Submitted by
Jimmy
a Cross Country Rider
from Texas
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2001
Strengths: Good adjustability. Very reliable. 80mm of travel is not bad in 1996
Weaknesses: a little heavy
Bottom Line:
This fork is very reliable. I have put a couple thousand miles on it and have never had a single problem. I have ridden bikes with newer Judy XC and Manitou forks and Im not that impressed. I am replacing my bike, but I am keping the fork for my Dean Ti.
Strengths: 3 inches of travel. Easy to dissasemble. Oil dampening. Upgradeable.
Weaknesses: Little bit of lateral flex.
Bottom Line:
Here's the deal on the creaking. If you have updated the elastomer stack to speed springs (or similiar) then these shocks will squeak and creak until you grease the springs. Be liberal with the grease. You can use a high quality synthetic or Judy Butter. Grease the skewer and grease the spring until you just about can't hang onto it anymore. Install them, adjust your preload and forget about them - they'll be good to go.
If you can find one of these forks as NOS or hardley used (especially with a spring upgrade) buy it. Don't buy one that has been ridden hard since '95 or '96. They have a tendency to bust the crowns after years of hard use. This is the most reliable part on my bike.
Similar Products Used: It would be easier to list the ones I haven't tried!
Bike Setup: 1995 Kona Cinder Cone with 95 EFC. XT Drivetrain.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Yosuke Yamamoto
a Weekend Warrior
from Corvallis, OR, USA
Date Reviewed: February 20, 2001
Strengths: Looks sexy 3" of travel was a lot back in '96 pretty plush
Weaknesses: MCU stack system sucks Needs lots of "fluids" to keep it going
Bottom Line:
I really loved this fork back when I got it, and it performed for a long long time. Probably longer than it should have. I'm still using it, and after a little bit of servicing, it still works great. I have purchased a new bike though with a '00 Marz Z3 flylight 100, and will see how much fork technology has progressed in the last five years. Oh by the way I dropped in Speed springs into the EFC a while back and made it nice and plush.
Similar Products Used: Softride Stem (i know, i know) RST fork Tried Z3 bam '98
Bike Setup: Trek 8700 ('96), XT all around except for LX cantilever brakes and cranks, Titec Hell bents
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jameson
a Weekend Warrior
from Mercer Island
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2000
Strengths: Lot's of travel for it's time Oil Damper!!
Weaknesses: It breaks
Bottom Line:
This was an awesome fork when I got it but after about a year of being on my bike it started it's neverending process of dying. I went through three crowns, which all broke in one way or another. But the best part is that I went through not one, not two, but three inner legs. The first one cracked in two just below my crown in my driveway!! yes you read that right, I busted it in my driveway, I was adjusting my Maguras and slammed on the front brake and there it went. I felt something snap and pulled the boot down. Sure enough it was in two pieces. So I got another inner leg from my friend whohad the smae fork but his bike was out of commision and installed that. The next day I went riding and the fork toped out in a rut and never compresssed again. it toped out and both legs seperated from the oil damper and the other side and then I came down on the skewers but they weren't lined up anymore so they got all bent up inside the fork. Well, I guess I have to say that I loved the fork when I got it, it was awesome but it never stopped giving me troubles.
Similar Products Used: Manitou X-vert single crown (the replacement for my EFC)
Bike Setup: 1996 GT Karakoram mostly LX and XT with Magura rims. Well, that's until I busted my head tube off. Now I've got a 1999 Zaskar frame with all my old parts
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rod Munch
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Rosa, California
Date Reviewed: July 29, 2000
Strengths: Great beefy CNC'd look, even/especially compared to today's offerings. Black & silver & red. No mango, gold or yellow.
Weaknesses: MCU spring elements in stock form; heavy; rebound damping only
Bottom Line:
I felt I had to write a review in honor of the demise of my EFC. I bought it in 12/96 from Supergo as a replacement for the Future Shock that came on my M2 Stump. I admit I bought it because I thought it looked so cool: anodized red & black to match my bike, M2 brace to match my M2 frame & stem.
With the stock MCU springs, I was nonplussed. But with Speed Springs, the fork came to life and held its own against the forks coming to the market up to the present (7/00). I put over 5,000 miles on mine, probably 90% of that in the rough & rocky Martian environs of Annadel State Park. I always wished for compression damping, and always ran mine with stiff coil springs and the rebound damping full "out." It fought the good fight and never blew through its travel on steep descents or jump landings like my old FS was prone to do.
