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Owned a blackline Intend edge for some time, never really jived with it. I am a heavier rider (200lbs geared up). Things I didn't get along with the fork - 1. The compression tune was too light from factory, though I did fix that later on. On flatter rides it feels great but never quite gave the confidence to charge in more demanding scenarios. 2. On slow & steep tech sections the "compliance" built into the usd design becomes a bit unnerving - especially when trying to turn with a lot of weight on the front wheel. Sometimes the handlebar and front wheel are not perpendicular anymore in those moments. I think both of these stem from my weight - I passed this fork on to a much lighter friend and he hasn't experienced nearly as much flex as I had. I am currently on a EXT vaia and even the EXT usa guys have told me to slightly over-torque the crown bolts so maintain rigidity. TDLR - if you're heavy like I am, the fork may have some issues. Seems to not affect lighter guys.
NO INTENDS FOR YOU (AMERICANS)
(blame the fat fuck)
Damn, had been waiting on a 55 stroke Hover to finally be available too. Wonder how bad the DHL express shipping will be.
I lucked out - just received a Opt Damper without tariffs!
Darren, I feel like you probably already know this, or at least you should already know it, but this is a ridiculous claim and isn’t a defensible patent based on prior art.
There are multiple previously existing fenders for inverted forks have attached the fender to the stanchion guards. Off the top of my head:
1.The Manitou Dorado has had fender a fender that is integrated into the stanchion guards since at least 2019.
2. The EXT Vaia Has a similar type of fender that attaches to the stanchion guards.
3. There are a multitude of motorcycle forks the have integrated stanchion guards/fenders.
The only possible claim that you might have for novelty is the fact that your fender can be removed without having to remove the stanchion guards, but that is moot since EXT has already implemented a similar system, and I also highly doubt that it would pass the test for obviousness.
To me, the fact that you are trying to claim a patent for this, and keep other people from implementing an obvious solution to a problem (that has already been suggested by any number of people on this very forum), is distasteful and makes me much less likely to consider purchasing a Push product.
THAT‘s the only off putting thing?
I have to say I completely agree with what’s already been said here. This type of mudguard solution is not new, other brands have been doing it for years. Personally, I run an EXT Vaia fork and bought this version of their fender:
https://visionvelo.eu/product/ext-vaia-racing-mudguard/
In my experience the quality isn’t great, the hose clamp actually broke after just two days of bike park riding and for the price it’s honestly pretty crazy for what’s essentially a mudguard. But regardless of the quality, the point is that this exact concept already exists on the market, so trying to claim novelty here just doesn’t really hold up. Also got one on my previous Dorado, the only difference was that the version from Manitou came with integrated stanchion protectors.
I guess I should have put an emoji in my comment, as this was meant to be tongue-in-cheek mostly.
That being said, it is my understanding that the Dorado fender is a one-piece structure completely integrated into the guards, much like what DVO did, which is different than what we're doing. As for EXT, their system was introduced long after we had begun going down this path. At the end of the day, we'll just have to see how things play out. This is definitely not my area of expertise.
PUSH is a very small company compared to companies such as FOX, RS, EXT, and Manitou. We've lost both employees and technologies to these companies and are now are focused on working harder to protect the hard work put in by our staff here at PUSH. And, the efforts are paying off as we just recently completed a licensing deal with one of the previously mentioned companies for one of our patents.
My apologies for sounding off-putting. I just want to contribute to the conversation where I can, and sometimes forget how easily things are lost in translation when being typed and read versus an actual in-person conversation.
So is poor bushing fit and chassis bind now a "good thing"?
Saying you don't notice bushing bind in a fork that has never been ridden without the bushings binding is pretty funny.
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/comment-fork-alignment-and-friction-in-the-fox-podium.html
you know what's also off-putting? trying to deflect problems to something some dealer apparently sold someone wrong to then collect the fork again and replacing a lot of things...
I'm not sure what you're referring to, but I am happy to respond if you could provide more information.
That article smells paid advertisement for miles. Given the fact you can get Podium USD at 10-25% discount these days, i guess its some damage control from Fox for sitting on too much stock with a bad reputation.
