Intense 5.5 29er Prototype - Out of the Box
So here it sits.
Late, but here, on the eve of the first measurable snow of the season. It's all good though, I'm not afraid of riding it in the snow.
Out of the box, the bike weighs in at 28.1 lbs. It came fully equipped with XTR, (including my least favorite type of derailleur - the Rapid Rise), Salsa Delgado rims, Maxxis Crossmark tires and a White Fluid 130 fork. Very nicely done.
When sitting side by side with my RIP, it is immediately apparent that Intense did what they could to keep the front end down on the bike. The 5.5 has an FSA headset which essentially puts the bottom cup inside the head tube. My RIP9 sits a little over 2" higher in the front.
It just goes to show you how different folks interpret that way a bike should be built. To me, this seems a little too XC of a set up for me, I personally feel that a bike with this much travel should be a little more AM, but that is just an opinion.
The cool part about the way the bike is set up, is that I'll get a chance to ride it the way it came to me, and then when I put all my stuff on it, get to ride it the way I would build it. It will be interesting to see that comparison.
I'll get a chance to hop on it this weekend, and I'll report back right after the first ride
posted by mandy at 7:34 PM
4 Comments:
Very nice! Can't wait to hear about the ride!
George, it'd be great if you could run through the geometry figures at some point if you don't mind. Thanks.
Regarding the XC vs. AM, I couldn't agree more. I demo'ed a 26" wheeled Intense 5.5 in Moab. I thought at 5.5" that it'd have been more of an AM bike and pretty ideal for what we were riding. Nope, I came away with that exact impression: seems like an XC bike. It seemed like it rode far more like a 4" travel bike than something bigger. The experience completely ruled it out as a bike for me, and of course put a whole different angle on some of the positive reviews I'd read. There may be some who'll wind up loving this bike, and more power to you and to Intense. To each their own. For me though, I'm currently planning on the Specialized Stumpjumper 29er as my full suspension 29er (I have a full rigid Niner, and a full suspension 26" wheel bike; this latter bike being what I'll replace with an FS 29er).
A couple days before I demo'ed the 5.5, I demo'ed a RIP 9. Nice bike, except the shop completely screwed up and had some 18" wide flat handlebar on it, which basically destroyed the handling. Otherwise it's my 2nd choice after the Stumpy (which I've ridden as well). Heh, now I just need to actually buy one (waiting until Spring, not much point for me right now/at this time of year).
We shall see how she rides on this fine cold morning.
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