Not long after ‘six-inch’ all-mountain bikes became the big thing it seemed like many manufacturers turned their focus to developing trail bikes with slack angles and less squish, but near-equal capabilities. When I found out I’d be riding an Intense Spider 27.5 this summer, I was extremely curious to test a shorter travel bike on the rough, steep terrain we have here in Pemberton, B.C.
Now the Spider isn’t the slackest bike out there, and its long, racey geometry gives it a cross-country fit and feel. That said, I was impressed with how hard I could push the Spider on tougher, more technical trails. The bike’s 130mm of travel ate up almost everything I put it down, only showing its weaknesses when I took it a bit beyond its boundaries on the roughest stuff I could find.
The Spider 27.5 is definitely an inspiring climber and a capable descender. With its agile handling, aggressive uphill abilities and balanced geometry the Spider would make a great ride for anyone who’s not riding their AM bike like a DH. Read past the break for the full review…
The Spider’s aluminum frame is built in the USA, and even with no carbon goodies the complete bike with a pair of Spank Spike pedals weighed in at 30.24lbs. As the name suggests, the Spider 27.5 rolls on 650B wheels. Its head tube angle isn’t super slack at 67°, and with an effective seat tube angle of 72.5° the bike places you in a fairly forward stance. This certainly pays off when climbing, yet the well balanced Spider doesn’t feel too steep when pointed downhill. Intense designed this bike with a lengthy 597mm top tube, which fit me well (I’m about 5’10”). While this is apparently intended to complement a short stem, it came stock with a 70mm. The steering felt much more responsive with a 60mm installed.
With the unique i-BOX construction around the BB shell the Spider’s rear end measures up quite short at 419mm. The bike handles exceptionally well with predictable but very responsive steering, and the rear wheel can easily be tossed around on command. The frame’s asymmetrical 142x12mm rear end is pretty wide and although I wasn’t clipping my heels, my shoes scuffed up the seatstays on the very first ride.
If you intend to install a bottle cage on the frame, you’d better route your cables with this in mind. After setting up the bike with no intention of using a bottle, I realized if I wanted to both the internal dropper post and rear derailleur cables would have to be lengthened to make it work. The Spider has two rear travel positions at 115mm or 130mm, and the Rockshox Monarch RT3 rear shock offers locked, pedal and open compression settings. During my test I left it at 130mm and generally used the compression settings as intended.
When climbing the rear end was sensitive to trail inputs but felt supportive, hardly bobbing into its travel under pedal power. I did tackle some more technical climbs in the fully open position, and found the extra squish provided better traction on loose, rocky terrain. On the descents Intense’s ‘JS Tuned’ rear suspension sucked up small or medium sized hits smoothly without bottoming out, and the bike carried noticeable momentum through bumpy terrain. The Spider only found its limit on the roughest, rockiest trails where it got a bit overwhelmed and required some focused effort to keep it from bouncing off line.
The 130mm Rockshox Revelation RCT3 fork was smooth and sensitive, but felt a little too XC when the going got rough. While I never found it flexy, rockier sections of trail demanded every millimeter of its travel and a little more body language than usual. I rarely added much compression to the fork, except for the odd road ride to a friend’s place. Just a few clicks made it feel pretty stiff so it was a couple notches in at most and wide open on the downhills.
