And who loves the bike so much that he is keeping it and intense are sorting him out. All bike frames have issues at some point. You just seem to have a real chip on your shoulder about intense and I’m pretty sure that’s not the first time you’ve voiced your opinion about the company.

Oh dear, Hugor’s off on one again.

Even my 6.5inch travel Slopestyle climbs pretty well, actually very well. It’s no Zesty on the ups, but I just don’t care.

You pedal. So long as you get there…

“There is absolutely no way the tracer is a better climber than the spot. Pointing down it may be slightly better but up? No chance.
I’ve owned a 5.5 and had a good amount of time on a Tracer, so this isn’t guesswork wither.”

Just your opinion and nothing more. And here is mine…

Hora, buy the bike you like the look of. Personally, I’d be more interested in a bikes pointing downwards capabilities than it’s pointing upwards capabilities. But that’s just me.

Laps use what they call OST, Intense and Santa Cruz call it VPP. Essentially the same thing just done slightly differently. It’s explained here

I came down the fastest part of our trail ride, 30mph +; tis a straight downhill with a few roots and very small step downs with a compression and slightly banked right turn at the bottom before heading up a slight incline. At the time it had been quite windy so visibility round the corner was not as good due to low branches etc. Imagine my surprise when hitting the compression at the bottom to see 20feet in front of an entire fallen tree blocking the trail. There were no bail out routes so I hit the anchors and at the last second bailed from the bike. I went one way and it went another both ending up stuck in different parts of the tree, neither of us on terra-firma. No damage done. Myself and my mate removed the tree the next day. Lessons learned that day were that perhaps looking more ahead would be a good idea.

Thanks for the comments folks, Treks look lovely and that Dirtworks does look cool.

My other bike copes more than well enough with what I ride at the ‘Gap’ but this is way more stable and once up to speed you don’t really have to slow down as much. It was suprisingly nimble even running a 63.5HA. I could take back to 64 and see if it makes any difference. Still loads to do on the suspension set up though.

Yeah, but it’s fun.

Yes, the Gap. A lot has happened in the last couple of months. Some of the wooded sections have been re-built and many of the tracks on the side immediately to the right of the karting track have been cleaned up. People have been busy. It’s getting popular, again.

There’s a ‘hidden’ area near Brentwood in Essex. Lots of short technical runs and some faster bigger runs with some decent sized jumps. Nothing more than about 50seconds from start to finish. Loads of fun and ideal to practice on.

I haven’t sat on it since I witnessed the biggest bloody borris I have ever seen crawl underneath it 2 days ago.

This weighs 33lb with the Crossmax on the back. I don’t see why yours is as heavy as it is. However, you could change the cranks and then brakes and then start looking at thet stem and bars etc. You could also change to lighter wheels but that could be big bucks. However, I doubt any quick wins would be that noticebale

I keep looking at and thinking, Ooo, it’s mine and then sadly grinning to myself. Even my Wife pretended to be interested when I got home.

Well I bought as a 40th B’day present to myself. Number 2 child is due next year so it was now or never. Well, that’s my excuse. The plan is to spend as much time as I can next year practicing and the year after enter a few DH races. The bike is most likely overkill but I really just don’t give a sh1t. I’m very excited.

I know you were winding me up, no offence was taken.

White DH40s. Would have preferred black but got to the Mojo clearance sale too late.

Careful sunshine! It’s actually a very old sofa and as such is very comfortable. The ‘scaffolding’ will be used as device to terrify myself even more than I do now.

No sheep were killed in the making of that cushion. Several muppets were though.

Had chips thrown at me before. They missed though and I know who they were but not seen them since. Some people are just sh1t.

My intense slopestyle. It’s gone through a number of guises and many part changes but it’s just bloody brilliant.

Opposite the main entrance to Thorndon in Brentwood where I trail ride there are some other woods. To me they are ‘Spooky Woods’ I’ll ride them with others but never on my own. They’re very quiet, even during the day. The last time I rode them on my own was during the day but I remember having an overwhelming sense of being followed. It was horrible. I got of there ASAP. Makes me shiver thinking about it now.

They keep goats where I ride. They have horns and everything. Used to them know. I’ve seen eye’s staring at me before but they did not really worry me. The only time I got spooked was with a mate and something large started moving towards us through the woods. We did not wait around to say hello.

Great news! Keep us posted.

Maybe yours was just a bad one. If you look hard enough you can find issues with pretty much anything and find someone who will shout loudly about it given any oppurtunity to do so and vice versa. FWIW I’ve had three intenses and the pivot bolts have been fine. I don’t even use the circlips on the SS.

Nice Pivot BTW.

Nay bother K57. Happy to help.

