Intend Bicycle Components is entering what they term “The Green Age”. That’s not a reference to environmental issues as it may suggest; rather, it indicates Intend’s switch to the use of higher-end fork internals for the Hero All-Mountain/Trail Fork and the Edge Enduro Fork. Without increasing the price of either of those USD forks, Intend is upgrading the seals, shim stacks, damping pistons and crowns to make the aforementioned forks lighter, more sensitive, more durable, and more tuneable to a wider range of riders. Plus, with the addition of the Linearizer, adjustment of the forks’ air spring curve is also on the table.
Intend Green Age Fork Internals
From now on, all Intend Hero and Edge forks will be sold with the Green Age seals and internals at no extra cost to the customer. Cornelius Kapfinger and his team have spent the last 1.5 years developing a new shim stack for their long travel forks, the goal being to “find the sweet spot for comfort riders and racers”. The external adjustment now offers a wider range of damping characteristics, allowing the rider to find a soft setup or a firm setup, without having to strip the fork down and install a custom shim stack.
The piston itself is updated, too. The Green Age damping compression and rebound pistons are said to have better oil flow and less hysteresis, resulting in more consistent damping over the course of a long descent. Improved seals on and around the pistons result in more precise oil flow through both piston directions.
The main difference between the previous pistons and the Green Age pistons are the larger oil flow ports. You’ll also notice the corners of those larger oil ports are chamfered. Intend say that with the grinded surface they were able to achieve 100% flatness, preventing any potential stiction of the shims on the piston.
Intend are now using Green Age dust wipers, too. These are made of a FKM, a fluoroelastomer that offers reduced friction as compared to the usual D35 OEM SKF seals.
Intend Bonded Crown Technology
Again, at no extra cost to the customer, Intend are also updating the Hero and Edge fork crowns with a lighter, bonded version. It is basically a milled-out version of the crown used on the Intend Flash fork. The reduction of material saves around 43g as compared to the previous Edge crown. Despite the lower weight, the crown’s stiffness is maintained, and has has been certified as E-Gravity-ready at EFBE Prüftechnik in Germany.
Intend Linearizer
In addition to the improved range of damping adjustments that come with the new Green Age pistons, Intend are also increasing fork tuneability with the introduction of the Linearizer. It looks like a massive volume spacer, except that it is sealed at the end, essentially creating a second positive air chamber, the pressure of which can be externally adjusted to tune the air spring’s curve.
Once installed, the Linearizer essentially behaves much like the Manitou Mezzer’s Infinite Rate Tune. As the fork is pushed through its travel, the air inside the primary positive air chamber is compressed. When the pressure inside that primary positive chamber matches that of the secondary positive air chamber, the Linearizer will move to compress the air inside the secondary positive chamber.
Intend have this to say about the Linearizer: “The Linearizer doesn’t necessarily make your fork better. It really depends on your riding style and preferences. The regular air spring comes with 2 volume spacer options which should give most riders sufficient ramp-up. Also our spring curve is already pretty linear and the added mid-stroke support is marginal. Generally you could say that the regular 2-chamber system is more comfortable, while the Linearizer air spring will add a bit of firmness, which usually makes sense in really gnarly and big compression terrain, or race conditions”.
The Linearizer is compatible with Intend Edge, Hero, Bandit and Infinity forks, as well as the 2022 Intend Flash fork. It will retail at 91.60 €. If you want it installed in a new fork, just add it to your basket and check out and the folks at Intend will install it before shipping.
Finally, Intend has added an USD specific mud guard called the Defender. It bolts onto Intend Edge, Hero, Flash and Bandit forks via a 5mm Allen bolt at the bottom of the steerer tube. It will retail at 20,17 € excl. Vat.
Oh, one more thing. The World’s Lightest 120mm Fork is one step closer to production. The Intend Samurai has successfully passed durability and stress tests. Intend can’t give us a specific date yet, but they reckon it will be ready come the winter festivities.
