Dajerseyrat
Well-Known Member
So I have been toying with the idea of getting a plus size tire bike for a little extra traction and confidence in the loose sandy stuff and over the rocky stuff. Plus they just look cool and I kinda wanna spend money, lol... To give some back ground, Im currently riding a 2013 Cannondale Scalpel 3 29er. I have around a $3500 budget give or take a few bucks. So I narrowed it down to the Santa Cruz Bronson $3600 in alloy/$4600 in carbon and the Intense ACV $3299 in carbon.
Both bikes were tested at Six Mile Run, red to blue loop. And Im not putting down one bike manufacturer over the other, Im just giving my OPINION on how the 2 bikes felt to me, and we all know what opinions are like. And again, Im not some super hard thrasher, just an average 44 year old rider.
First bike I did a demo of was the 2018 Santa Cruz Bronson with 2.6" tires on it. This was the first carbon fiber bike I have ever ridden and since everyone is telling me "Oh you have to ride carbon its totally different" I figured why not.. Im 225lbs so the weight savings on carbon is not really a concern to me. I figured I was gonna fall in love with a $5000 bike, but it was quite the opposite, I kinda disliked it. The cock pit had a nice upright and balanced feel to it, but I noticed almost immediately the bike had a tendency to over steer going into turns, causing me to lose a ton of confidence and take turns way slower that I normally would. Another area I felt the bike didnt help me was climbing, even the smallest hills felt very labor intensive and I struggled to get up most hills at Six Mile and even couldn't make a few that I normally would make on my Scalpel. The rear suspension didnt have a lock out feature which probably would have helped with climbing. I will say that the bike did a very, very good job on the rooty and bumpy down hill sections of six mile and was very fast over that stuff, I suppose 150mm of travel does that. My arms and shoulders didnt feel as fatigued after the ride as it absorbed a lot of the bad bumps and took the stress off my upper body. All in all the Bronson was a super awesome bike but its geometry did not fit well with my style of riding and my body type, I just wasn't in tune with the bike as I hoped and I felt like the bike wanted to fight me every step of the way. Perhaps it was a bit TOO MUCH bike for me at my level, It is an absolute awesome bike just not for me at this point.
The next bike on my radar was the Intense ACV (Air Cushioned Vehicle). I found a dealer in Northern Jersey that happened to have one in my size in stock, so that was a blessing. I have researched this bike and its a 150mm front and 130/115mm rear travel( lock out switch). Another cool feature is that it will accept a set of 29 wheels with no modifications, but they don't use that as a selling point which I think is hurting them. That's a cool selling point IMO. Another plus to me was that this bike in its foundation build was $3299 in full carbon, where as with most manufacturers you have to opt for carbon and its usually $1500 more on average. I'm no where near the level riding nor will I ever be, where I can justify the extra money on carbon, but if the bike is already carbon and is within my price point, then win win. So my initial impression of the ride was very pleasant, similar cockpit position as the Bronson, but the bike felt lighter if that makes any sense. It was very responsive and didnt over steer into the turns, it liked to have your weight shifted back and leaned over into the turns. A few times I felt the front tire beginning to let loose but it was fairly predictable and easy to recover from without losing control. The suspension wasn't as soft and supple as the Bronson on the downhills despite the sag being set up proper on both bikes. I like this feel however, it gave me more feedback from the trail. The bike kept asking me to do more and more stupid shit, that would exceed my riding skills at some point, and it was hard to ignore. It was almost like the bike was telling me, "hold my beer and watch this". The bike climbed like a champ and felt very easy to pedal uphill, I must say I even impressed myself with some of the hills I climbed and the speeds at which I was able to climb them. I even found myself taking the most difficult lines in the climb just to see what I was able to do.
About 2 miles from the parking lot it began to rain so I had to slow down and take heed as it didnt like to go over the wet roots at all. I wiped out once at a low speed slamming my kidney into a tree which sucked, but I lived. Despite the rain I was able to set 11 personal records on my Strava my first time on this bike 😳 I can honestly say I was impressed and will most likely be purchasing this bike after my demo. I think Intense needs to be in more bike shops and its a shame they dont do more marketing.