Same thing broke for me! I ended up drilling it through and ran 2 zipties.
your very first post in this thread...
and the ones in this one:
https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/hub/fork-chassis-axles-friction-burnish…
My responses are out of concern for a rider who spent what I consider to be a large amount of money with my company, and not being happy with the results. That's not acceptable to me. It doesn't matter where the customer bought our product; I only ask as it helps with context. In the case of my first post, the rider was trying someone else's fork, so there's no more than I could offer.
In regard to the post that you linked...something about the original fork that Skunk Works received just seemed off, and we wanted a longer look at it. In order not to burden the customer, we decided to replace his fork with an entirely new unit under warranty in order to get him back on the trail more quickly, while at the same time allowing our engineering department to dissect that problematic fork to understand what was going on with it.
We are not perfect, and we make mistakes. We also deal with supplier, material, and manufacturing defects. At the end of the day, I value our customers' money and have an extremely high expectation for both their product and support experience. I didn't mean to come off as deflecting, as I was truly concerned with understanding the situation more so that I could provide a solution that ultimately puts the customer in the right.
Again, I apologize for coming off as anything other than just wanting to contribute to the threads and help.
Regardless of what any of our opinions are on the Nine One, I want to say thanks for being so involved in this thread and wanting to communicate clearly and directly. Direct and public communication between customers and the head of a suspension company is nearly unheard of, so it's appreciated!
Thanks, Darren.
Intend Flash 35 Update
The rain has finally come and the trails have been excellent as of late with the Flash getting some ride time and tuning. This is one of the best trails around, segment 28 of the Colorado trail above Durango. Roughly a 15 minute descent, great for suspension testing and tuning.
Being very similar, I assumed that the air spring settings from the Edge would transfer over to the Flash. This has not been the case. The air spring setup from the Edge running at 175mm was much too linear for the Flash at 190mm. Currently experimenting with pressures/volumes as well as the "linearizer" (2nd positive air chamber).
In addition, the LSC needle was changed at some point and is different from what is installed in the Edge damper. The latest version of the Intend LSC needle has a wider range, as well as increased resolution. There are now 17 clicks vs 11 for the older version, and the new needle will close off the LSC bleed entirely when fully wound in. Before there was still an open bleed across the piston even with the LSC adjuster fully closed.
The rebound feels the same and is a still a bit slow for the pressures being run. It will get re-valved softer, along with the compression being firmed up a bit. I can already feel that the new needle shape produces more damping when closed off.
So far the Flash 35 is what I expected, a slightly bigger and more robust version of the Edge. Even while still figuring out the setup, it is lots of fun on the front of a 180mm coil sprung Transition Spire!
No guards, no problems! 😁
interesting, mine still as only 11 clicks of LSC, but mine was produced right after they announced the upgraded version in 2024. which settings did you settle at by now? i recently installed a fast suspension fenix 2, before, my x2 couldn't keep up with the fork, now the fork can't keep up with the shock. i want the same magic carpet ride feeling now on the front too
I think the needle was updated in 2025 to the 17 click version. It is easy to change the LSC needle, I am planning on it but currently the entire world is not shipping to the US. Not exactly an ideal situation.
For the 11 click damper, LSC settings were around -2 (with the stiffer shim stack). Still setting the Flash up, but -2 on the 17 click damper is more supportive.
In speaking with another Intend rider, this damper may benefit from tuning the mid valve "check shim" on the rebound piston (if you are looking for more support). It is common for moto forks to use the MV to generate compression damping. The base valve lags behind a bit due to the fact that it first requires the oil to be displaced by the damper shaft in order for any damping force to be developed. The MV itself can resist the initial movement of the fork, before the shaft displaces any oil. The MV damping produced is usually very minor in MTB forks, but it is still something. It is also dependent on how open or closed the rebound needle is.
Mountain bike fork dampers typically utilize the MV simply as a check shim for rebound as it can easily get harsh if too restrictive. The Charger 2.1 is an example of this and is known for its MV "choke" at high shaft speeds. I believe it is related to the amount of float the check shim has (they are all backed by a spring and have some float before hitting a hard stop). The C2.1 has very little float for the MV check shim.
