Intense Slopestyle WIP FINISHED MK I!

tom_howard

Right, I'm too excited about this to not shout it from the rooftops, so here goes

I started looking for a new (to me) AM frame about 6 months ago, but the world is full of people with more money than knowledge of the worth of SH frames , so nothing came up that was in decent nick that I could afford .... then I upped my budget to slopestyle range (always the way) so started hunting

Then, joy of joys, one came up that met my criteria on condish and price, but by the time I'd moved money around, it had gone

THEN, another came up! Mo money, but better nick. This is the one that, fingers crossed, will arrive tomorrow.

Due to fiscal conditions, I'm going to have to strip the Orange of the shiny bits to build it up, then rebuild it (The Orange) from spares/ebay stuff.

So, the (proposed) spec......

Frame: Intense 6.6 SlopeStyle w/Fox DHX 5 and 500lb spring. If I see a decent air shock cheap, I may be tempted!
Forks: Boxxer teams with speshul stickerz innit (for DH duty, im hoping to pick up some Float 36s for everything else in the not too distant future)
Bars: Easton Monkeylite DH
Stem: Sunline direct attached 50mm for the boxxers, and a to be purchased 70mm stem for the 36s
Headset: Cane Creek XX reducer
Grips: Specialized enduro
Bar Ends: Hope
Brakes: Hayes 9 at the mo (they work ace so no reason to change, but XT M785s are very tempting, not to mention shiny!)
Shifters: XT M770
Cables: Shimano
Front Mech: XT M770 and MRP taco bash when not in DH trim.
Rear Mech: XT M770
Chain Device: probably an MRP lopes job, as and when i need one, when on DH duty
Seat: SDG Bel Air SL I beam
Seat Post: SDG I beam Carbon (may go to a reverb before the summer, funds permitting.)
Seat Post Clamp: Intense
Cranks: XTR M970
Chainring(s): XTR M970 or Renthal Single for DH Duty
Chain: a metal one? dunno what it is!
Cassette: XTR M970
Pedals: Shimano DX
Bottom Bracket: XTR
Rims: Mavic 729
Spokes: Black DB
Hubs: Chris King ISO 20mm front, 10mm bolted rear
Tubes: black rubber ones
Tires: Minions/lopes/fire FRs/wet screams depending on prevailing trail conditions.

Heres a pic from the shop site of the exact frame...


Poysonally, I think the spec is perfect, but any ideas for changes are welcome, but please have a reason

The idea is to have a platform that I can change from comfy trail bike to DH weapon in the same time it takes (me) to change a pair of tyres. So swap the forks and stem (and shock if i get one) and the f mech, shifter, and rings and bash for a single ring setup with chain device when the going is gonna be steep.

Finally, the vast majority of the kit here was bought SH from here, the 'other' forumand the 'bay so chances are people ive bought from will see this, and id just like to say thanks to all involved!

The Northern Monkey

Should be good

Looking forward to seeing this built up!

bluechair84

Either pick up the one set of single crown forks with adjustable travel - say 180-140 range, or buy my 36s when I pick up the aforementioned... I give you good price, they love you looong time.
Looking forward to racing you with my Torque

bluechair84

So how much did you get the SS frame for then?

tom_howard

820... Inc delivery, new XT front mech and new headset, (bartered down from a 980 asking price :-D)

tom_howard

IIIIIIIIIts heeeeerrreeeee! Well, the frame and forks are anyway...

So, yesterday morning this arrives.



And what should pop out of the worlds most densly packed box (oh err, though seriously box and packing weighed more than the frame itself!!!)? This...






Then this morning, this turned up. Wonder whats inside?


its a pair of these, 05 (I think) BoXXer races, with custom graffix innit.


And heres what she looks like as a rolling chassis The wheels (Mavic 729s on King hubs) will be cleaned and used in the final build, the stem, bars and tyres wont. Oh and the reason the saddle is so low is because it needs a shim, not because im a midget



I'm thinking the head angle looks a bit chopper-esque? Though its prob a bit steeper than the GTs.



Having sat on it too, I think Im going to have to get a lighter spring (12.5 st in my riding gear), but I'll wait and see what the ride is like with this one first.

Just waiting on CRC to finally dispatch some tools and a DM stem and the build will continue!

What do you think?

Oh and my thanks go out to mtbs-r-us for the frame and flatout cycles for the forks, top service by both! Wish CRC were the same!

bluechair84

It's true what the seller warned on the box... Intense frames are fragile. I'd stick to toe paths and curb drops

Nah it's looking beautiful but IMO, I'm not sure about the colour of the forks. You is going to whop me to competing the build. Mine has gone backwards and is a pile of nuts and bolts.

tom_howard

I know what you mean about the forks, but they do grow on you. The tyres dont help either, but theyre going to be swapped for some new minions fairly soon.

tom_howard

So I've been test fitting a few things as I suspected some of the kit from the orange prob wouldn't be a straight swap. You'll not be suprised that I'm right, just in the braking department I need longer hoses f and r, new mounts (boxxer forks and a bigger min diameter rear disc (need one of them too...) didn't help!) so I priced it up on crc to give me an idea of the hit my debit card would take. This made me fall over. Nearly 100 farking quid! Well 90 if I can find a voucher donor... I haven't even specced bling hoses!

I'm also praying I never bend the mech hanger or bork the dropouts as I really can't bear to spend £135 per side (really!) on new ones! Let this be a lesson kids, impulse buys are like stupid dwarves with a crack habit Not big, not clever and cripplingly expensive!

