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I think it's smart for Intense to be willing to change their design in pursuit of the best result. That said, I'm a believer in HL suspension designs for longer travel bikes.

Talked about this and posted Gwin's video on the previous page.

Man, How cool would it be to see Intense just come out with a line of high quality aluminum, Horst Pivot, made in Cali bikes? Bring them back to their roots. Ditch the carbon, get back to what made them great back in the day

Random thoughts with the intense situation, With intense's current size vs Santa Cruz, how much does developing a new VPP bike cost vs going back to basics with a line of really great Horst link bikes. I know Intense and SC shared development while the patent was around but intense worked with and I'm guessing paid Cero design a lot of $$ to help them with the "JS tuned" bikes, which I spent time on a few of them and they were great frames, but if Intense lacks the in house engineering team other brands have and is sourcing it...

I was told there would be some new bikes?

I’m sure (I hope) that the people running intense are smarter than me. But it seems they are going down a very stupid path: Build a 29” DH bike in a rush. Throw a billion dollars at Gwin. Decide the bike isn’t that good and completely re-design. Only let Gwin ride it. Proto an enduro bike modeled after it, no announcements for months. Produce a carbon mold, let outlets test it without releasing any #’s. Months later still no news. Decide that your proto DH bike sucks and copy a trek (potentially the only smart decision they’ve made) Be stuck...

He was on 100% helmets and goggles but already made a goodbye post to 100%. Maybe back to Leatt? Kelan Grant posted Leatt shoes some days ago. His kids were riding in what appeared brand new Fox helmets recently, so who knows… But it would be awesome to see him back to TLD!!

Love how now it has all gone quiet on the team rumors, we are clinging on to the thrill of this thread by guessing what helmet Sam Hill might use.

Wouldn't be surprised to see him don the Nukeproof apparel with a lid/google sponsor maybe?

I will always associate Sam with TLD, so I am crossing my fingers this happens. Stikman, counting on you, buddy! But secretly I am crossing my fingers he will never be wearing a helmet as ugly as that fugly Leatt ever again. Goddamnit, such a stylish rider should never wear such a hideous piece of kit! Mx

If history has taught us anything it's that he will be riding an Intense M1.

But, where do you draw the line? Is a VERY skilled person's work not worth more? I do think that in the new world of 3D Printing SKILLS are losing their luster (for some generations). To your point, is a SweetWings (EEWings) crankset worth the money? A handmade bike by top-tier person (not some hipster with a torch)? For me, certainly. But, I will not pay for a rip off Starbucks coffee....go figure. Everything about our small (first world) market is about options. If you do not like the cost of XTR or XX1, well, friend, you have a ton...

You are correct. There is no bike company (that I have ever heard of) that has the ability to extrude their own tube sets. The ones who claim "custom-drawn" are real, they simply pay for tubes made to their specifications from whatever supplier they choose based on their criteria (ISO or otherwise). The same is true for all metals (Sandvik, Reynolds - https://www.reynoldstechnology.biz/ ) and many others. Most bike companies do not want to admit it but their "custom" tube is nothing more than a stock tube butted by the MFG for you, me, them, her, him and any other...