Intense 5.5 build thread

[Mindmap3]

Like these a lot and came close to buying one myself but my forks would have been too burly and long. They're supposed to be good with some slightly longer forks to slacken them off slightly.

Not a fan of the tyres either...but I've never been a fan of any coloured tyres other than black.

How narrow are those bars? They look super scary! But I'm used to monster bars.

 

[Liam1611]

Re:

Absolutely cracking bike, stable at speed and mine still scares the living daylights out of me. Build it up right and it will reward you in spades, just make sure you take your MTFU pills before throwing it down a hill, as it picks up speed very quickly and gives you a huge confidence boost. Thankfully the sun is out and mine will be getting a good thrashing over the next few months. The only issue I've found is that mud very quickly collects at the lowest pivot point which a real pain in the arse when you get round to cleaning it. Here's mine:



Kind Regards

Liam

 

[Mindmap3]

Are you running that with 36's? At what travel?

They were the reason that I didn't buy one. I thought my 36's would be overkill on the front and way too long and would therefore ruin the ride big time.

 

[Liam1611]

Re:

Well spotted they are indeed 36's and at 120mm for normal duties and then 160mm when it gets pointed downwards. With the sag of the fork at 160mm it lowers the head angle to something like 66 degrees. The recommended fork length is supposed to be 140 but the forks sag to at least 150 once I sit my fat arse on it and what's 10mm. The front end is over built so I don't think there are going to be any problems in the future and I do ride like a fairy.

Kind Regards

Liam

 

[Mindmap3]

Are they TALAS then? My 36's are VAN RC2's so fixed at 160mm travel. Seeing yours has made me kick myself for passing up on the frame I did...I love my Banshee but it is a lot of bike fir some riding although it comes I to its own on uplift days.

 

[ollie540]

Re:

Well, I took the 5.5 out for a shakedown yesterday and realised 2 things.
1) The bars are waaaaaaay too short.
2) Its really small!
Apart from that its was awesome, swapped the bar / stem and tyres over to my older kit and it utterly changed the ride. When up out of the saddle and hammering it was so much more active than my tracer, really responsive, really stable, all in all a great frame. And has built into a proper little play bike.
I'll post a pic as soon as my phone stops d*cking about.
Specs:
Marzocchi 33 forks (120mm)
SLX groupset
Azonic risers
World force stem
FSA headset
DMR v8 pedals
DT swiss MA 2.0 wheels w/ 15mm front hub
180 front rotor, 160 rear

I'm looking for a set of TALAS fox's to run at a soft 160 (so 140 with sag) as TBH the bombers are on their way out.

Its first test will be at Antur Stiniog this week :shock:

 

[ollie540]

Couple of pics, she is pretty small! with max extension its just about xc'able, but as it is its a lovely little play bike.

 

[Mindmap3]

Looks better with risers and black tyres.

You pleased with how it rides?

 

[ollie540]

Yeah, the risers make a HUGE difference. Its not a sit back and pedal kind of bike, it definitely feels better when pressing on and attacking the trail if that makes sense. It'll be interesting to see how it rides on bigger terrain than the local woods.

 

[Liam1611]

Re:

Looking better already, a few more tweaks here and there and it will plow over/through anything. The VPP Suspension really does come into it's own and the way the bike feels it makes you want to go faster without feeling sketchy. It's a surprisingly light frame considering how well it's constructed and is pretty bombproof. Everyone who has seen mine has been impressed, reanimation had wheel envy, whatever that is. They are few and far between which makes me feel all warm inside knowing I've got something which isn't just "Off the shelf" so to speak and built to your personal requirements.

@Mindmap,

The bike came with Talas R's and it's very quick when only using 120mm, for Trail Centres and just general natural stuff it stays at that, but when the big kids I ride with want to wear their Full Faces it gets wound out.

More info here and how much I paid for it.

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=273717

Kind Regards

Liam