Intense Release 26" Wheeled Alloy Dirt Jumper

Oct 16, 2023
by Matt Beer  
Intense DJ

Intense is back with another aluminum bike, this time in the form of a 26" hardtail that reflects on iconic frames of their past, such as the Tazer HT. The "DJ" is of course aimed at dirt jumpers, but also slalom racing and general playing.

The 6061-T6 custom-butted alloy frame uses 10x135mm sliding horizontal dropouts with an integrated tensioner for a singlespeed setup. You could also install gearing via the DJ's proprietary derailleur hanger which will be ready by the year end.

Intense DJ
The chainstay yoke is forged and the BB shell is threaded for less headaches.
Intense DJ
The horizontal dropouts are adjustable from 385-395mm and are held in place with an integrated tensioner.

Geometry

Intense spread out the sizing across three frame lengths, which are said to fit riders between 152 (5'0") and 194cm (6'4"). The reach measurements are 378, 403, 428mm with each frame receiving the same stack number, 560mm. There's 20mm of BB drop and the rear center length is adjustable anywhere between 385 and 395mm.

When it comes to the angles of the DJ, the head tube is sharp at 68.5-degree, even with a 100mm travel fork and zero stack headset.

Intense DJ
Intense DJ - Anniversary Edition

Price and Build

$1,999 USD, or €2199 EUR / £1999 GBR will get you a Marzocchi Bomber DJ fork with 100mm travel, Maxis DTH tires, Alex FR30 rims, two TRP Slate T4 brakes, and E-Thirteen Helix cranks.

Two colorways split the crowd with a subtle silver or flashy American-themed paint job to celebrate Intense's 30th anniversary. The stars and stripes paint work costs an extra $100 and comes with Intense branded pedals.

At this time, there is no frame kit available, but the complete bikes can be purchased through intensecycles.com.

Intense DJ
The rear brake line has been cut to a length that allows for bar spins and the like.


Posted In:
Reviews and Tech First Looks Hardtails Intense Intense Dj


Author Info:
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114 Comments
  • 153 6
 Can't wait to pick this up on sale at Costco
  • 16 0
 Woah, I had no idea about that until just now... Crazy
  • 11 0
 @notthatfast: now THAT looks sick
  • 26 0
 Kirkland version will offer even a better deal.
  • 8 1
 Can you enlighten us to what you’re talking about? Some of us live under rocks.
  • 12 0
 @joecrosby: www.costco.com/bicycles.html?refine=%7C%7CBrand_attr-INTENSE&searchProvider=lucidworks
  • 8 6
 @deaf-shredder: Costco carries the '951' series of Intense bikes. I may be wrong , but I don't think the full on 'Intense' series of bikes are sold there. Curious if anyone else knows....
  • 3 1
 Look at Haro Steel dirt jumper. $1,999.00 and proven bike.
  • 5 0
 @NuckaMan: I dunno man, have you seen how crazy trendy Kirkland branded products are these days? Might be price hike.
  • 4 8
flag SacAssassin (Oct 16, 2023 at 20:51) (Below Threshold)
 @NuckaMan: Price will be cheaper, quality will be lower. Kirkland kwality
  • 5 1
 @bman33: You are correct, the 951 series is available at Costco, not the Intense.
  • 9 1
 @scstrail: Thanks. Not sure why I got the negative props on my comment/quesitons above. PB commenters just love to be angry/negative I suppose. What a miserable life some of them must have. lol
  • 4 0
 @SacAssassin: I dunno, their booze is pretty good
  • 3 1
 @krashDH85: With exception to their disgusting Irish cream, you got me there.
  • 2 0
 Costco better sell a shit ton of these in 951 flavor to pay for Gwin's salary
  • 1 0
 @deaf-shredder: for a short time Intense were sold there, but it is a complete move over to the 951 brand "by Intense" now
  • 60 2
 Looks alright but kids, do yourself a favour and Google Intense Tazer HT to see what you're missing out on.
  • 9 0
 All intenses with that top tube style were top tier visually. I might be a bit biased as the 2012 ss2 I had (with that top tube) was hands down my favourite bike to stare at, it's with a mate who will sell it back to me if he ever wants to let it go and I'll be stripping it down, polishing it, and having it as a wall hanger. The 951, alloy m16, tracer, tazer, ss2 etc all had such purposeful silhouettes with the bulge behind the head tube, kinda like a bonnet bulge on a muscle car.
  • 2 2
 @inked-up-metalhead: Yo we're definitely thinking of different bikes. I mean the old Y frame monocoque. Check the cover of Dirt issue 42
  • 2 0
 now THAT looks sick
  • 2 3
 @TommyNunchuck: ah. Nah, that just reminds me of 90s crap full susses. Definitely prefer the one I'm on about.
  • 2 5
 I looked it up, I don't see anything I'm missing out on.
  • 4 0
 @nickfranko: than you only saw the dumb electric tazer. The tazer DJ was amazing!
  • 2 0
 @nickfranko: fotos.mtb-news.de/p/322132
  • 1 0
 I had one. It cracked after about three rides despite being heavy. And still, I hope Intense would get back to where it was back then.
  • 1 0
 Man they were ugly. Are we talking the original ugly ones or the later ones? Also £2k for a jump bike is crazy,
  • 3 0
 Like mine?

