted the former Niner distributor to check out my options. Luck was on my side as they had a 2013 ONE 9 in stock, in my size, and in matte black – perfect for customising with retro purple Hope.

Fast forward a couple of months…James and I took over Niner Distribution Ltd in NZ.

Fast forward 4 years…that ONE 9 remains my only mountain bike with a RLT 9 RDO completing the family as my road/commuter/gravel bike.

Never did I think that I would become “a singlespeeder”, whatever that means. I’m a novice/intermediate rider I guess, one that dislikes cleaning bikes and the finicky nature of gears. So a simple bike is perfect, my ONE 9 is perfect. A humble aluminium framed singlespeed that helps me to conquer everything from cycle paths to grade 4 trails. Well maybe just grade 3 these days and with a pepe Daisy sometimes in tow. It is a bike that I will never sell.