Prototype Enduro Fork - Crankworx Rotorua 2020

Mar 6, 2020
by Mike Levy  
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If you're looking for a fork that can double as a mirror, here it is. This very shiny and unlabelled prototype was spotted in the Crankworx Rotorua pits, with the only markings on it being "Prototype #3" written on the back of its machined crown. Judging by the beefy chassis and what appears to be at least 160mm of travel (or more), it's clearly intended for all-mountain and enduro use. Any guesses as to whose fork it could be?

The thread-on caps at the crown, as well as the adjuster at the bottom of the right leg, give it away as being from Intend Bicycle Components. The small, high-end German brand has previously only manufactured inverted suspension, like their Infinity DH fork. Stay tuned for more details as we get them.


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129 Comments
  • 130 1
 How cool would it be of they made the production version look just like that.
  • 92 3
 That might be what they "Intend" to do.
  • 13 0
 Id hit it.
  • 64 0
 Hopefully they just call it "production fork #1"
  • 9 3
 @seismicninja so you mean it's a Nicolai ?
  • 6 0
 That would probably hurt you @Lurch420:
  • 9 1
 Perfect fit for the grim donut
  • 1 2
 Exactly like their other one?! Would be pretty insane with my raw frame but 1900 euros.... thats like 3000$ here in Canada!!! :O www.pinkbike.com/news/intend-edge-new-age-pressrelease.html


I'll wait for the EXT fork and if also too much, I'll wait for the new Rock Shox and Fox to see if there's a good coil fork otherwise I'll just add a pound on my lyrik with the Smashpot coil kit!
  • 4 0
 On a raw ripmo af with ti coil shock and some ee wings and a brown chrimag saddle. If you're going full Pagani huarya with it, use a Nicolai frame
  • 3 0
 @Timo82: The Rockshox Totem -or some PC enough new name for it- must be close to making a return. The rumoured Fox 38 needs competition
  • 1 0
 @banffowen: Yeah some people think they will be available as soon as this spring! Both of them!
  • 2 0
 @Timo82: dammit. my bike is gonna be un-ridable! better start saving.
  • 1 0
 @banffowen: Whats with the Totem name, PC etc?
  • 3 0
 @streetkvnt-kvlt: Rock Shox Totem was a 40mm 180mm travel single crown fork.
  • 3 0
 @streetkvnt-kvlt: Using the name Totem these days could be construed as 'cultural appropriation' these days.
PC = politically correct.
  • 1 0
 @seismicninja: I already knew what it was. Was asking about possible name related matters etc.
  • 3 0
 @banffowen: by who exactly? And I thought PC meant 'Personal Computer' not politically correct.
  • 1 0
 @streetkvnt-kvlt: Google 'headdresses at music festivals'
  • 1 0
 @Timo82: why don’t you just up grade it via push industries. Or get a marzocchi z1

And extreme shox is a Italian brand. It’s location is right next to Milan. I think they’ll delay to launch til late May - early summer.
  • 1 0
 @banffowen: you want me to look at pictures of hippies?! Dear god man are you trying to make me see things that cannot be unseen!
  • 1 0
 @enduroNZ: so long as it dont leave me with the aids I'm happy. Shes sexy as f*ck.
  • 1 0
 @Happypanda1337: Z1 has only like 4 spring rate, something like that... really not at the same level as push or vorsprung. I still really prefer vorsprung as it has hydro bottom out and is canadian so easier to get/tune/service/warranty and cheaper for me. EXT fork should feel like a coil fork but without the weight... well that's what they seems to say! I am waiting for price and weight actually...nobodys can tell me right now.


