Intense for years has been regarded as one of the best mountain bike frame makers in the world. Many riders that have owned their bikes will never ride anything again. Over the last decade they had been refining the “FSR” style four-bar linkage. Many in the industry regarded this design as the best overall system. This is for a number of reasons such as pedal isolation, brake isolation, and adjustability. The big claim to fame for the system was “no brake jack”! That is an easy problem to fix, don’t drag the brakes over the rocks. About 3 years ago Santa Cruz released their VPP (virtual pivot point) system that Outland originally used. This system boasts an S shaped wheel path, and also better pedaling efficiency as well as improved traction. The Santa Cruz website has more information that we listed below. I have owned a 2005 INTENSE M3 for about 2 months now. I have spent enough time on it to give a good write up on it, so read on and learn what an average unpaid, bike rider thinks of this new system.

VPP suspension designs balance different forces to

eliminate unwanted compression without limiting bump absorption.

The downward force on your pedals pushes most full suspension bikes down, resulting in unwanted suspension compression. VPP bikes use a patented link configuration and axle path to apply some of the pulling force from the

chain to counteract that motion caused by pedaling.

Because the forces are balanced, VPP bikes remain able to absorb bumps when pedaling, unlike other designs that effectively lock out the rear suspension by applying too much chain pulling force. What you end up with is plush

travel with no pedal-induced compression or lockout and no need for manual lockouts or other compromises.

VPP's balance of counteracting pedaling and bump forces is optimized at the recommended "sag" point. Sag is the amount the suspension compresses when the rider is in a neutral position. For example, when sitting on the bike at rest or riding on smooth terrain. This point is about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way into the suspension travel.
VPP bikes are designed to be ridden with sufficient sag to provide truly active suspension, meaning the suspension compresses (positive travel) and extends (negative travel) with rises and dips in the trail. A VPP owner rides in a suspended "pocket" with ample positive and negative travel available to maintain traction and momentum in all trail conditions, even while pedaling.

Shock rate plays a huge part in any suspension frame design. Shock rate refers to how much the shock compresses for a given amount of rear wheel travel. A "falling rate" design is harder to compress at the beginning of the travel than at the end of the travel. A "rising rate" design is the opposite, easier to compress at the beginning than at the end. By experimenting with hundreds of different pivot placements and linkage designs, our engineers tune the shock rates on VPP bikes to both rise and fall at different points throughout the suspension travel, tailoring the attitude of the bike for different conditions and uses and maximizing the benefits of the VPP linkage and axle path. It takes a long time but it shows in the performance of each bike.

A great suspension design by itself is not enough to make a great bike. To realize the potential of VPP technology, every frame is carefully engineered without compromise in materials or construction methods. We start with custom tube sets made from the strongest and lightest aluminum alloys available. Then we use a variety of advanced design and construction techniques, including custom part design, strategic gusseting, modified weld bead profile and shot peening. Prototypes undergo rigorous laboratory and real-world testing. Each frame is analyzed for high-stress areas when pushed to the limit. Geometry is tested, tweaked, and tested again. Every part of every frame receives an obsessive amount of attention to minimize weight, maximize strength, durability, and serviceability. We've designed custom double-row angular-contact full-complement bearings that are lighter and stronger than anything else out there. The shocks that come on our frames are valved specifically for each model to make the ride quality that much better. We don't spend our time writing frivolous patents or coming up with silly acronyms for the innovations we employ.
We'd rather go for a ride, wouldn't you?

I have owned and raced a number of the best bikes over the last seven years. These include a 2000 Orange Patriot LT, 2001 Specialized Palmer Replica, 2001 Kona Stab Primo, 2002 Turner DHR, 2003 Karpiel Disco Volante, and a 2003 Titus Supermoto DH. These bikes have all left lasting impressions on me. Read below to find out how the M3 felt on varying terrain.

This is where the bike felt really good. The rear suspension did exhibit some rear stiffening when using the brakes. But as I said don’t use them and it ran over rocks like sand. The bike felt really light and the rear end sucked up rocks up to about a foot in height with no problems. Looking ahead and letting the bike find its way over the terrain was the best method. The bike felt almost as lively as the short travel Orange I owned years ago, but not quite as twitchy. It honestly feels like a combination between the Turner that I had and the Titus Supermoto Dh that is a true four-bar design. It shows a mid point between the two, it didn’t exhibit either bikes best traits of smoothness and lateral stiffness but was just in the middle of the two. Rocky trail are skimmed over at alarming speeds, it is just a question of rider ability and confidence levels.

Riding a DH bike through tight and twisty trails can be either a pain or a joy. Much of this just rider preference, and bike set up. This bike has a single crown on it so having a triple crown would change the outcome. This bike felt at home riding through slow, twisty sections with sharp curves. The bike felt lighter than it actually was so pulling the rear off the ground was easy to make those extra sharp corners. This is impressive considering it is running about 3.5” of sag! If this bike had a triple clamp on the front it would not be one I would recommend for super tight stuff though.

Last week I brought the bike down a fast, open and somewhat twisty single-track. Hitting speeds above 30mph here are easy to do. This bike felt very comfortable at speeds. It swallowed the rocks that were scattered without problems and made the drops disappear beneath you. Turning is my weak link, so take this with a grain of slat. The bike was easy to get into a slide and would trail around the corner very easily. It gave me confidence going into corners hot. Leaning the bike over to hang through the corners at speed resulted in a good bite even in the loose sand, loam the trail is made of.

Taking to the air on the bike is what brought concern to me. This came from previous write-ups on the VPP design. After riding it for the last 2 months I disagree with this. I have taken it off a few different types of jumps such as doubles, hip jumps and tables. The bikes back end did stick a little more than some other bikes but it wasn’t too bad. It took to the air easily and especially while traveling at high rates of speed. Remember this is a DH bike after all. Try it on smaller more familiar jumps to start out.

This is overall a good bike. As I mentioned before I have owned some nice bikes and this is another to add to that list. I considered the TURNER that I owned the best so far, and at this point I still do. I can’t honestly say that the Intense is a better bike at this point. There are many write ups on this bike now and many of them say it is as good or better than the M1 that built the Intense name. I find that hard to believe; basically because of the similarities that the bikes shared. A big claim to fame is that this design provides a better pedaling platform. Well the bike I am riding does not have SPV in the rear and it pedals as well as others if it is lucky. It tends to bob a little more but this may be due to more sag that is inherit with the design. So far I have learned that the bike rides real well and fast, but also that their switch to this design may very well be monetarily based in two ways. First of all the FSR four bar was old and change could generate increased interest, but the bigger and less obvious reason may be the royalties that Specialized collects from companies using their design?

If you have any questions email us and we will get back to you.