Rebecca Rusch Parts Ways With Niner Bicycles

PRESS RELEASE: Niner Bikes

Athlete and activist Rebecca Rusch has been a Niner rider since 2015. For 2020, she's found an unbeatable opportunity to continue her career as an adventure athlete and grow her Be Good foundation with support from another company. We're naturally saddened to see her go, yet supportive of her opportunity, ecstatic for her success, and thrilled by everything she achieved at Niner.

Rebecca wrote the following farewell message:

"Pedal Damnit" "Be Yourself" "Don’t be an a*shole"

With these simple agreements, my relationship with Niner began in 2015, a pivotal year in my evolution as a cyclist, competitor, explorer, activist and human. Most notably, my ride down the Ho Chi Minh Trail was beginning and I had no idea where this transformational experience would take me. Niner was born by going where no one had gone before, so it made sense that they embraced my “hero’s journey.”


Our partnership formed around these basic principles: riding bikes, celebrating who I was and searching for a meaningful path to who I wanted to become. The Be Good Foundation is one of the many seeds planted on that pilgrimage and Niner’s support helped make it possible.


This blog post is a tribute to Niner’s heart-and-soul approach to building impeccable off-road machines, from their carbon MTB frames to their RLT 9 gravel bikes, the multi-tool workhorses I’ve ridden deep into the unknown on so many odysseys, and a highlight reel of memorable milestones we reached by being #committedtodirt.


These rides and events have pushed me to my limit while inspiring others to pursue their own wild paths. The arc of the last, fast four years has followed both a return to my adventurous roots and a forward-focused momentum driven by my own core values: Passion = Payoff; Risk = Reward; Give = Get; Less = More.


Here are some of the places my Niners have taken me:

- First person/first Niner to complete the 1200-mile Ho Chi Minh Trail (2015)
- Smoke ‘n’ Fire 400 (women’s record 2015)
- Gravel World Champion (2015)
- Emmy-winning documentary and film tour: Blood Road (watch it here)
- Italy Divide (2016)
- Summit and descent of Mt. Kilimanjaro by bike to benefit World Bicycle Relief (2016)
- Dirty Kanza (1st Overall DK100, 2016; 1st Woman DK100, 2017; 1st Woman, DKXL350, 201
- Arizona Trail Race 300 (female winner, 201
- Gold Rusch Tour: Girls- & Women’s-specific events and clinics
- FKT (Fastest Known Time) on the brand-new Arizona High Country Route (2019)
- Bears Ears/Escalante MTB bikepacking project to protect public lands (2019)
- Mountain Bike Hall of Fame induction (2019)
- Exponential Growth of Rebecca's Private Idaho, including the first gravel stage race and 35% female field.
- Annual Be Good #MTBLAO Expeditions with dozens of mountain bikers to explore, ride and learn about Laos and contribute to efforts to clean up what is the world's most bombed country from UXO (unexploded bombs)


Plus… countless ramblings around Idaho and the rest of the world that brought laughter, tears, camaraderie and growth. As new chapters unfold, I’ll continue to thrive on pedaling, being authentically “me,” pushing new boundaries, and expanding my use of the bike to promote healing, empowerment and evolution from Idaho to Africa to Laos and beyond… wherever my presence, my fire and my brand can shine a light and make a positive impact.


Thank you Niner Bikes, for being such a massive catalyst.

Pedal Damnit and Be Good.

- Rebecca Rusch

****

Words to live by? If you agree, you just might be a Ninerd. Right now is a great time to find out: Rebecca's Be Good Foundation is partnering with Niner to support bike-related causes. Fundraise and you might earn a shiny new RLT (Road Less Traveled) gravel bike for your own adventures.


Photo credits, in order of appearance:

#1 Idarado
#2 Red Bull Content Pool/ Josh Letchworth
#3 Linda Guerrette
#4 Linda Guerrette
#5 Adventure Scout Media
#6 Linda Guerrette
#7 Adventure Scout Media

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Industry News Press Releases Niner Rebecca Rusch