LONG TERM RIDES
LUKE’ S INTENSE TRACE R PRO £4,499
The latest on our team bikes – where we’ve ridden, what we’ve changed on them and what we’ve broken this month!
A new long-termer for our new staffer, via Intense’s new sales model
As the new guy in the office, I’m the one running the errands, making the tea and generally languishing at the bottom of the list when it comes to privileges. I seem to have landed on my feet bike-wise, though, having been given this Intense Tracer Pro as my 2018 long-termer.
Last year, Intense moved to a direct-sales model, bringing this iconic brand’s prices down to a more competitive level. For the Tracer Pro, that meant a drop of almost £2,000, from £6,300 to £4,499. You may be buying online rather than through a shop, but Intense Cycles UK supply each bike with the fork and shock sag set to your requirements and an appropriate number of volume spacers fitted, the brakes bled and all bolts checked. A shock pump and torque wrench set are included in the reusable bike box, and you can get the wheels and tyres set up tubeless for an extra £25. The bikes are from UK stock, with free postage and a UK-based customer service team on hand to answer any queries.
So, in theory, my bike should have been ready to tackle any challenge straight out of the box. But was it? Pretty much. All I had to do was tweak the cockpit to suit my preferences (bar roll and brake lever reach and placement) and swap the stem spacers around to raise the bar height, and I was good to go. I threw the Tracer right in at the deep end, taking it out to Bikepark Planai in Schladming, Austria.
Lapping all the trails, from the flow line to the World Cup downhill track, I was able to see where the bike shone and where it still needed a little polish. First impressions were positive – it felt well-balanced, held a line well and was stable and tough enough to give me confidence in Schladming’s famously rough terrain. A knocking noise from the back end needed to be investigated, though, and the bar was still a little off where I wanted it to be.
After some more riding back home, I’ll definitely be swapping the bar out for a higher-rise number. Elsewhere, the SRAM X01 Eagle 12-speed drivetrain and Guide RS brakes have been quietly getting on with the job. The Fox 36 Float Performance fork is working well too, especially since I added one more volume spacer. Unfortunately, the Float X2 shock hasn’t fared so well, with a blown seal and damping circuit giving the Tracer’s rear end a bit of a ‘pogo stick’ feel. I look forward to getting the suspension back to its best and my set-up dialled to get the most from this capable machine. www.uk.intensecycles.com