I’ll probably be getting a carbon 29er trail bike (upgrading away from my alum trusty 27.5).
Although the idea of buying a MTB from Costco feels incredibly wrong, I can’t deny on paper this seems like an incredible deal, even compared to the cheap-ish direct to consumer brands: https://www.costco.com/intense-951-trail-bike.product.4000136517.html
Carbon frame, fox suspension, modern enough geometry, not ugly, sram NX drivetrain, not familiar with TRP brakes, 31lbs with tubes, Kenda Pinner tires. At $2.9k!?! It’s like 1k cheaper than anything I can find at similar specs
Am I missing something ? Do these frames explode after 12 days of riding or something?
by cmndr_spanky
26 Comments
No, but it is a cheap bike.
It is a really good deal for MSRP. Seems that would be a typical price for similar components on an aluminum frame. It’s the same frame as Intense, so I would trust it. For smoking deals right now…
[https://www.coloradocyclist.com/vitus-escarpe-29-crs-carbon-bike](https://www.coloradocyclist.com/vitus-escarpe-29-crs-carbon-bike)
Component per dollar is pretty nuts for this Vitus deal.
It’s a decent deal on a good bike. But there’s other bikes out there for similar prices I would rather have more than that deal. I would rather have either the Delano peak or LA sal peak for the same price. I personally would never buy a bike with NX drivetrain. The old hub driver means upgrades are more of a pain. This Delano has slx which I would take all day.
https://fezzari.com/pages/build?bike=delano
Costco has Garneau Gros Louis 3 fatbikes for $699 CAD which is a reputable bike and at half price of what other retail bike stores sell them for. Sometimes bike manufacturers just need to move their inventory so getting a bike into Costco is a way to do it but it needs to be a clear and obvious value so the units don’t sit on the floor. If they were competitively priced with similar spec bikes at bike shops, most serious bike buyers would just buy the one from their LBS.
Personally, I wouldn’t hesitate buying one. I know people who ride them and speak highly of them. The one caveat is that you need to check their assembly. I believe they are supposed to be assembled by someone qualified to do so but I’ve seen pics online of these bikes with forks on backwards and other poor assembly choices. If I were to buy one, I’d be requesting one in the box and assemble it myself.
I know several people who ride these. They are very good bikes. No one I know of has had any issues
YT izzo/Jeffsy much much much better bikes imo. Can have them cheaper when on sale too. Polygon probably about same value to the Costco bike but no carbon frame although cheaper T or N models
If you need to use the return policy then absolutely.
Otherwise, it’s just ok.
Not anymore.
I was between this and the Ripmo AF for 3200. Went with the Ritmo for the suspension design, and the geo is a little more up-to-date. But, the intense would be a great deal.
Transitions sale. Granted it’s not gonna be xc bike but for 3k you can get a gx patrol or spire
I would wait if you’re thinking about getting one, they’ve had them for a while and are regularly $500 off. I bet the deal will be back soon, I might pick one up if it goes on super duper sale.
A few coworkers bought one since they thought it was a steal. Seeing it in person, it’s a good bike. Great for the average mountain biker IMO.
Support your local bike store. They might be a little pricier, but they’re the people championing bikes in your community. Keep the money local when possible
Last month it was only $2,500
I bought a 2023 Trek Top Fuel 9.7 a few months ago for $2750, but looking at Trek’s website, that deal is either gone or was just something my local shop was doing on that particular bike and not related to Trek promos.
I’ve ridden the Intense Primer version of the 951 and like it a lot. The frame is the same, so you should be good. It is a great bike for the price. I’m not fond of the wheels and drivetrain on the 951 build, so it wouldn’t be my choice for $3K. You can get the Intense Primer Expert right now for $3300 which comes with the next level up on the fork and slightly better wheels, most of the other spec being identical to the 951. To me personally, a better deal than either of those is the Primer pro which comes with an XT drivetrain and brakes, Fox Performane Elite suspension, and Maxxis Minions. But that’s $4K, so getting up there in price.
Also, I don’t really think carbon is an upgrade unless you are building up a really light XC or “downcountry” bike, and that’s coming from someone who currently owns three carbon bikes. I wouldn’t overlook good deals on aluminum bikes, several of which I’d buy over the 951.
At this point, there are way better deals with better components
There have been some really good deals on mountain bikes lately. This Intense deal at Costco may not be the absolute best deal ever, but it’s definitely a good deal for a solid bike that you wouldn’t go wrong with.
Look into Propain. They listed their fleet of demo bikes for sale on their website.
Na. Giant trance x 1. Under $3k with 0% interest for a year
Bike markets crashed so I’m sure you could find a better deal somewhere else, but even when it wasn’t this bad, I got my canyon lux wc for 2.3k USD. Carbon, slx, performance elite fox front and rear I think. Only thing it doesn’t have is a dropper
Have you gone to any local bike shops? There are probably a couple with 23 inventory around you they need to get off the books and are willing to deal. I believe their licensing deals with companies prevent them from putting their lowest price online their sites. You may be able to something at 30-50%.
Got mine last month when it was $2499. Feels like I stole it…
I actually talked to an Intense rep at a bike festival about this. He said it’s a killer deal they designed with Costco. I almost bought one myself.
Intense are nice Cali based bikes. That’s a solid deal for sure. However, there are deals all over the place right now. I bought a new bike 1 year ago on super sale (Canyon Neuron carbon frame, Fox sus., full XT and carbon DT Swiss wheels for $3500) and feel I should snag another bike before all these goodies disappear. After that, the bike companies’ budgets will be tighter than a snare drum and you may never see a bike on sale since I’d guess they will drastically reduce their orders/supply to avoid this buyer’s paradise. 30+% off is very common right now.
That is a pretty good deal. I’m not keen on NX though. The TRP slates are surprising on that build. They are pretty good from what I hear. I know nukeproof was having some insane sales, but that’s because chain reaction is going under. Not sure if Nukeproof will be going under. The Ibis Ripmo AF is on sale for $2799 for an aluminum frame, but I really like mine.
A warning. The chain stays on this guy likes to snap. My riding buddy got this as his first. Cracked chain stay and they did not warranty it.