Slider Plus brings stiffness and precise steering to the table like only a dual crown fork can. 170mm of travel combined with SPV Evolve damping lets you stand up and sprint without bob, yet still enjoy long travel performance. It's super sensitive, adjustable, and eats bumps!
Submitted by
jesseremming
a Weekend Warrior
from denver, colorado
Date Reviewed: August 15, 2011
Strengths: this pruduct is great! i have been using this fork for a while now and it is super plush i can drop 2-3 feet and its buttery smooth, i have not bottomed them out yet and the spv platform is amazing i have not had any problems with it at all yet.
Weaknesses: the only problem i had is i had to buy a new headset to fit but besides that the fork is great.
Bike Setup: 2005 trek fuel 98, yasusu 102 rear shock and the sherman slider plus and the rest isnt thaat important.
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Submitted by
tiger094
a Cross Country Rider
from Valdosta, Ga, USA
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2009
Strengths: Doesnt bob on climbs. Impacts (hits not jumps) vanish before your eyes.
Weaknesses: Bottoms out very easy on 2-3 ft drops, no compression adjuster, internal compression is not progressive. Multiple hits cause the front to start falling in its travel (sacking out) cause it blows through its travel and cant rebound to full travel.
Bottom Line:
These forks are ok, good for crosscountry or casual rides. Impacts vanish, but thats because the fork blows through. If you hit multiple objects the fork sinks and sacks out. The SPV is a lousy idea, I had it set on min pressure to keep the fork active. If you dont do that and add more than 30 psi the fork wont react to small chatter bumps at all. Fast riders will want better forks. The Marz are worlds better and very adjustable.
Weaknesses: Soft springs, SPV leaks, weak lower leg construction, rebound adjustment
Bottom Line:
These forks have not suited me at all. I ride a mixture of UK small course DH and freeride. The stock springs were far too soft despite the amount of platform in the SPV and I had a bad crash because of this. With a firmer spring, the fork was ok and was able to plough through deep ruts on DH and soak up jumps n drops. The SPV always needed checking as seemed to leak air and the rebound damping was rubbish (kind of on / of, despite having large adjuster wheel). After about a year of use though the lower leg brace snapped clean in half after I slipped on a berm, so not a major crash or impact. The fork came as OE on my Transition Dirtbag - wish I'd paid the extra for a '66. I will never buy Manitou again.. Replacing with a RockShox Domain.
Submitted by
Clem
a Weekend Warrior
from Jersey, NJ, USA
Date Reviewed: December 14, 2007
Strengths: Big travel, not flexy, tuneable, can be run SPV or Devolved.
Weaknesses: Devolve requires internal adjustment but that's no big deal w/ the online service manual from Manitou as a guide.
Bottom Line:
No problems w/ this fork. Put 2.5 wt. oil in, removed two rebound shims (one big, one small) and enjoyed this fork throughly. Smooth and buttery, took big hits. Great for AM/Freeride recreational DH use.
Strengths: good for drops, doesn't bottom out, stiff, light, good turning radius they say it a bad radius but if you want to turn any further you'd flip over the bar.
Weaknesses: packed up on several large impacts in a row, small bump reactiveness was bad(the springs may have been too hard for me)
Bottom Line:
good, but the internals need work/changing out,it may be different with other springs, but i didn't have different springs,
Strengths: plush for medium obstacles,spv damping work effectively. wide range of adjustment of spv and work wit spv volume. stiff fork for freeride and some trails.
Weaknesses: I dont get it-what is for the rebound adjuster, it so small range, you can feel only when it turned fully to slow position,the fork come back after compressing slower. the fork doesnt work good with my hope pro2 hub.It has some little play in left bearing and a cant fix it.
Bottom Line:
great work on singletrack, descent, jumps,drops.Never bottoms out if you adjust it CORRECTLY and have a smart ride.the fork doesnt react on smallest bumps, but this is not for it, it works very well when you exceed a concrete speed,no skiping bumps or something, but for fast dh this fork is not the best choise.It can handle very cool freeride spots.yep!!!
Similar Products Used: Boxxer race(tried), 888 rv (tried).
Bike Setup: norco six charged for freeride.
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Submitted by
Felip Walker
a Downhiller
from Scotts Valley
Date Reviewed: July 2, 2007
Strengths: nice and plush. good for freeride and downhill and can handle things pretty well on the trails.
Weaknesses: rebound just goes from slow to slower but it doesn't even feel slow when i'm riding.
Bottom Line:
good overall fork. good for freeride and downhill.nothing special like the fox 40 fork or anything. handles on the trails very well. good if you're looking to get a double crown fork.
Similar Products Used: two different years of the marzocchi junior Ts
Bike Setup: manitou 4x rear shock. manitou sherman fork. specialized chunder tires. saint deaurailler.mavic rims.etc....
