Intense M1 Review: For The Gnarliest Trails | 2024 Downhill Bike Field Test

Developed by none other than Aaron Gwin, the new Intense M1 downhill bike felt absolutely at home charging through the steepest and most rocky trails of the Whistler Bike Park. Join Henry and Matt for the full review.

00:00 – Intro
00:26 – Bike Overview
02:04 – Ride Impressions
06:04 – Spec
08:15 – Who’s it for?
09:30 – Pro’s and Con’s
10:45 – Conclusion

Supported by 👉 Trailforks Pro: https://b.link/v63weq
Get unlimited access to all the best mountain biking trails by clicking the link above.

More Pinkbike videos:

Industry Outsider Wants To Change DH | The Belted Purse

Is This What It Takes To Win Races Now?

The New Specialized Chisel FS Cross-Country Bike | Aluminum Done Light

Pinkbike Merch – https://pinkbike.link/merch

Subscribe for more content from the pulse of mountain biking.

Website – https://pinkbike.com
Podcast – https://pinkbike.link/pbpodcast
Instagram – https://instagram.com/pinkbike
Facebook – https://facebook.com/pinkbikecom

there is something about a red intense that will evoke fond memories for longtime fans of downhill this bike is the product of a lot of testing a slew of different iterative designs and many miles under the Brand’s host of elite races the six link design and layout certainly looks very different and is a huge departure from Sleek carbon recent downhill bikes from the brand when we look back at the last intense downhill race bike it would probably be the m29 which is Sleek it was carbon and it was a great looking bike this new M1 is fundamentally different what are just some of the changes they put in place like you mentioned uh the new M1 is alloy not carbon uses a six High pivot design so it’s quite complex has an idler and it also runs on mixed Wheels now so no 29 no option for that either Aaron Gwyn has something like a history where he goes to a brand he develops an amazing downhill bike and then the second it’s done he goes to another brand now is that what he’s done with this bike and testing it in Whistler well there was a lot to go on totally yeah I mean this is an exciting bike it’s red it’s an intense it’s alloy you know we were both pretty Keen to jump on this and it delivered absolutely but understanding how it did that is more than just about bolting an idol on a bike and calling it a day this bike from the ground up is a very different proposition to many of the others on this field test the M1 on paper isn’t so different from another bike in this test the common Sile Supreme both are idler equipped High pivots with six links although interestingly intensive backtracked on talk of this being a six both bikes also kick the carbon Trend and both have been developed on the racetrack but to say they ride the same would not be true what is it like to swing a leg over the intense so Mt to hop on the intense just The Stance you end up in it kind of makes you feel Invincible straight from the off what do you put that down to I mean it’s definitely has a taller bar height uh whether those Geo Figures were accurate or not definitely felt like uh bit of a monster truck here absolutely it feels I mean looking at the geometry chart it is lower in terms of stack value than the common cell but it doesn’t ride or feel like that now there are other things that play there you know you’ve got maybe a stack in the stem you got handlebar wise there’s other things and how the bike sits into its travel as well but to get on this bike it just feels like a monster truck and for me if I had to take a bike to ride the steepest most challenging terrain that would be the one I would be grabbing when we look at the other bikes on test most notably the common cell Supreme how do these bikes compare because from the outside when you look at them on a spreadsheet they look kind of similar but they ride quite differently yeah you you can tell by looking at the intents you know taller bar height longer front center slacker head tube angle there’s a lot of bike ahead of you would you say like ahead of your feet yeah I’d say so you feel really safe riding this whereas the common self feels maybe like a bit more of a live wire yep yeah a little lower uh a little bit more glued to the ground the intense has some of those elements but it’s not quite as uh all-encompassing as or like neutral as what the uh commence all can do he absolutely it feels like your weight is sitting that a bit more rearward now when you get bikes that have you know a slightly higher front and again compared to some other bikes on test a slightly shorter rear end that can give a really rearward weight bias which can feel very safe but it can be harder to push into terms how did this intense get on when we weren’t just riding Flatout Tech with big chundury rock and Roots but we actually wanted to do some precise cornering what did you think of it I mean it does take a little bit of sort of like awareness to weight the front end when you go into a flatter Corner uh just so you don’t wash the front end and again the higher bar height you have to lean into the bike a little bit more and pumping through turns you know has a shorter chain stay but it’s a high pivot as well so it does have a little bit of that elastic feel as that chain stay length grows You’ have to commit to the front but there is the grip there should you be wanting it you you do have to be a bit more aware of it it’s not the common ST which feels very very um planted on the front or something like the YT or the Frameworks which feel that bit steepen a bit more sort of Endura bikey yeah not quite as intuitive as the other bikes absolutely you have to be a bit more aware and I found that for me coming into a turn you really you kind of felt like you wanted to kind of push out the back to really get it through turns more than something you feel like you directly carve through um when it comes to riding flat out chunder though does this all begin to make sense does it is it able to reap the rewards of having that rearward axle path with the neutral feet in the