1ST IMPRESSION
This is unsprung weight, so it will affect suspension performance, and not in a good way. It also runs on a HG freehub body, so upgrading will require buying an XD driver as well, and the shifting is nowhere near as precise or solid as GX or X01. The Code R brakes are powerful enough, but the levers on our demo bike had already developed some slop and play. On the other hand, we had no complaints about the E*thirteen wheels, bar and stem, and the Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR II in 3C compounds were spot on, although some riders will want to upgrade the rear casing from EXO+ to Double Down.
HOW IT RIDES
Given that this is an enduro bike with a mullet rear wheel, I didn’t expect to begin by talking about its climbing prowess. But the Tracer 279 is a very effective and stable bike on the ascents that let me spin away in a comfortable, upright position. That’s thanks to the steep effective seat angle and the new kinematics. There’s a decent amount of anti-squat to help the pedal efficiency, which is welcome as the low-slung shock means the Climb Switch is quite a stretch with the saddle at full height.
So the pedal manners are impeccable, but there’s no disguising the Tracer
279’s overall weight. At 16.68kg without pedals, it’s a bit of a lump, which takes a toll on energy levels, particularly when riding dynamically and making lots of acceleration bursts. Which is exactly what a 170mm mullet bike encourages you to do.
Furthermore, quite a bit of that weight can be felt hanging off the back end of the bike due to that heavy cassette, and that has a detrimental effect on the suspension performance as well as your ability as a rider to pick the rear wheel up when switching lines or hopping over obstacles.
Although the bottom bracket is not particularly low, I had some pedal strikes, so it could be worth switching to 165mm cranks if you’re planning on running the bike in the low position. Moving to the high geometry position is also an option, but making the switch is not very easy as the bolt is completely hidden by the swingarm upright.
As such you actually have to unbolt the front of the shock and compress the swingarm to gain access. While most Santa Cruz bikes use a bearing in the lower shock eyelet, Intense makes do with a DU bushing, which will also have an impact on sensitivity.
Spring rates are chosen according to a best guess by Intense. You can get away with a few turns of preload on the spring, but after that you’ll have to move up or down a spring rate, which is an additional cost. For reference, at 78kg, I ended up with 28% sag on the 500lb spring. I would have liked to try the 450lb spring, but none was available.
I also had an issue with the shock on my demo bike – it had lost some damping oil and was running too much preload – so that the rebound couldn’t cope. This was fixed under warranty by Fox UK and the bike felt much better when it was returned, but the rebound damping was still lightning fast, particularly on the high-speed side (and I like a bike with quick rebound). There was also a touch of harshness that I could feel through my feet (and they got blown off my pedals a couple of times) that might be to do with the extra unsprung weight, a by-product of the anti-squat, or a combination of both. Although specced with a 32t ring, my demo bike was running a 30t, which will increase the anti-squat, so perhaps going back up a couple of teeth on the front chainring would be a smart move if you’ve got the leg strength.
Three rides in then, and I still don’t feel like I’ve sussed out the new Tracer. I’d like to try it with a lighter rear wheel, a larger chainring and a softer spring rate to see what difference they make to the suspension performance. The bike has gone back to Intense UK, but I’m hopeful I’ll get a chance to ride it again with these mods and report back.
In the meantime the smart move could be to try and stretch to the next model up. This comes with the lighter XG-1275 cassette and fully adjustable Öhlins suspension for £5,999. Having a wider-range cassette would also make running a bigger chainring more palatable. And, like all the best Intense bikes, the rosso red paint job looks a million bucks standing still.
HIGHS
Modern geometry and sizing. Internal storage. Direct-sales value from a boutique brand.
LOWS
Heavy rear cassette. Seat tube could be shorter. Overall weight is high.