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it's all good, rhetorical questions asked into the ether are not off limits. Either the hive mind answers them with knowledge, they get ignored or someone has a bright idea or question that stems off it.
the answer is nobody knows but intend
Re-the torsional flex experience, there's IMHO a bit of brain adjustment required if you are used to the feeling of rigid forks like the 38. In my 1st week with the Essential, I was very aware of the difference between stiffer and flexier front hubs in the fork, and thanks to the USD lore, my mind was locked on the flex, looking for it / finding it / dreading it. I was pre-conditioned to dislike it. A few weeks later, I just didn't care anymore. My brain got used to it. I can still tell the difference between hubs but it doesn't impact my riding anymore. I am actually enjoying the little bit of flex in some situations, and I believe it's easier on my poor wrists, too.
PUSH 9.1 V2 Changes
PUSH Industries ended up replacing the entire 9.1 fork due to oil seeping from the crown and a persistent creaking. They also upgraded the spring unit to the V2 version which has some interesting features.
"Sub Chamber"
There is a knob on top of the spring side leg which acts to slightly increase the spring rate (if closed off). It has not been apart yet, but I believe it seals off a chamber within the spring side effectively reducing the lower leg air volume. If so, this increases the lower leg or "casting" ramp effect. The adjustment is effective and can be felt by simply pushing on the fork. A potentially useful feature that could take the place of swapping to a stiffer spring if going from trail riding to the bike park. I currently run a 45# spring for trail riding, but swap to a 50# spring for the bike park. Unique in that it is effectively an air spring and the rate change will be progressive in nature.
Hydraulic Bottom Out
The pneumatic bottom out system has been replaced with an oil damper system. It is differs from the Vorsprung Smashpot HBO system in that it is itself a tiny little damper with an air pressure backed IFP. No shims, just a little piston in a sealed damper unit. It it tunable through changes in IFP pressure, and oil weight. Orifice dampers in general are very progressive in terms of damping force produced at increasing shaft speeds, and are reactive to changes in oil viscosity. More tunable than the previous air sprung unit, and it should have no effect on fork rebound damping.
Those updates to the fork all seem really smart. Makes a lot of sense. Excited to hear your impressions once you're able to get out on the trail on it.
You guys should take the arguing to PMs so you can effectively yell into the same echo chamber. In here, we should discuss upside down suspension stuff. You know, "Stranger things, season 4, forks and stuff"
die dumb then, i'll enjoy my flash in the meantime. without torque caps, although mine is still compatible. for whatever reason that is so very important to you.
I think Pedal Bob and sethimus need to hug it out.
Please guys. Don't.
I think the spiking issue on moto forks is a result of going air on Moto forks about 10 years ago and why the Factory forks take the weight penalty and run coil.
I'm on the outside of moto world, but are most moto forks really running air now? I thought that was a blip and everyone went back to coils, on factory team bikes and on Joe Blow OEM bikes, too.
Not sure if you bought this Flash 35 just for testing purposes or for personal use, but if you decide to sell it, I'm a serious buyer.
After looking at the various USD options I intend to get the Flash 35 for a new Regulator build.
Have you worked anything out for guards for the lower stanchions?
Thx.
PS. Great thread btw!
Air is becoming more and more of a rarity in moto. KTM/Husky/GG still use the "AER" (air) lineup of Xact forks in their motocross bikes but have moved their enduro bikes to coil. I don't follow the mx/sx stuff that much but I believe Tomac and Webb are on air right now (among others).
I've run both air and coil, both can be made to work well (similar to a mountain bike). @Suns_PSD - I'm going to disagree with your hypothesis however. While there is an adiabatic compression effect with air under very high shaft speeds, this is something we deal with in mtb too. Shaft speeds on the WC are the same as what a moto rider is going to see, so if this was really the catalyst, we'd never see anyone on air at the WC level (but we see a lot of it.) Anyone who has ever ridden an air spring then swapped to coil (and is going fast, hitting things hard) knows what this first hand. The air spring tends to feel a bit stiffer when running into stuff hard at high shaft speeds.
