Weaknesses: All? is this really supposed to be a shock absorber?
Bottom Line:
after using, I convinced myself that it was great. However, in the back of my mind, I wondered if the difference that shocks made was supposed to be so trivial. It wouldn't even move unless there was a major drop off, or I put ALL of my weight on it. I could feel every bump on the trail. I road a friends bike with an economy RS on it, his bike was way smoother (and it was even a hardtail). I wish I could have gotten my money back. this fork sucked (and still does).
Submitted by
Brian
a Weekend Warrior
from Greensburg, PA
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2008
Strengths: It's held up for ten years, on two bikes.
Weaknesses: It ain't what it used to be.
Bottom Line:
I purchased this fork on clearance at Supergo during the summer of 1998, as an emergency replacement for my stock Manitou Mach 5, which blew out rather catastrophically. I finished fourth at the NORBA Nationals downhill at Seven Springs on this beast. At the time, it was a fantastic fork for the money, and held up to all of the abuse I've thrown at it over the past ten years. However, after today's jarring ride at Seven Springs' new mountain bike park, I think it's time the Palmer is retired.
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox Judy DH (old school)
Bike Setup: Azonic DS-1
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brian
a Weekend Warrior
from Greensburg, PA
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2008
Strengths: It's held up for ten years, on two bikes.
Weaknesses: It ain't what it used to be.
Bottom Line:
I purchased this fork on clearance at Supergo during the summer of 1998, as an emergency replacement for my stock Manitou Mach 5, which blew out rather catastrophically. I finished fourth at the NORBA Nationals downhill at Seven Springs on this beast. At the time, it was a fantastic fork for the money, and held up to all of the abuse I've thrown at it over the past ten years. However, after today's jarring ride at Seven Springs' new mountain bike park, I think it's time the Palmer is retired.
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox Judy DH (old school)
Bike Setup: Azonic DS-1
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Vinnie
a Weekend Warrior
from Columbia, SC
Date Reviewed: February 21, 2007
Strengths: color
Weaknesses: spring/stanchion combo leaves travel short of the advertised 80mm
Bottom Line:
I'm just glad to see this classic piece of mtb history still getting reviewed-- good, bad or indifferent. I got all gooey over this thing when it came out because a) it was a whopping 80mm of travel, b) Palmer had just shocked the racing world by putting it on a hardtail & winning some NORBA event with it, and c) the green... oh, the big, goofy, florescent green!
I immediately peeled the cheesy custom Manitou logo stickers off it and stenciled "I AM NOT MY JOB" in black down both sides. I bought it for my older hardtail thinking I could replace the steer tube with a 1" (old Cannondale size). The bike shops wouldn't go near it-- not because they didn't want to swap a steer tube, but because, "You can't put an 80mm fork on a hardtail! They aren't made for that much travel!" No lie, 3 different bike shops told me the same thing. Apparently they hadn't read the news about its namesake. This was in '98 and it was several months before I bought a new frame & actually got to ride it.
A couple years ago, I finally laid the green monster to rest in favor of an X-Fly, but the Palmer is still near and dear to my heart. I still wonder sometimes what those bike shop nuts were thinking, especially as I whip around the singletrack on that same old '99 hardtail but now with 100mm of Zoke underneath me. Goobers.
The Palmer is a fairly heavy fork, and the spring/stanchion combo never made sense to me. Stanchions do little more than prevent you from getting the full advertised travel out of any fork. I weigh 175. Maybe at 225+, you can make it move 80mm, but I never could.
The value in this fork was always in how it played the game, not in its box score. To paraphrase Ferris Bueller, "It's so choice. I highly recommend throwing your money away on one, if you get the chance."
Strengths: love the green, stiff(I am heavy), takes a beating, did I mention its green
Weaknesses: its really really stiff if you are a light weight, about 62mm travel, heavy
Bottom Line:
This is not my race fork, nor can it be. But I have taken it on some pretty knarly trails to save my race rig from scratches. This fork has also seen quite a bit of urban. Not the 20 foot drop urban mind you, but you know the kind. Everyone gathers round, watching each other one by one trying to stay on a five foot ledge, wheelie contests, stair jumping, six foot drops. There are usually a couple bmx'rs there and a couple crazies who are really good. This fork has seen 4 foot drops and maybe 2 five footers. This is when I weighed less(like 225 is lite). So this fork has seen abuse and has been bottomed out many a time. I also used it to get around campus. I like this fork quite a bit because I am 240lbs and man this fork is stiff. I come from BMX so when I cruise to the grocery store or around the neiborhood, I dont bob around(even at my weight). I've read the feedback from others and man-oh-man it sounds like I have gotten lucky with mine. I've had this thing for 6 years now and I am getting rid of the LTS frame for a fetish hardtail and even though the fetish is designed for a 100mm fork, I am keeping the PALMER and putting it on the fetish. It will be a great commuter fork, occasional trail fork, and a no more abuse fork. I cant complain after 6 years of use. I have to rate it high.
Similar Products Used: marzocchi Z2 X-Fly 80, Rock Shox Judy XC, Manitou somthing or other (my first fork)
Bike Setup: the palmer is on a GT LTS, full XT
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
loonyOne
a Cross Country Rider
from Waterloo, IA, USA
Date Reviewed: December 30, 2004
Strengths: 1" steer tube for older framed bikes Color...Palmer edition
Weaknesses: We'll see in the months to come
Bottom Line:
I have yet to put this fork on my bike, but in relation to the two '97 FS forks that I had, it should be a very predictable ride. Upon receiving the fork, I pulled it all apart and completely cleaned and serviced it, and put Bel-Ray 7wt oil back into the damping unit. It was exactly the same as my FS forks and I know exactly what to expect. I found that if I Loctited the screw on top of the rebound damping unit, leaks were significantly decreased. I'll try to give an update after getting a chance to use it.
