Intend Moto suspension: Limited & de Luxe - suspension fork and shock absorber from Intend
Marc Strucken
· 06.12.2023
WarningWe're only talking about ten (10!) bikes produced for the price of a good MTB full-suspension bike. The details are deep, and when Intend presents something, it's always about these details for technology fans. For all those who are there now: Let's dive into the world of Cornelius Kapfinger.
Intend Moto with sliding bushing
The new limited-edition suspension kit consists of a suspension fork based on the hardcore Intend Flash fork and the Intend Hover shock absorber. And it all started with Kapfinger's drive to be at the forefront of technical innovation. He puts it like this in his press releases:
The origin of this design was the USD fork presented by Push in the spring of this year. According to pictures, a removable sealing head was visible at the lower end of the upper tube. This suggested that a sliding bushing technology was used here. If this is the case, we at Intend would of course be obliged to retrofit the technology. - Cornelius Kapfinger, Intend
The reason why Intend - and other manufacturers - have not been building suspensions with this technology for a long time is that it is a system used in motorbike racing. There, the bikes weigh 10 times more than mountain bikes, and forks and dampers work with significantly larger oil volumes and tolerances. These are the crux of the matter with sliding bushings.
What is this: Sliding Bushing?
With the sliding bushing or floating bushing technology, the bushing distance increases during compression, so the friction decreases proportionally to the compression travel. This means that the fork responds even more sensitively. This has always been a strength of the Intend forks, as our tests have shown. However, for the sliding bushing to work, the tolerances must be meticulously adhered to. This makes production more difficult (keyword: series variation) as well as the maintenance of the components.
While normal bushings for bicycle suspension forks are made of a soft aluminium alloy together with a reasonably flexible PTFE sliding layer, which can be adjusted to the tolerances of the housing and the tube by simple compression (also known as calibration), motocross bushings are made of a bronze backing and a solid PTFE layer. These cannot be calibrated and must fit. - Cornelius Kapfinger, Intend
No reason for Intend to try exactly that. - "If necessary, in a limited special series in which all tolerance combinations can be harmonised by hand," says the Freiburg fork manufacturer.
Only high-end parts for the Intend Moto chassis
When it comes down to micrometres, Intend relies on the highest quality components. The sliding tubes, for example, come from an Austrian turning shop that Intend works with. The upper sliding tubes are turned to size and then hard anodised to minimise wear on the friction surface. They are then polished again.
The two-component seals from the specialists at SKF originate from the motocross sector.
The sliding bushes for the Moto chassis come from S-tech.
Technical data Intend Moto suspension fork:
- Weight: 2475 g
- Suspension travel: 180 mm, 170 mm, 160 mm, ...
- Axle: 110 x 15 Boost
- Brake mount: 203 or 180 mm
- Shank: Tapered
- Suspension: air, adjustable, progression customisable
- Damping, oil, adjustable in LSC and LSR
Technical data Intend Moto damper:
- Weight: 450 - 550 g
- Lengths:
250 metric / 225 trunnion - 75 mm stroke
230 metric / 205 trunnion - 65 mm stroke
210 metric / 185 trunnion - 55 mm stroke - Stroke: All strokes can be reduced externally by 2.5, 5 or 7.5 mm
- Suspension: air, adjustable, progression customisable
- Damping: Oil, adjustable in LSC and LSR
The race with the competition? Wasn't one at all...
Intend's motivation for the Moto suspension project was the Push suspension fork, which apparently worked with a sliding bushing system. However, Cornelius Kapfinger had to realise that it was a "false alarm". The Intend prototypes were therefore not the second on the market, but once again way out in front. So if you would like to own a set of the limited edition super-de-luxe Intend Moto chassis, the special series of 10 sets is now available in the Intend online shop at intend-bc.com. First come, first serve. 3999 euros.
Marc Strucken
Editor
