Enjoy on-trail adjustable travel with the '05 Manitou Black Super. The Rapid Travel Wind Down feature lets you easily adjust the travel from 90-120mm without affecting the spring rate. 30mm aluminum stanchions, Reverse Arch casting, and an aluminum crown keep the fork stiff so it can work effectively. Manitou's proven Evil Genius seals do a great job keeping the Black work smoothly.
Excellent fork at a decent price, but a bit on the heavy side. I bought this off a Jamis owner that was swapping his fork out and I wanted to upgrade from my Judy TT, aka POS.
For all the reviewers that said "it bobbed too much," try reducing the travel to under 100mm or less. If you want an even stiffer ride crank it down to the lowest setting (80mm) and you should be fine. I set the RTWD to high for large gravel/washboard for a super smooth ride, but mostly keep it around 100mm for most of my riding since I am heavier than average.
I have ridden this setup on some amazing singletrack and would classify it as a XC or All-mountain fork. It has been very reliable for me and since it's a spring shock, does not require as much tweaking or a $50 pump.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Clay Hill
a Weekend Warrior
from Dalton, Georgia Date Reviewed: July 16, 2006
Favorite Trail:
bearcreek
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$1500.00
Strengths:
So far I have not seen them
Weaknesses:
To soft, bobes alot when standing up would be good for light trail ridding.
Bike Setup:
Jamis xc comp juicy brakes fox rear shock manitou black super front fork.
Bottom Line:
Love the bike just hate the front fork. This would be a great bike if they offered a stiffer front fork for larger ridders like myself. Problem is now I have to rebuild the fork with stiffer springs or buy a whole new shock.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from North Carolina Date Reviewed: May 29, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At:
Greenfish Sports
Strengths:
adjustability, wind down travel, plush
Weaknesses:
weight, rebound adjustment doesnt seem to have any effect
Bike Setup:
raleigh mojave 4.0
Bottom Line:
I got this fork about 4 days ago and had it put on my bike the next day. One day after that I rode it in a 24 hour race for a about 35 miles. During that time it worked fine and performed really well. Then today I was riding my bike in my backyard and was adjusting the travel and compressing the fork just messing with it when all of the sudden it lost all of its travel instantly, its basically locked out even though its on the loosest setting. I tried adjusting the travel and tried just riding it for a while to see if it would come undone, but its still stiff and impossible to comress.
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Submitted by
Ben
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, CO/Williamstown, MA Date Reviewed: February 19, 2006
This is a nice fork, but I have had to send it back twice because of this recurring looseness at the top of the travel. Also, it started making some nasty noises. The second time I basically got an all new fork back. It actually seems to be fixed this time, but they had the fork for over 8 weeks.
I really like the adjustable travel, but I would never buy this fork had it not come on my bike. It is plush and I have grown to like it, but it bobs a lot and needs some like of air preload.
Manitou makes some great forks, but they have had some build quality issues. They aren't afraid to deal with them right, but it still sucks for those that got the shoddy fork. It seems like things are definitely getting better, though.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
michael tohill
a Weekend Warrior
from New Zealand Date Reviewed: December 7, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Port Hills, Christchurch
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Good adjustment with external rebound and wind up & down travel. Performs well when have it set right for you and type of riding. Strong and behaves well. Lets you know its working with the hisss.. when hits and rebounds.
Weaknesses:
No problems so far, although only had 3 months. Was concerned at too much plushness however when tuned right works very well. I run the rebound fast and have mostly on 100 mil setting.
Similar Products Used:
Rox Shox Judy and Indy (on old hardtail)
Bike Setup:
Fork came with my 2005 Stumpjumper FSR Comp 120. All stock form factory - NZ spec.
Bottom Line:
I see people have bagged this fork. I cant see anything wrong with it at all. Performs very well. Other Specialized models have the fox forks which are superior but also come with expensive price tag. I have friends who have purchased the Black seperately and are pleased with it. Get real, this is a good fork! Manitou is a big seller in NZ and have a good reputation. So far I rate this fork. I know of at least 4 other people who have a black and not one has a complaint, hopefully I will not either. I will resubmit if I do. There are probably some 2005 Blacks around on the bike shop shelves which I believe are worth buying. The fork suits all type of riding and rider ability.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Paul Lehner
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, CO Date Reviewed: October 2, 2005
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
REI
Strengths:
Awesome adjustablity with rebound, compression, and travel adjustment. Very easily adjustable all around.
Weaknesses:
Where to start, came stock on the bike had seal problems from the day I bought it. First day I bought the bike I put it in the car to take it riding. When I took it out, there was a small puddle of oil from the fork. Took it back, they found nothing wrong, refilled the oil and sent it out. Two weeks later the compression lost all effect. Turning the compression did nothing and the lockout didn't work.
Similar Products Used:
Replaced with RockShox Reba Team U-turn loving it so far
Bike Setup:
RockShox Reba, Fox Float R, Hayes Sole, basically stock Marin East Peak
Bottom Line:
Not worth the materials it's made of.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Oakland, CA Date Reviewed: July 16, 2005
Favorite Trail:
most anything I can turn a wheel on
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
Missing Link
Strengths:
easy to adjust on the fly, rebound damping, travel wind down adjustment
Weaknesses:
heavy at 4.3 lbs! I get the feeling the rebound adjustment is dead, compression adjuster won't stay put during heavy use.
Similar Products Used:
Mag 21
Bike Setup:
Stock 05 Jamis Exile (this fork came stock on the bike)
Bottom Line:
I can live without the rebound (though I am going to get it checked out since I've only got 150 miles on it), but the weight...oye! It's like a brick up there! I didn't think I'd use the wind-down travel gizmo, but I've found it does seem to help on climbs to slink to the bottom of the travel (rather than my bud's FS with top-of-travel lockout so all he does is pop wheelies while I drive up the hills). It's a good OEM fork for a mid-level bike - I woudn't not buy the bike because of this fork.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Sean
a Cross Country Rider
from WPB, FL Date Reviewed: April 6, 2005
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
Manitou
Strengths:
Well, the 04 I had was great until it took a dump on me. It lasted about 600 miles of tame Florida offroad riding. This 05 was a free replacement from Manitou. Guess that is a plus, even though I was without a bike for FIVE WEEKS!
Weaknesses:
The rebound on this 05 took a dump after only about 30 miles of very tame riding. (maximum drop off of about 2 feet). Needless to say, right now I think the Black series suck the hairy beanbag as they say in... well somewhere.
Bike Setup:
04 Stumpjumper FSR
Bottom Line:
Stay away from this fork and by a Fox!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
jamie kay
a Downhiller
from London Date Reviewed: March 11, 2005
Favorite Trail:
pearl forest
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At:
came with bike
Strengths:
I think this the "blacks" are a very good suspension, very soft, smooth and reiged. can be used for cross-country would be best but they are still good for jumping, downhill and triels
Weaknesses:
sometimes too soft, price is too much for the product
Similar Products Used:
Fox vanilla
Bike Setup:
*
Bottom Line:
i would recomend these to any beginner or just after beginner
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
travis shrum
a Racer
from roseburg, oregon Date Reviewed: February 17, 2005
Favorite Trail:
local secret
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$1125.00
Purchased At:
fundamental bike
Strengths:
smooth travel, absorbs everything i through at it. adjusts easy
Weaknesses:
pedal efficiancy,no lock out
Similar Products Used:
rockshox judy tt
Bike Setup:
2005 jamis xc comp,stock
Bottom Line:
it came with my bike. all around good fork not great but good bobs alot during heavy acceleration. a rider with xc in mind that rides aggresive. this fork needs more then just gravel roads.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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