Owners Manual

Intense Cycles Inc. USA 42380 Rio Nedo, Temecula, Ca. 92590
(951)296-9596 www.intensecycles.com
Table of contents

Introduction and Feature list............................................................3

Warnings.......................................................................................................5
Assembly...............................................................................................5
Thread Prep..................................................................................................5
Tools Needed................................................................................................5
Lower link to frame.....................................................................................5
Top link to frame..........................................................................................6
Assemble swing arm to frame..................................................................6
Cable Routing..............................................................................................6
Geometry..............................................................................................9
Geometry description................................................................................9
Geometry chart.........................................................................................10
Maintenance......................................................................................11
Torque specs...............................................................................................11
Maintenance schedule............................................................................11
Shock setup................................................................................................12
Adjustments.......................................................................................13
AngleSet......................................................................................................13
Shock Progression....................................................................................13
Shock Travel...............................................................................................15
G3.................................................................................................................15
Parts list...............................................................................................17
Parts list................................................................................................17-18
CaneCreek Shock setup.......................................................................19
Spring setup..............................................................................................19
Leverage Ratio..........................................................................................20
Contact info.........................................................................................21
Warranty statement.............................................................................22
Introduction Warning! Although many catalogs, advertisements and articles about downhilling
Well, you did it! You are the proud owner of the fastest DH bike in the depict riders racing, jumping, riding hard off road, and/or stunt riding, this activity
world. The M9-FRO was not a last minute creation. It comes from a long is extremely dangerous, increases the rider’s risk of injury or death, and potentially
lineage of American Made, Intense M-series bikes. Starting with the first increases the severity of any injury. The action depicted is being performed by
‘M’ bike in 1994, the M9 is the latest in handmade magic. It started with experts with many years of training and experience. Even with that training and
our engineering and design team, we then unleashed the beasts to test experience, cyclists who engage in such activity often get seriously injured. It is
the bike not only in real world conditions, but on the toughest tracks in also foreseeable that during some jumps or stunts, and even some races, that the
the world - the World Cup circuit (Our M9 equipped race team was the rider will exceed the design capacity of the frame or components, which may result
#1 team in 2010). in something on the bicycle bending or breaking. If a frame or component bends or
Throughout the 2009-2010 seasons we crafted this machine into the breaks, such may lead to loss of control, serious personal injury or death.
M9-FRO. Please take your time to set it up, dial it in and enjoy, because
you will be going faster than you have ever gone before, as well as
having the biggest smile on the mountain.
WARNING! Make sure you have, reviewed and understand the warnings, instruc-
tions, and content of the manuals for your bike.
Enjoy your new M9, it is the finest Downhill bike ever made and we are
damn proud of it.
WARNING! Service on Intense bicycles requires special knowledge and tools. Intense
M9-FRO features recommends that all service and repairs be performed by an authorized Intense
• CNC machined head tube with pinch bolt release top cup, for ease of changing cane creek AngleSet retailer.
• Proprietary Monocoque upper shell
CAUTION: Any modification of your frame, fork, or components means that your
• Proprietary Hydro formed down tube
• CNC’d “backbone” which is the spine of the frame.
bike no longer meets our specifications and therefore voids your warranty.
• 9.5”x3” shock damper spec
• World Champion winning VPP suspension platform WARNING! Never modify your frame or bicycle in any way. Do not sand, drill, fill, or
• 3 position travel adjustment remove parts. Do not install incompatible forks or suspension parts. An improperly
• CNC Machined Aluminum BB shell, with integrated main pivot and ISCG-05 tabs modified frame, fork, or component, can cause you to lose control and fall.
• G3 adjustable dropouts
• Same race chassis that was ridden by the #1 Downhill team in the world
• 2 Grease ports in main pivot locations for longer lasting bearings