I recently got hold of a 1st generation Manitou fork, and was going to retire my EFC and frame the two as a bit of wall art. But yesterday I noticed some creaking as I was prepping for a ride. I thought it was my headset, and lubed and tightened everything I could think of, but still couldn't find the source. I set out for a ride, and jumped a curb in the street >KRANG!! Ratings are as follows...VALUE: my fork was a year-end sale for $299 in '96. I admire mfr's that let outlets like Supergo sell below MSRP [aside: I'll never buy another Specialized bike] A bargain at the time. OVERALL: I wanted compression damping and more wetproof construction. Otherwise a true classic.
Similar Products Used: cannondale-head shock rockshock-judy
Bike Setup: specialized stumpjumper- Answer manitou efc
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tim Cook
a cross-country rider
from Birmingham, England
Date Reviewed: October 22, 1998
Bottom Line:
I've had these 1.5 years and the use of speed springs increases their performance dramatically. They hardly need any maintenance and are exceptionally reponsive, they also match my Manitou Hardtail rather well (surprise surprise!). My only moan is the nasty creaking sound that the crown / leg interface makes regaularly and the difficulty in finding the right grade oil for the damping cartridge.
Submitted by
Bill
a cross-country rider
from Denver, Co
Date Reviewed: September 2, 1998
Bottom Line:
Been riding the '95 model for 3 years, and I am impressed with the trouble free use. The action is great - I ditched the elastomers in favor of White Brothers springs, lubed the heck out of it with Judy Butter, and havn't looked back since! I wonder if the guys who wrote the negative reviews are riding the same shock? Instead of questioning the engeneering at Manitou, perhaps we should question their Quality Control program. My oil cartrige has never leaked, the bolts have not stripped, and the pre-load knobs work like new. Yes, it does flex a little, but I weigh 190lbs, and at the time I bought it the Judy flexed every bit as much (and the Judy's rebound damping was awful.) Now, are todays offerings stiffer? Yes. Is the action better? No. So until my EFC suffers catastrophic failure, you'll be seeing red and black streaks on the trail! 5 chilis!
Submitted by
Chas
a cross-country rider
from Dallas, TX
Date Reviewed: August 17, 1998
Bottom Line:
I have been riding the EFC for about three years now, and it has been the most trouble free part on my bike. It developed some squeaks over time, but they were remedied with disassembly, grease and reassembly. I would assume this is the minumum maintenance any fork would require (except possibly the wet bath designs, which might still squeak at the crown/leg mount.) Though I don't think you can buy them anymore, I recommend this fork.
This fork is so below the performance of a judy of a comparable year, you will laugh. I've had it on my bike for a year now, (too poor for anything else) and i have to hit it hard on the fork brace with a hammer every once in awhile too make sure the damn thing is centered. This is because the bolts have stripped. The plastic screw that you unscrew to take out the elastomer stack broke, and it's held there now with superglue. Don't ever buy this fork. It is sticky, heavy, and is a royal piece of crap. (At least it has a damping cartridge)
I have had this fork since 95. I am currently on my second EFC fork. The only problem I have ever had with the fork is a blown dampening cartrage and blown seals. This shock is very easy to rebuild with the exception of reinstalling the c clips. Best upgrade for these forks are an after market spring kit. If your fork squeaks, try to grease the springs and lube the legs liberally. This should cure that problem. I would give this fork 4 stars for durability and relative ease of rebuilding.
Submitted by
skip
a cross-country rider
from chico, ca
Date Reviewed: May 12, 1998
Bottom Line:
Just overhauled this fork. Had it for 3 years now. Never any trouble. A bit tedious to take apart and rebuild but that could be because I let it go so long. Never worry about blown seals or air pressure or oil leaks etc. Preload does nothing but I like them backed out all the way anyhoo. You need to pull a boner to ever bottom out. Nice action. I weigh 150. No need to add more weight and squeak with springs. Smokes mag 21's. Don't know about new forks but this one is basically maintenance free and that's how I like my bikes.
Submitted by
Tim
a cross-country rider
from Ontario
Date Reviewed: March 11, 1998
Bottom Line:
Got this fork about six months ago, and installed the spring kit, at 185lbs I am running the shock with the pink bumpers and med spring combo. Havn't really had any problems exept Manitou used too much locktite on the crown bolts on one side, now stripped they are unremovable. Next upgrade will be going with the full length ti-spring. Really, after riding the 98 forks and comparing I can't yet justify replacing this fork yet.
Submitted by
Paul Domjan
a cross-country rider
from Portland, Oregon
Date Reviewed: January 31, 1998
Bottom Line:
My EFC just died in a car accident, but it was a great fork. It creaks a little, a leans a little in corners, but I never had problems with blown cartridges, even on the most serious downhill that a cross country rider will encounter. Moreover, the creaky and leaning has never seemed to seriously affect the forks performance. This is probably one of the best forks Manitou ever made.
