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Average Rating
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3.75/5
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# of Reviews
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24
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MSRP
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$
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Weight
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More Products from Manitou
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Description:Features:
Internally convertible travel from 80mm to 100mm Coil, Fluid Flow Damping, adjustable preload, Microlube grease ports, Magnesium RA (Reverse Arch) casting, Steel steerer tube
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Submitted by
isaac
a Cross Country Rider
from Australia
Date Reviewed: January 25, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | 100mm travel,
| | Weaknesses: | the rebound and compound dosent work, very soft | | Similar Products Used: | rst omni. | | Bike Setup: | Avanti Barracuda | | Bottom Line: | the shocks compound and rebound doesnt work thought i think that has somthing to do with them been an oil shock instead of a spring shock | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
alex hastings
a Downhiller
from harrogate
Date Reviewed: January 3, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | good on dirt | | Bike Setup: | ump bie | | Bottom Line: | i have the 2006 verin and they are ace for a beginer dirt jump and street rider
the ride is good and it doesnt rebound to fast. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
James
a Cross Country Rider
from IL
Date Reviewed: September 13, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$79.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA | | Strengths: | Solid Design, Easily Servicable. 80 or 100mm. Price! | | Weaknesses: | Comes with some faulty parts and to little oil | | Bike Setup: | KHS XC304 | | Bottom Line: | Great fork after I called the warranty dept at Answer. It came with to little oil and a faulty dampening system. After that was repaired it has been absolutly fantastic. The spring is soft for heavy riders but its still comortable. It is easy to service and refill the oil. The tech guys at Answer are great with helping you out with any problems. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bandersnatch
a Weekend Warrior
from fairbanks
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$430.00 | | Purchased At: | beaver sports | | Strengths: | cheap for its class | | Weaknesses: | too soft | | Similar Products Used: | hardrock | | Bike Setup: | 2003 specialized rockhopper | | Bottom Line: | I really want to like this fork but I have to give it a bad rating. It really damps out the bumps and keeps the wheel planted on the ground. But the default spring is way to soft, I can stand beside the bike and buttom it down buy pressing the the handle bars. This wouldnt be bad except for the companys terrible stock situation. I ordered the stronger spring for it 5 MONTHS AGO and it is still on backorder. I just gave up and cancelled it and am currently looking for a better spring. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim
a Cross Country Rider
from Kokomo, IN
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | OEM | | Strengths: | Price, doesnt flex like other cheap forks, easy to get parts, work on yourself, buttery smooth | | Weaknesses: | Stock spring too soft for me | | Bike Setup: | 03 Iron Horse Rogue | | Bottom Line: | Fork came with medium spring, but since I weigh 220, it was waay too soft. Ordered the firm spring, now Im happy, works better than a lot of forks costing a lot more. Keeps the front wheel PLANTED on the ground thru rough sections, no matter how fast you go so you keep control. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
zack
a Weekend Warrior
from san diego, ca, usa
Date Reviewed: February 26, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$260.00 | | Strengths: | great bang for the buck | | Weaknesses: | way to soft suspension | | Bike Setup: | stock | | Bottom Line: | I am just starting out riding, and I love the bike. However, I immediately noticed that the bike's suspension was very soft. It seems that I would enjoy it more if I got a stiffer spring did the 100mm conversion. I've been searching the net looking for springs, but I'm not coming up with much. Can I get a spring off the net, or should I just bring the bike to a shop for a firm spring? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Thi
a Cross Country Rider
from Auburn
Date Reviewed: February 11, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | rebound dampening works awsome | | Weaknesses: | a little too soft | | Similar Products Used: | pilot c, manitou six comp,Rock shox judy c and xc,rst gila, | | Bike Setup: | 2003 rockhopper in upgrading process | | Bottom Line: | I take 4 footers with this thing and it still wont break.The springs are too soft it seems to be a constant problem with oem forks and this is no exception but i weigh 145 lbs so it isnt that bad but even when it does bottom out the fork seems perfectly fine no broken seals or anything.Rebound dampening is awsome it didnt work for the first three months and then it started soaking up the bumps and roots like none other.oh ya do the 100mm conversion, big
