Intend Hero RD Cornelius Kapfinger is at it again, this time with the Hero RD, a new upside down fork aimed at the downcountry / trail crowd. The fork's chassis is made by Intend in Germany, but for this model the damper comes from RockShox – it's the same pint-sized, lightweight Charger Race Day you'll find in a SID.
Details• Intended use: downcountry / trail
• Travel: 120, 110, 100, or 90mm
• Air spring, adjustable progression
• Axle: 15 x 110mm
• Axle-to-crown: 525mm (120mm travel)
• 180 or 203mm brake mount
• Weight: 1650 grams
• MSRP: 1385.71 Euro (without VAT, damper not included)
• Available late February
• More info:
www.intend-bc.com Intend's small size allows them to march to the beat of their own drum, in this case by having customers purchase the RockShox Charger Race Day damper from their preferred shop, and then send it over to Intend for installation. That's not a tactic you're likely to see any of the major suspension manufacturer's adopt any time soon. According to Kapfinger, he wasn't able to create a damper with a lockout on his own that was as light as RockShox's, so this seemed like the best solution.
USD forks have had their ups and downs in the mountain bike world over the years (no pun intended), but Kapfinger is convinced the design is an advantage for every riding style. He's very happy with the Hero's level of torsional stiffness, and says the high level of fore-aft stiffness is a benefit, especially on a lighter, shorter travel fork like this. There's also the fact that the fork oil is constantly keeping the seals lubricated, and the bushings have less leverage on them than in a 'regular' fork.
The fork weighs in at 1650 grams, which means it's heavier than the XC-race focused 1537 gram SID and 1496 gram Fox 34 StepCast, but lighter than the 1820 gram Fox 34. It's available with 120, 110, 100, or 90mm of travel, and it's possible to reduce the travel even further if a rider desires.
The Charger damper allows for rebound adjustment via a 2.5mm allen key, and the small lever on the top of the fork allows it to be toggled between open and locked out. The other side of the fork houses Intend's air spring, with the ability to adjust the amount of progression via volume spacers.
There's no denying the fact that the Hero RD is an eyecatcher – in fact, Gustav Gullholm, aka Dangerholm, already has the fork installed for his next downcountry build. We'll work on getting our hands on one for review as well - it'll be interesting to see how the USD design feels out on the trail compared to the latest batch of right-side-up forks.
171 Comments
I also dont think they will just crack and fall apart, they look very over-built to me, I just think the benefits stop at the look of the product though, which seems to be a growing trend in the bike world, makes for some interesting looking bikes at least and that is surely part of it for many people.
Just trying to understand if you think some things can work better than others or not, or if everything ‘works or doesn’t’
I do think it looks amazing though, so probably worth it for that alone for many.
"Kapfinger is convinced the design is an advantage for every riding style. He's very happy with the Hero's level of torsional stiffness, and says the high level of fore-aft stiffness is a benefit, especially on a lighter, shorter travel fork like this. There's also the fact that the fork oil is constantly keeping the seals lubricated, and the bushings have less leverage on them than in a 'regular' fork."
Will still get freely available warranty from RS / SRAM though.
Either way, its a bloody lovely looking thing and if you can afford it and want a fork in this segment I am sure it will make you a happy person, even just for how it makes your bike look.
Ambiguity at best to deceive... The RS-1 tracking was absolutely terrible compared to the SID in torsional stiffness, and the SID was already behind it's XC peers in torsional stiffness.
www.pinkbike.com/news/rockshox-rs-1-review.html
I think you need to drop fork stiffness being the be-all end-all, they need to be stiff enough, overly stiff is not any better than overly flexy.....
I have ridden the RS-1 on a few different customer bikes... Total crap. Sorry, not sorry. Anyone of adequate size who has ridden something more substantial can feel a difference. Just search RS-1 + flex and you'll find lots of owners who complained.
Adequate size....do tell. I'm 185, do I count?
I trust PB more than most...Mike said it wasn't overly flexy, like many reviewers, like my experience.
We need a huck to flat test on one of these to see how it flexes compared to a "standard" fork
I know, that's why I'd like to see the slow mo. It's always talked about but I'd like to se the evidence (just out of interest, not because I doubt the claims).
If only I could find a Charger2 damper for it...
And wouldn't the bushings actually have less lubrication in the case of an inverted fork because they are above the seals?
The oil also pools under the bushings in a regular fork, so I don't think it's a huge issue anyway. In this case the stanchion has to slide up, through the pool of oil, to reach the bushing so it might be better than the normal design.
Thanks guys. I wasn't sure how that worked out, if the whole internals were inverted or what. That makes sense if the oil is kept above in the seal/bushing area.
Sure, MX forks that are filled with a very large amount of oil (300-400cc) because weight does not matter with a 45-60 HP engine.
In my eyes, this the smartest use of the upside down technology from Intend I've seen yet.
PB, review please!?
Please elaborate? Do you own or ride a USD fork? Have you personally had any negative affect from them 'twisting like noodles' during use?
If anything, the flex is more of a benefit than disadvantage. Rock gardens and off camber corners especially, where the fork works for you, not against you!
He could at least have at least purchased the dampers from RS himslef, and install them Before sale! Save the customer this hassle. Or allow the customer to fit he damper themselves; screwing in a cartridge and foot nut is not difficult or specialist work!
This is not a real world test! Wow its surprising people still make this comment.
Sure, the flex is there in the carpark, but not noticable in a real riding situation.
How often do you jam your front wheel between 2 large rocks or trees then twist the bars dramatically at the same time?
(I own a 2012 dorado, and came off a modified Shiver DC before the Dorado.
Only time i ever notice twist while riding is after crashing and dropping the bike.)
Ps. I believe the rockshox sponsored riders only made the switch away from the RS1 due to the SID being lighter, not higher performing
This is not a real world test! Wow its surprising people still make this comment.
Sure, the flex is there in the carpark, but not noticable in a real riding situation.
How often do you jam your front wheel between 2 large rocks or trees then twist the bars dramatically at the same time?
(I own a 2012 dorado, and came off a modified Shiver DC before the Dorado.
Only time i ever notice twist while riding is after crashing and dropping the bike.)
Ps. I believe the rockshox sponsored riders only made the switch away from the RS1 due to the SID being lighter, not higher performing
Also you can see that it rises.
If it is, then that's great. Because I ride fork with almost all the way open on compression anyway.