If it’s out of warranty then it is out of warranty. Were either of the replacement rear triangles of the new design? Either way I think you may have some credence with the not fit for purpose route. That is a shame. I take it you are nor regularly hucking 12ft drops to flat etc?

My first tracer had an issue with the front triangle that was resolved by going direct to extra. My second tracer was spot on. That was replaced with a mk1 SS that is superb. Yup it needs looking after but the way it rides and what it puts up with more than makes up for any maintenance I have to do. I’m sure you do look after your frames but to others out there it does not matter what you spend they all need looking after and checking before and after rides. Why would you spend loads on a frame and not do that!? FWIW my pivot bolts stay put because I do them up properly and check them!

“This thread is crap. Either people posting ugly ‘niche’ bikes or their own bikes (none of which I’d class as ‘porn’).”

I’d like to tell you to f*** off but I’d actually like to see what you think is bike porn first.

This makes me go a little weak.

Thankyou Fudd, very nice EVO btw!

It’s not a JDM but has 225bhp as the EMS is completely remapped to suit the different in-take and exhaust manifolds. The cold start is taken direct from the civic. It also has the 6speed box, thankfully! The VTEC point is lowered to 4250 and the limiter set to 8600rpm. It’s a 2005+ engine so has the lighter fly. It also has a race cat fitted and baffled sump.

This for nearly 11years now:

With this in the back:

Right then. I’d been seeing a very nice lass at uni for a few weeks, quite the gymnast I seem to remember when I spotted another lass. Anyway, I dumped the first one for the second one and very soon realised that she was not quite the gymnast and really not that keen in the bedroom department unlike the first lass. Anyway, the first lass was making signs of recovery so we hooked up with each other again. In the meantime the second lass had been following my movements. I thought I’d been careful but apparently not, someone must have told on me in hindsight. There was an awkward confrontation at the front door where I exclaimed to a tearful second lass that it was alright as I had not slept with the first lass. I had….twice, that night/morning. Second lasses parting shot was ‘I hope you have a nice Christmas’. I did feel quite bad and as I type this I’m feeling guilty all over again, she was a very nice girl but at the age of 19 I was more interested in the talented and very, very keen gymnast.

Sorry Liz, I was a git.

Dangerous Animals act (or something like that) in the 70s prohibited the private ownership of large cats etc. Many were released into the wild rather than be shot. Plenty of ’em about I reckon and pretty sure I’ve seen one run about 30 foot in front of me whilst out at dusk on my tod. Well, it wasn’t a dog or a deer or a wallaby or a gruffalo, it was very quick and very quiet and a had long tail.

During one night ride myself and my mates head torches picked out some eyes belonging to something large that decided to start moving towards us through the woods. We didn’t stop to find out. Oh, and then there are the claw marks…

Try bearingking.com, they sell SKF bearings which are pretty good.

As much as you like, why worry about it and what others think.

Err, 160 and 165 for me.

Rogate Downhill near Petersfield. Operates a pay and play set-up or you can become a full member.

Currently using a 135*12 bolt through. It’s a 73mm BB on an intense ss1 where you can swap the rear drop-outs. Sounds like there is not a lot of point. Cheers folks!

32 by 11 to 32. I ride wherever. If it gets too much I get off push, I’m really not that bothered about it.

My Sram X0 kit rocks. Without exception the XT shimano rear mech and two XTR rear mechs I’ve had have all given up the ghost after about a years use. KMC chains all the way though.

As I said, I very much doubt that intense frames break any more or less than others. Because one broke or another was welded up badly it does mean every other frame they made/will make will suffer the same fate. Any frame worth riding ridden hard enough will probably break eventually. Mine is still in one piece and if it did go I’d buy another one. It’s a joy to own and ride.

If I could afford it I’d have an M9 an heartbeat as well as my SS.

They do not all seem to crack and they are not all welded on the wonk. That’s a massive over generalisation. Yes they have had some issues but that would be the minority. Some frames from all manufacturers can and do crack and some are of course on the wonk. Intense probably no more so or less than any other. I would imagine it gets shouted about more than the others because of their perceived image and price tag which these days is pretty comparable to everyone else. An M9 with a CCDB is cheaper than a lapierre DH920 frame with a Fox RC4.

99.9% of dogs are fine. It’s the idiots they live with that cause the issues. For the remaining 0.1% they’re just born a wrongun. Unfortunately it’s often hard to tell until it’s too late. A bit like people I guess.

FWIW the only dogs that I put my bike between them and I if I encounter them whislt out riding are spaniels and scotty dogs. I’ve been bitten by one of the latter twice.

Now, cats on the other hand. I’ve had three and have loved each of them dearly but without exception each of the fury maniacs has at some point, and quite often more than once, turned round to it’s loving owner and engaged in a pretty serious mauling.

Report it if you feel the need but get down to A&E for a jab.