There is absolutely nothing cooler than race bikes. That is (probably) a scientific fact and the good news for those who love nothing more than mountain bike racing is that the new season has hatched its first full-factory race machine of 2024 – and it’s a good one.

The Intense Factory Racing (IFR) M1 is here. It’s a bike perhaps already sagging into its suspension under the weight of the most famous moniker in downhill racing. For the new season it means business underneath Joe Breeden, Louise Ferguson, Oscar Griffiths and Ryder Lawrence.

The finished production frame is the result of four seasons of development at UCI World Cup level. The raw aluminium prototypes had a few different names (including ‘The Gravy Boat’) applied to them throughout the process, but it shouldn’t be underestimated how big an accolade the M1 name is.In the mid-1990’s, the original M1 was formative in what many now regard as the downhill race bike. Its slab-sided alloy looks and total commitment to purpose rewrote the reference books and many brands simply bought an Intense only to sticker it up as their own. To call a bike ‘M1’ will not have been taken lightly by Intense founder, Jeff Steber. 
The frame, resplendent in the company’s famous blood red paint, features 203mm of rear wheel travel from a 6-link, high pivot platform all fashioned from hand-welded 6061-T6 aluminium.The angles ape those of the modern race pack in terms of length and aggression. It’s a mixed wheel size bike meaning that it runs a 29in wheel upfront and a slightly smaller 27.5in wheel in the back.Öhlins supply the suspension with their DH38 M.1 air-sprung suspension fork with is acclaimed TTX18 twin tubed damping system. The team bikes will be rolling on e*thirteen Race 6069AL rolling stock mated to Continental tyres being reined in by TRP brakes.The rear wheel travel comes courtesy of a TTX22m.2 coil-spring rear shock, also from Öhlins, which is famed for its adjustability. Interestingly, the IFR bikes will be banging through the gears courtesy of TRP’s Evo 7 DH transmission. The iconic Intense M1 will once again take to a UCI World Cup racetrack in Fort William 03 – 05 May. Stay tuned to the site for ticket details and how to ensure that you are there.