2016 Intense Primer

[slider_phil]

I have just bought the same bike (and colourway) but as complete build. I'm watching with interest your build as although I'm very happy with current spec I do plan on changing the shock and maybe wheels down the line.

For those interested... it was down to this or the Yeti SB4.5 after ruling out other contenders (Stumpy, Evil, Jeffsy). Absolutely no regrets with my decision. Only had three decent dirt rides but I'm already matching my fastest times and don't feel like I'm pushing it yet. And it's just a fun ride - quick, playful, and I've never hit corners better. Previous ride was a 140mm 27.5 that I really enjoyed, but this thing is on another level. And just so damn sexy to look at... first time I looked at one I didn't realise it was a 29er.

Nice! One of my previous rides was the Evil Following. Primer kills it in every respect. My old Riot is still my favourite bike but that's only because I haven't had enough time on the Primer to really get it dialed in on the descents. But after riding the steep seat tube angle on the Riot I wasn't going to buy another bike with a slack one. Hence the Primer.

Unfortunately this time of year the Primer has been tucked away at the back of the shed and rides have been divided up between road miles and my steel hardtail.

 

[BB1]

I got mine from FTR, I have some history there and they came up with a price I was happy with.

I actually really like dealing with Defcon, I have a lot of time for them but FTR is on my side of the river.

 

[BB1]

Nice! One of my previous rides was the Evil Following. Primer kills it in every respect. My old Riot is still my favourite bike but that's only because I haven't had enough time on the Primer to really get it dialed in on the descents. But after riding the steep seat tube angle on the Riot I wasn't going to buy another bike with a slack one. Hence the Primer.

Unfortunately this time of year the Primer has been tucked away at the back of the shed and rides have been divided up between road miles and my steel hardtail.

Ah... this is good to know. One of the reasons I ruled out the Evil was the slack seat tube angle, especially on an XL which is what I was considering.

I actually did a detour on the commute to work this morning through my local trails, had a smile on my face almost the whole time. I haven't got the rear dialled yet, and it also didn't help that I forgot to unlock the shock after my commute yesterday...

Bulk of my riding during the week is road miles, but with the Merida Scultura fork recall the Primer is spending more time on the tarmac than I'd intended. Hence the frequent dirt detours...

 

[BB1]

Bit of an update... Recluse link has arrived so I can get 140/140mm travel for an upcoming event. CC inline coil will go on in early Jan. Will post pics once set up

 

[slider_phil]

Bit of an update... Recluse link has arrived so I can get 140/140mm travel for an upcoming event. CC inline coil will go on in early Jan. Will post pics once set up

Nice! I've been debating a Recluse link but to be honest, I've rarely got the bike into a situation where the 130mm was undergunned.

I did a 3hr race with mine a couple of months ago with the rear end set to the 115mm travel mark and it was pretty quick. Looking at doing a few more in 2018 so my current bike goal is to buy some parts I can swap over to bring it more inline with a race ready bike and then I can always put it back to this for trail riding. Its currently sitting at 12.6kg which is not too bad but I'd like to see around 11.5kg race ready!

 

[hifiandmtb]

Tell me more about the Recluse link. Is it sanctioned by Intense, the plug & play? Any downsides?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BB1]

Nice! I've been debating a Recluse link but to be honest, I've rarely got the bike into a situation where the 130mm was undergunned.

I did a 3hr race with mine a couple of months ago with the rear end set to the 115mm travel mark and it was pretty quick. Looking at doing a few more in 2018 so my current bike goal is to buy some parts I can swap over to bring it more inline with a race ready bike and then I can always put it back to this for trail riding. Its currently sitting at 12.6kg which is not too bad but I'd like to see around 11.5kg race ready

I'm still amazed at the versatility of these bikes. And you're right, at 130mm it's incredibly capable. I've been building this up in preparation for a multi day enduro, but I'm keeping the stock link and the air can so I can change back to trail mode once it's over. Then it'll go on a diet!

 

[BB1]

Tell me more about the Recluse link. Is it sanctioned by Intense, the plug & play? Any downsides?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It was suggested by the Intense rep, although I'm not quite sure whether that counts as sanctioned! The link came with all the bearings, but not the sleeve so I'll need to change that over. Apparently it's only a 15 minute job to swap them over once set up.

Only downside at this point is that it becomes 140mm only, I'd have loved it if it had a 125/140 option! Kinematics should all stay the same so it should retain most of its snappiness and climbing ability. I've gone the coil option as I've found that even while commuting I don't lock the shock out.

I'll give an update once it's all done about whether it was actually easy and what differences I find.

 

[slider_phil]

Yep, as above. Lots of people have gone and done it now. It started with people installing a 200x57 shock to get some extra travel but some shocks had clearance with the extra 6mm over the 200x51.

The Recluse link apparently brings the geometry back so the shock has plenty of clearance and 140mm in the rear. So the bike can be built at 115mm, 130mm and 140mm. Pretty cool and versatile

 

[JPG]

I see you dropped the Topaz from the original post - any reason (to go back to an Air IL ) ?

P.S. Your old Riot now wears Jade

 

[slider_phil]

I never actually rode it with the Topaz actually! I bought it with it and installed the Air IL as soon as I realised I couldn't fit a bottle in the front triangle with the external reservoir shock. That was one of the main reasons for moving to the Primer.

