The Samurai is, of course, an upside-down fork in true Intend fashion. With a claimed weight of 1,405g, the Samurai CC claims to be the World’s Lightest 120mm Travel Fork thanks to its brace-less design, carbon steerer, and simplified dropouts. Here are some updates on the Samurai, which is currently on the market, including information about a 130mm TR version with an Intend-designed damper cartridge.
The Samurai CC and Samurai XC forks, which are claimed to weigh 1,405g and 1,515g, respectively, are both said to be lighter. Both provide 35mm stanchions with 120mm of travel.
What’s New?
The lighter Samurai CC has a carbon steerer tube, carbon cable guides, and modified stanchions. The heavier Samurai XC, on the other hand, has aluminum parts and doesn’t have the extra internal machining that the CC has.
Geometry
Using (close to) zero offset dropouts is a key part of making a bike as light as possible. This lets you make a simple design that uses less material. At first glance, it may be hard to believe that the Samurai has a 44mm offset at sag, but if you look closely at the angled crown, you can see how that offset is made. The angle of the fork legs is a little less steep than that of the steerer tube.
On a regular fork, an offset is added at the dropouts and stays the same no matter where the fork is in its travel. But in the Samurai design, as the fork is pushed into compression, the offset goes down, though not by much. At sag, the offset is 44 mm, but at top-out, it is 45.5 mm and at bottom-out, it is 41 mm.
Working
The Intend Samurai CC and XC forks are made to work with the RockShox Race Day Damper cartridge, which you have to buy separately. That’s not the case with the Intend TR fork, though. It uses a damper cartridge that Intend made, which lets it run up to 130mm of travel.
It is basically a smaller version of the cartridge used in Intend’s USD forks with longer travel, like the Hero. It is 30g heavier than the RockShox Race Day Damper, but the extra travel means that the fork can be used in more Downhill or Trail situations.
The Samurai GR is the last model. It’s a 50mm-travel USD fork made for gravel riders who want a smoother ride and less hand and arm fatigue. Like the RockShox Race Day Damper, it is made to work with it.
The Verdict
The Intend Samurai XC, TR, and GR models are now available from Intend Bicycle Components. The XC model costs $1,751.07, the TR model costs$1,910.36, and the GR model costs $1,751.07. In Q1 of 2023, the $2,069.64 CC model will go on sale.
The RockShox Race Day Damper is not included with the CC, XC, or GR models and must be bought separately from a dealer chosen by the customer. For EU customers, however, the damper can be sent to Intend and installed by the team before the fork is shipped. You can’t get this service outside of the EU, so you’ll have to get the Race Day Damper installed elsewhere.
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Featured Image Via/intend