difference.4 chilis overall because of springs. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
arturas k
a Cross Country Rider
from vilnius, lithuania
Date Reviewed: January 21, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | cheap, convertible travel, good perfomance | | Weaknesses: | i hate those plastic caps - pre load damping and compression damping assembly. it was stupid idea not to do it from alu. besides, i broke my rebound damping assembly. | | Similar Products Used: | rst, suntour | | Bike Setup: | xtc se 4 | | Bottom Line: | there is no dealer in f*.. lithuania, but answer products technical support helped me to get needed parts. god bless tech support. in concliuson, axel is cheap very good fork for its price. if you want 100 mm travel, be very careful when converting because parts aren't very strong, you might brake smh | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ian
a Cross Country Rider
from Columbia, MD, USA
Date Reviewed: December 23, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | performance, came on bike | | Strengths: | one of the cheapest forks you can buy, works ok for what it is. | | Weaknesses: | only way to adjust damping is by changeing oil. no size-specific spec on new bikes (all come with medium spring), can be a bit of a hassle to get a different spring. | | Similar Products Used: | Old rock shox, scott, AMP, demoed many forks on the market now | | Bike Setup: | Jamis Dakar | | Bottom Line: | i run mine with 100mm travel, and it's pretty good for what it is. once you get the right springs, of course. damping works, firm spring is firm enough for me. it's not as stiff as my AMP, but i doubt anything you can get nowadays is.
I wouldn't buy it if it wasn't on a bike, but on a lower-end speced bike it's hard to beat. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bas koper
a Racer
from holland
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | schoorl (technical xc) | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | decathlon | | Strengths: | manitou axel comp:
+100mm travel (after converting)
+Oil damping
+29mm innerlegs
+smooth travel!!!! | | Weaknesses: | a lot!
-4.2lb?
-oil damping does not work (....look at bottom line)
-bottom-out-all-the-time
-80mm travel
-lateral flex | | Similar Products Used: | AMP suspension fork | | Bike Setup: | decathlon rockrider 8.1:
Manitou Axel Comp
Deore/LX
Truvativ
Avid
Mavic 221
Formula
Hutchinson mosquito airlight
Total weight: 12kg (with lighter inner tubes)
| | Bottom Line: | The Manitou Axel Comp performs in its standard setup very bad!
You can change all that:
+convert the travel from 80mm to 100mm
+change the oil from 5W to 7W (or mix 5W with 10W)
+replace the standard spring by the yellow one (yellow=stronger)
Results:
+smooth 100mm travel!
+no more bottom out!
+oil damping,....it works!
Conclusion: 100% suspension | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Wade Warfield
a
from Charlottesville VA
Date Reviewed: December 4, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | anything fun | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Came on the bike | | Strengths: | It hasnt broken yet. It has externally adjustable rebound which i find very suefull. WHen you have it on the softest setting, it is great for cross country riding, and when you want to give it hell you can adjust the preload accordingly. | | Weaknesses: | It took a lot of riding and lot of big hits to break it in | | Similar Products Used: | Duke | | Bike Setup: | Jamis Dakar stock accept new tires and flat pedals | | Bottom Line: | I realy like it, but that could just be because i havent really ridden anything else that much. I recently discovered the joys of mountain biking and have ridden all the timei since then. I ride alot of cross country, and on the trails it never bottoms out. I also discovered that i like to spend alot of time in the air and the fork hasnt shown any signs of breakage. It bottoms out all the time on drops and jumps to flat, but what 100 mm fork wouldnt. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sandy
a Cross Country Rider
from Scotland
Date Reviewed: November 8, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Anywhere | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Cheap, only disc mounts, good for xc and some drops, pretty good for climbing. Convertiable travel. | | Weaknesses: | Awkward to disassemble and reassemble. Top seals are pretty crap for bad weather riding which i do quite often. | | Similar Products Used: | Rockshox judy & duke (pretty crap), Marzocchi Z1 (good for tough terrain/downhill). | | Bike Setup: | Giant XTC4, Stock everything apart from pedals, tyres and handlebars. | | Bottom Line: | These forks arent bad, they arent great either. They came with my bike and initially were quite tough and unresponsive until i 'broke them in' (went down a semi downhill course).
