Intense Carbine SL frame review

While the new 650b-wheeled Carbine and Tracer 275s (named for those 27.5in 650b wheels, even though they’re more like 27in… ‘Official’ measurements are a mess) hogged the spotlight at the Interbike show, the Carbine SL remains Intense’s trail flagship.Ride & handling: Aggressive ride that needs some tamingThat lack of mass combines with the power amplifying, torque-stiffening Virtual Pivot Point 2 (VPP2) suspension design to make the Carbine SL not just pop but explode as soon as you press the pedals. However, the speedy not grippy tyres, flexy wheels and long, narrowish XC cockpit undermine the lairy trail potential of the low slung and inherently ground-sucking frame.  The VPP2 balances incoming impacts against outgoing power, so when you back off the gas heading into boulder heaps the swingarm yawns back and swal...