And I really miss my Riot, still up the top of my most fun bike list. Still waiting to see what the Canfield boys are planning with their new Riot replacement, if it ever sees the light of day that is.

 

[BB1]

Okay, update on the build. I've got the CCIL Coil installed, had the first ride this morning. So far I'm impressed.

Pros: soooooooooo supple, rear much more controlled (no skipping), and somewhat surprisingly climbs even better. Almost cleaned a section today that I've never even got close to before. And to me anyway, I think it looks awesome. Fits a full size water bottle even better than the Monarch that was on previously.
Cons: weight. 613g, but as the other option I was considering was a DPX2 which was 460g it's not that much more. Also I seem to have lost a bit of "snap" when putting the power down. The price you pay for almost no stiction I guess.

Installation - shock, easy. Recluse link - PITA, mainly because I couldn't work out how to undo one of the bolts on the link. Took it to the lads at FTR as I didn't want to butcher anything. Turned out to be easy, but I'm glad I asked! The only other hassle was removing the spacer from within the link. The Recluse link doesn't come with one, so had to remove the bearing from the standard link to get it out and install in the Recluse link.

If I could get a spare spacer it would be a very easy job to swap the links across, around 10 minutes now I' know what I'm doing.

Current weight is 13.3kg, it'll go on a diet after the TransNZ which is what I'm getting it ready for at the moment.

 

[slider_phil]

Very interesting. One thing I've noticed these last couple of days on mine is the rear wheel likes to get hung up a bit on rocky descents, especially compared to my old Riot. Obviously the extra 10mm of travel and a heavier bike helped in the Riots favour there. The Primer is a lot more of an all-rounder in that regard. You definitively have to play with it on the descents and pick your lines and it's a ton of fun doing so, but it ain't a plow bike.

I'm guessing the Recluse link and coil shock would alleviate most of those issues, with maybe some reduced efficiency and less pop (plus a little extra weight).

Last night a did a couple of descents that I've ridden my Riot on a few times, and I missed my PR by 4 seconds over 2.30min and another by 18 secs over 6:30mins. But I made minutes up on the climbs. Overall, it's a more rounded bike for what I do. Mines at a healthy 12.6kg but I've got a Fox 34 to go on it which will shave some grams and I've got a few ideas to save a bit more.

 

[BB1]

Did a bit more playing on the return journey, including throwing it down some rougher tracks. I agree with your comments about it getting hung up on descents, and I also found it would skip a bit over small bumps if trying to power down. The coil has certainly helped with both issues, I could actually feel the back end doing its thing in all situations where the Monarch would simply pack up.

I've found the biggest difference is purely in the level of control I feel on the bike. The back matches the front really nicely now and I'm just pointing the bike where I want it to go, and am holding more speed as I trust it won't buck me off. I also bumped up my tyre pressures yesterday which helped with efficiency to the point where I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I'm very keen to do some back to back testing now on my usual loops, just waiting for this damn heat to pass so I don't die while pedaling up the hills!

 

[slider_phil]

Back in action. Took off the 140mm Pike and fitted a Fox 34 boost using an MRP "better boost adapter". Saved 300g there. The fork was already tapped for the OneUp EDC kit so I added one of those at the same time. Then I moved my 2.35 Nobby Nic to the rear using a cushcore insert and fitted a new 2.35 to the front. I had a 2.35 Racing Ralph on the back but it's pretty stuffed and I was running out of traction everywhere.

So all in all, I've put on weight rather than take it off but I'm sick of breaking wheels so hopefully the cushcore does what it advertises. From 12.6kg to 12.8kg.

Can't wait to get it back out on the trails

 

[creaky]

Love this rig. What size is the frame ?

 

[slider_phil]

Love this rig. What size is the frame ?

Cheers! She's a medium

 

[BB1]

That is looking fantastic Slider! I loved the 34's on my old bike, keen to hear your thoughts. And looking at your dropper I think I'll change mine to a longer drop when funds allow.

I've decided to run with the coil. Weight of the CCDB IL coil with Valt spring and all hardware is 683g. Total weight is now 13.4kg - saved some weight with lighter pedals. I'll run lighter and faster tyres when I get back, there's just under 2kg in rubber front and back at the moment.

Better shot of mine all prepped and ready for NZ. Ignore the bar end, lost one in a crash last weekend! Photos don't do the colour scheme justice.

 

[slider_phil]

The bike is morphing towards the XC side of the trail spectrum. I'm doing a few endurance races coming up and I've been building the fitness to go with it.

Have installed Maxxis Aspen 29x2.25 tyres front+rear (still with cushcore in the rear). Removed the Next SL cranks for XTR with a Stages powermeter and a new headunit, as the old Garmin died.

Weight is down to 12.3kg and the bike flies. Have the rear setup now in the 115mm position and it's super efficient. Really loving the way to bike is riding at the moment.

Have been tempted by the string of new "not quite XC bikes" like the new Intense Sniper, Santa Cruz Blur and Yeti SB100. 100mm rear, 120mm front but with decent trail geometry. Something that can be fast enough for 3-6 hr endurance races but on the weekend you can bolt on your minions and not feel left out on the chunkier stuff.

Damn you bike industry, I really don't need a new bike but i certainly want one

 

[The Reverend]

You've got to love a bike with versatility. Looks great!