These forks feel much better after conversion to 100mm, you just remove a plastic spacer. The bike doesnt sit any higher after the conversion, just much smoother forks :)
These came with a disc only mounting, and giant supplied an adapter to fit uk disc brakes (works well had no problems).
In all honesty I will probably replace the forks next year. I need a top notch all round fork and i can see these becoming a nuisance in the future. I wouldnt quibble too much if you get these forks supplied with a mountain bike, especially if your a newbie, but I wouldnt buy them induvidually as there are better forks out there. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Charly
a Cross Country Rider
from Portland, ME
Date Reviewed: September 26, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Haven't ridden it enought to say. | | Weaknesses: | See above. | | Similar Products Used: | ... | | Bike Setup: | 03 Rockhopper | | Bottom Line: | Just letting everyone know the written manual and online instructions for coverting the travel are wrong. They say the adjustment is in the right (from rider) leg.....it's not, it's in the left, along with the spring (definitely recommend the heavier spring upgrade, I weigh 170 lbs.). I took apart the right leg, and interestingly the directions/figures are correct up to the last step.....the clip isn't there. I called Answer and the "tech" on the other end of the phone line was like..."DUDE...it's in the other side". I explained that I followed the directions....he said..."well, they must be wrong". lol.
Just wanted to save everybody some time/trouble. I put in the new spring nd converted the travel on my lunch break...easy. Feels incredible now. FIRM!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Derek
a Cross Country Rider
from Snowshoe
Date Reviewed: September 9, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | smooth
strong | | Weaknesses: | oem springs not heavy enough | | Bottom Line: | I like this fork. I haven't had any of the issues that folks are talking about below, except for the springs. I invested $20 for new, heavier springs, and I like the fork even more. I would definitely buy this for again. I really don't think you can go wrong. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jo mamma
a Weekend Warrior
from kirkland, wa
Date Reviewed: September 9, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | anything w/dirt | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | cheap, came with bike | | Weaknesses: | too soft, not much travel | | Similar Products Used: | marzocchi dirt jumper III, on friends bike | | Bike Setup: | rockhopper, eggbeater mallot c's, fire xc pro's, shimano mix | | Bottom Line: | great shock if you are 150lbs, i weigh 180 and the thing bottomed out at 80mm travel. went to answers website to see how to convert travel and found out that they have made some changes so I had to completely disassemble the entire left leg to convert travel, that fixed the travel problem but still way too soft. lbs ordered firm spring 3 weeks ago and still havn't seen it. good shock for beginner but too much hassle to get set up right for bigger riders | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bill
a Cross Country Rider
from NY
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | It absorbs shock | | Weaknesses: | The words Pogo and Stick come to mind | | Similar Products Used: | What ever comes on various Bikes in the $400-$500 price range | | Bike Setup: | Stock F300 | | Bottom Line: | It came on the two bikes that I considered the most (Rockhopper and F300), so I was destined for this fork.
I clearly think it was better than other oem forks that I tried on other bikes in this price range, but the damn thing is like riding a pogo stick. Very, very bouncy.
My friend has the same bike and just ordered the stiffer springs. I'm gonna wait to try his out before taking the plunge myself.
The fork does its main job, which is absorb all the bumps. I have yet to bottom out the fork, granted I havent really been all that rough with it yet. I've done mostly road and light trail riding on it. I have it set to whatever the factory set it to, which I guess is 80mm.
You do get used to the bouncyness over time, so we'll see whether or not I swap it out or upgrade the springs. It is adjustable, so I was able to stiffen it up a bit on my own which was nice.
If I had paid good money for it, I'd probably be complaining a bit more about it. But as it came on the bike and I really do find it to be superior to other oem forks in this price range, I'll give it 5 chilis for Value and 4 chilis overall because its bouncy and I might have to pay $18 to get new springs. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Wayne
a Weekend Warrior
from Oregon
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Powell Butte | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | UPDATE: Feels even better with the firm upgrade spring! Very smooth, no stiction. | | Weaknesses: | Nothing I can really think of for my current application. | | Bike Setup: | '03 Rockhopper w/ Sun-Rungle ZuZu Pedals & Rock Shox Seatpost. | | Bottom Line: | THIS IS AN UPDATE TO MY FIRST REVIEW:
The shock was soft from the factory on my bike. I upped the travel to 100mm and it made a big difference. I changed to the firm spring (YELLOW) and now it's excellent. It feels very, very "exact". Very happy for the additional $20 invested. Pick up some M-Grease to lube up the new spring. I also re-lubed the micro ports. Smooth travel.
