Intense Primer 29 - Review
Intense released the Primer 29 with minimal fanfare to select journalists earlier this year at their 2017 Sedona product launch. The star of that show was the ACV, which was the Temecula, California, brand's first Plus bike - and for good reason - it looked mean when it was standing still, and its 2.8-inch semi-flotation tires seemed tailor made for Arizona's red rock trail Mecca. The moment an ACV returned, another journalist was chamoised up, waiting for a test ride. By contrast, there was always a handful of Primer 29s in the lineup waiting for riders.
The Primer is a sweet looking machine. Its sleek carbon fiber chassis has a classical profile that communicates lightness, efficiency and a measure of confidence - but with its 29er wheels, 130-millimeter-travel rear end and modestly modern geometry, it appears too balanced, too sensible to capture the imaginations of the sport's emerging cult of self-ordained gravity gods. It would be easy to categorize the Primer as a gentleman's trail bike, targeted at the accomplished rider who has a taste for finer things, and it could fulfil that role quite well. We would soon discover, however, that there is a beast lurking beneath the Primer's mild-mannered profile. The Primer 29 may in fact, be the best performing trail bike that Intense has ever made.
Primer 29 Factory Build:
• Frame: Carbon, front and rear. JST dual-link rear suspension, carbon upper link, Boost 148mm hub spacing, 29" wheels
• Angular contact/collet bearing system with replaceable grease Zerks
• Adjustable travel: 4.5" to 5" (115mm OR 130mm)
• Fork: Fox Factory Float 34, 130mm
• Shock: Fox Factory Float EVOL
• Internal cable routing system
• 192 press-fit bottom bracket
• Drivetrain: SRAM XX1 Eagle (tested with XX1 11-speed)
• Wheels: DT Swiss XMC 1200 Spline
• Dropper Post: RockShox Reverb Stealth, 150mm
• Brakes: Shimano XTR 180mm (F), 160mm (R) rotors
• Sizes: Small, medium, large and X-large
• Weight: 25.43 pounds/11.56kg (medium, as tested)
• MSRP: $9499 USD (with SRAM Eagle)
• Contact: Intense Cycles
Meet the Primer
Twenty nine inch wheels are enjoying a sort of "I told you so" comeback within the ranks of accomplished trail riders. Intense's Carbine 29er established itself early on as a capable all-mountain trailbike in every respect, but its chassis was a little more flexible than some desired. The Primer 29 chassis is visibly improved, taking advantage of the wider Boost hub standard (originally conceived to improve 29-inch-wheel designs) to make room for wider tires, shorten its chainstays, and add lateral stiffness to both the wheels and the frame. A pair of shock-mount positions offer either 115 or 130 millimeters of rear-wheel travel and up front, the Primer 29 is designed to handle forks with up to 140 millimeter strokes.
Reportedly, SRAM did not have enough 12-speed Eagle drivetrains in stock to supply Intense when they launched the Primer 29, so test bikes were outfitted with 11-speed XX1 transmissions, powered by Race Face Next cranksets.
Four models: Four build levels are offered, ranging from $9499 for the top-line Factory model, to the most-affordable $4599 Foundation model. All share the same carbon chassis, but the two top offerings, the Factory and Pro are molded with thinner walls, using higher-strength material. The Factory and Pro builds sport SRAM's latest 12-speed Eagle drivetrains, while the second-tier Expert and Foundation models are equipped with either Shimano XT or SRAM GX 11-speed transmissions. Our test rig, a medium-sized Primer Factory Build was produced before SRAM was officially shipping Eagle groups to OEM customers, so Intense was forced to outfit it with an XX1 11-speed drivetrain. All Primer models are equipped with RockShox Stealth dropper posts.
Carbon chassis: Intense has been in the carbon game long enough to become one of the preeminent players, and the Primer's chassis bears witness that they have. The finish is beautiful and its tubes and junctions are profiled to optimize the benefits of carbon composite construction without bowing to the needless swoops and exaggerated angles that the craft has currently deemed fashionable. The frame itself is visibly stronger, with oversized swingarm tubes, a widened bottom bracket area and a reinforced seat mast. Stand-over clearance is ample, the cables and hoses are routed internally, and there is a dog-leg bend in the downtube to make room for a single water bottle there. Intense pegs the weight of a medium-sized frame and shock, complete with its seat clamp and rubberized downtube and chainstay protectors at 2690 grams (5.93 pounds), which is svelte for a trailbike in the mid-travel category.
