Intend Flash 35 Fork

Overbuilt on purpose

Heavy rider? Uber-aggressive? Bike-park regular? The Intend Flash 35 takes the Edge and reinforces the upper assembly and crown even further, for the stiffest, most precise 35mm upside-down fork Intend make. It's also a great match for big-hitting e-bikes.

It's got race pedigree too: the Flash 35 won the German national enduro title in both the women's and men's categories.

Same OPTimized damping, Smooth Operator and Travel Ranger spring as the rest of the gravity range, with 160-190mm of travel. Choose Originals or Blackline.

• Burlier than the Edge: for heavier riders, e-bikes, freeride and enduro racing at 160-190mm.
• Want the ultimate single-crown stiffness? The Flash 38 steps up to 38mm stanchions.

Where does the Flash 35 sit in the range?

Ordered lightest to burliest. Weights are Intend's claimed figures. Blackline versions of Hero, Edge and Flash 35 add forged one-piece lowers, stanchion guards and Racing Bros wipers. The full spec chart (dampers, adjustments, axles, brake mounts) is in the product photos.

The Inside Line:
If your idea of a recovery ride is "only" five jump lines, meet your new best friend.

Features:

• Upside-down enduro / freeride / e-MTB fork
• Travel: 160-190mm, internally adjustable
• Weight: 2350g
• Stanchions: 35mm, reinforced uppers and crown
• Damping: OPTimized closed cartridge with Smooth Operator
• Adjust: rebound, compression, air pressure, progression (2 alternative caps included)
• Axle: 15 or 20x110mm Boost, heavy-duty aluminium axle
• Brake mount: 180mm, 200/203mm or 220/223mm included
• Steerer: tapered 1 1/8" - 1.5", 240mm
• Offset: 44mm
• Axle-to-crown: 601.5 (190), 591.5 (180), 581.5 (170), 571.5 (160)
• Wheel size: 29" only
• EFBE E-Gravity rated

Technologies:
Upside-down (USD) chassis
The big tubes sit up top in the crown and the thin stanchions slide into them at the bottom. That puts the stiffest, strongest part of the fork where the loads are highest, keeps the seals permanently bathed in oil (super-supple off the top) and drops unsprung weight at the axle. The trade-off: no fork brace, so the axle and its clamp do the work of keeping the legs in sync, and the exposed stanchions want a little care (or the Blackline guards).
Travel Ranger air spring
Intend's latest air spring fills the positive and negative chambers together through one valve, so setup is just "pump to pressure and ride". A big negative chamber makes the start of the stroke incredibly supple without a wallowy mid-stroke. Travel changes internally in 10mm steps with tokens, so no new air shaft is needed.
OPTimized damping + Smooth Operator
A sealed, self-bleeding bladder cartridge with shim-stack compression and rebound circuits (the same internals across Hero, Edge and Flash). The Smooth Operator compression unit uses a floating "Oscillator" shim stack: it adds low and mid-speed support for braking and pumping, then blows off on fast, square hits so you don't get the harshness that preloaded shims bring.
Tokenless progression
Progression is tuned by swapping the bottom cap of the air spring rather than stacking volume tokens. Two alternative caps come in the box: one for more ramp-up, one for less.
Blackline version
Blackline adds forged one-piece, hard-anodised black lower legs, CNC-machined stanchion guards and Racing Bros dust wipers. If you're worried about rocks chipping an exposed stanchion, or just want it stealthy, this is your pick.
Hand-built, one at a time
Every Intend fork is assembled by hand in Freiburg by riders, not robots. The crown and uppers are bonded with high-strength Loctite so the chassis stays stiff and creak-free (Intend quote 99.98% of forks never creak), each bushing is sized to its own tube so nothing binds, every fork is checked for perfectly parallel tubes, and the lowers get exactly 15ml of Motorex Supergliss 32K/68K lube. No guesswork, no "close enough".

Notes:

• Steel-braided brake hoses are not recommended on USD forks (they can rub the stanchions).
• Not compatible with RockShox TorqueCap hubs.
• 29" wheels only (unless stated). 44mm offset.
• Fork steerer arrives uncut (240mm): measure twice, cut once.
• Two progression bottom caps are included.
• Originals per distributor: supplied for 20mm axle with 220mm brake adapter. Ask us if you need 15mm or a different mount.

Setup:

• Start at about 1.0 psi per kg of rider weight (with gear), then fine-tune. E.g. 80kg rider = ~80psi.
• Rebound: start mid-range, then adjust so the front wheel doesn't leave the ground when you push down and let go quickly.
• Low-speed compression: clicks 1-6 from closed are the "race" zone (more support); from click 6 open is fine-tuning for comfort. Start at click 6.
• Progression: try the stock bottom cap first, then swap caps if you bottom out or can't use full travel.
• Torques: axle clamp bolts 10Nm, axle 5Nm, brake mount bolts 4Nm.
• Full step-by-step guide, oil volumes and torque specs: Intend Fork Setup Guide. Video how-tos: Intend on YouTube.

Service:

• Intend recommend a factory service at least once a year (lube oil, damper oil, inspection). Lower-leg and seal service is simple and needs no special tools.
• Service intervals, oil types and quantities: Intend Fork Setup Guide. Factory service options: Intend Service & Tech.
• Want us to look after it? Get in touch and we'll arrange service or a rebuild through the Australian distributor.

Upgrades:

• Intend Linearizer 3-chamber air spring
• Intend Defender USD mudguard
• Intend fork spares

Need a hand choosing?

Not sure which Intend suits your bike and riding? Send us your bike, current fork, rider weight and the trails you ride, and we'll point you to the right model and travel. Intend forks are built in small batches, so please contact us for current availability and lead time before ordering.

Learn more:

• Intend product page
• Intend fork chart (compare every model)
• Fork setup guide, oil volumes & torque specs
• Intend service form (PDF)
• Intend YouTube channel (setup & service videos)

See our shipping policy for delivery options and times, and our refund policy for returns.