The Intense Sniper might be all about fast and light weight, but from the looks of it, it’s still packed with Intense DNA. Stating that “this is no twitchy XC bike,” the two separate versions of the Sniper use short travel frames and forks combined with progressive geometry to create a modern race bike.
While the XC and Trail builds share many of the same pieces, the two differ in amounts of travel. The XC build sees 100/100mm front and rear, while the Trail bumps up to 120/120mm. The XC bike also gets a fork with a 44mm offset, while the Trail sticks with the 51mm offset to change the handling between the two.
Sniper XC Geo
Sniper Trail Geo
Understandably, the biggest differences in geometry come from the longer travel fork with the Trail seeing a slightly slacker headtube angle at 66.5° vs 67.5°. The Seat tube angle also slacks out one degree on the Trail, as well as the BB height raising by .3″ to 13.3″. Along with the slacker angles, the bikes see a longer front-center measurement and use 50mm stems in spite of their short travel pedigree. You’ll also find dropper posts on every build because even XC racers can benefit from dropping the saddle once in a while.
Both bikes use 29″ wheels only, but the Trail bike gets slightly bigger 20 x 2.35″ Maxxis Forekaster tires while the XC bike gets 29 x 2.25″ Rekon Maxxspeeds. Built with Boost 148mm spacing, PF30 bottom brackets, internal derailleur cable routing, and options for standard or SL frame packages, frame weights are claimed to be 4.05lbs – 4.62lbs for a medium depending on the model. Each build also features some form of SRAM Eagle for 12 speeds all around along with the new DUB cranks.
In total, there are six different complete builds and four colors. The Sniper XC will be available in the Expert Build ($4,499), Pro Build ($5,999), Elite Build ($6,499), and the Factory Built at $8,499. The Trail bike comes in just two builds, the $4,499 Expert, and $5,599 Pro. Frames will also be offered with the Sniper XC SL featuring the usual high modulus carbon fiber, composite top link, magnesium lower link, and Ti hardware for $2,499. The $1,999 Sniper NM frame uses UD carbon fiber, a composite top link, alloy lower link, and steel and aluminum hardware.
Bikes will be available the last week of March, check the site below for complete specs and more.