The lower link is aluminum. It houses the bearings and features a grease fitting to extend its lifespan.
Boost hub spacing makes room for enduro-width rubber. Internal cable and hose routing is clean and simple.
The upper link on the pricey models is carbon, and it also houses the bearings. Two shock positions offer 115 or 130 millimeters of travel.
A six-millimeter Allen key is inserted through the cap in the drive-side of the axle to unscrew it. The axle slides out from the brake caliper side.
Suspension upgrades: The carbon fiber swingarm is a modification of the VPP dual-link configuration dubbed, "JS Tuned Suspension," which is said to produce better pedaling performance, in addition to the supple ride that has made the counter-rotating links so popular. Taking a cue from Ibis, Intense moved the pivot bearings to the links - a feature that slims the frame and also strengthens the pivots. The upper link is carbon on the two high-end Primers and aluminum on the more affordable models. Bearings have been enlarged throughout and the higher-stressed lower link features adjustable, angular-contact bearings that can be greased through a Zerk-fitting. The aluminum lower link is tucked inside the frame, which makes for a very clean profile and offers some additional tire clearance.
Those who have yet to experience the latest iterations of the Fox Factory Float EVOL shock and 34 fork are in for a treat. The Primer 29, with a 130-millimeter-stroke fork and 130-millimeters of rear travel could do no wrong in the rough stuff.
New numbers: Geometry wise, the Primer is contemporary without being freakish. It's longer up front, with a medium-size top tube measuring 23.5 inches (597mm), and it sports a steep, 75-degree seat tube angle. For those who care, that works out to a 431mm (17") reach on the medium size frame. (The XL has a 477mm/18.8" reach). Curiously, its 17.25-inch chainstays are a bit longer than expected, especially considering its steep seat-tube angle. Being a 29er, the Primer's wheelbase is relatively long, but not off the charts by any means. The medium-size is 45.5 inches (1156mm). Throw in a modestly slack, 67.5-degree head angle and the Primer 29's numbers suggest it will be long enough to be stable in the rough stuff, and nimble enough in the steering department to feel relatively playful at single-track speeds.
Stand-out Components
A conversation with Intense CEO Andrew Herrick revealed that at some point, a meeting was called and the staff were asked, "What kind of components were on their personal bikes?" And, "Exactly why do you insist upon using those items?" The next question was, "Why then, do we spec different components on our production models?" From that point forward, Intense began to spec their bikes with wider variety of parts, items which were representative of rider preference without regard to brand loyalty or penny pinching in the interest of profit margins. The Primer 29 is a an apt reflection of that fateful day, with its Fox suspension, Renthal cockpit, 150mm RockShox Reverb Stealth dropper post, SRAM transmission, Shimano XTR brakes, DT Swiss carbon wheelset and Schwalbe tires. It looks like a custom build, and it has the harmonious feel of a purpose-built bike.
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 | I was climbing better than I had been able to all week, and was breezing technical sections which previously, I had to piece together and remain focused to master. |
The first time I rode the Primer 29 was at the Intense launch in Sedona, Arizona. My legs were shot from a week of riding that began on the boulders of South Mountain near Phoenix, so I wasn't expecting much. I had planned a short ride, but I was so impressed by how effortlessly the bike worked its way up and down the stepped, uneven red rock trails that I didn't return until the last rays of light were peeking from behind the cliffs. I was climbing better than I had been able to all week, and was breezing technical sections which previously, I had to piece together and remain focused to master. Was the Primer that good? I withheld judgment until I could get the bike home and onto more familiar trails.
The Primer 29's suspension required a different suspension setup than I used for the longer-travel enduro sleds that I had been riding most of the year. Although the actual diameter of the Primer 29's wheels was not much larger than their 27.5-inch hoops, the Primer rolled noticeably better over the chunder. As a result, I could set its fork and shock springs a little stiffer and use more of the suspension to mute larger impacts. I settled upon 25-percent sag in the shock and slightly more than 15-percent for the fork. Low-speed rebound seemed to work right five clicks out on the shock and six clicks out on the fork. The resulting ride was surprisingly smooth. Even with the firm tune, the Fox fork and shock provided a generous amount of control and sensitivity in the mid-stroke and no real harshness over the chatter.
| Once the Primer is committed to the corner, its steering feels lighter at the handlebar and more neutral. |
Back home, the Primer 29 put in an equally impressive performance. Its steering was responsive with only a hint of the lag that big-wheel bikes typically exhibit when its rider needs to change directions repeatedly. And, its pedaling had a brighter, more efficient feel than any Intense I can remember riding. I had to remind myself occasionally that I was riding a 29er.
