From bits to bike, in 24 hours

1 Raw materials

All Intense frames have traditionally started life as raw aluminium – some for tubing, some for intricate machined parts and bolts.

2 CNC machining

Huge blocks of aluminium are milled down in house to produce the light yet stiff linkages of the VPP suspension system.

3 Getting jiggy

Once geometry is decided on, the frame jig is set up and measured to provide accurate placement of the frame tubes.

4 hand trimming

Jeff hand cuts the pre-tempered alloy tubing using his expert eye until the tubes meet each other perfectly.

5 Custom mounts

This frame has a custom upper linkage mount, so Jeff bolts on a shock to ensure the positioning is millimetre perfect.

6 tacked in place

Once frame tubes are shaped, trimmed and aligned to perfection, they’re tacked together to ensure accurate welding.

7 welding

Rick the Welder dons his mask and gets to work laying down the pearls. Up to 16ft of welds can appear on some frames!

8 Taking shape

With the welding completed, the frame looks complete but still needs to be heat treated to temper the aluminium.

9 Oven baked

The frames go into a special oven at 1,100°F for part one of the heat treating, which softens all the different alloys to the same level.

10 Alignment

The frames are removed from the oven and dunked in glycol to cool them down, before being aligned and then returned to the oven for a long overnight bake at 350°F.

11 Ream, Tap and Face

Following heat treating, each frame is reamed, has threads tapped in and is faced ready to accept bearings and componentry.

12 Bike build

Once the frame is complete it’s hung in the assembly area, where all the components are fitted, by hand, and the decals are applied.