A few more rides then the Flash damper will get torn down for some experimenting. I love this stuff!
Awesome, keep it coming! I know Craig at Avy utilizes the mid valve to provide damping in his carts, but they’re a much larger diameter than the Intend Damper.
Regarding the usage of mid valve and avalanche... Avalanche is using an open bath damper and not a closed cartridge. That in and of itself, is not relevant to resulting damper performance... however how you get there is greatly impacted. I digress, when dealing with an open bath damper, you're banking on foaming and aeration of the damper fluid. This means that the usage of a mid valve for damping is much more common/relevant and it makes the overall mid valve vs base valve damping force balance a different animal for open bath vs closed cartridge dampers. This is a theoretical point to make in this case.
For what it's worth, I would love a discussion on this with regards to the different structure/design of the fork dampers that are currently on the market. That being said, it has nothing to do with upside-down forks other than the fact that each of the USD forks has it's own damping circuit design and that obviously impacts the end result, perception and performance.
Doesn't Intend offer the same fork damper with the same valving in two different packages - open bath and closed cartridge? I have the open bath version and am perfectly happy with it. Cornelius called it a personal preference with comparable performance, IIRC.
those were the green age forks before the optimized ones
The Essential shared the same damping parts as the Originals and Blackline forks, but it's a semi open bath system instead of the closed bladder version.
I haven't taken the damper apart, yet so I don't know how similar it is to other versions.
those are the ones they refer to as the green age ones (due to the sks seals), yours probably are having the older damper but the black racing bros seals
The newer sealed damper is very similar to the previous open bath version. Intend basically put a rubber bladder over the damper body, the compression unit still comes off in one piece from the bottom of the leg.
The shim stacks are quite different however, the older version had a stiffer compression and a softer rebound tune. There is also (as of 2025 or so) a new LSC needle that is different from before. It has a slightly wider range, smaller adjustment steps (17 clicks vs 11), and closes off the LSC circuit more than the previous version.
When it comes to intend guards, these are literally just clip on C sections: https://www.instagram.com/cerniworks/p/C-xTxIZIlOW/
Made a video of me yappin about my experience and tuning journey with the infinity EN but tldr bullets below:
- Damper tune not to my preference but solid architecture and easy to retune: Similarly to Skunk works, I wanted more compression and faster rebound. What I ended up on below. Interested in trying out the zero bleed LSC needle SWS mentioned.
Stock "Optimized" Tune: Compression: 14x0.1, 13x0.1, 12x0.1 Rebound: 14x0.15, 13x0.15, 12x0.15
My Current Tune: Compression: 14x0.15, 14x0.10, 13x0.10 Rebound: 14x0.10, 12x0.15, 12x0.15
- I'm a fan of the airspring, very linear. Running way over recommended pressure. Using the least progressive/additional volume cap. Tried linearlizer but did not like it at all, way too progressive when running enough pressure in main to get enough support off the top/middle.
- Infinite bushing spacing due to USD plus dual crown wombo combo is awesome. How free moving/frictionless it stays under braking/chonk is insane and took a little getting used to after being used to bushing bind on traditional forks. The additional torsional flex is only a benefit for the majority of riding IMO, but I did go from a 400g alloy xc wheel (was experimenting with more flex with traditional fork) to a carbon wheel to regain some steering stiffness so I do think there is such a thing as too much torsional compliance.
So if you guys were going to buy a new inverted 170mm fork for a full power e-bike and you plan to run fork guards and a 20mm front axle, would you choose:
1) Fox Podium?
2) Intend Flash 35?
3) Wait for the Intend Flash 38?
4) wait for the new KYB (edited) given their decades of MX experience? Off the list.
It's interesting to me that Fox states that their testers clearly preferred the 20mm steel axle and others are like 'it doesn't really matter'. Certainly Fox has more testing resources but then maybe they used the wrong hub or something?
Wait the Showa fork is actually real (a new one I mean...)???
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