Intend Edge – € 1,899 – 1,949
We know that everyone loves the underdog, and sometimes you find that even the smallest dog has a serious bite. Suspension companies do not come much smaller than Intend, run by innovative inventor Cornelius Kapfinger. The Intend Edge is Cornelius’ vision, with adjustable travel upto 176 mm (we tested at 166mm), 20 mm or 15 mm Boost axle and available in 27.5” or 29”. Each fork is hand made in Germany in very small batches, if you want a rare fork, this is it. The Edge is available in two offsets, 51 mm and 44 mm, and uses increased wall thicknesses at areas of high stress to minimise flex. Inside the fork is a semi-open bath design, using 80 ml of 2.5WT Danico Race Shock Bio-oil from renewable sources, and the damper features adjustable rebound and compression damping. Some riders may be alarmed to find no guards on the lowers, for most riders this will be fine and Cornelius is adamant that it’s no problem, but best check your fork lowers if you ride somewhere rocky to see if your trails are suitable.
Installation is a little more involved than a standard fork, the legs are not joined together it takes a little longer to locate the 15 mm axle, so frequent wheel removers may find this tiresome. You have to manually pull the fork open when first inflating to ensure the negative chamber and positive are equalizing correctly, but once pressurized it’s the same as any other fork. Until you ride it that is! In a game of tiny steps, the Intend Edge takes a huge leap in performance. Initial small bump sensitivity is insanely smooth, no breakaway stiction can be felt at all, but where the fork differs most is the fore/aft stiffness which is incredible, and very noticable. When braking hard or charging through rock gardens the huge crown results in no-perceptible flex or flutter fore and aft, in fact, after riding the Intend Edge all the other forks in this test felt weak in comparison. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the lateral stiffness which feels the flexiest in test. When pushing hard into supportive corners or aggressive line changes at speed you can feel the wheel noticeably flexing outwards. As such, you quickly adopt a smoother riding style to compensate, drawing out turns and taking wider lines in. Aggressive riders will certainly want to use the 20 mm axle, and we would recommend this option to all.
Conclusion
Running an Intend Edge will slow down your rides dramatically, not because of the performance, but because everyone will stop you to talk about it. Riders looking for the ultimate trail fork will find incredible damping and amazing fore/aft stiffness. Aggressive riders will desire more torsional stiffness for precise handling.
+ Incredibly smooth performance
+ Unshakable fore/aft stiffness
– Lateral flex does not suit hard riding
– Expensive and rare
For more information head to intend-bc.com