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Submitted by
Kyle
a Downhiller
from San Rafael, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2007
Strengths: Light, Stiff, Great Mid to Low Speed Dampning, Good Range of Adjustments, Easy to Install, Good Price.
Weaknesses: High Speed Compression, Turning Radius
Bottom Line:
I can't really make my mind up completley about the fork...
The Goods: The fork feels really nice at lower speeds and bigger hits, making it a fantastic use for Freeride, I would reccomend it to anyone that likes to freeride. The fork is light a 6.8 lbs which is really good for a dual crown at the price I paid for it. Whats nice is the fork isn't huge, heavy, or wicked big so that you can keep a variety of bikes light and easily maunverable. At medium speeds I seem to have no complaints about the fork. Adjustments are good, easy to setup and get going. Thru Axle system works effectivley.
The Bads: I've had to service my fork already, but it was for the better. First things first, the turning radius is pretty bad with the Sherman which is something that should've been adressed in the design phase. The second major complaint I have is the lack of high speed compression. At higher speeds the fork tends to skip or hop over a varied sized hits. I can live with, not that big of a deal, its just unfortunate because the fork feels buttery smooth and silky on big hits at lower speeds.
The Verdict: I've had a lot of fun on this fork, its served its time well. I would not comapre it to a DH40, 888 or even Boxxer World Cup, its simply not in its league. But the prices you can pay for it merit its performance, some sites were blowing this fork out. I would NOT pay the retail $800 for this however, I paid only $260.
This fork is applicable to a lot of Freeride and Downhill. It can ride a variety of terrain fairly well. I reccomend this fork.
5 Hot Chilis for Value: This thing can't be beat value wise (Or at least the price I paid for it) 4 Hot Chilis for Overall: Its a pretty good fork with only a few minor setbacks which actually can be modified by taking out the "Check Valve".
Similar Products Used: Boxxer Team, Z150, Manitou Dorado, 888RC, DH40
Bike Setup: Weyless 67 with a Sherman Slider +, Juicy 7's, e13 LG1, etc.
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Submitted by
Who Needs Brakes
a Downhiller
from Coffs Harbour Australia
Date Reviewed: May 10, 2007
Strengths: They Cop Everything i throw at them, Stiff
Weaknesses: Cant realy find any appart from more rebound adjustment. Everyone is saying the turnig circle is tight, conpaired to single crown forks Tripples do restrict you but you dont turn tigh going 60-70 Kph
Bottom Line:
these are great i'm stoked with the performance i got out of them, i've taken out the SPV cap & spring to make them more active & messed with the oil thicknes & air preasure & have them workin just dandy, You can also slide a TPC dampining system in it to make them plusher (from what i've heard Easy to service & easy to tune
Favorite Trail: Anything Fast & Tight thats within riding distance
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$450.00
Purchased At: ebay
Similar Products Used: Manitou Mars & Stance, Rock Shox Duce, Pike & Quadras Marzocchi EXR, DJ3 &
Bike Setup: AC Giant, Manitou Sherman Sliders, & Metel RP R/Shock, Sole 8" hydros, Hussfelt Cranks, Blackspire Chain Device,Odi Grips
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Submitted by
tom
a Weekend Warrior
from bloomfield ny
Date Reviewed: April 16, 2007
Strengths: great fork, smooth travel, very ajustable, light for the travel and being double crown, climbs well up hills
Weaknesses: its a skinny fork so the turning radius is limted
Bottom Line:
the fork is amazing for the value, even if it cost as much as other double crowns it would still be amazing. for complaints about it bottoming out on drops, you need to set it up correctly. increasing the pressure is just to set up the platform of the fork, but to adjust its progresive travel you need a socket to adjust the top of the fork on the right side, (the red part). by turning it in clockwise you make the fork more progresive so as it travels down it ramps up and wont bottom out. if you turn it out counter clockwise the fork becomes more linear and will travel more consistenly giveing it a softer feel. once you have the platform, travel progresion and rebound ajusted this fork will great for all sorts of rideing.
Similar Products Used: manitou magnum r, marzzocci mx comp, manitou six, rock shox jett, verious rst and other
Bike Setup: gary fisher king fisher
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Submitted by
Josh Miller
a Weekend Warrior
from Tucson, AZ
Date Reviewed: March 18, 2007
Strengths: First and foremost, I got it for a smokin deal on eBay... The fork also looks pretty badass, seems to perform well if adjusted to your anticipated riding, and is a more "trail friendly" triple crown fork.
