Jeff Steber

JEFF STEBER – HE CHANGED THE FACE OF DOWNHILL RACING

No different than many other motorcycle riders and racers who came to the sport of off-road cycling in the early 90s, as a bicycle manufacturer, Jeff Steber looked at the early rigid bikes solely through the lens of a full-suspension design. His first bike was the Spyder, which had three inches of rear wheel travel via a MacPherson strut rear shock system coupled with a Horst Link chainstay pivot to help isolate the impact of the pedaling and braking forces that bedeviled a handful of bikes designed by others.  

Although full-suspension bikes were still an anomaly in the industry, Jeff took a handful of bikes to the Interbike show in 1993 to see what kind of interest they would garner. Within three days, all the frames were sold, and he lined up a list of domestic and international distributors. Intense Cycles was born! 

With the short-travel Spyder’s early sales success and industry attention garnered Jeff made a giant leap forward with the design of the radical M1 downhill bike in 1994. Thanks to its bright red monocoque front triangle, CNC machined parts, moto-inspired graphics, radically slanted seat pod, and square-tubed rear triangle, the M1 stood out from all the other bikes that gathered in the chair lift line.

Although the M1 was a real attention-getter, it became an international star when partnered with famed snowboarder Shaun Palmer at the 1996 World Cup in Nevegal, Italy. The dynamic duo shocked the racing world by finishing in sixth place in Shaun’s first-ever downhill World Cup. 

Later in the year, Palmer and his star-spangled M1 narrowly missed winning a gold medal at the UCI World Championships in Cairns, Australia, by a mere 0.15 second. From this point on, Intense became forever linked to the former snowboarder’s wild and hard-charging style. 

Over the next few years, some of the sport’s winningest riders would all spend time aboard an Intense M1. However, none of their multiple wins and championship titles would be recorded for Intense. Why? By 1997, the Intense M1 had become the bike of choice for many great riders, all of whom rode competing bike brands. Racers like John Tomac, Leigh Donovan, Brian Lopes, and Eric Carter were just a few of the riders sponsored by other bike brands who were forced to rely on a (re-branded) Intense to remain competitive.

Of course, it was never hard to distinguish the indelible M1 design underneath the deceptive graphics. As Leigh Donovan recalled, “There were other bikes out there that worked—none as good as the M1—but they were also lame-looking!” 

Over the years, Steber has continued designing and building various innovative and unique downhill bikes with the racers’ needs in mind. “I’ve always catered to the racers because they are the front end of the spear,” Jeff says unapologetically. “It’s from meeting the racer’s needs that the most forward-thinking technology and industrial design trickles down to the consumers.”

From cross-country to downhill and now to e-MTBs, Jeff has produced many trend-setting mountain bikes with Intense—each one starting with a sketch drawn by Steber’s hand.  

Never one to be boxed in by industry standards or manufacturing constraints, Steber continues designing and fabricating performance-driven mountain bikes. “If I had a superpower, I think it would be my ability to retain inspirational images, fabricate them, and put them to use. For me, the craftsmanship part is key. If I had to describe my legacy, it would simply be a guy who brought innovation, pushed the sport forward, and made change in the world of downhill racing happen.”