Rant over now, on to better news, Im off to have a gander at some u turn lyriks tomorrow for when the bike isn't in full on DH mode :-)

bluechair84

Have you priced hoses and discs from superstar instead? Might save a few pounds and the hoses can be colour coded to no extra cost

tom_howard

Not yet, will look more seriously at the weekend, figure it can't be any more expensive!

1mancity2

That is gonna be one nice bike when finished!

Superstar Floating Rotor 203mm,
http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=456

Braided hose, (there are cheaper ones)
http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=430

Fixing kit,
http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=431

Total £63

bluechair84

Oi Mancity! Don't help him! We're in a race to see who can get there's built first, and I've an ambitious respray and detailing job to do yet!

tom_howard

Haha, thanks mancity, for both comment and advice, that's actually a similar price to crc, as I'd still need caliper mounts f+r plus I'd have to buy 2 rotors, as I NEED f to match r...

Bluechair, how 'finished' are we talking? Cos I'm nearly there so long as I don't have to turn the bars, or change gear.... Or pedal. Or brake. ;-)

1mancity2

bluechair84 wrote:

Oi Mancity! Don't help him! We're in a race to see who can get there's built first, and I've an ambitious respray and detailing job to do yet!

Haha!
Send me the frame Ill coat it for you, but that won't be faster!

1mancity2

Tom Howard wrote:

Haha, thanks mancity, for both comment and advice, that's actually a similar price to crc, as I'd still need caliper mounts f+r plus I'd have to buy 2 rotors, as I NEED f to match r...

Bluechair, how 'finished' are we talking? Cos I'm nearly there so long as I don't have to turn the bars, or change gear.... Or pedal. Or brake. ;-)

I have hope floating rotors on mine both 203mm and I have only just sold 2 red hope floating rotors with mounts!!!!!

bluechair84

1mancity2 wrote:

bluechair84 wrote:

Oi Mancity! Don't help him! We're in a race to see who can get there's built first, and I've an ambitious respray and detailing job to do yet!

Haha!
Send me the frame Ill coat it for you, but that won't be faster!

Are you a powder coater or experienced spray-ist (which, on reflection, i think could be many things)?

1mancity2

Aye, over 20 years at it.

bluechair84

Oi, Donkey Petter! I know something about this bike. Get this thread updated! And I'll bring the DSLR along to Style Cop next week to get some better pictures of it to.

tom_howard

There shall be pics and an 'it's finished' thread before the day is out!

1mancity2

Tom Howard wrote:

There shall be pics and an 'it's finished' thread before the day is out!

Tick Tock!!

tom_howard

1mancity2 wrote:

Tom Howard wrote:

There shall be pics and an 'it's finished' thread before the day is out!

Tick Tock!!

Don't make me do an 23.59:99 on yo ass....

tom_howard

OK, it is done, I has me a new plaything, her name is Lola and here are her vital statistics are...

Frame: Intense 6.6 SlopeStyle w/Fox DHX 5 and 500lb spring.
Forks: Lyrik coil 160 u-turn, but still got the boxxers for big DH days
Bars: Easton Monkeylite DH
Stem: Specialized enduro 65mm
Headset: Cane Creek XX reducer
Grips: Specialized enduro
Bar Ends: Hope
Brakes: Hayes 9 203f 160r/180 as soon as I can get a rotor at the mo, but XTs in the not too distant future.
Shifters: XT M770
Cables: Shimano
Front Mech: XT M770
Rear Mech: XT M770
Chain Device: MRP XCG Triple bash taco type affair
Seat: SDG Bel Air SL I beam
Seat Post: SDG I beam Carbon (may go to a reverb before the summer, funds permitting.)
Seat Post Clamp: Intense
Cranks: XTR M970
Chainring(s): XTR M970
Chain: a metal one? dunno what it is!
Cassette: XTR M970
Pedals: Azonic Xtension
Bottom Bracket: XTR
Rims: Mavic 729
Spokes: Black DB
Hubs: Chris King ISO 20mm front, 10mm bolted rear
Tubes: black rubber ones
Tires: Panaracer fire FR 2.4 but hopefully not for too long, gonna get some minions as soon as payday shows its face again!

What? You want pictures? Oh OK....









I know there will be many people who consider putting a triple chainset on a frame like this, but im just experimenting with various setups till I find one I like (ive been running 1x9 for the last 10 years and my knees and lungs have had enough of it!)

I'll report back on how it rides after the weekend and I've given her a damn good thrashing! from the pootle ive had so far, I'm mega excited!!

bluechair84

Bugger me... you've not got much choice in cockpit height with that Steerer tube!

Fantastic looking bike! Swaps for a few runs I think.

Thewaylander

I will be honest... this bike got me a little wet donw in my pants... there was a fizzle

bluechair84

Will your new bike make you thisgood?

benpinnick

yeah, thats some sick riding.

DCR00

man this is nice

since reading about this frame in the "Dirt Top 100" before Xmas, im thinking this is my next bike (once i learn how to ride this one of course)

1mancity2

That is nice!

When you getting a dropper post for it?

no way do you want to be altering your seat and stopping the flow.

tom_howard

When funds allow! New tyres and some better brakes first then reverb at end of march most probably. Unless I find a big pot of cash somewhere...

In other news, she weighs 36lbs as pictured, bearing in mind that the tyres weigh 4.5 lbs (hence the need for new, lighter, rubber!)

bluechair84

If your scales are more portable than bathroom how-much-did-I-put-on-this-xmas scales, could you bring em this weekend?