Weaknesses: After having this fork installed, the first thing I did was adjust it to 40psi and took it for a ride around the neighborhood. It seemed quite plush until I jumped off a loading dock (about 3 1/2 ft.) and bottomed the fork out pretty hard. I thought I had actually blew the fork because as I was riding home I noticed I could bottom out the fork by simply pogo'ing on it. The fork was still holding at 40psi though when I got home which was a relief. I started adjusting it in 20psi increments and found that up till about 80-100 psi I can still bottom the fork out by simply pogo'ing the bike (for reference, I weigh about 168lbs). I finally ended up setting the fork at 120psi, which stiffened up the ride quite a bit and was able to keep the fork from bottoming out off the same loading dock when also trying to land back wheel first as gently as possible. A couple days later though, I was jumping a much smaller 4-stair on campus and noticed it was STILL slightly bottoming out at 120psi when I was landing flat. I ended up inflating the fork to 140psi and that seemed the cure the problem however. At 140psi the fork is pretty stiff though. It seems to like to only absorb the bigger bumps. I don't think it would be that comfortable for typical trail riding.
I also have NO IDEA what people are talking about when they say they are taking 10-12ft drop-offs on the thing. I would imagine an 8 year old could bottom out the fork from 10 feet even if he was landing on a pillow-padded incline. I would feel sketchy about taking a 5 ft. drop-off when the thing adjusted to the max recommended setting of 175psi. There just isn't any progressiveness to the fork (It doesn't seem to get any stiffer as it compresses). As a general rule, I wouldn't plan on taking drops any higher than handlebar height onto flat ground.
The rebound also isn't that great (ESPECIALLY below 80psi).
Bottom Line:
I think this is a good fork for a beginner to novice freerider or someone who spends alot of time just trail riding.
The fork is actually the same length as the 150mm travel fork I had on here to begin with, so the front doesn't sit any higher like I thought it would. Most downhill and freeride forks are much longer, which makes climbing or trail riding more difficult.
If you are someone that honestly goes out and hits 5ft+ drop-offs on a consistant basis though, I would not recommend this fork.
I would classify this fork as more of an "agressive all-mountain" fork than I would a "freeride" fork. Its certainly not a fork you would want to use strictly for hard-core downhill use.
I don't want to sound like I am complaining TOO much though. I am really just focusing on the negative aspects. Overall, I am satisfied with the fork. Its certainly a good upgrade from a lower-end fork. Adjusting the air-pressure has a dramatic effect on the fork so it can be tailored to fit the needs of all but the most extreme conditions and riders. On typical trails with a few good 1-3ft. drop-offs here and there the fork seems very plush.
Similar Products Used: I have riden a Spinner Ammo (150mm) which came stock on my bike, a Manitou Stance Triple crown fork (which was WAY to soft and a COMPLETE P.O.S.), and briefly some other higher end forks.
Bike Setup: 06' Iron Horse Yakuza Aniki Freeride bike with a Manitou Swinger Coil 6-Way adjustable shock in the back. Everything else is stock.
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Submitted by
Jake
a Cross Country Rider
from Groton, CT, USA
Date Reviewed: February 15, 2007
Strengths: this fork has so much platform its unreal...when I sprint it only bobs about a half inch! It is absolutely great on drops, too...I have yet to go over the handlebars on a bad landing!
Weaknesses: This fork does not soak up high speed bumps at all! Granted, I keep mine pumped to over 100 psi for street riding. Still, rebound isn't great either.
Bottom Line:
An excellent freeride fork, especially if you ride urban and need the platform for sprints. not the best for downhill, but then again, thats what the Travis is for!
Similar Products Used: Boxxer ride, Manitou Stance
Bike Setup: Haro escape (yes, it's a hardtail,) deemax wheels, Manitou Sherman Slider plus, Race Face bashgaurd, other random goodies
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Submitted by
Chase
a Downhiller
from Pagosa Springs, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: November 5, 2006
Strengths: Takes big hits really well. If you are looking to go big and land flat or just take huge drops, this is a good fork.
Weaknesses: Too stiff, if I go below 60psi I get this really bad sounding click in the lower part of the fork. So I am forced to ride right at 61psi to have it as soft as possible without a click. Does not absorb small bumps at speed, but it's really not sopposed to. NOT A DOWNHILLL FORK, THIS IS A FREERIDE FORK.
Bottom Line:
Great fork for freeriders who like to go big, it will take the hits. Not for downhilling, you cannot get it to rebound fastenough to downhill on it and it doesnt take the small bumps at all. FREERIDERS NEED THIS FORK, DOWNHLLERS DONT
Similar Products Used: Drop Off Tripple, 888 VF, Stance
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Submitted by
Aaron Bailey
a Downhiller
from Ancaster, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 30, 2006
Strengths: everything, great smooth and plush, rebound is great and the fork looks great. It can soak up any 10 foot drop I thro at it. No major problems to date great fork.
Weaknesses: the bolts strip and the rebound could be faster but its perfect for my type of riding
