Source: Intense Cycles / Pinkbike.com

Legendary rider, Shaun Palmer makes his return to mountain biking the same way he made his debut: on an Intense Cycles downhill bike. Palmer and Intense first made history together in 1995 when the rookie rider rode the flagship Intense M1 to a series of surprise victories, launching both Palmer and Intense into the forefront of the sport.

Nearly fifteen years later, both Palmer and Intense remain household names in mountain biking. And with Palmer’s return to downhilling, Intense Cycles President, designer and founder, Jeff Steber looks forward to collaborating with the rider who helped refine the M1 and redefine the sport.

“Something that not many people know about Shaun is that he is really technically savvy,” says Steber. “He understands what works and can give specific feedback on how to improve the bike’s performance. He is a great R&D guy and I’m really excited about working w/ him again.”

A great R&D guy and not a bad racer, either. After a decades absence from the sport, Palm finished 2nd last weekend at the California Golden State Championships in Fontana. He is planning to use mountain bike racing as training for his attempt later this year at a spot on the US Olympic bordercross team.

“I have always done better in my sports when I stayed involved in two or three at a time. The worst thing for me is for my bad brains to sit around idle. I have to stay busy and the panic of racing downhill will keep me sharp and help me to achieve my Olympic dreams”, says Palmer. ” Of course, I miss being at the races and I miss the fans but mostly I miss hanging out with my friends, especially Peaty.”

Palmer could have had any bike but he says he chose Intense because of his relationship with the brand and Steber’s ability to build anything Palmer wants in a bike, anytime. “Plus, I’m 40 now and I want to be involved with a brand that will allow me to use my design abilities now and in the long run.” Palmer says.

If you think that sounds like a hint that there will be future collaborations between Palmer and Intense in the years to come, you might be right. But for now, as Palmer simply puts it “let’s just haul ass this season w/o me smashing my nuts. See ya’ll at the races!”

“We make what we race”

Intense Cycles are synonymous with two things – the revolutionary M1 downhill frame and the legendary Tracer trail bike.

Today, they continue to make world class mountain bikes and BMXs, with the highlight of the 2009 product year being the reinvention of the Tracer as an adjustable all-mountain rig.

Check out the 951 with the £800 Crank Brothers Opium DH wheels!

Press Release

Intense Cycles Launches New Downhill Race Frame

The New Intense 951

Fast Just Found A New Area Code!

It has been an amazing year of design and development for Jeff Steber and his team at Intense Cycles. It was at Sea Otter 2008 where the Tracer VP trailbike was first introduced. In terms of sales and awards, it has gone on to become Intense’s most successful model ever. Since then, Intense has released the new Uzzi VP, the Spider 2 and the Tazer FRO VP. Now exactly one year later, Intense launches the 951 Downhill Race model. Featuring Intense’s famous World Cup winning geometry, Next Generation VPP suspension with adjustable travel from 8 to 8.5 inches, an 83mm bb and ISCG 05 mount, the 951 represents the evolution of Downhill racing. The first production will be the FRO model with monocoque downtube and G3 dropouts, allowing the rider to change wheelbase, head angle and bottom bracket height depending on the track. Later a less expensive standard model with a traditional downtube and fixed dropouts will be produced. Both will be available in 3 sizes and multiple colors. MSRP is $2760 for the FRO with Fox RC4 shock, $2420 for the standard version with Fox RC2 shock Contact your local Intense dealer for more info or to get yours on order.

More images and videos of this exciting new model are available on the Intense website.

Intense have announced they will be launching a new bike at the Sea Otter Classic later this month.

It’s called the 951, which happens to be the telephone area code of their factory in Temecula, California.

Intense actually had a picture up briefly but it was taken down. Luckily a few quick hands grabbed it first. Here it is:

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