They said something like they continue to work as normal so everything's fine!? Pretty sure the fork is gonna be too much money for me but wanted a shock.... maybe I'll buy something else to start the season and buy it after, just to be sure!! :S
  • 73 2
 That cable routing solution is pretty baller
  • 5 0
 If this fork is what I think it is, well I'll take two.
  • 13 2
 Nothing says high end like a dremeled out rut and a thread tap
  • 7 0
 Looks like it would get in the way of a mud guard?
  • 7 0
 @bishopsmike: These pics show the routing better. www.mtb-news.de/news/gefraester-federgabel-prototyp Looks like it might be compatible. You'd think being able to run a mudguard is a must, and yet look at all the bikes without bottle mounts ; )
  • 4 0
 @blowmyfuse: The hipster thing to say would be "my fork is hand-crafted"
  • 1 0
 I’d probably take a mud guard over a bottle mount. I do ride in the wet a lot though.@gemma8788:
  • 2 1
 @blowmyfuse: yes, because everything about this fork screams some hack with a Dremel...
  • 1 1
 @gemma8788: And if we corelate with this interview of Chris Porter ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KO-WK0PpBA ), I think we now know what the EXT fork look like.
  • 47 0
 Haha. I Just Had Beers with Cornelius here in Freiburg, Germany. Really wish we were in Rotorua to promote a fork.
  • 7 1
 Hätt ich meinen Arsch drauf verwettet.... Schaaaaaade
  • 16 0
 Cannot determine if that is a denial or ownership or not...
  • 3 0
 This is a trickstuff fork if I am not mistaken, maybe Cornelius helped develope it he used to work for Trickstuff, but do not think it is a Intend branded fork
  • 6 1
 And being an owner of your best 2 piston brakes in the world the Piccola I shudder to think how much this will cost. And even greater shudder to think that I will find a way to own one.
  • 2 0
 @reverend27: who needs kidneys anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  • 1 0
 @christiaan: I don't know but it has an Intend crown...

www.pinkbike.com/news/intend-edge-new-age-pressrelease.html
  • 1 0
 @christiaan: Ik denk dat het een Intend is... kijken wie gelijk heeft.
Heb je lichte remmen al gevonden?
  • 1 0
 @bikybiky: t is een trickstuff vork, Cornelius heeft geholpen, maar we gaan t zien...

Remmen lastig kan een set dirittessma krijgen maar de piccola hd carbon zijn lichter. Vandaag clavicula dh cranks ontvangen
  • 26 0
 The fact is, if you go to any random grassy area, and you're very very quiet, you can catch one of these forks out grazing....
  • 7 0
 A wild fork appeared!
  • 35 8
 Full long-term review coming tomorrow
  • 41 1
 We don't know what this is or who made it, but we still managed to get an entire photoshoot with it!
  • 5 0
 Or at least a huck to flat
  • 3 0
 @OpeSorryAbootThat: it just landed on the grass in that vertical position. Amazing.
  • 1 0
 @OpeSorryAbootThat: of course they know. this is marketing leaks news.... lol
  • 13 0
 You guys were able to do a full photoshoot with it, but you couldn't even figure out how much travel it has, or get a definitive answer on who made it?
  • 17 2
 It was just sitting in random vacant grassy lot. Nobody around. A sign on the ground a few feet away says “we’re watching.”
  • 13 0
 Pinkbike marketing 101
  • 8 1
 Not sure why that is so odd. If a company produces a prototype and sends it out under some riders at an event like crankworx its obviously going to be seen so there's no harm in letting PB take pictures. They aren't hiding the existence of the fork. But that doesn't mean they need to tell PB any details if they are still in the early stages of testing.
  • 4 1
 @sino428: who carries just a fork around a major sporting event? Expect an article tomorrow soon.
  • 2 0
 @jaydawg69: that’s possible too for sure. But it could also have been off of a bike it the pits so they were able to take some photos. Just saying it wouldn’t be that unusual.
  • 2 3
 @PHeller: I hear they will call it the HRC....upset the thing and your dead.
  • 12 0
 "was spotted in the Crankworx Rotorua pits"
Looks like it was just standing upright in someones back yard
  • 3 0
 Rotorua is one big back yard. In a good way.
  • 8 0
 Well, I´ve seen it mentioned as trickstuff prototype before, Kornelius used to work with them so it´s natural he could be involved. www.mtb-news.de/news/gefraester-federgabel-prototyp
  • 1 0
 The Article says it was ridden by a Trickstuff employee, not that it is by Trickstuff. Important difference!
  • 6 0
 Cornelius often co-works with Trickstuff....diretissima brakes for example...
  • 34 27
 Reminds me of my ex girlfriend.... Ugly but super plush.
  • 38 5
 and can take 160mm... or more.
  • 3 6
 Shiny and alluring but ultimately not what you wanted. Sell on classifieds.
  • 6 4
 Well lubricated & stout looking in an organic, Morrissey meets Ministry kind of way?
  • 4 4
 Reminds me of your wife, polished but rough around the edges, super plush
  • 2 4
 @blowmyfuse: Ministry as in Prison Ready RevCo style in the land of rape and honey?
  • 1 0
 @RoadStain: ok...
  • 2 0
 @savagelake: apparently she wanted more than 36mm
  • 1 0
 @savagelake: remains to be tested.
  • 2 0
 Ugly?! Mmmmmm okayyyyyyyy.... I suppose you were waiting for a fork review with your joke already in your mind and just wrote it anyway because you were so proud.... even if it's the better looking fork we've ever seen! lol

