The Spider

Here it is, finally finished. Now if we could just get rid of some of this snow!
This bike will be one of the many new ponies in our stable for folks to try out this summer. I've always felt that "try before you buy" is the way to go when it comes to high end mountain bikes. Not too many shops up our way would have something like this to actually ride in the woods while trying to decide if it's your thing or not.

I like to think we are the exception.
I'll be rolling out the new demo fleet as it gets completed over the next few weeks.

This Spider is a size large, and features the new Fox F29 100mm fork. I put the King 5mm headset baseplate on it to add to the axle to crown measurement. Despite the added A-C length, the 44mm offset of the fork will ensure a quick handling ride. And most importantly, if nothing else, the bike looks very cool. My philosophy on this subject, is that if it looks cool, you'll enjoy riding it more. BMW M3s look cool, therefore, they ought to be pretty fun to drive right?
The color pallette is white (duh), ano red, ano silver and ano black.

The components are typical to many of the builds we do here, Royale wheelset, set up tubeless, X9 drivetrain, Juicy brakes. I had a perfectly good XTR crank sitting around, so I decided it was time for it to get some use.

All told, the bike weighs in at 27.55lbs without pedals. Not too bad when you consider we weren't trying to make it ridiculite or anything. I think a race build would easily be 2-4lbs lighter, depending on how far down that path you wanted to go.

We have a trip south planned in 2 weekends, down to the Leghigh Valley to visit family. This will most certainly be one of the bikes I bring. And when I say "one of", I plan on bringing two bikes. Not quite sure what the other one will be just yet... you'll just have to wait and see.

The Spider Crawls Along...

So the next big decision to make was what fork to put on the bike. With everything out there, I had a hard time figuring out which way I wanted to go. In my mind, the Spider is a racy kind of bike, and needed some racy features. There are 3 forks that come to mind.

1. The ubiquitous Reba Race. The new updated Push-loc feature is really nice, and gives you that ability to lock the fork out for a hard slog out of the saddle without having to reach down.

2. The new kid on the block, the Fox F-29. It has a lockout, but it is a manual lock out, meaning you have to take your right hand off the handlebar to activate/deactivate it. But it does have some nifty features that make this totally OK.

3. The White Magic 110. White continues to improve the damper, and deliver it in a beautiful, clean package. The Magic uses a magnetic valve that negates the need for any type of lockout by determining where the force is coming from. Bumps from above (i.e.you) are ignored, while bumps from the ground are devoured. I own one of these forks, and love it.

These are 3 very legit choices for anyone who wants a trail bike they can also race. That is the prime directive of this build. It has to be able to handle it all.

Now, here is where it gets fun. Intense designed the Spider with a 73° head angle. For those that don't know, that is steep. Like a road bike steep. Steep = fast handling. There have been a lot of nay sayers about this number, in that fast handling = twitchy, but everyone that has ridden one of these bikes on trail agrees, it flys through the trees with the greatest of ease. I'm really sorry if you don't get to ride your bike through trees. It is fast handling though, but not twitchy.
You'll recall my experience on the 5.5 Proto, similar angles, similar kind of ride.

The really important number is the offset of the forks.
Offset is the perpendicular distance the axle sits in front of the center of steering axis (headtube line), while trail is the horizontal distance on the ground of the center of the tire's contact patch to where the center line of the steering axis hits the ground. Trail effectively is measured backwards because the axle's position over the ground "trails" the center line of the steering axis. Offset is the distance forward of the steering axis but on a different plane. As offset increases, trail decreases and handling becomes more responsive.

The Spider was designed with the Reba in mind, as Rock Shox was the only real 4" fork on the market for the longest time. The Reba has a 38mm offset. The new generation of forks (White, Fox and Manitou) live around 44mm. Quicker steering forks.

I'm not going to get into a diatribe about which is better, that's not what this post is about.

Let's think about the fork for a bit, while we move on...

Wheels.


Every once in a while, you find something that works. When that happens, I run with it. A prime example is the Royale wheelset. I put a LOT of these wheels under a lot of people, and not one person has been disappointed. While they aren't the ultra-lightest (around 1800g a set) they are durable, customizable, and made from the best stuff around. It's the very same wheelset I use, and if a 230lb guy like myself can't beat 'em up (and I try!), well...
So, yeah, Royales with the Arch rims.


Another component of this build, is that I would be "re-introducing" some components back into the wild where they belong. I have a pile of tires that would make you sick. But hey, if you were to call and ask me what I thought about any tire that's out there, I'd be able to answer you. Truthfully too.
My favorite all-rounder is the Bontrager Jones ACX TLR. I had a set laying about, so that's what I mounted. And I'll add that they aired up first time, and have not lost even 1 psi since Saturday.
How about that?

