CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’
If money was no object, two of the brands most likely to be at the top of your wish-list are Intense and Santa Cruz. These two Californian rivals have been battling for the hearts and wallets of mountain bikers for decades. And that competition has only, ahem, intensified with the introduction of their two latest trail bikes — the Intense Primer and the Santa Cruz Hightower. Closely matched in almost every facet, both these boutique bikes boast 140mm of rear wheel travel, 150mm forks up front and full carbon frames. They both come with flip-chips to adjust the geometry and suspension feel, grease ports for lubricating the bearings, threaded bottom brackets, internal cable routing and usable bottle cage mounts. Hell, they even share the same counter-rotating link suspension design, even if it’s labelled VPP on the Santa Cruz and JS Tuned on the Intense.
Where the two diverge is price. Santa Cruz is sold through shops while Intense deals direct to the public. This allows the Intense Primer to undercut the Santa Cruz Hightower by £1,000. All else being pretty much equal, it sounds like this test should be a walk in the park for Intense. Time to find out.
INTENSE PRIMER 29 PRO
£5,599
SPECIFICATION
Frame Full UD carbon, 140mm travel
Shock Fox Factory Float DPX2
Fork Fox 34 Factory, 150mm travel
Wheels e*thirteen LG1 Enduro Race, Maxxis High Roller II 3C/Aggressor29x2.5/2.3in tyres
Truvativ Stylo 6K Eagle carbon 32t chainset, SRAM X01 Eagle r-mech and GX shifter
