Bike Check: Charlie Harrison's Intense M29 FRO - Crankworx Innsbruck 2018

Jun 17, 2018 at 17:11
by Daniel Sapp  

Charlie Harrison s M29 bike check - Intense Factory Racing
BIKE CHECK
Charlie Harrison's
Intense M29 FRO
Photography by Nathan Hughes


Charlie Harrison is yet another American who has been steadily gaining speed over the last few years. The California native has finished in the top 20 in every major race he's started this season and grabbed third place at the Crankworx Innsbruck DH race today making for his first Crankworx podium. With the consistency he's shown, it likely is not the last time we'll see him on the blocks this year.

Charlie is currently living in California, although he also spends a lot of time in Eastern Tennessee training at Windrock Bike Park. Charlie's bike set up can vary quite a bit from week to week. He makes changes more according to feel than anything else and does so quite regularly, making adjustments from one practice run to the next.

2018 is Charlie's second year with Intense Factory Racing. He's riding the 29" wheeled M29 FRO for DH and judging by his results, he seems pretty comfortable on the larger size hoops.

Charlie Harrison s M29 bike check - Intense Factory Racing
Rider Name Charlie 'Chuck' Harrison // Intense Factory Racing
Age: 20
Hometown: Mission Viejo, CA
Instagram: @ charlie_harrison_

Charlie Harrison s M29 bike check - Intense Factory Racing
Charlie racing to the podium at Crankworx Innsbruck

Charlie Harrison s M29 bike check - Intense Factory Racing
Intense M29 FRO Details

Frame: Intense M29 FRO
Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe coil RC World Cup
Fork: RockShox World Cup DebonAir
Wheels: ENVE M9 with Chris King Hubs, custom Innsbruck edition decals
Tires: Maxxis DHR 29x2.4 3C - 29psi R, 26psi F
Drivetrain: SRAM X0 DH 7 speed
Brakes: SRAM Code with custom red calipers, 220mm rotors
Cockpit: ENVE M9 bar, Truvativ 35mm stem, Fabric seat
More info: Intense Cycles

Charlie Harrison s M29 bike check - Intense Factory Racing
Charlie Harrison s M29 bike check - Intense Factory Racing
Charlie's ENVE bars are 800mm. He uses a Truvativ 35mm direct mount stem and offset Cane Creek headset with no spacers between it and the crown of the fork.

Charlie Harrison s M29 bike check - Intense Factory Racing
Charlie Harrison s M29 bike check - Intense Factory Racing
A Fabric seat and HT pedals complete the touch points.

Charlie Harrison s M29 bike check - Intense Factory Racing
Custom bits for Harrison.

Charlie Harrison s M29 bike check - Intense Factory Racing
Charlie Harrison s M29 bike check - Intense Factory Racing
Charlie uses SRAM's X01 DH 7 speed drivetrain. He has an E13 carbon chainguide keeping everything in place. His SRAM Code brakes have custom red calipers and 220mm rotors.

Charlie Harrison s M29 bike check - Intense Factory Racing
Charlie Harrison s M29 bike check - Intense Factory Racing
Charlie's RockShox Boxxer World Cup is set up with 155 psi and 3 tokens. The Super Deluxe RC coil World Cup shock has a custom 525 Ti spring.

Charlie Harrison s M29 bike check - Intense Factory Racing
It's not as much "if" but more likely "when" we'll see Charlie on the podium again this season.

MENTIONS: @intensecyclesusa / @charlie_harrison_


Author Info:
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64 Comments
  • 34 1
 220mm rotors are a thing? Damn making my 203's look small I suddenly feel inadequate
  • 5 0
 big wheels need big rotors! i wonder if youd get any flex with bigger one-piece rotors though
  • 11 1
 Exactly, it's like I suddenly realized what was missing in my life: 220 rotors! Are they custom made? haven't seen anything bigger than 203s at my lbs...
Can't even look at my rotors now, for the SHAME....
  • 7 0
 I'm using a 225mm rotor made by Hope.
  • 1 0
 @sosburn: seeing as smaller rotors already flex I can't see why they wouldn't.
  • 4 0
 Time to bin my current ride with only 203mm rotors.
  • 2 3
 @G-A-R-Y: I still feel that this is due to the way (almost) all manufacturers make it so the struts going to the hub are loaded in compression under braking forces, making it inherently unstable compared to if you'd flip the rotors over and would pull on the struts, making it more self alligning. Collegue of mine (who's a mechanical engineer) has actually been asking this at some bikeshows and the reason they do it like this for mainly design reasons apparantly
  • 14 0
 Hayes used to make a 9 inch rotor back in the day. In the catalogue there was a weight spec for each component, and under the 9 inch rotor it said don't ask.
  • 1 0
 These have been on the World Cup for a few years now, going back to at least 2015.
  • 2 3
 @bapaul: More to do with designing in latent safety. If a bolt is installed incorrectly you'll still have a brake (for a while). If the bolt was in tension (or shear when using an older ISO mount) a loose bolt would fail very quickly indeed, leading to a catasrophic failure. That is one of the reasons of the mass switch to post mount a few years ago. (That and making us buy something new!!!!!)
  • 1 0
 @bapaul: By design, do you mean style ? Or function ? Cuz' pulling on the struts could make the rotors weaker. Maybe my reasoning is wrong but I tend to think that an object is quite often stronger in compression than in tension. Also, I guess the struts are angled so that it sort of counter-acts the braking vector force, the force goes through it longitudinaly rather than lateraly, or something like that.
  • 2 0
 @freeriderayward:
I bought a 2nd hand bike a few years ago and it had a 9" rotor on the front, that was the definition of on/off braking with zero modulation! Funny thing was that it was on a Trek Fuel so entirely unnecessary.
  • 2 0
 @sosburn: Don't worry about it. In 2019, our 29 specific 229mm rotor will see a 20% increase in lateral stiffness.