PAGE 3 PAGE 4
Assembly C. Take one of the pivot bolts and slide through the link and thread into the
other side of the link. (picture A)
• Thread Prep: D. Once tightened (150 in/lbs)
Intense recommends prepping all threads with grease or Loc-tite (the medium insert e-clip onto pivot pin axle.
strength (blue) formula) along with proper torque, is ideal for keeping the bolts E. Check lower link for smooth movement and be
snug. sure there is no play

• Tools Needed: Step Two

- grease -->Assemble Top Link
- blue loc-tite (242) to frame
- dead blow hammer A. Using the .486
- 2mm allen wrench (for lower link set screws) x .717 x.140 alum
- 4mm allen wrench (upper/front shock bolt) spacers, place a thin
- 5mm allen wrench (G3 bolts, shoulder bolts, pivot bolts) coat of grease onto
- 6mm allen wrench (lower/rear shock bolt) the washers. Place
- 12mm open end wrench (upper/front shock nut) the washers onto the
- chain ring bolt tool (to hold down the back side of G3 chain ring bolts) bearings in the top
link. (picture B)
In the event you want to rebuild your M9, we recommend working with your B. Place the top link (bearing side up top and arcing
local dealer or a race mechanic. This just a general guideline assembly list for towards the rear) onto the ‘barbell’ and slide in the
the M9. shoulder bolts in and tighten to 300 in/lbs. (picture
(Before starting assembly, apply blue loc-tite on the 4 shoulder bolts and the 2 lower pivot/
C)
link bolts and let dry for 10 minutes and let the loc-tite fully cure for 24hrs from assembly and
application)

Make sure to insert seat post at least 4” into the main frame, anything less than this
amount could cause damage to the frame or even failure.
Step One
-->Lower link to main frame
A. Using the .5 x .75 x .06 steel washers, place a thin coat of grease to both sides
of the washer.
B. place the washers onto the bearings and the grease application should make
them hold in place until you bring up the lower link into place.

PAGE 5 PAGE 6
 Step Three
-->Assemble swing arm to main frame, lower
linkage first
A. Using the .5 x .75 x .06 steel washers, place a thin
coat of grease to both sides of the washer. (picture D)
B. Place the washers on the bearing surfaces on the rear end
C.. Slide the swing arm in between the link and slide the lower pivot bolt into
place securing to 150 in/lbs (picture E | picture F)
D. Attach E-Clip to pivot bolt
-->--> Assemble upper part of swingarm to upper link
A. You want to start with attaching the upper stays to the upper link
B. Using the .486 x .717 x.140 alum spacers, place a thin coat of grease onto
the washers and set them in the swing arm on the inner side. The grease helps
them stay in place as you attach the swing arm. (picture G)
C. Position the rear stays in alignment with the lower link and slide in the shoul-
der bolts and tighten to 300 in/lbs. (picture H)

• Cable Routing:
Intense uses clip on cable guides, that are welded to the frame. Housing and
brake lines can be fixed to these guides by the enclosed plastic clips, or for a
more permanent tighter application you can use zip ties. The main theme to
achieve in routing housing and brake lines is to use nice, flowing curves.

PAGE 7 PAGE 8
 F

B
D

M9 Geo

The M9 is the most adjustable bike on the market today. We have designed the
bike around what our riders, pro racers and engineers feel are the optimal
settings with everything set at a baseline. That being said, with different tires PAGE 6
and forks your geometry will vary. We have come up with these starting point
geometries based on a 2.35 Maxxis tire and Fox 40 forks with an axle to crown of
575mm

C
H

M9-FRO SMALL MEDIUM LARGE

wheel base A 45.5"-46.5" 46.5"-47.5" 47.5"-48.5"
toptube B 22" 23" 24"
chainstay C 17.25"/17.5"/17.75" 17.25"/17.5"/17.75" 17.25"/17.5"/17.75"
head tube D 4.5" w/ Upper Pinch Bolt 5" w/ Upper Pinch Bolt 5" w/ Upper Pinch Bolt
head angle E 64° (+/-.5/1.0/1.5) 64° (+/-.5/1.0/1.5) 64° (+/-.5/1.0/1.5)
reach F 15.5" 16.25" 17.25"
stack G 23" 23.5" 23.5"
BB height H 14.2"-14.5" w/ ISCG 05 14.2"-14.5" w/ ISCG 05 14.2"-14.5" w/ ISCG 05

