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Does anyone have any opinions, comments, or history with Intense brand bikes? I’ve been considering buying the Recluse model for some time now but have not found much in the way of reviews on Intense bikes. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and Ride On!
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Great bikes, especially how they are priced/specced now. They are always in my top 5 when shopping a bike. I still own a 2012 951FRO
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In my mind the best Trail/Enduro bikes come with 29er wheels, 2.5-2.8in tires, (i=inner width) i29-36mm rims and i34-36 would be best, rear wheel clearance for at least a 2.6 tire, 1x drivetrains with the wide-range Sram Eagle being the best example, and modern progressive geometry but not extremely slack Enduro/Downhill racing geometry.
Consider the Ibis Ripmo with 29×2.5 tires on i34 rims, the Specialized Stumpjumper with 29×2.6 tires on i30 rims, the Scott Genius with 29×2.6 tires on i30 rims, and the Trek Full Stache with 29×3.0 tires on i36 rims. ( Trade the 3.0 tires for 2.6-2.8 tires and the Full Stache is amazing.)
If you must have a bike with 27.5 wheels, most of the above rules apply with some additions, The 27.5 bike must have rear wheel clearance for 2.8 tires and must come with i34-36 rims. I think 27.5 bikes are best with 2.6-2.8 tires but no rims wider than i36. Stay away from i40-45 rims.
Consider the Ibis Mojo with 27×2.6 tires on i34 rims, and the Santa Cruz 5010 with 27×2.6 tires on i35 rims.
Does the 27.5 Intense Recluse have rear clearance for 2.8 tires and are the rims i34-36 wide? If not, I wouldn’t consider it.
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You’ll be fine with 27.5, I prefer 27.5 over 29ers.
All the rides I do, mostly heavy XC/ Trail and enduro, all the people I ride with, ride 29ers, I have no problem doing anything they do and believe my bike handles better than all of their bikes and is just as fast over all kinds of terrain.
To stay on subject, Intense has a long history of making grwat bikes and have been the pioneer in lots of tech.
I ride a Turner RFX, and think you should consider other makes and get what you find the best for the riding you do.
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I rode several times with an Intense owner. He complained – often – about how crappy their customer service was. Decent guy and good rider, too. I don’t think he was making shit up. His bad experience with Intense was causing him to consider buying a different brand. That’s the only knowledge I have of Intense though.
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Everybody had their own opinions on what is “best”….over the past 9-10 years, I’ve had a Banshee, (4) Santa Cruz’, (2) Yetis and (2) Intense bikes. I’ve never had a single problem with any of those bikes where I *really* needed customer service in a big way but when I needed to call or email for basic, mundane issues, Intense has been the best (even answering on a Sunday evening). Yeti is by far the worst. In my experience, they answer 2-3 days later and give short answers, always answering with a tone that makes it seem as you’re bothering them.
I currently have (2) Intense bikes, a 2017 Primer and 2018 Tracer, and they are fantastic bikes as far as I’m concerned. For the $ to $ value, nobody other than YT compares. I also have a 2019 Yeti SB5 and it’s great as well. We don’t see many Recluse bikes out West here and I even asked the guys at Intense about that because I see plenty of Carbine’s, Tracers and Primers. He said he felt our terrain led to buyers choices and that’s why they sell more Recluse model back East. I did have a friend that demo’d the Recluse and he raved about the way it climbed. Bottom line, I think Intense bikes are great and if you want to save some $$, get one and don’t look back.
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