Regards,
5RAM
  • 3 0
 Rotor spokes are meant to be in compression not tension. If you put it the other way round and apply enough torque to the centre of the rotor while clamping the outer edge (the equivalent forces when under hard braking) the rotor would just fold itself up. It creates an inward pulling force on the outside of the rotor.

See pictures here: singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/rotor-direction-well-one-is-wrong
  • 3 0
 You sir, are apsolutley right. @haroman666:
  • 1 0
 Not surprised by the 220mm. Got a Canyon 120mm 29er with meaty tires (2.4 Conti's with soft compound), the grip of the front wheel under breaking is just unbelievable... I'm 75kg with gear, 180mm rotors on Shimano XT (not DH rated but still powerfull for xc:marathon) and I really feel the rotor need to be upsized when things go wild. I can only imagine how much a fast guy like Charlie can feel about his braking on a dh 29er.
  • 1 0
 It's not the size of the rotors that matter, but how you use them.
  • 3 6
 If you are running codes then you need 220mm rotors so you can have the same power as Saints with 203mm rotors...
  • 1 0
 well, once upon a time when bigger travel was all the rage, I’m pretty sure Avalanche made special 30mm bolt through hubs and 12” rotors.
  • 1 0
 @bapaul: You don't need to be a mechanical engineer to realise the flex is because it's a 2mm thick piece of cut steel sheet and that's not thick enough not to flex no matter how you design the cutting patern. And this is all because cyclists want brakes to be light weight.
  • 1 0
 @bapaul: nope

www.mtb-news.de/news/2018/02/06/begreifen-mit-bommelmaster-folge-1

if mounted incorrectly tension in disc spokes and compression in the outer disc diameter will result in catastrophic failure under heat and heavy braking forces
  • 1 0
 Yes 220mm sram center line rotors
  • 2 1
 Brakes are crap so need bigger rotors
  • 22 2
 Seat is crooked [shivers in foetal position]
  • 13 2
 Who makes that seat anyhow?
  • 5 0
 I'm hoping it's the camera angle ... one can only hope.
  • 21 0
 @maxlombardy: without any obvious logo's i think the last resort we have is a rumored Hooli image recognition software that has yet to be released to the public. So far it can only recognize things that are hot dogs or not a hot dog.
  • 1 0
 @cuban-b: What about wiener dogs?
  • 2 0
 @NotAnotherClimb: it causes the app to freeze. still in development.
  • 1 0
 @maxlombardy: Fabrice made it, they messed up the letter spacing
  • 17 2
 ferrari of mtb
  • 1 0
 ITS IS!!!!!
  • 11 0
 That's a fine looking bike right there!
  • 8 0
 will someone please educate me on why none of the pros run Floating rotors? especially on a dang 220mm rotor? are they thicker than the std 1.8mm a la Hope V4??
  • 1 0
 I think they are not a clear "yes" cos they are not superior to 1 piece rotors. They are heavy and more complex compared to 1 piece rotors.
  • 2 1
 I've also noticed Sram sponsored riders don't tend to run centreline rotors, perhaps they know something we don't and aren't falling for marketing bs
  • 2 5
 @DC1988: centerline rotors don't go over 180mm. They seem aimed at xc. Had to buy Shimano Icetech for my Sram Guides...
  • 2 0
 @freebikeur: I have 200mm centerlines on my bike right now. Spares too.
  • 2 0
 @freebikeur: those are 220mm centerlines in the pictures too so....
  • 1 0
 @loganm2977: Apologies, I got confused with the floating version !
  • 1 0
 @freebikeur: no, I responded too harshly. I finally realized you were referencing floating center lines and the fault is mine
  • 1 0
 @loganm2977: no offense taken, cheers bro. Enjoy the ride
  • 5 0
 Go Mission Viejo, CA! Lotta roots there. Nice work Chuck!
  • 4 1
 155psi in the fork!?!?!?!?!? Gotta be typo?
  • 7 0
 Max pressure for that fork is 165psi. It is high but a lot of these guys run their suspension set up far different, commonly stiffer than standard.
  • 3 0
 he seems like a big dude too
  • 1 0
 with the debonair in the new forks the psi needed to make it ride like the older models is much higher because the negitive and positive air chambers and larger
  • 2 1
 @joehowlett55: If the chambers are larger,wouldn't it be the other way round?
  • 2 0
 bro 155 psi in a fork sounds crazy to me
  • 1 0
 I have less in my shock o_o
  • 1 0
 Damn...SRAM can't even manufacture straight 200mm rotors. I'd hate trying to get their 220's centered in my calipers
  • 3 1
 That’s nice.
  • 2 1
 Nice bike shame ill never be able to get one
  • 2 0
 She's real purrty!
  • 3 2
 Dope ride
  • 2 2
 Lame bike check, where's the weight??
  • 1 0
 Not flashy enough for me
  • 1 1
 220mm rotors?!?! Great ANOTHER standard...
  • 5 6
 Good shit USA in the mix finally.
  • 4 1
 Are Aaron Gwin or Luca Shaw not in the mix?
  • 9 0
 @Jono-wade: Who????????? never heard of them.
  • 2 4
 No they are already kicking ass and shitting on names. Now there are 2 more that popped up over night, expect more we on the come up. Never rule out Neko either butthole.







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