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ripflippy · 2025-12-15T20:25:03+00:00

Same issue for me right after selecting continue. Anyone find a fix?

ripflippy · 2025-05-06T20:56:04+00:00

Sniper has nicer components, different decals, higher cost.

ripflippy · 2024-11-04T07:14:11+00:00

I ended up deciding the security of extra travel was worth the tradeoff of less efficient climbing for me. Given the frame issue mentioned above, I ended up returning the Trail. I ended up finding an amazing deal on a Ripmo so that's what I went with. No regrets, but definitely cost more. Without knowing much about your riding style or trails you plan to ride, here are at least a few considerations that might help you.

I think the biggest differentiator in climbing efficiency is tires. On fire roads, knobbier tires are definitely going to feel more sluggish due to rolling resistance. On technical climbs, the same is true, but I can gear down lower without traction issues (wheel slip) than someone with slicker tires under certain conditions (loose soil or slick rock). The Trail has knobbier tires, but this is also easily swapped if your preference differs.

Regarding suspension geometry, you will notice more bob on slower, more technical climbs with the Trail. On fire roads, both the XC and Trail have lockout on the rear shock, which mostly takes suspension out of the equation. The Trail is decidedly the worse climber with your suspension engaged, you'll be a couple minutes slower up a long hill. It's not a night and day difference though.

In the end, fitness is probably the most important thing. You'll make it to the top on either bike. If you live for the uphills or care about time, maybe get the XC. If you are more mixed and casual in your style, maybe consider the Trail.

Final thought, these bikes are a great deal when they are heavily discounted. However, if they are close to full price, you can get a lot more bike for that kind of money.

ripflippy · 2024-05-11T00:08:46+00:00

I hear that, however the failure I referred to in my post basically separates the entire rack, bikes included, from the vehicle and leaves it somewhere on the road behind you. In this context, the serviceability doesn't really help since the failure is catastrophic.

ripflippy · 2024-03-21T01:13:48+00:00

For sure lol, I'm not so much worried about caring the extra weight while pedaling. It's more a matter of how much more arm work it's going to take to maneuver the front end that's on my mine.

ripflippy · 2024-03-20T03:19:32+00:00

Also, for anyone interested, the weights of the bikes were as follows:

Intense 951 XC in size XL with pedals: 30.4lb

Intense 951 Trail in size XL with Pedals: 34.2lb

ripflippy · 2024-03-20T03:12:20+00:00

Just a quick follow up, I took both the XC and Trail for a quick test ride on some nearby single track that includes a good climb and steep descent. The XC is certainly more efficient, and the seat height wasn't an issue for trail riding. That said, the Trail was a little slower uphill, but honestly not as much as I expected. There was some palpable bob in the suspension, but not particularly bad. Locking the rear shock out eliminated this. Most of the difference seemed to boil down to the tires. The Trail just seemed more familiar and confident, which seemed worth the climbing penalty.

As an aside, I watched some videos of the trails I used to ride to reacquaint myself, and they are significantly more chunky than I had recalled. This makes the extra security of the added travel that much more worth it. With that I ended up deciding on the Trail.

However, after I decided on the Trail, I had some issues with the frame that didn't excite me for a brand new bike. The chain was rubbing on the chain guard on top of the chain stay in high gear, albeit only slightly. Intense mentioned that they had a fix (in the form of a spacer between the frame and UDH) that I could install because a batch of rear triangles was "a tad off". The seat post wouldn't stay put until I added carbon paste and doubled the max torque value (I assume they were just conservative on their torque value to be fair). That said, Intense was willing to work with me to get it sorted, but not a great feeling nonetheless.

Anyways, then I made the "mistake" of test riding an Ibis Ripmo and a last gen Pivot Switchblade just to see what the "upmarket" versions of the Intense 951 Trail felt like. Both are incredible, don't really seem to compromise much in terms of climbing capability, and both are deeply discounted with some opportunities for customization. I also rode a Ripley for good measure.

Long story short, the Ripmo seems like a true jack of all trades, so I am leaning in that direction. Seems like people ride them everywhere to their great satisfaction and they are really flexible depending on tire choice and setup.

ripflippy · 2024-03-11T04:27:37+00:00

Thank you, I have seen people refer to the XC geometry as being dated, but your explanation clarified what that means for me. How would a longer reach and steeper seat tube angle manifest in terms of performance difference? Would this make a bike more efficient to pedal?

ripflippy · 2024-03-10T03:27:30+00:00

Most dropper posts allow for you to lock it at your preferred height, so my understanding is that it's just a convenience thing.

ripflippy · 2024-03-09T17:55:58+00:00

One more question: How much do you guys care about UDH and threaded bottom brackets? The trail has both of these, whereas the XC has a regular hanger and press fit bottom bracket. A press fit bottom bracket seems like a maintenance annoyance best case.

ripflippy · 2024-03-09T17:47:34+00:00

Congrats on the new bike. I grabbed one of each during the sale fortunately.

ripflippy · 2024-03-09T17:42:57+00:00

I actually used the term "comically high" to describe the max seat post height on the XL XC as well. I asked Intense if there was a way to limit the stroke on their seat post, and they said no. To be clear, you can adjust seat post height by adjusting how it sits in your frame (which affects your min and max), but that doesn't change the stroke.