PAGE 9 PAGE 10
Maintenance Shock setup
M9-FRO Torque specs: Please see the CaneCreek special section at the end of the manual (page 17-18)
Upper swing link shoulder bolts : 300 in/lbs (33 N-m) for specific shock setup and tuning. Below is a general guideline for the FOX RC4
Lower link main pivot pin/axles : 150 in/lbs (11 N-m) shock. More specific shock tuning can be found on www.foxracingshox.com
G3 dropout bolts : 48-72 in/lbs (5.5-8 N-m)
Head tube pinch bolt : 35 in/lbs (3.5 N-m) Rider weight
(lbs)
spring rate preload Sag Boost Valve
Boost Valve
Progression
LSC
(clicks out)
HSC
(clicks out)
Rebound
(clicks out)
Upper shock mount bolts : Under 120 300 1 turn-till snug 1" | 25mm 140 psi 3.5 12 1 revolution 1 revolution
Lower shock mount bolts : 120-140 350 1 turn-till snug 1" | 25mm 160 psi 3.5 10 1 revolution 1 revolution
140-160 350-400 1 turn-till snug 1" | 25mm 160 psi 3.5 10 1 revolution 1 revolution
Following are guidelines, depending on your components: 160-180 400 1 turn-till snug 1" | 25mm 160 psi 3.5 9 1 revolution 1 revolution
ISCG Tabs : 40 in/lbs (40 N-m) 180-200 450 1 turn-till snug 1" | 25mm 160 psi 3.5 9 1 revolution 1 revolution
200-220 450 1 turn-till snug 1" | 25mm 160 psi 3.5 7 1 revolution 1 revolution
Rear derailleur : 70-88 in/lbs (8-10 N-m) Over 220 500 1 turn-till snug 1" | 25mm 160 psi 2 6 1 revolution 1 revolution

Replace bearings as needed, which are available through Intense an dealer or

www.intensecycles.com. Below is a general maintence schedule:

Every:
PERFORM Ride Month 3 months Year

check all bolts/fasteners X
check tires and pressure X
Wipe bike down or wash if
X
muddy
check air pressure on shock X
Check headset, adjust if
X
needed
pump grease into fittings X
check spoke tension X
check chain for bent links
X
or stretched overall length
remove shock and cycle
X
frame to check bearings
Complete tune by
X
authorized INTENSE dealer
PAGE 11 PAGE 12
Adjustments
-->To increase progression or ‘steepen the shock curve:
• Use a 4mm allen wrench and a 12mm open end wrench to loosen the shock bolt
• Remove the bolt and aluminum nut
• Move shock into the bottom most setting (closest to the ground) and slide bolt
Pinch Bolt Type Head Tube through the frame hole and shock pin itself
The M9-FRO comes standard with a pinch bolt type head tube that accomo-
• Tighten shock bolt to 150 in/lbs
dates an adjustable headset, such as the Cane Creek Angleset. With the Angle-
set system, you can use different angled TOP cups to produce varying degrees
-->To decrease progression or ‘flatten the shock curve’:
of head angles. Your M9 comes with a 0° (giving you the M9’s stock 64° head
• Use a 4mm allen wrench and a 12mm open end wrench to loosen the shock bolt
angle) and a +/- .5° (giving you 64.5° or 63.5°) cup and a +/- 1.0° (giving you 63°
• Remove the bolt and aluminum nut
or 65°). Cane Creek also offers a +/- 1.5° available at your local dealer.
• Move shock into upper most setting (closest to the saddle) and slide bolt through
the frame hole and shock pin itself
• Tighten shock bolt to 150 in/lbs
To remove the cup and insert a different offset cup OR turn your current cup
around:
• Loosen the head tube pinch bolt with a 5mm allen
• You should be able to pull the cup out with your fingers
• In the event your cup will not come out with fingers, worst case you might need to
lightly tap it out from below.
• Once the cup is in your desired setting, re-tighten the 5mm pinch bolt to 30 in/lbs,
just enough to snug it up.

