Submitted by
Julian Bosley
a Cross Country Rider
from Oxford
Date Reviewed: March 2, 2004
Strengths: Plush, progressive, light, stiff. Easy to service. Entended service intervals.
Weaknesses: Cheap finish.
Bottom Line:
Sooo plush - practically no stiction. Damping gives superb control. How can these be so far ahead of my SID's? I have ridden these hard XC for six months with no problems. I weigh 165 lbs.
Not bike candy. Cheap finish on the crown - not like the SID's lovely deep anodised finish. Pain finish is drab. Stickers peel off. Damping adjusters are bendy plastic...but they haven't broken!
Buy these if you care about lightweight performance and can put up with the looks.
Submitted by
Xracer
a Cross Country Rider
from Mexico City
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2003
Strengths: Pluuush, lateral stiffness, weight, easy to adjust, price!
Weaknesses: stickers began to peel off since the first time I rode the thing (just in case anyone cares), and no lockout feature.
Bottom Line:
I have the Disc-Only version of the skareb, and when I got it I thought it wasn't beefy enough for my 03 XTR disc brakes, however it outperformed my old Duke C. The revese arch seems much thiner than the traditional arch used by rockshox, but it really is stiffer.
I'm a lightweight rider (145 pounds), don't jump and unlike my old duke, it feels very plush and comfortable. It also eats the small rocks and roots but it doesn't bottom easyly.
I only wish it would have a lockout instead of the compression lever which doesn't really make any difference when riding
Similar Products Used: Rockshox duke C, Jett, Judy. Suntour MGulr95
Bike Setup: 03 XT/XTR, Mavic 517, some Weyless carbon stuff on a 7005 Alu hardtail frame
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Calif
Date Reviewed: October 10, 2003
Strengths: stiff, light and very plush
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
I could not be happier with this product. Big improvement on the Mars. Much stiffer. The skerab is plusher then fox. I have had no maintanence problems. Easy to rebuild. This is an ideal cross country fork. I could not use a 100mm folk because my clearance over the bike is not greater enough but I don't miss it. This is a true 80mm.
Submitted by
h@nn
a Weekend Warrior
from singapore
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2003
Strengths: Stiff, good boingers for a fork in that price range. Not wicked light but better than most mid travel forks. wicked black and cool graphics. and ooooooo so plush.
Weaknesses: slightly offset legs .. the wheel shifts laterally by 2 mm and it isnt the wheel either its the fork.
Bottom Line:
Id recommend this to anyone who'd like to stand out from bikes outfitted with the other big brand(RS) and still go neck to neck with the competition. only gave 4 chilis cos of the offset problem. but its not something i cant live with.
Similar Products Used: sid, amp f3, f4, manitou sx ti
Bike Setup: Xtr, sram attack, truvativ stylo, JBC pro scandium frame, carbon seatpost, hbars, etc. 21.5 lb
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
David
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, CO
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2003
Strengths: Being that my old Manitou TI Lite finally gave up the ghost I needed a XC fork that had a decent weight/performance. I believe anything under 3 lbs is not stiff enough and things like the Fox products which push 4 lbs are too heavy and not worth the money even though they are built better. With all that said I have around a dozen rides on the Elite and love it! Running 150lbs of air and my weight is 190lbs so I added the firm spring kit. Stiffness is improved vs my old fork and produces a nice ride on big and little hits. I ride hard and do the ocasional races here in Colorado and am looking forward to continued success with the Elite.
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
Great fork at a reasonable cost! No need to buy the trendy Fox stuff,
Bike Setup: Titus Racer X, XTR kit with Grip Shift and King wheel set.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mike Walsh
a Cross Country Rider
from Duxbury, Ma
Date Reviewed: April 11, 2003
Strengths: Plush, very little stiction, damping adjuster make noticable changes. Stiff
Weaknesses: Stock spring too soft for my weight
Bottom Line:
Excellent shock for the price. Accurate steering and smooth, stiction free travel. The fork works flawlessly on roots and small to medium bumps. I have yet to take any big hit but I'm sure the compression damping will handle them. The only weakness is if you do lose air somehow, you can not add air with a regular pump. There is not enough clearance for between the valve and the crown. If Manitou raised the air valve just a little then you could use a regular pump in an emergency
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox Judy XL Manitou SX Ti
Bike Setup: Ted Wojcik XT/XTR Avid Disc
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jonathan
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver
Date Reviewed: January 4, 2003
Strengths: Ride quality, improved stiffness over Mars. Much improved durability over Mars
Weaknesses: Kinda Cheap feeling materials, But hey it's a Manitou.
Bottom Line:
A replacement for a 2001 Mars elite that just couldn't stand to work for more than a few miles at a time. Manitou was very prompt in dealing with my lemon of a Mars and after three returns decided to get me a new fork, no charge. Excellent customer service!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and the fork is great too. Light and smoooooth. Durable seals and no more grease injection, yippeee. A nice cross country fork, sooooo much better than a sid.
Strengths: The balance of weight, stiffness and smoothness is bang on. Adjustability.
Weaknesses: Decals, plastic damping adjusters and non- international standard disc brake fixing.
Bottom Line:
What a fork. As a newbie to external damping, rebound changes were noticeable, but I thought the compression damping was bust since I couldn't feel any difference by cycling the fork when stationary. Duh! On the trail you really feel the difference: it's a case of getting enough compression damping so it's not always brake diving and bottoming, yet not too much that it gives chronic bump feedback.
Particularly like the coil first bit of travel (air afterwards)- real smooth on small hits so you feel fresher for longer. Mind you, I weigh 155lb and could see heavier cyclists needing stiffer springs- stock ones are just about right for me.
Stiffness? dunno about brake rub but it's handling a Hope Mini with 185mm rotors with no problems and good enough steering accuracy, esp. having got off a Marzocchi (v. stiff).
Couldn't justify getting the Skareb super with its lockout feature- on a full sus, anyone with half a decent pedal stroke doesn't need front or rear shock lockout, esp. since most stay seated when going up hill. Only during occasional sprints do I miss front lockout but not by $100. Overall, this is a great fork- I recommend it.
I recently picked up a set of 04 Skareb Elites for my singlespeed with an eye to setting them up pretty firm, XC race style. They were a bit soft at first so i rebuilt them, new he Read More »
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