My advice to people buying a bike, do demos, lots and lots of demos before you decide.
Both bikes were tested at Six Mile Run, red to blue loop. And Im not putting down one bike manufacturer over the other, Im just giving my OPINION on how the 2 bikes felt to me, and we all know what opinions are like. And again, Im not some super hard thrasher, just an average 44 year old rider.
First bike I did a demo of was the 2018 Santa Cruz Bronson with 2.6" tires on it. This was the first carbon fiber bike I have ever ridden and since everyone is telling me "Oh you have to ride carbon its totally different" I figured why not.. Im 225lbs so the weight savings on carbon is not really a concern to me. I figured I was gonna fall in love with a $5000 bike, but it was quite the opposite, I kinda disliked it. The cock pit had a nice upright and balanced feel to it, but I noticed almost immediately the bike had a tendency to over steer going into turns, causing me to lose a ton of confidence and take turns way slower that I normally would. Another area I felt the bike didnt help me was climbing, even the smallest hills felt very labor intensive and I struggled to get up most hills at Six Mile and even couldn't make a few that I normally would make on my Scalpel. The rear suspension didnt have a lock out feature which probably would have helped with climbing. I will say that the bike did a very, very good job on the rooty and bumpy down hill sections of six mile and was very fast over that stuff, I suppose 150mm of travel does that. My arms and shoulders didnt feel as fatigued after the ride as it absorbed a lot of the bad bumps and took the stress off my upper body. All in all the Bronson was a super awesome bike but its geometry did not fit well with my style of riding and my body type, I just wasn't in tune with the bike as I hoped and I felt like the bike wanted to fight me every step of the way. Perhaps it was a bit TOO MUCH bike for me at my level, It is an absolute awesome bike just not for me at this point.
The next bike on my radar was the Intense ACV (Air Cushioned Vehicle). I found a dealer in Northern Jersey that happened to have one in my size in stock, so that was a blessing. I have researched this bike and its a 150mm front and 130/115mm rear travel( lock out switch). Another cool feature is that it will accept a set of 29 wheels with no modifications, but they don't use that as a selling point which I think is hurting them. That's a cool selling point IMO. Another plus to me was that this bike in its foundation build was $3299 in full carbon, where as with most manufacturers you have to opt for carbon and its usually $1500 more on average. I'm no where near the level riding nor will I ever be, where I can justify the extra money on carbon, but if the bike is already carbon and is within my price point, then win win. So my initial impression of the ride was very pleasant, similar cockpit position as the Bronson, but the bike felt lighter if that makes any sense. It was very responsive and didnt over steer into the turns, it liked to have your weight shifted back and leaned over into the turns. A few times I felt the front tire beginning to let loose but it was fairly predictable and easy to recover from without losing control. The suspension wasn't as soft and supple as the Bronson on the downhills despite the sag being set up proper on both bikes. I like this feel however, it gave me more feedback from the trail. The bike kept asking me to do more and more stupid shit, that would exceed my riding skills at some point, and it was hard to ignore. It was almost like the bike was telling me, "hold my beer and watch this". The bike climbed like a champ and felt very easy to pedal uphill, I must say I even impressed myself with some of the hills I climbed and the speeds at which I was able to climb them. I even found myself taking the most difficult lines in the climb just to see what I was able to do.
About 2 miles from the parking lot it began to rain so I had to slow down and take heed as it didnt like to go over the wet roots at all. I wiped out once at a low speed slamming my kidney into a tree which sucked, but I lived. Despite the rain I was able to set 11 personal records on my Strava my first time on this bike 😳 I can honestly say I was impressed and will most likely be purchasing this bike after my demo. I think Intense needs to be in more bike shops and its a shame they dont do more marketing.
My advice to people buying a bike, do demos, lots and lots of demos before you decide.
