The greatest strength of Cornelius Kapfinger's brand Intend is the absolute freedom with which bike components can be developed and realised. The Lower Bavarian, who lives in Freiburg, can give free rein to his creativity and does not have to compromise on series production or quantities. But this solo endeavour also has its limits. Kapfinger (33) can only assemble a limited number of suspension forks, offer customer service, operate a direct sales organisation and develop innovative products. In addition, the highly specialised products such as the Infinity double bridge fork not everyone's cup of tea.
Intend Blackline: Series products for the trade
Kapfinger has therefore used the experience it has gained to develop products that offer the greatest possible added value and avoid unconventional special solutions. Always with the goal in mind: to create high-end products that carry the promised Intend DNA, but can be consumed by a broader target group. Products that can no longer only be sold in Kapfinger's online shop and built by him, but are still manufactured with great attention to detail. Products that appeal to a wider range of bikers. The result is the Blackline series from Intend, which will be sold via specialist dealers in future. Series products according to Intend standards, where performance is the undisputed centre of attention. The design is more generally acceptable, the products are easier to assemble, operate and explain.
The previous Intend products such as the Grace stem or the Hero upside-down suspension fork are still available, unchanged, directly from Intend. Kapfinger will continue to try out and realise every idea here, no matter how clever. A stem series with only 13 units? Why not? Upside-down forks in individually selected colours? Intend remains the small forge for technology-loving optimisers, tuners and individualists.
Nevertheless, the Intend Blackline series will not become a mass product. The quantities remain comparatively small. All components are developed in Freiburg in close co-operation with the manufacturers. After production, each individual component is checked in Germany. More precisely, in Freiburg, by Cornelius Kapfinger himself. Only then are the products assembled in Freiburg by professional mechanics. The Intend Blackline therefore remains "made in Germany".
Intend Blackline Ebonite
The Blackline Ebonite is the first "normal" suspension fork from Intend. Kapfinger has channelled all the experience gained from its upside-down forks into this fork. In terms of application, the Blackline Ebonite is positioned between a Rockshox Lyrik and ZEB or a Fox 36 and 38 and can therefore be used on trail bikes, enduro bikes and freeriders - with or without an electric drive.
Although the "regular" design of the suspension fork means more unsprung mass, it should also increase the torsional rigidity of the Ebonite. According to Kapfinger, the ride feel is not necessarily "better" as a result, but it is more intuitive at first, as it corresponds to the habits of most bikers. Details such as the stiff, thick-walled steerer tube and the stiffening cap (cover at the bottom of the steerer tube) have been adopted from the upside-down forks and are also used on the Ebonite. The Blackline Ebonite shares the air suspension technology with the Intend Flash and Edge. The positive and negative chambers are filled simultaneously via a valve. The size of the positive chamber can be changed with a volume spacer to adjust the progression of the fork.
The cushioning of the Intend Blackline Ebonite is also already familiar from other Intend suspension forks like the Edge and ensures the best response behaviour, very good absorption capacity and a wide adjustment range.
An external low-speed compression adjustment (Compression) and low-speed rebound adjustment (Rebound) are available for setting the damping. The basic damping settings of the Blackline Ebonite were fine-tuned together with the Ibis Fidlock Racing Team to enable the fork to be ideally tuned for almost every rider. Adrian Vesenbeck's team and Cornelius Kapfinger have carried out countless test rides to determine a setup that should allow uncompromising racing as well as smooth surfing on flow trails.
Intend Blackline Ebonite - the facts
- Wheel size 29 inch
- Air suspension system
- 140 - 180 mm suspension travel
- Internally customisable via C-clips (all included)
- Axle 110x15 mm
- 7" Postmount brake mount (180 mm discs can be fitted without adapter)
- Max. brake disc size 223 mm
- Shank length 215 mm
- 44 mm offset
- 35 mm standpipe diameter
- Damping settings: Lowspeed rebound and compression damping
- Suspension adjustment: air pressure and progression using a volume spacer (3 settings)
- Service can be carried out by yourself, alternatively at Intend or at the service partner Lemon Shox in Nuremberg
- Mudguard recommendation: Mudhugger short
- Weight 2280 grammes
- Price: 1659 euros (16% VAT) or 1699 euros (19%)
