Intense was created during a certain moment in time, a time we will never get back. That period was a magical moment for our sport and we were lucky to be a part of it. There is only ever one beginning and we were there. We were there when Shaun Palmer decided to “try out” mountain biking and drove the cross-over of downhill mountain biking from an obscure activity to the front pages of national newspapers. Shaun refused to wear the lycra suits that the other downhill guys were racing and instead wore moto- inspired baggy shorts and shirts. The world’s best downhillers, even when flying the colors of competing brands, still raced on Intense built chassis – Brian Lopes, Leigh Donovon, Mike King, Chris Kovarik, Greg Minaar, Sam Hill, Lisa Sher, Cheri Elliott, Vanessa Quinn, Sabrina Jonnier, Markus Stöckl and, of course, Shaun Palmer. I recently bought back Shaun’s silver-medal winning bike of Cairns, Australia. It now remains a permanent part of the Intense museum of bikes from our history. We had the bike photographed and included here in the 2015 catalog. I hope you will appreciate it as much as we do. Through it all though, we are currently experiencing the best times we have ever had and we are grateful for this – These are, in fact, the good old days for our company. 

- JEFF STEBER, FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR INTENSE CYCLES