Founder's Hub


JEFF STEBER: THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK

It’s a well-known fact at Intense that Jeff is obsessed with what he calls “form and function”. Any time he is working on a new project, he is single-mindedly driven to ensure the bike delivers BOTH a stunning appearance AND incredible performance. A bike (or guitar, or car, etc..) can’t just look good, or sound good, or be fast – it must meet exceptional standards on all levels. It is Jeff’s preoccupation with “combining form and function” that has brought us some of the boldest, most aggressive and innovative bikes in the history of our sport. 

FOUNDER AND
CREATIVE DIRECTOR

“Something that’s really surprised me over the years, is the global brand equity we have. I’ve been doing Eurobike for a few years now, and it always surprises me with the feedback we get. We’re still a relatively small company – but manage to cast a big shadow…”

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"ROCKING THE BOAT FOR 25 YEARS... AND COUNTING"

As a company, we have never shied away from making a scene. The Palmer years come to mind. The years of the M1 - when so many of the top riders in the world chose our bikes and re-badged them with their own sponsor's decals. More recently, the amazing season 2017 of IFR, and the M29 prototyping process, which was done unfiltered on race tracks in front of spectators, so that any issues that might have arisen would be immediately public.... we don't scare easily. And now, with Intense Rider Direct, we are at it again. Jumping off the edge when it would be much easier to stay home, and stay put. But that's not who we are. We are loud, brash and sometimes even obnoxious. But we are never boring.

J1 HYDROPLANE CIRCA 1972: Like many visionaries, his passion for design can leave a mess. When Jeff was in 7th grade, his mom grounded him for a month when he got paint all over the garage after finishing his wood shop project – the “J1” hydroplane.

STEBER GUITARS: Steber moved to California as a musician and hang-glider pilot. It wasn’t until a decade later that he became interested in mountain biking and began experimenting with building his own bikes. In the early 90’s he chose to get serious and focus solely on the bike business. But his first love will always be guitars – designing, building and playing guitars – and, true to the Steber Doctorine - they look as good as they sound.

HIGH-TECH ARTISANSHIP DEFINED:  Jeff spent some time on the phone with Tim Huenke before his recent Tedx Talk. Check it out here.