Intend Hero Fork

The trail fork that thinks it's an enduro fork

The Intend Hero is Intend's classic, built for modern trail bikes. It's as light as Intend could make it (2030g) without trimming a single part of the performance: the air spring and OPTimized damper inside are identical to what goes into their gravity forks, and it now ships with the Smooth Operator compression unit.

Expect a properly supple, natural and predictable ride that soaks up chatter without diving under brakes. Changing travel (140-170mm) needs no new air shaft, and service needs no special tools.

Choose Originals (champagne lowers, classic Intend look) or Blackline (forged hard-anodised black lowers, CNC stanchion guards and Racing Bros wipers).

• The Hero is the lightest of Intend's gravity-damper forks: the pick for trail and all-mountain bikes with 140-170mm.
• Charge harder or ride enduro race tracks? The Edge adds sturdier legs and a reinforced crown (150-180mm).
• Want the same travel but lighter? The Samurai SuperTR is 1710g.

Where does the Hero 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:
Hero by name, hero on the trail. It'll make you braver than your skills strictly deserve, and we see no problem with that.

Features:

• Upside-down trail / all-mountain / enduro fork
• Travel: 140-170mm, internally adjustable
• Weight: 2030g
• Stanchions: 35mm (44mm upper tubes)
• Damping: OPTimized closed cartridge, self-bleeding, with Smooth Operator compression
• Adjust: rebound, compression, air pressure, progression (2 alternative caps included)
• Axle: 15x110mm Boost
• Brake mount: 180mm, 200/203mm or 220/223mm mount included
• Steerer: tapered 1 1/8" - 1.5", 240mm
• Offset: 44mm
• Axle-to-crown: 581.5 (170), 571.5 (160), 561.5 (150), 551.5 (140)
• 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.

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 (axles, brake mounts, hose guides, oil)

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.