Update: The original version of this article suggested the Intend brakes use Bionol, an oil developed by Trickstuff. We were erroneously informed of that, and Cornelius has been in touch to confirm his brakes do not use Bionol.
Cornelius Kapfinger of Intend Bicycle Components is venturing out with his mainstay suspension components, delving into the world of hydraulic braking systems for the very first time. Spotted at Bespoked this weekend was a set of Intend branded brake levers on the bar of the hard-to-miss Huhn Jersey Giant 36er MTB. No caliper just yet, though one is supposedly in the works.
Prototype Intend Brakes
The Intend brake levers clamped to the bar of Huhn’s Jersey Giant are, as-of-yet, unreleased. We got in touch with Cornelius for details on these, but he is remaining tight-lipped for now. The levers were paired with Magura MT7 Calipers on the Huhn Jersey Giant 36er, so we might assume they run some kind of mineral oil.
Cornelius is a former employee of Trickstuff, thus it comes as no major surprise to see some similarities between his brake lever and the Trickstuff Piccola brake.
The Intend brake lever is clearly heavily CNC machined, presumably to keep weight down. A closer look at the pivot reveals a small Allen head that likely allows the rider to adjust lever reach. Another point of interest is the way in which the hose connects with the master cylinder, a design that could make the brake less vulnerable to damage in a crash.
That’s all we can say for now. Wait, what about the bike?!
Huhn Jersey Giant 36er MTB
The prototype Intend Brakes found their home on the Huhn Jersey Giant 36er, a bike made for incredibly tall people. Tim Ahnsorge from BASF Forward AM is the recipient of this one, and he stands at 206cm tall (6’9″). His bike has a reach of 500mm, a seat tube length of 620mm and a 550mm rear-center length. Tim also had a hand in its creation, having made the stainless steel lugs via additive manufacturing for Huhn Cycles owner and fabricator, Ralf Holeis.
In true Huhn Cycles fashion, their 36er is named after the largest chicken to roam planet earth; the Jersey Giant. The steel tubing is fillet brazed to the stainless steel lugs by Ralf himself at the Huhn Cycles HQ in Bischofsgrün, Germany. Clearly, Tim has his bike prepared for adventure riding and long-distance bikepacking, kitted out with Wit Slingers full repertoire of frame bags.
The color-matching to the frame’s paint job is pretty cool, right?
The brake levers were not the only Intend Bicycle Components real estate on the Huhn 36er; a custom version of what looks to be the Intend Samurai is offering some damping up front, with a 2.25″ Vee Tire Co T-Monster fitted to the 36″ carbon rim.
Wild rear brake line routing to machined dropout inserts and bolt-on brake mount apparently made by Simon Metzner of Actofive.
