Foldable Bikes Party: Intense Primer Factory first ride review

Tuesday, 2 August 2016

Intense Primer Factory first ride review

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Intense has clearly been busy lately. The US brand has delivered us not one, but two bikes in the space of a month. First it was the plus tyre equipped ACV and now it’s the Spider 29 replacement, the Primer.

Intense Primer Factory highlights

The Primer Factory uses Intense’s new Super Light (SL) carbon frameset
115-130mm of rear wheel travel
Carbon link and titanium hardware help to reduce weight further
JS Tuned twin link suspension platform
Full internal cable routing
Provision for a front derailleur
Boost axle standard front and rear

Intense Primer Factory spec overview

Frame: Primer 29 SL monocoque UD carbon, 115-130mm (4.5-5.1in) of travel
Fork: Fox 34 Float Factory FIT4 Boost, 130mm travel
Shock: Fox Float DPS EVOL
Drivetrain: SRAM XX1 Eagle 1x12
Wheelset: DT Swiss XMC1200 Spline Boost with Schwalbe Nobby Nic 29x2.35in TrailStar (f), Schwalbe Nobby Nic 29x2.25in PaceStar (r)
Brakes: Shimano XTR
Bar/stem: Renthal Fatbar Carbon, 760mm/Renthal Apex, 50mm
Seatpost/saddle: RockShox Reverb Stealth/Fabric Scoop Radius Pro
Weight: 12.05kg (with pedals)
Head angle: 67.5 degrees
Seat angle: 75 degrees
Reach: 431mm
Effective top tube: 597mm (medium)
Chainstay length: 438mm

Intense Primer Factory frame and equipment

The new Primer is a 29in trail bike, which Intense claims has more “up to date geometry” than the Spider 29 it replaces. We’ll come onto the geometry in just a minute, but first we need to cover off the new frame in a little more detail.

While the Primer is available in four different build options, its two top-end offerings – the Factory and Pro builds – use Intense’s new Super Light (SL) carbon lay-up, while the two cheaper builds are only offered in the standard, slightly weightier lay-up. What does this mean for me we hear you cry? In short, the SL frame should save you a claimed 300g in weight in total, some of which comes courtesy of the SL’s carbon upper link and titanium hardware, alongside the higher grade carbon used.

Just like the recently released ACV, the Primer can be adjusted between 115-130mm of travel. To make the change it’s just a case of switching around which of the two holes in the upper link the rear shock is mounted on. According to Intense, geometry remains unchanged no matter what travel setting you’re in but you will obviously need to tweak shock pressure to compensate for the change in leverage.

The head angle is reasonably slack for a 130mm travel 29er at 67.5 degrees and the 75 degree seat tube angle is certainly welcome for those super steep, technical climbs

Since Intense no longer licenses the VPP suspension system (there’s no need now the VPP patent held by Santa Cruz has expired), the rear wheel travel is delivered using Intense’s JS (Jeff Steber) Tuned, twin link design. Key to this design is the lower i-Box link which, thanks in part to its neatly packaged positioning, attaches just above the bottom bracket (sitting inside a hollow at the base of the frame's seat tube), and enables Intense to use shorter chainstays. Thankfully the i-Box link retains the grease port of old, which is handy for those of us that ride in grottier conditions on a regular basis.

Up front sits Fox’s 34 Float fork and its impressive FIT4 damper, while at the rear there’s the equally impressive DPS rear shock

Intense Primer Factory ride impression

Intense Primer Factory price and availability

You can read more at BikeRadar.com

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