OK back to the fork.

I went with the Fox F-29, for 2 reasons (not really in order)
1. Cosmetic. It looks cool. I don't care who you are, if you were spending your hard earned dough on a bike, you'd want it to look cool.
2. Performance. I know from experience that the Fox is a stiffer platform than the Reba. The offset question was giving me some headaches, so I decided to add King's 5mm baseplate to the King headset (like you thought I'd put something else on there). This effectively slackens the head tube angle, or slows down the steering. We'll see how it rides soon.

While the White fork is the one I'd go with on my own personal bike, it is a little too tech for the average Joe to easily set up and enjoy properly, and as this is ultimately a demo bike, I want it to be as user friendly as possible. I'll be doing a shootout between the afore mentioned forks in the not too distant future, where I can really get into the nuts and bolts of these cool devices.


Up next, the components!

Decisions...decisions...

Welcome to part 1 of the "Winter Project"-- an experiment in which I examine the different paths and choices involved in building up a custom 29er.

This is going to be interesting, because, even though I know what the outcome is going to be on this project (demo bike for the new Bike29 demo fleet), I'm still on the fence about many of the components that I have to choose from. I'm going to take it one step at a time.


So, for example, let's say I'm looking for that XC full suspension rig of my dreams. I've done a bit of research, and have narrowed my needs down to a few key points. I need a XC rig, am not too afraid of a price tag, as I expect the highest quality for the dollars spent. I don't need to go custom, but I want a bike that I can race, or ride all day. This is a chunk of change, and a bike like this, is going to be ranked highest in the "quiver".

I find the most awesome bike shop ever, and give them a call.....

There are a lot off choices out there, but I settle on a US made Intense Spider. It is geared towards that XC race set, but with 4" of travel, and with correct set up, it can easily accommodate my needs.

So here we reach crossroads #1.

I can have a painted frame (size large) that weights 6.59 lbs. Not terribly heavy for what it is. It's Pearl White, and quite possibly the coolest color I've seen on a bike in a while (next to Atomic Blue of course).

Or...

I can have a Works colored frame that weighs 6.34 lbs. One quarter of one pound. It all adds up you know. Do I pull out the stops and go ultralight?

While I'm not an expert racer, I do like nice bikes, and I need a bike that can be as precise as an scalpel, or as reliable as a hammer. And I like folks to notice my nice bikes, so, I'll go with the white frame. Maybe I'll loose that 1/4 lb of off my winter pelt.


As this is such a high end frame, I'm going to re-use some of the parts from other bikes that I have to keep the overall cost down, but boy oh boy, I am stoked on this thing! I'm interested to get feedback from any readers out there as far as what fork I should put on this thing.


Do you have an opinion? I'd love to hear it.

Up next, fork and wheels and tires!

Winter Projects

This is the time of year when most of the avid cyclists in my neck o' the woods are thinking about their new ride in the spring. Others are contemplating that big upgrade that will make their favorite bike dance on the trails.

I actually have a lot of winter projects, but not anything I can freely broadcast at this time. But as some folks are making these big bicycle decisions, I thought it might be pretty cool to "build" up a bike over the next few weeks, and share the process. I already know what I'm going to build, I have most of the parts, some are used, some are new. I actually had a little bit of a dilemma about what I was going to start, which I think will be an interesting story, decisions that maybe a potential new bicycle buyer might face.

Anyway, the finished bike will end up as one of our demo fleet, that will be available for use when the trails dry out this spring.

Here is your teaser...

It's Spiderific!

Just to satiate my curiosity, I decided to build up one of the Spiders.
The build is fairly typical for a trail bike, Reba fork, Royale wheels, SRAM X9 drivetrain, Easton bars and Magura Marta SL brakes. I really dig the blue on blue color combo


The total package is 27.3 lbs, and is priced at $4699. It seems spendy, but consider that this frame is made in house at Intense's manufacturing facility in Temecula CA. A premium is to be paid for US craftsmanship.

Look for a more "racey" version to be built in the coming weeks.

Just in time for Halloween

Spiders!


These just crawled in today. Geared towards XC racing and riding, they ought to scare those they pass on the trail.

All I can say is that I'm stunned at the quality of workmanship on these frames. Very well executed indeed. The Spider is a 4" travel bike that utilizes the ever popular VPP linkage.
They are available in a variety of painted and anodized stock finishes. These medium painted frames come in at a respectable 6.41 lbs.

Bike 29 is proud to be carrying Intense.

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the 5.5 29er, which should be sometime next week. I will be flogging it for a few weeks, so look for a review in the not too distant future.