Intense Slope Style

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Friday, January 25th, 2008 @ 5:05 am | Product Reviews, News

Well boys and girls this review has been a while in the making- not as long in the making as the arrival of the frame on our loading dock here at Competitive Cyclist….but a while indeed.

Lets start with the intended design and usage of the bike- the bike was originally going to be called the 6.6 Slope Style but Intense re-thought the name and considering the vast differences in the 6.6 and this new bike they decided it would be better to give the bike it’s own name (slope style) so as to not add any more confusion and have consumers hung up on which one to buy for thier needs. This is the bike designed to be ridden in about every imaginable facet of mountain biking ( well okay maybe not lung busting chase Hap or Craig through the woods and up the hill cross country rides) it caters more to the bomb down the trail, hit that rough line, or drop off of this, or launch yourself off of that crowd. Intense designed the SS with a lower leverage ratio 2.6:1 same as the SOCOM which was one of, if not THE most sought after DH World Cup level race bikes of 2007 which was almost as guaranteed to get you on the podium as it was to turn heads on the way to the trail head. Nigel Page is the man who takes credit for designing the SS, although T-Money and myself experimented with the notion of putting an Uzzi rear end on the 6.6 front triangle (when the 6.6 first came out!) so as to alieviate any noticeable flex or wiggle from the rear of the 6.6 when pushed hard on the trail into turns or when jumping and landing a little sideways, I even went so far as to call Jeff Steber (owner of Intense Cycles) and toss this idea around with him. At the time Jeff admitted that he had never thought about doing this before so I told him our reason for wanting to try this and he was in agreement that it made sense, I proceeded to ask him if he would be interested in making me a 1-off rear end which would utilize the replaceable dropouts of the Uzzi and the same tubeset for the rear triangle, it was a no go Jeff explained to me how busy he was, but said he would think it over at a later date.

I sent quite a few emails back and forth during the prototyping phase of the SS recomending cable stop options, geometry numbers etc. Maybe it was a collaboration of my ideas and Nigel Page’s which really set the wheels in motion either way-Low and Behold a star was born. Darren Pokoj rode prototypes of the SS during the Qashqai events of last season, so I was constantly teased when I would go to pick up the latest issue of Mountain Biking UK, or someone would post new info they “heard” about the SS on mtbr.com. As with any Intense product finding out exact release dates is like getting the government to admit there is something going on at Area 51. Not that it’s a bad thing most everyone who sets their heart on wanting an Intense is willing to wait to receive a Handmade in the USA work of art, everything aside from paint is done in-house in Temecula California.

Geometry on this thing feels absolutely dialed I honstly can’t think of one thing I would change on it. The Bottom Bracket sits at a mere 13.5″ off the ground this translates into a rock solid, very planted feel. When sitting behind a 66.5 degree head angle you will be eyeing up every steep line around you and looking at it and saying to youself “I got that”. The chainstays are tucked up nice and short at 16.75″ so sit down wheelies happen almost effortlessly, stand up manuals are a breeze too, and switchbacks- man this thing can rail some turns. As with any VPP design it gobbles up rock gardens and roots better than any other design I’ve ever ridden. I guess the one downfall would be that it doesn’t bunnyhop as well as some other full suspension designs do i.e. an El Guapo or a Bullit, but that’s not as important, I’d much rather the rear end soak up a big hit before getting hung up on a square edge hit. As for being able to bunnyhop onto a picnic table…..that’s what my Hardtail is for:). I am completely in love with this bike, yes in love……..when I’m not able to ride I go out to the garage and sit on it and just admire the craftmanship! Much thanks to everyone at Intense for providing me with such an awesome piece of equipment, thanks Jeff, Marv, Paul, Chad, Andrew, and Rick the Welder keep up the good work.