Night and day difference from day one. I'm completely satisfied. Answer's customer service is also excellent! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Wayne
a Weekend Warrior
from Oregon
Date Reviewed: July 15, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Powell Butte | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Convertible to 100mm and price | | Weaknesses: | Product weight and a little too soft for my weight still. A $20 firm spring should fix this. | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | Rockhopper | | Bottom Line: | Once I adjusted it from 80mm to 100mm it was a whole new animal. I'm much happier now. Answer's website has detaield instructions on how to make this change. You'll need a few Allen wrenches and a hard-to-find 20mm open end wrench or socket to convert the travel. Highly recommend going to 100mm. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tiki ford
a Downhiller
from iron city, passion, bob
Date Reviewed: July 11, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | backyard | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$1000000.00 | | Purchased At: | the bike shop | | Strengths: | can binch press 300lbs | | Weaknesses: | can leg press 100lbs | | Similar Products Used: | stapler | | Bike Setup: | wood frame broken now | | Bottom Line: | buy a drill | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a
from Weston FL
Date Reviewed: June 4, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Markham | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Int'l Bikes | | Strengths: | cheap
| | Weaknesses: | poorly made, i had mine rebuilt twice, bent the steerer and have snapped the reverse arch on it. Im a smooth rider also, it bottoms out all the time. It is a pathetic fork. Dont buy one, save your money and buy something nice, chances are what your replacing is better, and if its broken why replace a bottom line broken part with this bottom line POS. | | Similar Products Used: | Black, Vanilla, misc. Marz | | Bike Setup: | 2003 F300, 2003 Bullit | | Bottom Line: | I wouldnt recomend this fork It came stock on my c-dale, at first I liked it, then I started having nothing but trouble, I ride mostly technical single track. Any more questions email me, im not interested right now in a huge review. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pastor Tim
a Cross Country Rider
from Arizona
Date Reviewed: May 17, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | tough
stiff
smooth | | Weaknesses: | a bit heavy for weight geeks,
but still worth it | | Similar Products Used: | Duke C, Judy | | Bottom Line: | I recommend this fork to anyone except perhaps weight weenies. It's not heavy by any means, but heavier than race specific forks. I am pleased with this fork. It's silky smooth, takes small and big hits well, and I've never bottomed out. My front end is very stable when cornering, especially compared to some other shocks I've ridden. This fork has held up to months of abuse; I'm hard on my equipment. Bottom line: I like this fork. Alot. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
V Rogers
a Weekend Warrior
from West Virginia
Date Reviewed: May 13, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Smooth as butter
Stiff
Inexpensive
Looks good
| | Weaknesses: | A tad heavy for racing, but other than that, nothing. | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou X-Vert
Rock Shox Duke XC
Marzocchi EXR | | Bottom Line: | I really like this fork. It's as smooth as any of the other forks I've owned. It has yet to bottom out on me. I can't notice any flex in the front end at all. I was looking for an inexpensive fork to replace my Duke XC, which gave out on me. I am pleased with my purchase. If you need a less expensive fork that will perform along with the top of the line, look no further than the Axel Comp. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
chris lawson
a Cross Country Rider
from singapore
Date Reviewed: May 9, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | bukit timah/sentosa | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | TEF bikers junction | | Strengths: | very very absorbing shox, very responsive, feels much more sturdy then my old SR xcr fork i was using | | Weaknesses: | none really, just i guess the fact that you are always in fear of manitou crappy worksmanshipp | | Similar Products Used: | SR XCR, MANITOU BLACK | | Bike Setup: | scott usa, elite racer, with axel stock, deore lx and xt, hydrolic disk brakes....ect | | Bottom Line: | good fork for medium xc users, i dont think you can get much more hard core for xc | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Austin Groves
a Cross Country Rider
from wells
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | YMCA | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | smoothness! | | Weaknesses: | A bit to loose.. | | Similar Products Used: | marzocchi EXR | | Bottom Line: | aint to bad but could be a bit stiffer. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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