Much of the Primer's easy handling springs from the centralized position that its 75-degree seat tube angle enforces upon its pilot. Comparatively, less fore-aft movement is necessary to brake hard or to maintain traction on steep terrain while climbing and descending. The frame's moderately longer front center and larger wheels ignore most bomb holes and vertical step-downs that are usually cause for concern - so I found myself bracing less for impacts and flowing more easily through rocky sections. The potential downside of steep seat angles, however, is that the saddle position at full extension is notably taller over the bike, and it occupies the same place that the rider needs to be while descending. The Primer 29's 150-millimeter-stroke dropper post was a necessity and I found that I used it more frequently than I would have anticipated.
Setting up for a berm, or a sharp turn requires a quick counter-steer to snap the bike into a lean - about the same or slightly less of an effort than a slack-angled enduro sled takes - but once the Primer is committed to the corner, its steering feels lighter at the handlebar and more neutral. Its front tire feels as if it is always in contact with the ground which allowed me to feel around for traction while cornering on sketchy or variable surfaces. Push a little harder and both the front and rear wheels drift in a very predictable manner when they break traction.
Climbing, especially technical ascents, is simplified by the Primer's suspension kinematics, which suppress unwanted shock movement to the degree that I never needed more control than the middle position of the Fox shock's low-speed compression lever. Intense founder and designer Jeff Steber may have overdone it a little bit, because when the lever is slammed to the nearly locked out position (which I never found the need to use), pedaling forces seem to cause the suspension to lift slightly with each stroke, which feels very foreign. Whatever tweaks Steber made to the Primer's VPP-based linkage, it pedals exceptionally well in the other two positions, so I have no complaints.
Climbing, especially technical ascents, is simplified by the Primer's suspension kinematics, which suppress unwanted shock movement to the degree that I never needed more control than the middle position of the Fox shock's low-speed compression lever. Intense founder and designer Jeff Steber may have overdone it a little bit, because when the lever is slammed to the nearly locked out position (which I never found the need to use), pedaling forces seem to cause the suspension to lift slightly with each stroke, which feels very foreign. Whatever tweaks Steber made to the Primer's VPP-based linkage, it pedals exceptionally well in the other two positions, so I have no complaints.
Our medium sized test bike weighed a bit more than 25 pounds - which is quite light - and yet the Primer's frame is laterally stiffer than Intense's very popular Tracer 275c and bests the 29-inch-wheel Carbine. There is no telling how much its wider Boost hub spacing adds to that equation, but it all adds up, and the bike reaps benefits in all aspects of its performance from that extra measure of rigidity - especially on the downs, where it makes off-angle landings, rock gardens, and off-camber sections easy work.
I handed off the Primer 29 to PB test rider Harold Preston for "gravity evaluation" who, after smashing some Strava times and dropping in on some healthy DH lines, was surprised to discover that it only had 130 millimeters of wheel travel on either end. The suspension offers so much control that, like Preston, I also assumed that the Primer had much more travel than it actually does. It would be interesting to ride the same chassis with a different brand of suspension to evaluate how much of the bike's big-bump performance is indigenous to the chassis and what percentage is attributable to Fox's latest damping trickery.
| Much of the Primer's easy handling springs from the centralized position that its 75-degree seat tube angle enforces upon its pilot. |
Technical Report
• Stout rocker arms and new bearing placements: No need to tighten the rocker retaining bolts - ever - (once, a recurring issue for Intense), and way more stiffness in the chassis.
• Nobby Nic Front Tire: The Primer 29 is far more capable in the turns than its Schwalbe Nobby Nic front tire will allow. It works well as a rear tire, but we switched the front to a 2.3-inch Magic Mary, which made a huge improvement.
• DT Swiss MCS 1200 Spline wheels: Lightweight, fast accelerating, and a good width to support tires in the 2.25 to 2.3 inch range.
• Seat tube height: Riders with inseams at or under 30 inches (762mm) may not be able to run a 150mm-stroke dropper post on the medium frame size.