www.pinkbike.com/photo/227677
  • 3 0
 @brit-100: miss my mk2 Tazer - such a rad little bike

www.pinkbike.com/photo/9169744
  • 1 1
 It looks the same.
  • 1 0
 It reminds me of my Intense bmx bikes I used to race on.
  • 1 0
 Found this on Vital: www.vitalmtb.com/community/big-bear,1878/setup,24128
  • 1 3
 hey grandpa, hardtails are for old people that do not enjoy biking but do enjoy pain. Thx I will pass
  • 3 1
 @valrock: so edgy...
  • 1 3
 @inked-up-metalhead: I am not wrong tho Big Grin
  • 3 1
 @valrock: you are. Do you think anyone who's been riding bikes over half their life can get on a hardtail and hope to walk in the next month? Our knees/back/ankles are far too knackered for that nonsense.
  • 1 2
 @inked-up-metalhead: get a life dude, I have 0 clue wtf did you just write Big Grin
  • 15 1
 For this price I'd rather spring for a Faction II. Come on, it's steel, looks rad and has a pike versus the Z1. Don't get me wrong, those are both great forks.
  • 3 0
 I've seen a few Faction II builds up close. The frame is very nice and uses a BMX style BB shell which opens up BMX cranksets for the build.
  • 1 0
 Agree, the only thing is you are stuck with a 9t rear cog. Otherwise, sweet bike.
  • 1 0
 The faction is a dirt jumper, 28T max front for some kind of microdrive (does anyone say this anymore?) setup. The old tazer was a gated racing racing bike, 36T, ISCG tabs, stuff part or all of a 9-speed road cassette in the back. This bike is called DJ but it doesn't seem to be one thing whatever the name is.
  • 13 0
 The chainstay yoke is forged and the BB shell is threaded for FEWER headaches.

I’m that guy. The correct one.
  • 7 0
 I am not a huge Intense fan but this is cool. I use to drool over the Intense Tazer.
  • 3 0
 Saw the headline and thought that this might be a chance to come back to Intense.
Loved my Tazer VP in raw and my yellow Tracer 2 back in the days.
But since they moved to carbon they lost me.
This alloy one is on the right track but far away from the good old days... (am I getting old?)
  • 4 0
 I had an Intense M1 at the turn of the 2000's, I thought it was the bee's knees. I see they make E-MTB's now, are they still worth it?
  • 2 0
 New M1 dropping soon.
  • 7 1
 Are there people who prefer an aluminum dirt jump bike to steel?
  • 5 4
 weight weenies
  • 1 4
 I doubt it, unless someone is legit concerned about rust. However, all the DJ frames I can think of that use a rear thru axle (instead of a 135 threaded) are aluminum. Ticket, Jackal, etc..
  • 2 0
 @Kimura: Didn't think of myself as a weight weenie til I tried a steel DJ. Only then I realized I didn't like to work so hard to hop a bike to get marginally more height. Different ways to have fun I guess.
  • 6 0
 Yes literally anyone who rides hard. They don’t flex off lips for big tricks
  • 1 0
 @Yerts: Shonky is steel and 12 x 142 thru.
  • 3 0
 @bigmeatpete420: That's interesting. Where I live we have a pretty big dirt jump scene. Most of the guys really sending it are on steel bikes. We have some HUGE 30'+ stuff here.
  • 4 2
 @therealnobody: At least in WA, steel is more prevalent in the trails scene, contrary to more aluminum for slope stuff. There's a reason you don't see any steel frames on the FMB circuit, they tend to not hold up too long, especially with lateral forces from stuff like overspinning or flairs. People obviously use both for both disciplines, but I think you have a lot of trails riders coming over from BMX, which is pretty much just steel. In my experience more slope people come over from trailbikes, where aluminum is more prevalent.
  • 2 0
 @therealnobody: where is this? That’s crazy 30 ft jumps on a dj are CRAZY
  • 1 0
 @Superbikeboy: maybe because evil, chromag, Kona and transition make steel frames only lol.
  • 4 1
 Yeh, i'd never go back to steel now, too flexy for me even for pumptracks and stuff. Love the big stiff alu tubes
  • 1 0
 The price difference between Ali and steel if you’re after a tapered head tube is surprisingly large, and tapered forks are significantly easier to find, so strait steerer steel frames are somewhat useless, even if they are in the same price range as the cheaper Ali frames
  • 3 1
 @Superbikeboy: I’m sure most people on the FMB series ride aluminium because that’s what their sponsors make and give them.

