I was lucky enough to go out for 45 minutes on Saturday afternoon for a quick jaunt around the Eagle Ranch Loops to work out any bugs. Didn't have any beyond the items listed above. My very first impression riding the Spider 29 was one of skepticism - just getting a feel for the handling while rolling down the road, I was swerving back and forth, both turning the handlebar and just leaning the bike over. The bigger wheels were begging to stay upright, so much so that it was annoying, because the bike just wouldn't go to where and when I wanted it to.
Once on the trail, however, this bike was FUN. The things I noticed the most that were different from the Epic were, for the most part, better. The 29" wheels just simply do a better job of maintaining momentum. Also, the larger diameter wheel increases the contact area, meaning you can run lower tire pressures (I ran mine at about 32psi - usually run 26" tires at 37psi) and the bike feels much less likely to slide or wash out when leaning into corners. Small bumps, rocks and roots are not taken out, but they are definitely trivialized in many cases, which causes less loss of speed and thereby decreases loss of momentum through rough sections. For me, being 6'-6" and 185lbs, the Intense introduced a novel idea that most cyclists don't have to deal with on a regular basis. It put my Center of Gravity (CoG) in a manageable position. I felt like I was riding the bike, not sitting on top of it. I could lean much more into corners, and never did I feel like the bike was going to topple over or slide out from under me. You have no idea how big of a difference that makes unless you too have been in that scenario. This bike was probably 20% faster than the Epic every time the trail turned.
Sunday offered the opportunity for a group ride with 7 other compatriots - 4th of July road to 2nd Gulch road to Rose Garden, traversed to the bottom half of Haystacker, then out to the Bluffs for a Boneyard to Redneck Ridge loop. The Rose Garden trail is brand new and very loose, and features a good length of super twisty-turny singletrack through sagebrush. My Epic required a good bit of braking into corners and tentative cornering maneuvers due to the high CoG. The Intense handled this entire section of trail like a champ, and could have been the fastest I've ever ridden it. Boneyard was a piece of cake on the 29er - cleared both the tight uphill right-hander switchbacks that I usually have an issue with on the Epic (once again, due to the high CoG). The Spider just crushed everything else. Redneck Ridge was awesome - the rocky outcroppings were more-or-less not an issue, the sandy corners were handled very smoothly, and I was keeping a more constant speed throughout the entire trail.
Of course, the Spider 29 wasn't perfect. The current build weight of this bike is a beastly 29.9lbs, about 3 pounds heavier than my Epic build, and totally unacceptable for a XC race bike. Also, riding the Brain Fade platform on the Epic for three years now, I am extremely used to that suspension design. Frankly, I like it. The virtual pivot point (VPP) design of the Intense has a totally different feel, specifically when climbing. The VPP design exhibits pedal feedback when the suspension activates, and that was pretty awkward the first day out on it. The good thing is the Fox Float RP23 shock, when in Pro Pedal #3 (firmest setting), felt pretty similar to the Brain Fade of the Epic. Not quite as firm a platform (I ran the Brain anywhere from three clicks to one click from fully firm), but decent nonetheless. Other detractors include only one location for a bottle cage, and a front derailleur installation that makes it difficult to adjust limiter screws. Sunday's ride just intensified my complaint about the weight of the bike. My gawd, I burnt a number of my matches trying to keep this thing going uphill at a fast pace. It was definitely compounded by my lack of riding lately, but the weight of the bike was felt.
The RockShox Reba Race fork feels pretty supple when compressed, but I wouldn't know from riding on it, because the wobble in the headset (can't get rid of it) meant the headset was sucking up the smaller bumps, and not the fork. Which means the front end had a terribly rough ride.
All in all, I had a frickin' blast on this bike, and am thinking hard about purchasing it. I can say I'm sold on the 29er platform, for me at least, after two rides. My other options, based on price and sizing, include the Specialized Epic Comp 29 and the Gary Fisher HiFi Pro 29, as well as the Kona Hei Hei Deluxe 29. The MSRP on any of those three bikes ranges from $2800 to $3500; and the build kits aren't exactly svelte or high on tech. However, I can come in well below those prices on this particular Intense, with a bike that I should be able to get down to close to 27 pounds out the door, with a lot of XT/XTR build on it.
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