• No chainguide tabs: The frame has a "bottle-opener" top-mount front derailleur boss, but ISCG tabs are conspicuously missing.
Pinkbike's Take:
| The magic of the Primer's uncanny performance cannot be traced to any single aspect of its construction, geometry or component selection. Instead, it is all of those things that make it work - which has me wondering if this bike was a successful design exercise, or a bit of an accident that worked out brilliantly in the end. Either way, it kicks ass. I had to pry the Primer 29 from my fellow test rider's hands to get it back. It's been a while since I've enjoyed riding a trailbike this much and longer still since I'd fallen for a 29er. - RC |
About the Rider
Stats: Age: 38 • Height: 5'9” • Weight: 170lb • Industry affiliations: Owner, iMountainbikeHarold Preston hails from Johannesburg, South Africa, a skate boarder who discovered mountain bikes when he made his home in San Diego, California, in 2000. Preston is an all-mountain crusher, a well-respected rider among the area's gravity community, and a mentor to a number of youths who have done well in national and international competition.
MENTIONS: @intensecyclesusa / @SramMedia / @lambertphoto / @schwalbe
Author Info:
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dv65 0.086368
1. Checks Pinkbike for cool new bikes.
2. Checks Bank account.
3. Crys.
Has a 650B featured bike on his profile.
ang with a true good paint job
i took @barth1003 advice(last year) and snagged a commencal meta sx. i rode it side by side with the intense carbine 29. the commencal was WAY more fun for the style of riding i do. the carbine was stupid fast but boring. it didnt wanna wheelie everything or jump off any little bump like my commencal does.
2 different philisophies, but IMO both are good in their respective domain...I just disagree with the price on an intense
(And it sprinkled with nonsense such as: "boost allows enduro width rubber" or "I never needed more control than the middle position of the Fox shock's low-speed compression lever" ... which probably means that you do not need a lock-out to climb efficiently, great!)
Cheers,
RC
(Perhaps I should write an article called "Orange is the new lime green")
Get 20ish journalists of varied riding backgrounds to ride each bike on a timed category-specific trail/loop, then average the 20 runs per bike. Open the stats book and break it down by wheel size, travel, etc. if you want, too.
Rank 'em, present 'em, and let the consumers draw their own conclusions.
All numbers. No BS.
For those of us that enjoy racing the clock in between beer rides, it'd be prefect.
GlobalMTB seem to have done similar things with plus size bikes and Soho Bikes did a DH V Trail V 29er experiment too with interesting results but it would be great to see a comprehensive test pitting bikes on the same terrain, maybe using a control tyre and a suspension expert such as Mojo present to ensure there is the best performance possible for the rider out of each bike.
I doubt though this will ever happen, I suppose it is a lot of work and there is a lot of bias in the industry more than tha though it could be potentially upsetting for some of the more expensive brands, imagine a direct-sale £2.5k bike being faster than a £8k Santa Cruz or Intense, I expect it could happen, too.
Friends Fuel EX 8 rumbles through rocks and is a load of fun. Is a 29" 120 bike.
Thought to myself: "Damm, this is fun, gotta look back into this space"
So do all the bike companies... Specialized, Evil, Pivot, etc
I put my money where my mouth is with an Evil Following I'm getting delivered soon.
People realize that an extra 1.5" of wheel space give the bike a better rollover. Who knew?
Lots of 140/150 tweener wheeled bike are very capable, yes.
Over the last year there have been so many capable 29" 120/130 bikes out. They all rip!
But this was the low hanging fruit for Intense. "Make the carbine LLS and give it a paint job"
We already had the carbine. besides geo All we added was another axle and a mm or two on pivot placement.
It would be seriousy good to do though, pick a decent trail centre that has plenty of testing stuff and go to town, spilt parts of the trail into segments - DH (tech and bike park style), uphill and then a longer 'up and down' section - All on the same tyres, all with well setup suspension.
Even though it wouldnt be scientific I imagine with 20 riders you could still get meaningful results - enough to debunk some of the potential brand bullcrap in the industry anyway!
It'd be much like Bike Mag's Bible of Bike Tests, but on a grander scale. And instead of qualitatively chatting about the bikes over a beer (which also has its merits), you simply have numbers to compare at the end.
Car and motorcycle (motocross) magazines do these kinds of track tests all the time.
However, the controls are way easier when the energy source is the same, i.e. gasoline vs. various sizes, shapes, physiology, skill levels, fatigue level, etc... of human power.
