Hot on the heels of their new 27.5-inch Carbine and Tracer 2 models, Intense has gone for it again. Their newest experiment with the in-between wheel size is a prototype of the M9, which is a pure-bred downhill race platform. While details on this frame are still not readily available, these photos of the finished prototype say it all: the bigger wheel size is big at Intense.
When we think about the larger wheels, they seem to make the most sense for a race-bike application, which is exactly the space the M9 is designed to fill. Some gravity purists will scoff at the longer wheelbase and heavier wheels. However, according to the designers at Intense the wheels roll faster than their 26-inch counterparts. "Thankfully equipped with Shimano Saint brakes, because stopping something that rolls this fast is a challenge," they noted.
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