Rear travel adjustments via The ‘Flip Chips’

M9-FRO comes with the ability to change suspension travel to an amazing 3
Shock Progression different settings, all in 1/2” increments. Your bike ships with 2 sets of travel
M9-FRO comes with the ability to change shock progression in addition to all adjustment chips, one set is offset for the 2 most extreme settings;
the other adjustments. There are 3 positions to make this change and they are shortest-8.8” (top hole)
located on the main frame on what we call the ‘backbone’. The front most shock longest-9.8” (bottom hole)
mount area. Your bike ships in the middle setting which is what we designed The set of chips that has a bolt hole in the complete center of the chip is for
the bike around for a perfect middle ground. the middle travel setting which is 8.5”. These chips are precision machined to

PAGE 13 PAGE 14
match the receiver built into the main lower link, be sure to place these chips in shop.
straight, not crooked.
• Undo the M8x50 steel shock bolt with a 6mm allen wrench To change the position of the G3:
the ‘flip chips’ will now be free to remove • First loosen the top and bottom bolt to relieve tension on the G3 assembly
• Put in the other set of chips OR if using the offset ones, flip the chip over to • Completely undo the bottom G3 bolt and remove the male and female sides,
use the opposite side the washer will probably come out as well. (there is only one washer for each
• Slide in rear shock bolt and tighten to 190 in/lbs of the bolts (.5 x .75 x .025) and this washer should be placed in between the
swing arm and the G3, on the inside of the frame.)
• You can now move the G3 assembly to the desired position, of the 3 available
positions.
• Align the holes of the desired setting, slide in the female side bolt from the
‘inside’ of the frame while sliding up the thin washer between swing arm tabs
and G3.
• Slide in the male side of the bolt, tighten up to 100 in/lbs of torque
• Be sure to tighten the top/fixed pivot bolt set of the G3 as well, also to 100 in/
lbs

G3 Adjustable Rear Dropout

G3 rear dropouts can adjust your wheel base in 1/4” increments. It will also
slightly effect the head angle and bottom bracket height. These changes are
different depending on tires, fork, current AngleSet cup. A general estimate is
that with every position change of the G3 you effect the bottom bracket height
about 1/8th”(4mm) and you effect the head angle about a 1/4° with each
change of the G3.

The G3 is fixed with standard chain ring bolts that can be found at a local bike

PAGE 15 PAGE 16
 ITEM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
PART # 130009 130087 130089 130090 130011 130053 130054 130088 130086 430002 350232
QTY 2 4 1 1 4 1 1 1 1 8 1
DESCRIPTION Pivot Bolt Shoulder Bolt Left Flip Chip Right Flip Chip.486 x .717 x .140Left Drop Out Right Drop Out Box Link Top Link 6200 Bearing Fox RC4 Shock

ITEM 12 13 14 15 22 16 17 18 19 20 21
PART # 400004 400005 410006 410008 410009 410011 410012 420002 420003 420004 420008
QTY 4 1 4 2 1 1 1 4 4 2 2
DESCRIPTION Dropout Nut Dropout Bolt Dropout Nut M4 Set Screw M5 x 12 M8 x 50 M8 x 65 .5 x .75 x .06 .5 x .75 x .025 M8 Washer E-Clip
22
23

2
6

7 12
9
19

11

20
17

14
13

10 16

4
3

18 15 1

21
PAGE 17 PAGE 18
8
 Double Barrel Spring Chart Double Barrel Spring Chart

 
 

,

Travel Setting Lever Ratio at sag point 1"-%
#
 


8.5 2.88 +"0
1"-%
#



*Sag results may vary.
9 3
Expect 30-35% based on calculations. +".
1"-%
#



9.5 3.22 Adjust preload accordingly.
+",

Rider Weight with Gear (lb)/(kg) Frame Travel (in) Spring Rate (lb/in) Preload (turns) Sag (%)
+"*

130/59 8.5/9 250 2 -4 34
+

140/64 8.5/9 300 1 34
150/68 8.5/9 300 1 34 *"0
$  

 


 

 



160/73 8.5/9 300 2 -4 34
1"-%
 
 "



 

 
 "

*".

