It’s the end of the week and a full weekend of riding bikes (in sunshine!) awaits. First up, it’s time for us to show you all the stuff that’s arrived in the office this week for us to test over the coming months. However, it needs to go through trial by internet first…
Intense Tracer 2
We’ll kick this week off with the follow on the first Intense Tracer. Intense say it’s been improved in every area and it’s the best trail bike they’ve ever made. It’s certainly a looker – although the nicely custardy colour of yellow has split the office down the middle, with some asserting that the only colour an Intense should be is red.
Jon, who’s going to be testing the bike as Long Termer over the next few months, thinks it looks lovely. It still uses the VPP system to provide 145mm or 160mm of travel at the rear and the full 1.5″ headtube can accept every fork under the sun and is designed to be used with 150-160mm travel forks.
The back end now comes with changeable dropouts which come with 142x12mm bolt thru135QR as standard but you can get 142×12 thru versions.
Intense have changed the grease ports to more bash resistant Zerk fittings and the pivots are now ‘EZ-lock binder-bolt’ items. The chainstay yoke and lower link has been redesigned to increase stiffness and save weight. There are ISCG05 mounts in th machined BB assembly so the frame should be able to be adapted to a wide range of riding styles…
That 1.5″ headtube means you can run an angleset if the range of geometry adjustment that comes as standard simply isn’t enough…
Fox Float RP23 High Volume air can comes as standard, although there is a Cane Creek Double Barrel option available. Note the alternate shock mount holes and the redesigned bearing covers on the upper link.
Classic Intense fishscale welds…
They’re still hand made in the USA…
Our build is insanely bling – XTR 2×10 drivetrain, Easton Haven wheels, Formula RX brakes and Easton Haven finishing kit. Weight is around 28lbs…
Price: £1,699 frame and Fox shock
From: Extra UK
Hiplok
Hiplok is the brainchild of a pair of industrial designers – one of whom happens to work for Troy Lee Designs as well. It’s the first wearable bike lock we’ve seen and it takes inspiration from cycle messengers (who else?) who wear their chunky locks round the the waist. The cunning thing is that you don’t need to lock it round your waist – useful if you make a habit of losing keys – although four are provided with the Hiplok.
Instead, the padlock serves as a buckle for the velcro strap that holds it in place, making it quick and easy to remove but secure when you’re riding.
The 8mm case hardened chain is hidden by a padded 600D Nylon outer and it’s got a Sold Secure Silver award so your pride and joy should be more than safe. There are loads of colours available and it’s also extremely useful if you get into any fights with any Mods or Rockers.
Price: £69.99
From: Hiplok
Memory Map Adveturer 3500 GPS
More GPS devices are coming into the office for the Issue 66 grouptest. This GPS tablet uses a touchscreen whch you navigate using the attached stylus. It’s fully waterproof, lightweight and promises to be rugged as well. It comes pre-loaded with 1:50K Lanranger maps for the whole of the UK as well as the Memory Map PC route planning software, silicon sleeve and bike mount.
Price: £380
From: EVO Distribution
Nemo Obi 1P Elite
We’re getting to the time of year when you can go bivvying without there being shades of the first ascent of the Eiger. This is Nemo’s top line one person, lightweight backpacking tent. They say it’s “the black belt martial artists of our lineup. They are finely tuned instruments, with not one ounce of material wasted, every feature and detail driven by purpose and strategy.” Quite.
It uses green ano DAC Featherlite NSL aluminium poles, a 20D PU Nylon outer and weighs around 1.1kg. Interior space is two square metres with a 0.9 square metre vestibule.
Price: £400
From: Beyond Hope
Here’s a little video of Jon seeing how easy it is to put up…
[premiervideo src=”extras/media/2011/04/FreshGoodsTent.m4v” widescreen=”true”]
There are more fresh goods on the next page, with a Mavic wheelset, more bivvy kit from Nemo, a Catlike helmet plus Renthal chainrings, grips and glue…
Comments (22)
Comments Closed
that intense is purty
Intense is ugly. CNC’ing a full frame is the future.
I was liking the ‘cheap’ Mavic wheels until I read the £400 bit.
And the £400 sleeping mat.
And the £400 one man tent.
There’s a great LFGSS thread on the Hiplok…
My Tracer 2 and all the others I know of have come as standard with QR dropouts and not 142×12.
Mavic wheels? Where They?
That Intense looks pretty well perfect to me. Maybe 1 point off for the colour
Davey Boy – the mat is £70, it’s not FG without the odd typo 😉
Second page. My apologies, the sleep mat is £70. I must have been seeing things…
Ah, I didn’t think my brain had reached 4pm yet Jon 😉
Ah, *only* £70 for a mat. Bargain.
Was the placement of the JCB-yellow Intense in front of that digger deliberate or a strange subliminal accident?
Nice spec anyway, nothing obvious to change apart from the colour.
intense looks nice..
less fuglier than a an Orange.
Those grips look like dildo’s.
Is that a Shimano/Fox style QR lever on the back of the Intense? I always liked the Shimano system on my forks.
Dogs look nice!
ichabodcrane – Extra UK have just said that 135QR will be standard rather than 142 – apologies for duff info…
After all the fuss about swearing and by-passing the swearing filter incase minors read the site. We have images of drug abuse! *Shakes head*
Hehe lol
That intense is defo no looker – infact I prefer the Orange Five! Fugly.
Does STW encourage solvent abuse?
“They’re still hand made in the USA…”
No guarantee of quality though…
*wonders if the frame is straight*
The top might still be on the glue 😉
“We have images of drug abuse!”
is Vicks Sinex a drug now?
28lbs 🙁 with all that bling shouldn’t it be light?