New Bike (Frameset) Day

Hello Everyone. I hope you are all doing great during this crazy time. I have not been working since July and have been riding 3 to 4 days per week. A couple weeks back I discovered a crack on my chain stay near the BB. I submitted multiple photos to Intense. They agreed to warranty the rear triangle. They do not have a rear triangle till at least January. The only option I had that was presented was to pay them for a new Frameset at a discounted price. My thoughts on this resolution are mixed but I’m trying to stomach that especially since I’m not working.

Moving on from all that, I paid for a 2020 Primer frame upgrade. Another note was that at 6’2, I really need to be on an XL frame. My previous bike was a large. I was given the option to get the new frame in XL. This is the biggest bike travel wise I’ve ever ridden. I know it’s really not a big travel. 140/140 should be good for what I’m doing.

Over my 8 years or so of getting back into biking I came to learn of Mtb J. I have had the opportunity to ride with him way back when I was a beginner and chase him up the hills. I thought I was gonna die. Not only were his million vert feet years superhuman to me, but I knew he was really good turning a wrench. I reached out to Jason, and his advice over the warranty and situation was amazing. I won’t tell you what he thought of the Intense response but you can probably figure that out.

When the new Frame arrived I contemplated doing all the swap myself. I am ok at doing most of my bike maintenance. I asked Jason and he agreed to assist for a very reasonable rate. Wednesday afternoon I brought him all the parts. All my parts from the old generation Primer moved over, except the new bike is a threaded English GXP 73 BB. I was excited as I’m not a fan of PF BB. From all the parts I brought over, I was only missing one single bolt for the dropper mount which I was able to pick up at Depot. J replaced some frayed cables too which I had brought and bled rear brake. Most cable was long enough from the large and Jason was able to make it work.

A couple hours later, I had a new bike. I really appreciate Jason and his time. The price was very fair, and his experience made it look easy. It is not easy for all of us.

There are several differences from this generation Primer to my old bike. It is slacker, longer, stiffer, slightly heavier, way better flak guards and frame protection, inserts inside frame for easier cable feeds to name a few. I took a quick 13 mile ride at Bonelli and here are first impressions.

The bike feels bigger. Obviously right? Sizing aside, reach is increased. Higher BB. I used my old fork but plan to update the air sleeve to 140 and end up at 140/140. Steering feels slower. Not a surprise it should be. I used my old stem which is more of an XC stem and a 66mm. That is being replaced by a 40mm on the way. That should help. On one of my first drop ins I lost the rear of the bike in a turn and went down. Not high speed and I’m ok but it was odd. Wet leaves may have been a factor and my poor execution, but the length of the bike is new. No harm to bike. I’m mostly ok too.

It feels comfortable. The size opens up my breathing more. It fits well. The rear Fox DPX2 feels really nice and I’m getting mostly full travel. Bike feels stable aside from the rear step out once. Here’s something I did not expect; It climbs extremely well and feels much improved over last bike. Intense redesigned the rear link. Perhaps it is more a product of proper sizing too. This ride was not a high effort. I took it mostly easy on climbs. On punchy climbs it felt a bit sluggish if it was not on top of the pedals, but I think the much shorter stem will quicken up steering and assist with climbing position too.

I did some tight switchbacks, and yeah it requires a bit more finesse, I can adjust to the 2” longer wheelbase. When I got home, I looked close at my Strava data. I have over 150 rides at Bonelli so there is a Sh!t ton of data and experience there. While my overall climbing speed was slow for me, it was because I was super relaxed. But when I compared my times on several climbing segments, I was faster than my averages even with my PE being low. Weird. It just feels like the larger size and super smooth rear will allow me to climb really well. On super steep climbs maybe not so much. But 6 to 8 percent stuff it felt amazing.

I know that was a long read but a huge thanks to Jason for all his advice and help building it up. I would not hesitate to have Jason work on my bikes and I’m picky. If it’s something like suspension that I’m not ok with I’ll reach out to him. I did learn too from the build and sharpened my skills a bit. The bike weights in at 28.37 lbs with pedals and mount. Lighter than expected. I shave Red fork decal coming and short stem. Aside from that it’s done.