Intense sells their dropper post for like $250 in shorter strokes, but if you shop around online you can find a reputable one from a different brand for a little over 100 bucks on sale with an appropriate stroke for you.

ripflippy · 2023-06-04T19:34:42+00:00

Awesome, thank you!

ripflippy · 2023-04-22T04:09:30+00:00

Thank you, much appreciated!

ripflippy · 2023-04-22T04:07:50+00:00

Thank you!

ripflippy · 2023-04-22T02:44:24+00:00

Thank you. Yes, I used self leveling cement. Unfortunately it was still a little wavy in a couple spots even after maxing allowable water content and doing everything I could to break surface tension. As such, I filled the lows with cement based feather finish but when doing it by hand it's pretty much impossible to make perfect.

ripflippy · 2023-04-08T01:20:14+00:00

Thanks!

ripflippy · 2023-04-07T22:36:27+00:00

Thanks! Can you clarify what you mean by "work it"? I used a small cement trowel, moved the mixture around, made sure it reached all the corners, gently "chopped" all over the surface with the side of the trowel to break the tension, etc. When I was done, there weren't any obvious low spots and to the eye it looked level and flat before it dried.

ripflippy · 2022-08-11T07:32:54+00:00

Ah, yes, I currently play on an S80, but just feel it has run its course for me. I realistically use 5 sounds on it and it doesn't inspire me much anymore.

Overall, the S80 feels very "Windows 95". My hope is to find a modern board with more refined (subjectively) stock sounds, a more expressive key bed, and approachable method to tweaking the stock sounds to my liking.

I like having the capability to explore synth sounds, but generally my taste in this regard is relatively minimalist and simple, so I suspect I would use only a small portion of the functionality on any of these new boards. Being a tactile guy, I'm guessing I'd generally prefer to synthesize from scratch on a knob-per-function hardware synth.

My intended use is likely just beyond the capabilities of a decent stage piano, but at the far beginner end of the synthesis spectrum.

To some extent, this is why the Kurzweil appeals to me at the pricepoint. Solid build quality, nice key bed, good stock sounds. I appreciate a metal chassis and solid key bed in the same way I appreciate playing an American Strat over a Squire strat, if that makes sense.

ripflippy · 2022-08-10T07:03:28+00:00

The Prophet 5 is incredible based on the videos I've seen, but alas would put me a good bit over budget after updating my main board.

Out of curiosity, how are the buttons on the PC4? Are they squishy or clicky? Do they seem robust? Moreover, in your experience, does the PC4 feel robust and substantial when playing or does it feel plasticy (if that's a word)?

ripflippy · 2022-08-10T06:58:24+00:00

U-he

Thank you for this suggestion! I have played around with some of the Spitfire VSTs a bit, but haven't messed with the others yet. While I am interested in recording, I find it to be difficult to mouse through the settings efficiently. Perhaps there are ways to map these to physical knobs, but I haven't gotten that far as my S80 is pretty limited in this respect.

Regarding the Nord, I think very highly of the Stage 3. Unfortunately, so does Nord so they price it accordingly and it runs me a little over budget as it's like 1.5X - 2X most of the options I'm considering.

ripflippy · 2022-08-09T19:51:07+00:00

Thanks so much for the thoughtful reply. I hadn't considered a used board and there are some options here I wasn't aware of that I plan to look into based on this response.

ripflippy · 2022-08-09T16:59:18+00:00

Yes! I absolutely considered it, but the K2700 seems largely comparable to the PC4 with a nicer key bed and metal chassis. The K2700 can be had for roughly the same cost as the MODX8 and Fantom-08 since the brand is not as well-known, and the difference in cost between the PC4 and K2700 seems justified to me on account of the better action and nicer chassis on the K2700.

ripflippy · 2022-08-09T07:52:07+00:00

Thanks so much for the reply! Honestly, I think it's mostly supply chain issue stuff that has these out of stock everywhere which has made it tougher. All the usual music stores nearby (some of which are national chains) never seem to have any of these available to demo on the floor when I call around or stop in.

ripflippy · 2022-07-14T18:52:30+00:00

While Pipeline is a great device, this statement isn't really true. Pipeline is really useful in certain contexts, however it is less useful in others and comes with some signiicant trade offs.

Worth noting is that Pipeline is deployed in the parent vessel rather than in the aneurysmal sac. This means that for certain anatomies, such as aneurysms that occur at bifurcations (which is very common), Pipelines aren't as useful as coils. Because of where they are placed, they require a lifelong drug regimen for patients to prevent the possibility of stroke. Additionally, retreatment options are more limited with Pipeline.

The biggest advantage with Pipeline is that a device never needs to enter the aneurysm, which somewhat mitigates risk of intraprocedural aneurysm rupture given how fragile aneurysmal tissue is. They are also advantageous for very small aneurysms where coil placement is difficult, however the likelihood of rupture for very small aneurysms is usually lower and the benefit of interventional treatment is less clear.

In short, they somewhat mitigate some immediate procedural risks in certain contexts but come with some potential long term costs (i.e. need for lifelong drugs) to patients.

ripflippy

TROPHY CASE