First Look: Intense Debuts the M9275, a 650B Downhill Bike 23

bturman
9/7/2012 11:57pm

Hot on the heels of the KHS and Scott 650B downhill bikes, Intense has just released photos of the M9275. Given Intense's willingness to try new things, we're not surprised to see them giving the 650b wheel size a go. Right now it looks as though they're still testing the bike out and there has been no indication that it'll go into production.

Jeff Steber's words: "We have all thought about it, so I went out and did it. It sure is fast. Thankfully equipped with Shimano Saint brakes, becuase stopping something that rolls this fast is a challenge."

Related:
First Look
Intense
Downhill
27.5
23 comments

View replies to: First Look: Intense Debuts the M9275, a 650B Downhill Bike

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IntenseSS
12 years ago
Given the versatility and adjustability of the M9. We thought we would take advantage of that and see how the larger wheel size affected the ride quality of the M9. Being huge Mountain bike fans, and a manufacturer, we are always looking for ways to improve your ride.
There are no plans to go into production with an M9275650.1
We need a better tire selection before we would get too serious.
The 27.5 wheel works fantastically on a trail bike, our Tracer 27.5 is one of the best bikes I have ever ridden. There is a lot of merit to the 27.5 wheels size, and there are some good tire options in the lighter 2.0-2.4 sizes.
Follow us on FaceBook to see the progress of our product development.
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GnarHuck
12 years ago
26 compared to 27.5 is only a 3/4 of an inch clearance change, im pretty sure you could bolt 650b on most bikes. Its crazy that companies are spending all this money to re tool bikes and forks to adjust to a new idea. There has to be something to it? just like the 24" expierement.
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Dynamatt
12 years ago
I feel like 650b is a gate-way wheel size. Its not that far off from a 26". So some of us 26 guys who want to dabble in the dark side try out the"B", and before you know it our garages are lined with big wheel bikes wondering what happened.
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Varaxis
12 years ago
Who does Intense have to test their DH bikes? JD Swangeun has their 29er 951. The DRD team's season is over now, so maybe one will have plenty of time to ride one. Maybe I'll get to see it in action at Southridge SRC and/or Bootleg Canyon at the races, at start of the new year.
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enicma
12 years ago
I love all the hate in the comments... you have to experiment to push things forward, whether it ends up working or not remains to be seen, but someone needs to try to find out. We wouldn't have the bikes we love so much today without that same spirit of innovation and experimentation. I'd love to see how one rides, no need to weigh yourself down with emotional attachments to a tire size
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RJ2
12 years ago
if you ride bikes and talk shmak about other bikes, it just makes you look like a douche! just sayin'
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enrico650
12 years ago
Absolute failure !
Here we go again ,the 29er was the future ,no wait,its the 650!
Michelin has big volume DH tyres and syntace just relased wheels light and wide.
Problem solved!
This contraption will never win a world cup!
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pink wolf
12 years ago
will never win a world cup.... Yet......
650B already got 4th at Junior world champs a week ago.
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Varaxis
12 years ago
Scott from Intense said the wheel size difference is only ~8mm. You also have to realize that 2.35 tires are not only narrower, but also shorter than fatter 2.5 tires. Once true DH tires come out....
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Patricio_Mercado
12 years ago
Yes it is pointless! 650b in the gravity feed mtb, is going to as unsuceccful as 29'er DH bikes were, personally I have not seen a single 29er DH Bike on a bike park or DH race! , for all the metro out there! men up, one more time it have been said, to hit a big jump, go fast, or rip it the only thing that you have to have bigger is your balls!
Coclusion, you can buy a bigger wheel size, but no riding skills, also if you are afraid of an small jump or gap, in stead of getting a new bike 29er, or now 650b you looser smack the hell out of your self, men up, and go for it!

Thanks! long life to 4x and DH
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westford86
12 years ago
I still think 650b is pointless, but I guess it's less pointless than 29ers...
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Capricorn
12 years ago
Any other details? looks almost as if they just used the larger wheels and tyres with very little modification to the frame itself (other than the cross bar between the rear upper chain stays).
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erik saunders
12 years ago
According to what I am told by frame people, you have hit the nail on the head. All the advantages of 29, none of the draw backs. No major changes to the frame or suspension, just small tweaks to maintain established geometries from 26... 29 required a lot of changes, and the longer travel performance was not possible. Not so apparently with 650. so yeah... Looks like 26, suspension performs like 26. Chain stays like 26.
c50 grips
Capricorn
12 years ago
I think you've just answered a question I've been asking myself: how did they get to 27.5", and how did it end up midway between 26 and 29"?
Initially, i was thinking too technically, that is, I thought that 27.5" popped up as the near-enough answer to a study in optimisation. But even I was at odds to determine how does one actually quantify things like "flickable in corners", easy to maneuvre, roll easily but still nimble...
you've just given the other option: instead of optimise for rider needs, simply optimise from the perspective of the manufacturer! Enough change for the rider on a tangible level, while minimizing the costs of investment to the manufacturer...

What a sweet gig!
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erik saunders
12 years ago
I wouldn't go that far... It is still a complete redesign of a frame from the ground up to make those small changes. it is costly, but the feeling is that there is such an advantage to the rider that it is worth it to undertake all that time and expense.
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Capricorn
12 years ago
the post of mine was mostly tongue in cheek. Mostly... but if one considers just how little technical information is out there: studies, analysis etc that actually justifies any wheel size, then what's left as the most likely scenario? In that video where manufacturer reps at Eurobike were asked their thoughts on 650b, one stand out comment for me was " the market indicated".. My question to that would be : what market? What's the numbers? XC riders? DH riders? male / female percentage split?
Those sorts of stats are concrete drivers for innovation, and the basis for innovation is providing a solution to answer, or sometimes, but rarely these days, something gets invented to satisfy a need most didn't realize they have. I'm sure the manufacturers would hate to be caught reinventing the wheel as it were , so what drives the innovation?
From my uneducated perspective, it would seem the facts get generated after the fact to create the impression there were there all along.
Dont get me wrong: if this works it works and I'll be stoked. In fact, I'm more likely to buy into 650b than 29ers,and probably only from a manufacturer that provides drop outs that allow me conversion between my current set of 26er wheelsets and the slightly larger 650b set. I like continuity.
That said, why wouldnt manufacturers realise that the same type of cross-over product would be a sufficient justification? It happens all the time in the software world in the guise of 'backward compatibility'. in fact, I'll bet that the majority of riders will consider 650b for that very reason. I would love to see a poll on that: vitalmtb?

edit: thought it best to delve into the history of wheel sizes myself before i reinvent the information wheel . Came across this discussion..

http://singletrack.competitor.com/2012/06/bikes-tech/tech-faq-whats-the…
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Capricorn
12 years ago
I know SRAM has a whole raft of 650b compatible forks lined up for 2013,but not sure abuot their double crown offerings. I checked my Boxxer, and there's about an inch of space left between the arch and the top of the tyre, ie, it's a mighty tight squeeze, but it 'might' be possible.
but i ahve sneaky suspicion that front wheel is a 26er. Maybe the angle of the snap is playing mindgames with me, but that front wheel looks a tad smaller. Take a line parallel with where the wall meets the floor, and take it up to the top of the front wheel. Quite a bit of rear-wheel still sticking out. Or so it would appear. Either way, we need moaaar info!
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w4s
12 years ago
pretty sure that both wheels are 650b. I'm really looking forward to riding a 650b bike just to compare the ride vs. a traditional 26.

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