The spiking I'm talking about is far more dramatic. It literally can feel like the forks are locked out. I've had it happen with air, coil, and multiple damper configurations. My hypothesis is its either coming from a damper that has its roots in moto, where you aren't running into square edged bumps at 25mph (super high shaft speed) and it can't flow enough oil OR it has something do with the bushing design and the force vector essentially preventing the forks from cycling.
Final point, its moto, so I say forks. Which is so, so dumb of me.
stanchion guards are not needed. the only thing that hit my bike this year a lot are those cow gates:
Glad it's working out for you.
My lowers on the other hand after about 18 months of use.
The only Intend guard options I am aware of are the Rulezman carbon fiber ones (very $), or a newer option that looks to be 3D printed out of the Santa Cruz area.
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3998707/
Intend also offers all forks (?) as a Blackline option which is a different lower leg/lug design that includes metal guards. The Flash pictured above was ordered as the version without the guards as it needed to be Torque cap compatible. It is being run without guards for the time being, fingers crossed.
lower legs are made of cheese compared to stanchions. FWIW, the original intend stanchions are rather hard to score..(during transport, when most of shit happens anyway).
if you dont mind minor scratches in the crown you can get b-stock flash forks right now for less:
https://www.intend-bc.com/shop/unique-forks-b-stock/
If you were to really scratch a stanchion badly, what is replacement cost? Being its just one tube with a lug mated to it, I could see it being semi-reasonable. At least when compared to very expensive guards?
I believe lower leg replacement from Intend is only 70 Euro, so very reasonable.
It's the whole back and forth from Germany that could add some time and money.
Only thing I care about these guards is how rad they look. In the unlikely case I ever get one of these forks I make sure they're on
Rocks are pretty hard though, and depending on how you crash, rocks care more about bulk material properties than surface hardness. I do not see a USD stanchion surviving many of the dents and gouges my oldest fork has collected in its lowers (and which still functions just fine). My newest fork has no damage because I got better (or more likely more cautious) but I still wouldn't risk it.
getting guards (rulezman) would cost me about 4 leg replacements, so far i haven’t scratched them once
Does anyone know if there are stanchion guards that incorporate a mudguard to fit Intend's forks? Kinda like the ones that Push have (see photo). Its the one off putting thing about USD forks for me, especially living in Ireland where you need something year round really. I know Intend have their own mudguard that fits into the bottom of the steerer tube, but it doesn't seem like as clean a solution.
Alternatively, I wonder if Push's mudguard could be modded to fit with the intend forks?
That is an insane price if true
Unfortunately (for now), all of the guards on the market are way more expensive than just purchasing an extra stanchion ( 200-250 for guards vs. 70 for a stanchion). Makes way more sense to just have an extra stanchion on hand.
FWIW, after owning my Edge for 3 years, I had my first major stanchion scare the other day, and I wasn't even riding. Had my bike propped up just outside my garage, my son bumped it, and the stanchion hit the corner of the brick entry and proceeded to slide down the brick corner, grinding the whole way.....not a single scratch. Not gonna lie, my butt did pucker watching it happen from across the driveway....
nothing to mount them against. rulezman uses some stick on holders but they wont hold that much weight so answer is no
afaik https://visionvelo.eu/ wanted to look into making something more custom for intend forks this fall, but haven't heard anything recent yet, but probably something like their ext vaia fender: https://visionvelo.eu/product/ext-vaia-mx-mudguard/
Whoever can make an aftermarket Push-style mudguard for the Podium that sits closer to the tire is going to make dozens of dollars. I know I'll buy one.
The legs are priced reasonably (on the standard, not the Blackline which is a single piece and therefore surely more expensive) but also require a press. The issue is that the Intend forks are claimed to be carefully part matched so your particular parts don't bind.
I'd rather spend $250 more to protect the legs than mess with all that down the road.
For me, it's not a fork I'd own if I could not rig up some quality fork leg protection.
Anyways, I'm building up a new bike for the Fall to replace the Relay. It'll likely be a Regulator, Sidekick hubs laced to M8 Enve rims & probably the Intend fork.
I do want to work a bit more on getting happier with my Avy Hybrid Mezzer though. I've ridden units that have been amazing, but mine just isn't.
They would need to make sure that they had a licensing deal in place with us before doing that. We have a pending global patent in place for our fender system.
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