Intense is known as a big-money boutique brand, so when the Californian firm announced the launch of its new, cheaper Foundation Build complete bikes we couldn’t wait to see how they performed. The Spider frame has been updated for 2015 too, with a change to 650b wheels and drastically revised geometry and suspension.
Despite the Foundation Build moniker, Intense hasn’t skimped as far as the frame is involved. The alloy construction packs Intense’s usual handmade-in-the-USA quality and ticks all the standard boxes for a 130mm (5.1in) travel trail frame. There’s a 12x142mm axle out back, a 44mm head tube (which will accept forks with tapered or straight steerer tubes) and internal routing for a remote-operated ‘stealth’ dropper post. Grease ports on the linkages keep the rear end running smoothly.
As for geometry, the 67-degree head angle and short 419mm chainstays set out the hooligan intentions of the Spider early on.
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The X-Fusion O2 shock is one of the spec compromises made in order to deliver the Spider at a slightly less painful price point
The Spider isn’t cheap for a bike with a budget build kit. X-Fusion’s Sweep RL fork is matched to its O2 shock out back, the 2x10 drivetrain is mainly Shimano SLX, so reliability won’t be an issue, and Sun Ringlé provides the wheelset, which is shod with Maxxis Ardent rubber. The bar and stem are both own-brand jobs, as is the seatpost. The lack of a dropper post is a sticking point on a bike at this price.
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