Bandit versus Edge

For years now Intend with the successful model Edge against the familiar order. The Freiburg-based forge, which is primarily the brainchild of ex-Trickstuff developer Cornelius Kapfinger, favours an upside-down design and an inner workings without high-speed adjusters. The aim is to maximise sensitivity with an upside-down design and the simplest possible construction with as few friction-intensive seals as possible. But the forks with the unusual look have another pleasant side effect. "If someone wants to build a unique show bike, they can hardly avoid my products. This brings me a lot of free coverage, for which I am very grateful," Cornelius Kapfinger tells us in the interview.

Edge against Ebonite - Upside-Down against Right-Side-Up

With the Ebonite brought Intend At the end of last year, the company launched its own alternative to the Edge. The conventional design of the MTB suspension fork is intended to appeal specifically to upside-down sceptics, as the accusation that upside-down forks are less torsionally stiff could never be dispelled by the Edge. The Ebonite with its classic design is correspondingly stiffer and should therefore guarantee more steering precision. The inner workings of the Edge have been almost completely adopted. This gave us the opportunity to make a flawless concept comparison. Which fork convinced our testers in a direct duel? The upside-down Edge fork or the right-side-up Ebonite?

Test impression Intend Bandit - laboratory and measured values

However, those looking for more lateral stiffness than the Edge will not only find what they are looking for in the Ebonite with its classic layout. With the Intend Bandit, Cornelius Kapfinger now offers a fork based on the upside-down principle, which is supposed to be slightly heavier than the competitor model Edge, but also slightly stiffer. This is made possible by the single-sided double bridge design. The extended dip tube on the left-hand side also significantly increases the volume of the negative chamber, which should have an additional positive effect on the response behaviour

In the course of our test duel between Ebonite and Edge, we also requested a copy of the Bandit, which will initially only be produced in small series. As expected, the Bandit is heavier but also measurably stiffer than the Edge. However, the difference is barely four Newton metres. Both forks are therefore still a long way from the lateral stiffness of a classic fork, such as the Fox 36, but they are able to show off in terms of braking stiffness.

Table with BIKE measured values for the suspension forks: Due to the double bridge construction, the brake stiffness of the Bandit could not be determined on our test bench. However, it can be assumed that the Bandit is at least on a par with the Edge in this respect.

The practice: Bandit and Edge in a test comparison

The crucial question? Is it worth the extra cost and weight of the Bandit compared to the Edge? Is four Newton metres more lateral stiffness noticeable in the steering precision? We set off to the Samerberg bike park for the practical test and took two test bikes in constant rotation through the rocky terrain and fast berms. Differences in handling and steering precision would be most noticeable here.

Both forks are noticeably sensitive and can be compressed with minimal effort from the little fingers on the handlebar ends when adjusting in the car park. This applies not only to the Bandit, with its large negative air chamber, but also to the Edge. On the trail, however, the fantastic sensitivity is less noticeable. The forces acting on the suspension elements here are large enough anyway, so that even classic forks such as the Fox 36 or the Lyrik from Rockshox do not perform noticeably worse.

Intend Bandit - Is four Newton metres more stiffness even noticeable?

Nevertheless, it remains striking how comfortably both suspension forks glide through the rocks. The comfortable, fairly linear factory setup is more responsible for this than the upside-down design. Sporty riders should retrofit spacers for more end progression.

We found it more pleasant than annoying that the Edge and Bandit sometimes look for their own line and thus iron out small mistakes in line choice. In berms, on the other hand, at least the Edge conveys a less direct feeling on the front wheel - but this is far from worrying. However, the Bandit performs minimally better here at best and can hardly be distinguished from the Edge in terms of riding behaviour. Even the large negative air chamber of the Bandit does not have a positive effect in our test scenario, as the Edge with its sensational response behaviour leaves nothing to be desired.

Neither fork shows any weakness, but neither can seriously set itself apart from the other. Other parameters such as the two unequal test bikes play a greater role here and prevent a clearer result.

Conclusion - Bandit hardly has an advantage

For us at least, it is clear that the Bandit will not convince any proven upside-down sceptics. The slight added value in terms of stiffness and negative air chamber was hardly noticeable to us in practice and comes at the price of a clearly measurable increase in weight. Only in more extreme scenarios could a difference between the forks become apparent, but this hardly plays a role in everyday trail riding.

The Bandit is therefore exactly what it was presented as: A niche product for a very specialised target group. Nevertheless, it could be of interest to racers and suspension freaks. However, those who don't look at the stopwatch when riding downhill and are looking for a comfortable, functional custom suspension fork for their mountain bike would be better off with the lighter Edge.