high front is It ultimately a fast bike when you think of Flatout technical RAC trcks yeah I would say so you feel very safe confident to like attack things like I said there’s a lot of bike and front wheel ahead of you and then the rear wheel tracks really well like even in the linear setting uh which has a little bit more support uh still kind of that rear wheel dances across stuff really well yeah I mean going between the linear and the progress settings is really easy and I I think that’s the whole bike is just so open and easy to work on um I found for me I thought the linear setting was really good you got a lot of to push into you got a bit more mid-stroke but if you wanted something that’s just like a real Slugger to just take hits that Progressive setting is not only comfortable but very confident inspiring this bike is fast confidence inspiring and yep very very red but what’s it like to live with okay so you mentioned how open this bike is the frame specs what what do you mean by that like it’s easy to work on is the frame Hardware solid honestly it is so easy to work on it feels like a real race bike in that sense it is so open it’s easy to wash everything drains out really easily it’s got kind of you don’t really see it from the side shot but it’s it’s got like a big scissor swinging link you know coming across to drive that shock this bike also has the trp drivetrain I hav rden trp drivetrains before this the first time they’re not necessarily a fan of the mud there was a bit of skipping obviously anytime you get grit and dirt in your drivetrain it can kind of reduce sort of functionality of performance however I was doing back toback with that SRAM 7 speeed on the same day in the same conditions and there was a lot of skipping coming out the trp and the R seemed relatively happy what did you think of the lever ergonomics oh yeah I was actually going to touch on that I pretty R kind of missed them a few times like didn’t know where they were it wasn’t quite as intuitive and yeah they just don’t have the same like kind of feedback or crispiness as the saram ones but also it felt like they couldn’t even get in a good place but with their own brake Leever it’s like the two departments hadn’t talked to each other like you’re making brakes no way we’ve put a drivetrain they put it together and it’s like oh if we angle this an extreme mangle and then it all felt a bit unrefined a little bit what did you think of um other elements of the spec I mean obviously we got good wheels from DT we’ve got Fox suspension was there anything that stuck out to you for good or for bad that you really liked uh I mean it does have a house brand stem and carbon bar which you know to be fair they’re they’re clean looking um does have nice adjustment from 45 to 50 Ms if you want that and the touch points ODI grips can’t really knock those s G ibeam seat not my favorite apart from that the spec from head to toe was all around pretty good A solid spec then even if the trp drivetrain feels well quite a bit jankier than some of the more refined options on the market who is this bike for okay so the intense M1 prototyped years through the race team who is it for now I think it’s so I think it’s for me yeah it’s really I loved this bike I thought it was absolutely great I’m kind of torn though okay explain my heart is the intents but when it actually comes to riding I think the commentar is a slightly better bike it’s a bit more weighted on the front but for somebody that just wants like I do to ride fast sort of natural feeling Tech Trails some quite steep committing features this is a bike you just feel so safe and you just feel so ready and encouraged to push on and that’s a really it’s kind of a nice feeling yeah it’s a downhill bike you want to go fast you want to rip technical tracks but for jumping it wasn’t like lethargic it just took a little bit more effort based on where the bars and like the length of the front center of the bike and the growing rear axle or um chainsa length it was better at going flat out down rough stuff than it was a jumping absolutely and I think I don’t imagine that intense made this to be a park rap bike and fair enough it definitely isn’t a capable bike for any Rider but where does this bike Excel when it comes to the strengths and weaknesses of the intents let’s start with the things it does less well and I would say this isn’t a bike that thrives on flatter tracks that’s not in the way that it generates speed it’s not a particularly poppy or pumpy bike similarly there are a lot of the key geometry figures which really put your weight rearward which makes it very safe when you’re riding steep terrain but maybe not the most responsive on flatter Trin yeah I mean you nailed it you get this thing up to speed or you point it down something really steep in nasty and the bike’s going to eat all that up but when you try and accelerate rollers or like pumping like jump Trails it’s a little bit slower to respond to it’ll do it it just requires a bit more effort hey so what’s this bike best at then what’s it for definitely for rough downhill tracks plain and simple it remains very neutral under breaking and just gives you that confidence that you can hit stuff harder and harder lap after lap it’s also got loads of great feat features that would make it a pretty good race bike full external routing the open design it just seems pretty easy to work on that said it does without integrated frame bumps which seems a bit slight Miss but pretty well well thought out race bike what the intense M1 offers in sheer confidence is quite amazing even if it doesn’t balance that confidence with the sheer Precision that the common Sol Supreme does on the roughest tracks this bike is simply exceptional and the high front and slightly shorter rear will shine on steeper sections that said for an allrounder it can feel a little sluggish on smoother sections of Trail and lacks frontend grip on flatter turns the M1 is a bike for your hardest ascents and something perhaps not for your relaxed bike park runs