170/77 8.5/9 350 1 34 $$ 

 






180/82 8.5/9 350 2 -4 34 *",

"

190/86 8.5/9 400 1 34

*"*

200/91 8.5/9 400 2 -4 34
210/95 8.5/9 450 1 34 *

220/100 8.5/9 450 2 -4 34 (
)(
*(
+(
,(
-(
.(
/(

230/105 8.5/9 500 1 34

240/109 8.5/9 500 2 -4 34
250/114 8.5/9 550 1 34
Rider Weight with Gear (lb)/(kg) Frame Travel (in) Spring Rate (lb/in) Preload (turns) Sag (%)

130/59 9.5 300 1 34

140/64 9.5 300 2 -4 34
150/68 9.5 350 1 34
160/73 9.5 350 2 -4 34
170/77 9.5 400 1 34
180/82 9.5 400 2 -4 34
190/86 9.5 450 1 34
200/91 9.5 450 2 -4 34
210/95 9.5 500 1 34
220/100 9.5 500 2 -4 34
230/105 9.5 550 1 34
240/109 9.5 550 2 -4 34
250/114 9.5 600 1 34

Cane Creek Cycling Components | 355 Cane Creek Rd, Fletcher, NC 28732 | 800.234.2725 | info@canecreek.com | canecreek.com Cane Creek Cycling Components | 355 Cane Creek Rd, Fletcher, NC 28732 | 800.234.2725 | info@canecreek.com | canecreek.com
 Warranty statement:
1. All Intense Frames are under warranty for two years from the date of purchase
to the original owner only.
2. For warranty issues on Fox Shox call (800)Fox-Shox. Please note that Intense
does not warranty or repair shocks.
3. For warranty issues on CaneCreek headsets or shocks call 800-234-2725. Please
note that Intense does not warranty or repair shocks or headsets.
4. Your completed frame warranty card must be returned to Intense within 30
days of purchase to secure warranty coverage.
5. The warranty will not cover normal wear and tear, normal maintenance items,
damage, failure, accidents, crashing, abuse, mis-use, neglect, or any damage
Contact Info caused by bicycle components.
6. Intense frames are not intended for use in stunt riding, ramp riding, hucking or
phone: (951)-296-9596 any similar activity.
8. Intense Cycles will not assume any shipping charges for warranties or repairs and
emails: will not accept any frame(s) returned freight collect or without a return authoriza-
Customer Service | cs@intensecycles.com tion number (RA#).
General Info | info@intensecycles.com 9. Any repairs or modifications performed by anyone other than an authorized
Media, Marketing, Sponsorship | marketing@intensecycles.com Intense Cycles agent will void the warranty.
10. No cash refunds
Intense Cycles USA 11. No upgrades or trade-ins.
42380 rio nedo 12. Although Intense Cycles assumes no responsibility for owner-induced dam-
Temecula, Ca. 92590 age, we will repair damaged frames to the owner for a minimal charge.
13. Intense Cycles assumes no responsibility for bodily injury or frame damage
due to frame failure caused by abuse, neglect, misuse, or improper maintenance
or set up.
14. Frames purchased from U.S. dealers in countries with authorized Intense
international distribution will void the 2 year factory warranty.
NOTE: To handle a warranty or service claim, contact your local bike shop,
dealer/distributor. If none of these options work, contact Intense Cycles at
cs@intensecycles.com to get a return authorization number (RA#). Intense Cycles
WILL NOT ACCEPT any warranty or repair returns without an RA#.

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