I think companies make aluminium jump bikes because all their bikes are built in factories that make aluminium bikes and not steel so if they wanted to switch materials they’d need to find another builder and costs, effort would go up.
  • 2 0
 @bigmeatpete420: western NC
Kanuga and the Riveter both have massive jump lines that we hit on dirt jumpers. Riveter is a full slope course. I see a lot of the really good guys on PBJ, dirt loves and Absoluts out here but it's always a good mix. It does seem like a disproportionate number of the over 30 guys ride PBJ's. I ride a steel jump bike because I trust steel a little more with poor treatment and general knock around attitude about my jump bike. It seems like everyone has a little different reason. I was just genuinely curious because in my scene it seemed like those who could afford steel all had steel ones
  • 3 2
 @CustardCountry: To an extent sure, but you do see athletes specifically avoiding steel. Marcel rides a Monk for photoshoots, but anytime he's riding in competition you'll see him on an Absolut or a P3. NS makes comparable steel and aluminum dirt jump frames, but all of their slope riders (Max F, Dawid, Jake) choose the aluminum Decade. Even people without frame sponsors (Chance, Max L, Alejandro) choose aluminum over steel.
  • 1 2
 @Superbikeboy: sounds like you know a lot of the same people. I would highly suggest deleting this post. Sent a PM
  • 1 0
 @bigmeatpete420: oh that makes sense. My steel bike always feels noodly after riding the race BMX but I thought it was the wheels!
  • 7 1
 Why did you say 26 wheeled dirt jumper? That's redundant.
  • 1 4
 and 26 wheels seems excessive. but prob very stable.
  • 5 0
 Because the 27.5 specialized P4 exists for some reason
  • 1 0
 @vtracer: it's an abomination! Hahahaha
  • 2 0
 Is 10mm adjustment at the Rear axle going to be enough to 'correct' intended us geo?
IMO (could be wrong) The Chain length will determine the Chain stay length as 10mm isn't enough to add or remove chain links. So the Chain stay length won't be changeable.... ???
  • 1 0
 Yah youre right the chain length would determine where the axle sits in the dropouts the screws are just there to tension the chain and stop the wheel from sliding into the dropouts causing the chain to loosen
  • 1 0
 @endurogan: that's my thinking too... sliding dropouts need to be 30mm or something... to be able to increase effective chainstay lengh...

WRP will have a product to solve this problem in no time haha
  • 4 0
 half link chains give way more fine tuning on chain/stay length
  • 1 1
 It is enough, chains are 1/2” between pins. But because the adjuster adjusts the top and bottom lengths of the chain at the same time the adjuster’s effect is doubled.

This + some amount of variation in acceptable chain tension gives plenty of adjustment.

Also depending on the gear combo it may not be that far off from an “ideal gear” in the first place.