The raw Manitou Mezzer was nice but they didn't even sold them.....only black for us! This one is just fuc*%/ insane!!
  • 2 0
 @RoadStain: Land of Rape & Honey. And...yes, we can party anytime!
  • 2 0
 @blowmyfuse: I love the down votes from people who have no idea what I said. Ministry on iHeart is my go to ride mix...They mix in some Front242
  • 2 0
 @RoadStain: I still have several KMFDM CD's that stress the missus.
  • 6 0
 Clearly Intend, it has the same CNC'd compression adjuster knob as seen here: www.pinkbike.com/photo/18270279
  • 3 1
 That‘s not a knob, mate
  • 6 0
 I learned how to do a chamfer the other day in fusion360. Who wants to hire me as a lead engineer?
  • 6 0
 Reminds me of my White Brothers Fork, but shiny.
  • 10 0
 and sprays you gently with every compression?
  • 4 1
 @blowmyfuse: and you have to rebuild it every day?
  • 4 0
 @blowmyfuse: a slightly different take on the Scottoiler
  • 5 1
 Hopefully it comes as 20mm. A 15mm axle has no business on a long travel enduro fork.
  • 4 1
 Ya so everyone but you has to buy a new hub. Sounds awesome.
  • 2 0
 @reverend27: Sounds "bike industry standard".......
  • 1 0
 I have a BOS fork with 20mm axle, took me 5 months to find their 15mm axle.
  • 3 0
 Has a slot been milled in the arch to pass the cable through? If so why diminish the rigidity by removing this material?????????
  • 5 1
 You mean like every other manufacturer out there? Nobody has a solid arch. Intend did the smart thing though and added a cap that keeps the webbing or lattice from filling up with crud, negating the weight savings.
  • 1 0
 I think this is bonded together, at least the two lower legs and the bridge connecting them. The edge between the parts is too pronounced and is dirty, which is not something you mould or cut. But it something that you glue or screw together. Since the screws aren't visible, I'm saying glue.

I'd say something similar for the dropouts (that way you can just use pipes for the main part of the lowers and lower the complexity).

Gluing together cut parts is a common thing in the prototype land before you get castings so we might see the final product be much different to this.
  • 5 1
 Haha, Cornelius back at it again! I'd definitley give it a try.
  • 5 1
 I’ve heard rumors of an EXT fork...
  • 2 0
 That's pretty much ready to go
  • 2 0
 There´s no rumors, EXT guys don´t need bs like FOX or RS to hype up their products, it´s coming.
  • 1 0
 it is definitly coming and looks very much different then the fork on the picture
  • 1 0
 In May!
  • 1 0
 I saw some picture in EXT instagram and seems very different from this. This seems a prototype made by Intend for someone else, maybe just for cheching the internals?
  • 1 0
 Did he just CNC the entire lower legs out of one billet?

Cornelius, can you please not make that groove for the cable? Do it on the plate instead, please.
  • 1 0
 I really like it, add some anodised bling and it will stand out like the dogs.... in the bike park.
  • 5 4
 Back to the inverted vs traditional suspension fork battle! let the thread begin!
  • 4 1
 Intend!
  • 7 4
 Tesla fork
  • 4 1
 looks like a dog
  • 3 0
 What the fork!
  • 2 0
 It's a Z-1 polished Bam all over again....wheres my 20mm axel at Smile
  • 1 0
 Underrated comment!
  • 1 0
 I am looking for a 38mm stanchions forks, this one could do the job, doesn’t it ??
  • 1 0
 I think the EXT is gonna be 38mm! Probably the new Rock Shox too (only prototype for now). Fox 38.
  • 2 0
 Looks like it's been in a shed for a year or 2
  • 2 0
 Intend
  • 1 0
 Nicolai owners, prepare your wallets!
  • 2 0
 Put pinch bolts plz
  • 1 0
 Marzocchi Z1, legendary fork!
  • 1 0
 The seals look Pink in the first photo?
  • 2 0
 Stratos S7! (barf)
  • 1 0
 That arch looks pretty flimsy :/
  • 1 0
 Where the crap was this?!
  • 1 0
 that would be a perfect fork for any nicolai build
  • 1 0
 CSU CREAK FREE PLEASE!!!
  • 1 1
 Manitou? Is that you bro?
  • 1 0
 Take my money now
  • 2 2
 Trickstuff!!!!
  • 1 0
 I always think there's some Connections between intend and Trickstuff
  • 5 5
 Looks like a Session
  • 1 1
 Fake news
  • 1 2
 Push
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