I suspect that
1. Gathering a large enough variety of riders in one place to be able to eliminate human power as a variable would be very challenging, and
2. The industry is probably OK with current reviews that conclude "this felt like the most fun bike..." or "this felt like the fastest bike..." and manufacturers are not especially motivated to facilitate or participate in the process of finding out which bike actually is the fastest rider-independent bike of them all.
And that's a bit of a shame I think.
And WTF are they thinking with that cable routing under the BB?! With all the flexibility that carbon fibre imparts to bike design that was the 'best' place thye could find to locate them.
"A conversation with Intense CEO Andrew Herrick revealed that at some point, a meeting was called and the staff were asked, "What kind of components were on their personal bikes?" And, "Exactly why do you insist upon using those items?" The next question was, "Why then, do we spec different components on our production models?" "
How about asking the questions "Does anyone (who still wants a job at Intense after answering this question) think that cable routing under the BB, in the same area that we add a frame guard, is a good idea?". "Does anyone that actually rides hard not use some kind of chain device?"
i hate press fit and hate company promoting it as next best thing but really just save them money.
Take it out to service it and put it back in.
I'm not a fan of anything that needs to be smashed out with a hammer, especially in carbon frames. Shimano recommends you replace the cup everytime it's been removed.
Tracer 275 (6")
Carbine 275 (6")
Carbine 29 (5.5")
Primer 29 (5")
ACV 275 (5" plus)
Spider 29 (5")
Spider 275 (5")
That's four 27.5's and three 29's all within one inch of travel of each other. Seems like overkill. However, I love Intense bikes and this means plenty of clearance and one-season-used bikes to pick up in fall 2017, so i'm looking forward to that!
As someone else said, the carbine 275 is going away, and I'll bet the spider 29 is on its way out too. That will leave you with two longer travel enduro bikes designed with a 6" fork in mind, 29 and 275, two trail bikes designed around a 5" fork, 29 and 275 and a plus size trail bike. Works out pretty well.
Pretty rad.
"but its chassis was a little more flexible than some desired" Referring to the Carbine 29. Now I didn't look it up, but I'm betting that the Carbine 29 test didn't have ANYTHING like that in it.
This is an excellent point, thanks for the insight.
This is one distinguishing characteristic between XC/Marathon/Trail versus All Mountain/Enduro/Freeride.
Everyone uses a dropper post these days, and the bike comes with one!
I get that some people don't need guides, that's cool, no one is forcing you to run one. But what could the possible downside of having tabs and not using them be? Are people that insecure about the 0.5g that it adds to the frame?
Giving up the ability to run a frame-mount bashguard just makes no sense to me.
Concerned citizen.
Truly prophetic words though! Truly is the year of the 29er.
And when they test a new bike that's not a 29er they tell us how they wished it was a 29er because it would be so much better....
Scroll down to spec and price ... WTF?
Ok, go straight to comment section.
Is this for former equestrians?
I do like intense specs, even foundation build have good specs
Some of us are short! I will never ride tires that exceed my inseam. I will ride my 26" bikes until they all break, then I am moving to a different hobby if there are no options to fit our heights.
Someone is not very familiar with metric sizing... THAT would be one SERIOUSLY giant person (at least the metric one).
-2017 Niner RIP 9 and Jet 9 come in 29" or 27.5 plus builds
-2017 Salsa Horsethief/Pony Rustler. Salsa freely admits these bikes are the exact same frame with two different builds - one with 27.5 plus and one with 29" wheels
-2017 Pivot Switchblade comes in 29" or 27.5 plus builds. Granted, this is Pivot's own "super Boost" spacing, but I think the example stands
27.5 has barely any performance benefit over 26", I think 1 second per minute in timed training found by Vouilloz. 29" wheels on the other hand are completely different and offer a very different ride.
So what if you think a 29er looks odd, they are here to stay because in certain situations they absolutely work better than a 27.5" wheel.
Racer951: "So what if you think a 29er looks odd, they are here to stay because in certain situations they absolutely work better than a 27.5" wheel."
What certain situations?
PS: No jokes. 2 days ago I so a man 165cm tall who rode 29" with such frame size that when his seat post elevated only 5 cm above seatpost clamp his legs fully straightened up. When I sow him I though "such an harshly and brilliant work of managers who sold him this bike".