Cheers!
  • 1 0
 @naptime: It's got a narrow wide ring on though, so half links wouldn't work
  • 2 0
 Narrow wide..... On a dirt jumper.......
  • 1 0
 @naptime: true, however 10mm is only enough for gear ratio adjustment rather than chainstay length tuning...
  • 1 0
 @naptime: I never understood running a full half link chain. They stretch like mad and one half link does the same job
  • 1 0
 @samthirks: never had a half link stretch on me but, there's better an lesser quality, I th?nk there's even heat treated for enough £££
  • 1 0
 @naptime: I didn’t build the spec pal, presume cranksets with narrow wides are cheaper in bulk nowadays due to their prevalence. But yeh, no Half link,but 10mm should be chilling
  • 2 1
 Is the frame us made? Ot os boring, especially compared to the proto frames Jeff welded… looks like every other dj frame. Also pretty steep pricing compared to other offerings here in Europe with similar spec
  • 1 0
 You’d know by the price if it were.
  • 2 0
 @sfarnum: Let's hope the new M1 DH frame will be US made
  • 3 0
 I could make a more compelling case for this frame material if something rhymed with “Aluminum”.
  • 4 0
 way too expensive for what it is
  • 2 3
 I don't understand how the bike is getting away with charging us for a kinda lousy build like this bike. I bought an intense tracer 279 brand new 3 months ago, iv already had multiple problems with the components because they are absolutely shit bottom of the bucket parts, I paid almost 7k for it, I could have bought a new mx bike for that. Dont get me wrong, I love r9ding but it's starting to get so damn expensive but most of the time you have to upgrade 50% of the parts anyway.
  • 2 0
 Where did you pay 7k for a crap build on a Tracer 279? The Pro which is all XT is just under 7k and the S wihich is Ohlins, XO and Magura spec for just over 7K. What parts were crap?
  • 1 0
 I've been running mine hard since the day it came out and it's been wonderful.
  • 1 0
 Something doesnt add up. No 7k bike comes with “bottom of the barrel” parts. I’ve been riding various gx level transitions for a decade and I’m blown away by how rarely anything goes wrong. Even the cheaper stuff works really well these days. Bikes have never worked better than they do today, honestly.
  • 1 0
 @BiNARYBiKE: it was a all nx build, I love gx although I upgraded to xo1 derailleur, I vent the stem and handle bars the first day of riding it (I weigh about 120 lbs and the shop I race for had assembled it) the frame has had stress fractures even though I do regular maintenance and bring it in whenever I can, the nx derailleur gave out during a race causing the chain to come off and me to sustain a injury after tumbling down the side of the trail, the rear shock blew out and the I guess rods that hold the rear shock snapped and the shock drove right into the frame, my right break pistons swell also, I love the way it rides but I am disappointed in how much money I have had to spend to fix things that shouldn't be a problem. Could be me but I don't think so.
  • 4 0
 nice color btw
  • 6 2
 Yep, Russian flag allright
  • 1 0
 classic and iconic intense styling. Always putting out great stuff, keep it up!
  • 1 0
 Let's hope this is the real deal and not the joke they displayed at sea otter this year.
  • 2 0
 Major missed opportunity to call this the twenty-six shooter
  • 2 0
 Looks like a santa cruz jackal circa 2005
  • 1 0
 Nah, no tumor behind the head tube.
  • 2 0
 Russian flag paintjob, that's unexpected!
  • 1 0
 That frame is giving me old school Santa Cruz Jackal vibes, the old frame with the hump
  • 1 0
 If I were rich I’d hit it ‍♂️
  • 1 0
 Well at least they're back to hydroformed tubing that looks unique
  • 1 0
 Top tube kink. Why. It does not improve the aesthetics
  • 1 0
 I first thought "dang that's sexy" and then saw the price...Yeah. Nope.
  • 1 1
 Now the industry can start over... 29 and 27.5 wheels are overkill! Try the new 26 wheels Big Grin
  • 1 0
 and..... its ugly
  • 1 3
 But we've all been told for over a decade that 29" has no downsides and is totally flickable.

What size are they still jumping? Oh that one.
  • 7 1
 You're talking to imaginary people again, take your meds.
  • 1 0
 29 is dead
  • 1 0
 A cracking little bike.
  • 1 2
 Looks sweet but just like my last 3 DJ bikes, I'd hardly ever ride it.
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