The bike industry crisis

Dear INTENSE Rider,



First and foremost, we want to thank you for being a valued part of the INTENSE family here in Australia. Your passion for riding and support of our brand has meant the world to us. As the global cycling industry faces continued economic challenges, we’ve had to make some difficult decisions to ensure the long-term strength and future of INTENSE Cycles. We want to share an important update about how this affects our operations in Australia.

What’s Changing
Effective immediately, INTENSE Cycles will be pausing all dealer sales and distribution operations in Australia. This means we will no longer be selling bikes directly through local bike shops for the time being. This decision wasn’t made lightly—it’s part of a broader strategy to focus our resources and stabilize our core business in North America.

Continued Support for You
While retail operations are pausing, our commitment to supporting you as an INTENSE rider remains unchanged:


  • Warranty services and spare parts will continue to be available and shipped directly from our U.S. warehouse, just as we’ve done over the past several years
  • Our global support team is here to help you with any questions or service needs through our website or customer service email.


This change marks a temporary shift in how we operate in Australia, but it’s not goodbye. Our goal is to return to global markets—including Australia—stronger and better positioned to serve riders like you.

We deeply appreciate your loyalty and support. INTENSE has always been about pushing limits and moving forward, and we look forward to sharing the next chapter of our journey with you.

If you need support or have any questions, please reach out at:
email: [email protected]
phone: (951) 307-9211

Thank you for riding with us.
Warm regards,

The INTENSE Cycles Team
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Depressing but not surprising imo - Intense has been on the downward slide for several years now. Just look on this site - 10-12 years ago every second dream build was a new Carbine, Tracer 275 or M9. Now I don't even remember the last time I saw an Intense out in the wild.

Edit: you know what might bring them back? In house alloy manufacturing like the old days, I'm sure there's a market. I'd probably buy one, even though the price would likely be terrifying and the build quality pretty shit authentic.
 
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Asininedrivel said:
Depressing but not surprising imo - Intense has been on the downward slide for several years now. Just look on this site - 10-12 years ago every second dream build was a new Carbine, Tracer 275 or M9. Now I don't even remember the last time I saw an Intense out in the wild.

Edit: you know what might bring them back? In house alloy manufacturing like the old days, I'm sure there's a market. I'd probably buy one, even though the price would likely be terrifying and the build quality pretty shit authentic.
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A mate of mine had a Tracer I think 🤔 . Super bright green and yellow thing. It used to eat linkage bearings like they were going out of fashion because the rear end was out alignment. They wouldn't warranty it either.
 
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Asininedrivel said:
Depressing but not surprising imo - Intense has been on the downward slide for several years now. Just look on this site - 10-12 years ago every second dream build was a new Carbine, Tracer 275 or M9. Now I don't even remember the last time I saw an Intense out in the wild.

Edit: you know what might bring them back? In house alloy manufacturing like the old days, I'm sure there's a market. I'd probably buy one, even though the price would likely be terrifying and the build quality pretty shit authentic.
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Their livery still looks like 20 years ago too, which can't help. I haven't seen one Intense that I'd like to own.
 
Yep, my Spider 29 was so badly aligned that a mate helping me build it briefly thought the frame accommodated some obscure 142x9 axle standard neither us nor the internet was aware of. Pretty sure @leitch had similar issues with both of his frames. Another mate went through several linkages on his Recluse (I still have a rocker link as a handy doorstop) while another just kept feeding bearings to his Tracer frame until he gave up and bought something else.

Amazing despite all that I'd even consider another one really. The 2000s downhill scene has a lot to answer for...
 
Asininedrivel said:
Yep, my Spider 29 was so badly aligned that a mate helping me build it briefly thought the frame accommodated some obscure 142x9 axle standard neither us nor the internet was aware of. Pretty sure @leitch had similar issues with both of his frames. Another mate went through several linkages on his Recluse (I still have a rocker link as a handy doorstop) while another just kept feeding bearings to his Tracer frame until he gave up and bought something else.

Amazing despite all that I'd even consider another one really. The 2000s downhill scene has a lot to answer for...
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Mate you would consider owning any and every bike. 😅
 
Funny this comes out now, I was chatting with a mate on our Wednesday night ride about his (used to be mine) Spider 29C. It must have over 15,000km on it and while it creaks and groans a bit (stupid lower linkage) it's still going. It was a great bike in 2015, not so much now. Can't say I'm surprised to hear that they're going under, they seemed to stop giving a fuck in 2018.
Would still have an M29 DH bike though.
 
slowmick said:
Never owned a GT but have been following Hans Rey for what seems like forever. He set a crazy high bar for ever other brand ambassador.
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I had a GT Pro Performer and a GT Mach One, both BMX's, never owned a GT MTB. He was and is certainly an ambassador for bicycles across a few platforms.
 
Labcanary said:
TBH this comes as no surprise. After Phil Kmetz was dropped by GT I figured it was more "not if but when" for Hans Rey. It really is the last nail in the coffin for GT.
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Wondered the same, then thought maybe they had planked a little bit on the side to keep Hans riding GT forever 🤣
 
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