Here are a few pictures of the new bike. I hope to ride with this group again sometime soon. I hear SART calling

 

I’m glad it all worked out.

Sounds like the bigger size will be better....it felt ginormous to me.

I find there is no sense in reusing old cables on a build....such a small price to pay for piece of mind...not to mention that the dropper cable was fraying at the lever...not a spot most people look for.

Yes, I’m still not satisfied with the way Ken was treated from Intense, not satisfied with their handling of a warranty issue. Granted, they were not out of norm that I have heard from Other Intense owners that have warranty issues...meaning they are not easy to deal with. Let’s just say I’ll never give them any of my money.

On that note, building new bikes is always fun.

 

Congrats on the new frame. I am not too surprised by your review, the latest offerings from Intense climb really well.

 

@trmn8er congrats on the new frame! and somewhat bike. Dig the colors! It looks badass to me!

 

Congrats,

I'm about 6'2", and most of the time I find XL to be a better fit for me.
Longer wheel base will increase stability in high speed docents (the good stuff).

 

BAD ASS BIKE!! I had the V1 Primer and loved it. I love most of the new colors (Santa Cruz should hire their graphic designers) too. I would have bought another Primer but was able to get a great discount on my Ripley so it was an easy choice. Enjoy that Primer!!

 

Enjoy that sweet new ride. I am sure it will give you years of enjoyment.

 

Looks great. Those new primers look like a great all round bike!

 

I enjoyed the review... It certainly sounds like everything worked out in the end.

Your warranty experience sounds similar to my experience with Salsa and the broken El Marichi.

 

No...much worse.

 

Congrats! Cool bike and I'm stoked about your stoke!

Sorry about your problems dealing with Intense. No excuse for that when there are so many other options available.

 

Happy NBD, Ken!

 

I am surprised you had trouble with getting a part warrantied with Intense. I dealt with them once for warranty and they took care of it instantly.
I am in an Intense owners group on Facebook, and there are virtually no complaints with their warranties. Next time contact Chappy and he will help you out.

 

He's Fiene!

 

Thanks everyone. The only issue I had getting a part warranty covered was they don’t have the part. They agreed it was warranty. For me, waiting at least two months for a rear that would not match my bike and not having a bike to ride was not a solution. I also asked multiple times for a loaner or other options and was told there were none. Chappie was involved from what I was told by their warranty person. Note my original post where i did not say anything derogatory. Again I have my thoughts on how it was handled. Fact: I was given one solution, pay a discounted rate for a new frame or wait at least two months, and get a rear triangle in a color way that would not match my bike. That’s just what happened. Some may feel that was fair, others may not. You decide.

 

The way it was presented to me, was the rear end was cracked. Intense didn't have any...and wouldn't for 2-3 months, and when they did, it would be a different color.

Options were:

1. Be without a bike for 2-3 months
2. Pay for a new frame at a discounted price(which ends up being a little better than crash replacement)

To me....neither of these options were acceptable for a a $3000 carbon frame. So basically they told him you have to wait or you have to pay us more money. They obviously have complete frames in stock, but never offered to just replace it. It would have been different if they were completely out of frames.

Granted he wanted to bump up a frame size....that wasn't the hold up in the deal.

I guess I am just used to Santa Cruz, where they would have sent a complete frame if they didn't have a replacement part.

 

That is exactly what happened Jason. Just fact. I would have taken a Large or XL as I’m in between. But a new Frameset as warranty was never offered. I also reached out to Jeff and never got a reply. Again I have not complained publicly only stated exactly what happened since some have questioned their response.

 

A friend of mine did not have a good experience with SC. I forget the exact situation, but something to do with one of the pivot points on his TB1. SC said sorry, it happens, better luck next time. The shop offered him a loyalty discount, but nobody at any point mentioned replacement frame. He ended up w/ a Hightower at a pretty good price, but it was through the shop, not SC.

 

TB1 only had a 2 year warranty. If he had a problem with it after that, then I could understand them offering a discounted frame. Considering the Hightower didn't come out til 2016.....makes me think this was the case. However, if it is still under warranty, then they need to take care of it.

 

I don't remember the details... he wasn't happy, but not unhappy enough to get a Hightower.