Review: Intense Tracer T275 Carbon
Intense has released a brand new 27.5″ bike, the All Mountain Tracer T275, which utilizes a full carbon frameset with a geometry that is a more aggressive iteration of their popular aluminum based Tracer 275. It gets its suspension bumped up to a full 160mm, a longer 44.5″ wheelbase, a taller 13.5″ bottom bracket height and a slacker 66.5 degree head tube.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAC6gsken9I
Video: Chris Kovarick shreds with the Tracer T275
I got my first look at the bike at a press camp launch back in mid January of this year, and afterwards; I got to take the bike out for a spin on the phenomenally fun San Juan trail in Southern California, and I really enjoyed getting to rip down the trail on this sweet piece of machinery. Since then, I have gotten about a month of decent test time on the Tracer T275 to get a good feel for its characteristics. It was primarily tested in my home turf of Colorado Springs (TGap in Palmer Park), and the Pueblo Reservoir South Shore trails, all of which have a Bootleg Canyon, NV feel to them, meaning technical, rocky, gnarly and burly.
Although Intense prides itself on Made in America products, the frames are made in China since they have the best expertise in molding the raw carbon-fiber materials. The frames are built using different layups of carbon fiber for a perfect blending of unidirectional, high modulus, prepeg and glass fiber, which are used in specific locations depending on the design and strength requirements. All the aluminum axles, bolts, linkages and pivots are produced in-house at their Temecula facility on state of the art Haas Automation CNC machines, allowing them great control of the end-product.
The carbon fiber frame is absolutely stunning, and comes with a slew of features including internal cabling, adjustable rear travel, ISCG05 mounts and grease injection points for the pivots. The internal cabling uses guiding tubes to facilitate an easier build, and the internal cabling design gives the bike nice clean lines throughout. The adjustable rear travel allows either the default 160mm or a shorter 140mm, and it doesn’t alter the geometry of the bike when the shock is repositioned into the upper or lower hole on the linkage. The suspension duties are taken care of using the dual link VPP (Virtual Pivot Point) design, which they license from Santa Cruz Bicycles.
One interesting design is that they went with an IS brake mount in the rear, which puts the braking shear force into bolts instead of the carbon fiber according to the engineers at Seed Engineering. For maintenance purposes, they use Zerc fittings for grease injection, and they kept bearings on the outside of the frame for easier change outs.
The Factory build kit on my test bike is impeccable, and included the Cane Creek DBair CS rear shock (optional $325 upgrade), SRAM XX1 drivetrain, Rock Shox Reverb Seat post, RockShox Pike RCT3 fork, XTR brakes and ENVE Composites AM carbon rims with DT Swiss 240 hubs. I ended up swapping out the default Maxxis High Roller tires to some WTB Breakout tires since my local trail conditions require something with a bit more traction and a meatier tread design. Outside of swapping tires to my personal liking and maybe some wider bars, the build kit is about perfect, though I must admit the saddle hurt my rear end. The Factory build with the DBair weighs 26.8 lbs and costs a whopping $10,234, but you certainly get a close to perfect parts selection.
| Tracer T275 | Small | Medium | Large | X Large |
| Wheelbase: | 1124 mm/ 44.25″ | 1149 mm/ 45.25″ | 1175 mm/ 46.25″ | 1200 mm/ 47.25″ |
| Top Tube: | 560 mm/ 22″ | 585 mm/ 23″ | 616 mm/ 24.25″ | 641 mm/ 25.25″ |
| Chainstay: | 432 mm/ 17″ | 432 mm/ 17″ | 432 mm/ 17″ | 432 mm/ 17″ |
| Head Tube: | 100 mm/ 4″ | 114 mm/ 4.5″ | 125 mm/ 5″ | 125 mm/ 5″ |
| Head Angle: | 66.5° | 66.5° | 66.5° | 66.5° |
| Reach: | 395 mm/ 15.5″ | 416 mm/ 16.4″ | 445 mm/ 17.5″ | 470 mm/ 18.5″ |
| Stack: | 594 mm/ 23.4″ | 609 mm/ 24.0″ | 618 mm/ 24.3″ | 618 mm/ 24.3″ |
| BB Height: | 343 mm/ 13.5″ | 343 mm/ 13.5″ | 343 mm/ 13.5″ | 343 mm/ 13.5″ |
| Seat Angle (Effective): | 74.5° | 74.5° | 74.5° | 74.5° |
| Seat Tube: | 70.5° | 70.5° | 70.5° | 70.5° |
| Seat Tube Length: | 395 mm/ 15.5″ | 445 mm/ 17.5″ | 485 mm/ 19″ | 540 mm/ 21.25″ |
| Standover Height: | 792 mm/ 31.2″ | 798 mm/ 31.4″ | 802 mm/ 31.5″ | 803 mm/ 31.6″ |
Tracer T275 Specs
- Full carbon front and rear triangles
- 27.5″ wheels
- 140 or 160mm (5.5 or 6.2 inches) of rear travel
- 160mm (6.2 inches) of front travel
- 66.5 degree head tube
- 13.5 inch bottom bracket height
- 17 inch chainstay
- 44.5 inch wheel base
- Frame Sizes: small, medium, large
- Weight: Frame 5.7 lbs (medium with Fox shock), Factory build 26.8 lbs (no pedals with DBair shock)
- Colors: Red or Gray
- Pricing: Frame $3199, Build kits – Factory $9,999, Pro $6599, Expert $5,999
Continue to Page 2 for more on the Intense Tracer 275C and full photo gallery »
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