Similar Products Used: '97 Manitou FS, SX-R, RockShox Judy XC, Marzocchi Z2, RockShox Quadra, Skareb, the list is large.....
Bike Setup: 1990 Trek 930 single speed
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
MTB Rider
a Weekend Warrior
from Northern CA
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2004
Strengths: Durable. At the time, it was light with long travel. Titanium springs are neat.
Weaknesses: Short travel by today's standards, heavy by today's standards. Adjuster knob on end of fork leg comes out and gets lost easily. I don't think I get the full travel advertised for the fork. Not very plush by today's standards.
Bottom Line:
Good fork, never had a problem with it, probably put about 1000 trouble-free miles on the thing. Never overhauled, never rebuilt. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I haven't given the fork any attention at all, but it keeps on going. For the money, it was a good buy. I must be the only person still riding one of these.
Submitted by
cruiser
a Weekend Warrior
from madison, wi
Date Reviewed: August 16, 2002
Strengths: Cheap and has lasted 4 years.
Weaknesses: Oil dampening cartridge leaked o/ the years.
Bottom Line:
This fork lost its dampening completely over the last 4 years. Topped out constantly. However, I recently rebuilt it and refilled the oil cartridge (apparently there are variations among the funky green palmer fs ti label)and it feels great. Still relatively stiff and smooth. Too little travel these days, but I think it will be great for a commuter.
Submitted by
Ken
a Cross Country Rider
from Montreal
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2002
Strengths: Cheap price. At the time it was quite good
Weaknesses: Limited travel the other reviewers are right it isn't 80 mm. But unlike the last reviewer I took it completely apart and guess what, oil pissed all over me. In the leg that has a small adjustment nut at the bottom there is in fact a piston that is oil damped. Maybe there are different models of the same fork?
Bottom Line:
For the price it was good, but now days there are many other forks that are better. If you can find one cheap, it may be a good deal.
Bike Setup: Giant atx-970, lx v brakes, gripshift x-rays, ritchey v-max tires.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ashleigh Barnwell
a Weekend Warrior
from Fredericton, NB, Canada
Date Reviewed: March 31, 2002
Strengths: Price was good
Weaknesses: Travel is not as listed only (62mm not 80mm)
Bottom Line:
I don't know what some of these reviews are talking about. This fork is a coil spring and rubber elastomer fork. There is no oil cartridge whatsoever. If you claim to have taken the shock apart you would be quite aware that there is nothing but springs and elastomers inside.
Just make sure you know what your talking about before submitting your thoughts.
Submitted by
Phillip
a Cross Country Rider
from NC
Date Reviewed: February 1, 2002
Strengths: Used to be cool and rode cool untill I blew it out and broke the brake arch in half.....I was suprised cause I only wiegh 145 cool fork even though I broke it in half also this week broke the stancion tube on an SX-TI
Strengths: Execelant, haven't bottomed it out yet. I do drops and stairs and...... well no bottoming
Weaknesses: why couldn't it have come in the color yellow
Bottom Line:
Execelant all you people complaing about the fork, and thats because it is a "fake" one these were built few and far between and only manufactures had access to them. It is kinda like the Mongoose bikes...walmart are crap with the name. The ones sold individually are just crap with the name. If anyone gets a chance to get a TRUE one i urge you to get it. I do like 5foot drops, and endles sets of stairs, and nothing. I give it five flaming piles of dooky
Weaknesses: blows seals easily, flex, and everything else everyone has already said.
Bottom Line:
We all know we got jipped, but whining about it doesn't help. For those of you who say this thing works fine, you are not MTN biking, really, find a trail. I found some what of a solution: Pull it apart. Remove one of the bottom bumpers from each leg. Pull the cartridge cap off and put heavier oil in(not to heavy).drop a nickel (or close match to the inner stanchion) inside the left leg so the spring stack sits on top, this creates a seal, kind of. Now, don't do this and do drop offs, this still ain't a high performance fork, but it will do for rec trail riding and on and off roading, set it up fimly and you got a descent commuter fork. Buy a real fork and put this on you spare or just have an emergancy fork. I gave it three because it's being ridden since early 98.
Weaknesses: trying not to get it stolen off the bike
Bottom Line:
Hey kids, tis i again, welll i own the fork now, and it STILL tracks better than a 'zoke, and has the dampening capabilities of as boxxer, the bottom line YOU PPL DONT KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING!!!!!!!! the fork is still stock with the exeption of a mothly overhaul with oil change i use 10 wt. set on two clicks from max dampening.... preload is ultra gushy til i hit the new MRD lockout i got.....than the infusion climbs like a goat on speed with a tazer shoved up its ass...just a follow up, after that main brace was cracked at the beginning of its life by >> in the horrific crash of the century my boy thought for sure a green set of legs would never grace his ride again and he'd have to settle with the ho-hum red ones....but wait, not so, answer was super cool about it and told him these things happen and they said the new legs were in da mail, so, still expecting red legs to come, he opens the box only to find a GREEN set of fully decaled limited edition serial numbered legs, heres the kicker, the numbers MATCHED the fork.....(hm two sets of legs for every fork just incase maybe?) i dunno, right now the only two mods on this fork are the lockout, and a set of dirt wipers cuz the boots got shredded when the infusion went face first (along with its rider) into a briar patch >> PEACE
