[gackrider24]

Ive been looking at these two bikes for a mini dh. Just wondering how they stack up against eachother performance wise, as far as ride and suspension characteristics. Any speculations from 450,SSII, or 951 owners, or anyone whos ridden both?

What are most people running up front on these 160 or 180s?

 

[stiksandstones]

DIRT loved the Slopestyle II so much, they HAD to put it in the DIRT 100, as a 101st product. Don't have the copy in front of me, but something about "as we were wrapping up the mag, we had a final entry that could not be overlooked, intense ss2"

Steve Jones won't let anyone else ride it, his favorite bike...they then did a test of the ss2 in the recent issue and raved about it. Which means a lot because they have kind of put intense off their radar recently.

 

[nmpearson]

i rode the 250 a few months ago and i've been on the slopestyle. personally i thought the 250 jumped better but the ss was slacker and a little more comfortable. I know the one i rode wasn't as slack as it's going to be and it was on the 6in setting. plus, it had an rc4 on it and the slopestyle had a dhx air on it.
The setups I rode them with i'd like the ss better, BUT with a vivid air, on the 170mm travel setting, at a 64 degree HT angle on the TR250, i'd choose the it any day. It felt amazing. I am used to my 450 though so i may be a tad biased

 

[dropmachine]

I can't say which is better, but after seeing an SSII live, I would kill everybody in this thread with a spoon to own one.

Just sayin.

 

[chup29]

i rode an SS1 all summer and although its not in the running here, that bike held up to some burly tracks with no complaints... i raced the mt hood pro track on it multiple times and was very stoked on how it handled it. Simply because of that, id vote for the SS2, but i might be slightly intense biased... brand new candy apple green m9 just showed up...

 

[rosenamedpoop]

I can't say which is better, but after seeing an SSII live, I would kill everybody in this thread with a spoon to own one.

Just sayin.

But, would you spoon everybody in this thread to own one?

 

[rockofullr]

DIRT loved the Slopestyle II so much, they HAD to put it in the DIRT 100, as a 101st product. Don't have the copy in front of me, but something about "as we were wrapping up the mag, we had a final entry that could not be overlooked, intense ss2"

Steve Jones won't let anyone else ride it, his favorite bike...they then did a test of the ss2 in the recent issue and raved about it. Which means a lot because they have kind of put intense off their radar recently.

This just in, Stick likes the intense!

 

[dropmachine]

But, would you spoon everybody in this thread to own one?

GUess that depends on whether snuggling and/or eye contact was required, as well as length of time.

 

[gackrider24]

thanks for the input homies. As long as its just spooning and not sporking, I think its acceptable. Man sporking for bikes is highly frowned upon.

Any thoughts on how the intense vpp compares to the 250's single pivot?

 

[rosenamedpoop]

GUess that depends on whether snuggling and/or eye contact was required, as well as length of time.

I'd imagine it would play out like a porn commitment.

A quick, clothed, no "acting required" spoon with one member at a time would get you a discount... As where a full nude, sustained 8 hour, gang spoon would get you two frames, custom geo, and full race support.

 

[LMC]

 

[bdamschen]

Never rode a TR250, but I have rode the 450 a 951 and the SS II.

My brother in law is riding the SS II and it absolutely is one of the funnest bikes I've ever ridden, like a little light and nimble 951. I was originally thinking about getting a new trail bike this year that was more on the XC side of things for lots of pedaling, but since riding an SS II, I might have to scratch that idea and get one of those instead...

If I had to choose between how the TR450 felt vs. a 951, I'd choose the 951 in a heartbeat...

 

[bdamschen]

I'd imagine it would play out like a porn commitment.

A quick, clothed, no "acting required" spoon with one member at a time would get you a discount... As where a full nude, sustained 8 hour, gang spoon would get you two frames, custom geo, and full race support.

I'm down. I figure with all the easily hurt feelings, extra attention given to things like colorways, mood swings and crushes on Sam Hill that everyone else on here was a woman anyways right?

 

[buildyourown]

I have an SS1, and I've ridden the TR450.

I really like the SS1, but I think the suspension action sucks. It doesn't feel like 6.6" inches. It blows thru it's travel and bottoms hard. It replaced my Turner Rail, and it feels about the same despite the rail only have 3.5".

The SS1 is an awesome trail bike and I think Intense ruined it when they took all that away to make the SS2.

 

[bdamschen]

I don't think either the TR250 or the SSII is meant to be a trail bike

 

[dropmachine]

Neither was the Blur 4x, and that thing excellent at trail riding. I think the SS might be a bit slack in the seat to truly excel, but it could be fun none the less.

 

[Uncle Cliffy]

I really like the SS1, but I think the suspension action sucks. It doesn't feel like 6.6" inches. It blows thru it's travel and bottoms hard. It replaced my Turner Rail, and it feels about the same despite the rail only have 3.5".

I fixed these problems with two words. Double, and Barrel.

The SS1 is an awesome trail bike and I think Intense ruined it when they took all that away to make the SS2.

I think one of the reasons they did the interupted seat mast design of the SS2 was to keep people from breaking SS1 seat masts climbing with super long seatposts. (At least that's the rumor I heard.)

Regardless, I have bike lust for other models, but I just can't see getting rid of my SS1...

 

[WBC]

I know people riding both, lots of good things being said about both bikes.

The one difference I have noticed right off the bat, is the 250 is a much burlier frame. If I was riding bike parks, racing, or DH, I would definitely rock the 250. I'm sure it's heavier, but it's a much stiffer frame, and the bearings are huge. It also looks super dialed setup full DH with a 40.

Also, with my experience on the VPP2 with a tracer and the 951 I owned, the VPP2 really doesn't seem like it cares much for square edge hits. My 951 felt like it got hung up on rocky sections, and the 951 also uses the first 1/2 -> 2/3's of its travel really easy, meaning you're attacking sections on your bottom out bumper...yet never using full travel. It was fantastic for loamy, fast trails but wasn't inspiring at Whistler or other rockier areas.

Smooth, jumpy trails the SSII would probably kill it, but that little 250 seems like a real DH bike in mini form.

 

[buildyourown]

I don't think either the TR250 or the SSII is meant to be a trail bike

Right, but that's how I mostly use my SS1. As a mini-DH, it's not that great. It's strong point is it's handling and ability to be pedaled and run a FD. The suspension blows IMO.
My point was now that the SS2 can't do any of those things, I think it's a lame bike and I wouldn't give it a second look.