I've read about some people with positive experiences with warrantying their Intense, but that hasn't been my experience.
I got an Intense Spider 275C SL Pro from Chain Reaction Cycles (CRC) in mid-September 2017. In December 2017, while washing the bike after a muddy ride, I noticed a crack on the downtube near the bottom bracket. I don't ride a lot, because of work and travel so the bike had been ridden a maximum of 10 times in that period. I called Intense about warranty, and they told me I had to go through CRC (who are located in Belfast, Northern Ireland, whereas I'm in Honolulu, HI). I contacted CRC in late Dec, and send them all the requisite info and pictures. In late Jan 2018, CRC told me that they haven't heard from Intense, so I decided to contact Intense myself.
I spoke to Chad, who after learning about where I was located, told me that Intense would deal with me directly. Great! I sent Chad info and two patches of pictures, and he said he would hear back from the factory in 72 hours. This was two weeks ago. I haven't heard anything, and have sent two emails requesting updates.
In the meantime, I finally heard back from CRC, and this is what they said: "I have heard back from Intense now regarding your warranty claim. In this case your claim has been rejected as this damage is typical of impact damage and will not be covered under warranty. In this case Intense have offered a replacement front triangle at a price of 695.75€. If you would like to go ahead with this then please let me know your contact number and the best time to call and I can arrange for you to be charged for this."
I have no doubt that something impacted the frame (flying rock?), as this is mountain biking after all. However, it's not as if I crashed into something, and the fact that I didn't realize the frame was compromised until washing the bike means that it was something relatively minor and not noteworthy.
I'm not sure if the word I got from CRC is the same as what Chad would tell me, since Chad said that the Europeans deal with someone different. I can't seem to get a reply from Chad. In the meantime, I've had two nice rides on my 2004 Santa Cruz Blur...
I got an Intense Spider 275C SL Pro from Chain Reaction Cycles (CRC) in mid-September 2017. In December 2017, while washing the bike after a muddy ride, I noticed a crack on the downtube near the bottom bracket. I don't ride a lot, because of work and travel so the bike had been ridden a maximum of 10 times in that period. I called Intense about warranty, and they told me I had to go through CRC (who are located in Belfast, Northern Ireland, whereas I'm in Honolulu, HI). I contacted CRC in late Dec, and send them all the requisite info and pictures. In late Jan 2018, CRC told me that they haven't heard from Intense, so I decided to contact Intense myself.
I spoke to Chad, who after learning about where I was located, told me that Intense would deal with me directly. Great! I sent Chad info and two patches of pictures, and he said he would hear back from the factory in 72 hours. This was two weeks ago. I haven't heard anything, and have sent two emails requesting updates.
In the meantime, I finally heard back from CRC, and this is what they said: "I have heard back from Intense now regarding your warranty claim. In this case your claim has been rejected as this damage is typical of impact damage and will not be covered under warranty. In this case Intense have offered a replacement front triangle at a price of 695.75€. If you would like to go ahead with this then please let me know your contact number and the best time to call and I can arrange for you to be charged for this."
I have no doubt that something impacted the frame (flying rock?), as this is mountain biking after all. However, it's not as if I crashed into something, and the fact that I didn't realize the frame was compromised until washing the bike means that it was something relatively minor and not noteworthy.
I'm not sure if the word I got from CRC is the same as what Chad would tell me, since Chad said that the Europeans deal with someone different. I can't seem to get a reply from Chad. In the meantime, I've had two nice rides on my 2004 Santa Cruz Blur...