Mountain Biking - My potential new bike!

We've just agreed to a price and I'll be sending a money order as soon as I get an address.

Details as follows:

Intense Uzzi SL - 2001 - Size Medium
Fork: RS Psylo. I'll be replacing it was a Marzocchi as soon as I can.
Cranks and Hubs. Profile's. Rings are Race Face.
Shifters, Derailleurs & Cassette - XTR
Brakes are Hayes 6" front and rear.
Rims are Mavic 321's laced to the Profile hubs mentioned above.
Seatpost and Stem are both Thomson.

I can't wait!!!!!!

L8R

I know absolutely zero about FS bikes...and even less about Intense.

But it looks sweet :D

Is that a downhill rig or freeride or what?

It's what I would consider a "Trailbike". Another classification to further muddy the waters. It's what would have been considered a "Freeride" bike a couple of years ago. Before they were doing 10'0" drops.

It has 4.5" of rear wheel travel and 5" in the fork. Weight is right around 32 lbs, but can easily and sensibly be built up (or down) to about 27 - 28 lbs.

The cranks on this are chromoly and kinda heavy. But indestructible. The wheels are DH rims, and some beefy tires as well.

I'll keep it like it is. Minus the fork. I'm more concerned about strength than I am weight!

L8R

Nice bike. I've never ridden an SL but a friend has an M1, the finish and machinework are very nice. And tough, wow - the SL is reputed to be a bomb-proof trail bike.

Congrats. Intense make good bikes (Currently I am too sick to remember where they got the frame patent from but it is a time proven system).

I would classify it as a freeride bike. It isn't as burly as some of those beasts being made but it still holds up to more than just what regular trails can throw at it :)

Wow those are some WICKED stats. xtr, mavic 321's (my favs) and thomson. Sweet. Definately dump the Rock Shock as you already said :)

Smart build, although me not being as heavy as you I'd opt for some lighter equipment. But dam, what is that like a 5K bike?

Very sweet looking scoot!

May I ask why you are dumping the Psylo?

Sweet ride, there isnt anything wrong with that bike that i can think of. Oh and thanks for not dropping a cannondale bit:D

Congrats on the new rig a2.:thumbup:
Alot of riders here have that bike and have had no complaints.
Enjoy it.

Slainte :beer:

Sweet bike but i dont know why ur dropping the pshylo fork, thats a pretty decent fork. Its got plenty of travel (125mm) i think it would do ya good but its all up to u

a2, dude that is sexy!!

I had the luxury of fondling a tracer frame in a shop, and man was it some beautiful!

Enjoy!!

Skall!!

sweet ride!

I want a tracer - will you buy me one?

thanks.

I know I'll get my butt kicked by everyone, but what happened to your F2000 in the end?

Sweet ride my man!

Rich

Thanks for your comments everyone. I'm getting very excited about my new bike. To give everyone a bit of background. I sold my 2 bikes; my F2000SX, and my Specialized P.3 in order to get enough money to go back to full suspension. Nothing was wrong with either one, and the buyers both got great bikes. I sold my P.3 locally and the guy that bought it is a computer geek and does a lot of eBay trading, so as part of the deal, he agreed to post my F2000 and manage the transaction. I still like Cannondale's, so no love lost. (Sorry Peter) J/K.:D

The Intense is a Horst link rear, licensed from Specialized. It's very similar in design to the FSR I had before my Cannondale. Intense licensed the design and took it to the next level of quality and craftsmenship. New MSRP on the frame alone is about $1,800 to $2,000. Needless to say, it's a great frame.

Fork is a Psylo. I've never been a big fan of RockShox products. I've ridden some friends bikes who have this same fork, and it's good quality. I've just heard that this year's model has had some problems with the bushings. I do not know if this fork will have those same problems or not! Either way, I'm a big fan of Marzocchi products and will upgrade to a Z.1 or a DJ1 or maybe even a Shiver SC when I same some $$$$.

Everything else on the bike is top notch. Chris King headset. Profile Racing Hubs and Cranks & XTR.

My guess, if you wanted to build up a similar bike and had to pay full retail (or Mail Order prices) you'd be looking at $3,500 to $4,000. Easily!!!!

I thought about getting a Tracer. The shop where I work is also a Haro dealer and they have a Tracer Frame with Haro decals, that I could've gotten for a good price, but I was looking for a burlier frame. The Tracer is supposibly a top notch XC full suspension bike.

I'll let everyone know when I actually get the bike what my "Actual" impressions are. For right now, it's Heinz time! "Anticipa aaaa aaa tion - is making me wait!"

L8R
:D :) :beer:

I still like Cannondale's, so no love lost. (Sorry Peter)

Guess that was for me?:)

No matter what anyone thinks, we know you've done a lot of research into what your next bike would be, and it's nice to see you've chosen something that has a really good spec and that you've made decisions concerning it that are sound. Your other bikes went to good homes, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it immensely when you get it. You will of course post a photo of it when you get it. None of that showroom stuff, your bike - as it is.

There is a corner of your heart that is forever Cannondale!:D

Look forward to reading all about it!

How much is that puppy going to cost, by the way? I was looking around a website earlier and stumbled accross some frames, and a couple by Intense caught my eye, and I thought, if I built a bike that would be the frame I'd go for. Then I came to your post, and now I realise, there is nothing personal moving from Cannondale to Intense.:)

The frames were really wicked prices: you can see them at www.wiggle.co.uk

The Intense has been atop of my "all time favorite bikes" for a very long time. If I were buying it new, I'd opt up and spend a little bit more and get the Uzzi SLX with 6" of rear wheel travel, but I've yet to see one used. Or cheap enough to where I could buy it.

I'd tell you what I'm paying, but I wouldn't want to make you cry. Plus, I don't have the bike yet and wouldn't want to jinx the deal.

As soon as I get it, I'll definately give a report.

For more information on Intense, check out www.intensecycles.com

Oh BTW, there are still 2 Cannondale's in my garage. Of course, they both belong to my wife. A Raven with full XT and Spinergy wheels, and a R4000 with the Mavic Mektronic Shifting and Dura-Ace everything else.

L8R:beer:

a2, just a question, are Intense and haro the same company? and are they related to Santa Cruz? as the Tracer (is it?) uses the VPP design?

Haro buys frames from Intense, paints them and puts their decals on them. Not all Haro bike are made by Intense just their "Frame Only" deals. There are two models; the M1 Downhill bike and the Tracer, the lightweight XC bike. They're shown in the "Parts" brochure, not the "Bikes" brochure. These are more for Haro sponsored riders, employees and big fans of Haro. (My guess!)

Intense and Santa Cruz joint ventured to buy the patent rights from Outland for the VPP design. Each company has taken their own "modifications" to the design and have come out with their own respective frames. The Santa Cruz has the "Blur" a XC bike, a soon to be released VPX a freeride model with 6" of travel and th VPP10 a DH frame with 10" of rear wheel travel (albeit 4" of built in sag)

Intense has the Spyder VPP, and working on a yet unnamed "Slalom or 4x" bike. Don't know if they'll use the VPP on their well known and respected M1 design. Time will tell.

L8R