Submitted by
scott steger
a Cross Country Rider
from Elk Rapids, Mi, USA
Date Reviewed: August 29, 2009
Strengths: this fork has an uncanny ability to deal with a riders mistakes and still keep the front wheel connected to the dirt.
its travel is supple but still gives the wheel plenty of room for roots, rocks, and steps before bottoming out.
Weaknesses: the rebound of the fork could be faster. i have been riding this fork for eleven years amazingly it has gotten better with age. however, the spyder does not spring up as fast as you may need it to when the trail gets hairy. in its defense though, throughout those eleven years i have experienced a bottom out less than ten times.
Bottom Line:
for the money you can't find a better deal on an entry level fork. it's light fork willing to tackle just about anything you throw at it. my spyder has improver with age, it's crazy. if you are searching for a used fork to get your latest bike project running, keep an eye out for the manitou spyder
Similar Products Used: RS indy xc, RS judy tt and xc,
Bike Setup: '98 gary fisher kaitai
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Harriet C-Wagon
a Weekend Warrior
from Birmingham, UK
Date Reviewed: February 21, 2006
Strengths: Fantastic for just bouncing around town, but also seems to make the transition from tarmac to trail relatively well in all but the nastiest down slopes :D Perfect for a light rider such as myself.
Weaknesses: Can be a bit soft at times (but that maybe the pies I ate for lunch).
Bottom Line:
Not half bad as they were given to me with the bike.
Submitted by
Mike K
a Cross Country Rider
from Vancouver, Coquitlam
Date Reviewed: December 2, 2001
Strengths: well, i did something no one would have done. It blows up my warranties, but it worth it ( who cares anyways?)
HERE'S WHAT I DID.. I OPENED BOTH CAPS AND TOOK OUT THE MCU'S AND EMPTIED MY SHOX BY PUTTING THEM UPSIDE DOWN. I POURED SOME OF MY SHOCK LUBRICANTS MIXED WITH CHAIN LUBES . THEN, I PUT A NEW SPRING AND INSTALLED XXX SEAL THAT MY FRIEND HAD ON HIS JUDY TT.( CRAP) I LOCKED EVERYTHING BACK, AND, I HAVE A PLUSH, 3.5 INCH TRAVEL!!! I LOVE IT AND I OPENED THE BOTTOM AND INSTALLED REBOUND DAMPING TOO. I M GETTING A NEW SHOCK, BUT WHAT THE HECK! IT 'S FOR FUN YOU KNOW. TESTING YOURSELF.
Weaknesses: NONE AFTER MY HOME-STYLE UPGRADE.. UM....... LONGER TRAVEL?
Bottom Line:
WORTH THE TRY, MY UP GRADE REALLY MADE MY SPYDER TO A JUDY XC!
Purchased At: This is 2nd edition of the one under
Bike Setup: MY GOOD CHARGER
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
mike kwon
a Cross Country Rider
from Coquitlam, Vancouver
Date Reviewed: October 25, 2001
Strengths: sort of plush,(joking)
Weaknesses: the caps, absorbs Nothing. rather get a syncros rigid forks. compare to others, it's a crap bottomed it out in the shop when i bought it.
Bottom Line:
never buy it. i got it because it was on my good bike.(except the fork...) will get new psylo's on it. boxxers and shivers are too stiff for me. ( i weigh only 130 lbs!) better than RST craps though.
Similar Products Used: rock shox boxxers, psylo sl, xc, bombers flighlight Z5,Z4,Z3,Z2,Z1, mazocchi shivers,
Bike Setup: shimano stx rc's, alvios, this fork(dah!)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jason Vallery
a Weekend Warrior
from Houston, Tx.
Date Reviewed: February 8, 2001
Strengths: It's a shock
Weaknesses: It dosent take much abuse
Bottom Line:
This shock and this bike are not for a hardcore rider. This shock bottomed out so hard that it skeeted a wad of grease right in my face. If you like to catch air, hit roots ,and rocks hard you will be let down, hovever I knew this when I bought the bike I'm just broke. For flat trail riders are broke people only!
Submitted by
Mike S
a Downhiller
from Knoxville, TN
Date Reviewed: November 26, 2000
Strengths: simple design-"micro-lube"[saves U from having to uncrew pre-load caps]
Weaknesses: ?
Bottom Line:
I took 2 hours tinkering with it to get 3" travel. I used Marzocchi soft spring on left leg & bunches of elastomers on right."it's very firm now for jumping & DH--I modified it from DOUGALS.8m website..it helped..I like simple design forks W/O tpc & all that stuff that might leak..because they always do!Except Monster-T..I wish the Pre-load caps were metal, like on Marzocchi's..Plastic kinda sucks
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from Atl, GA
Date Reviewed: September 4, 2000
Strengths: tough, works suprisingly well
Weaknesses: not exactly pro material
Bottom Line:
i use this fork for riding around college cause it works well and it's so cheap, like everything else on my bike, that i won't cry if the bike is stolen. i was actually suprised at the ability for this fork to absorb som rough stuff. i only use it on roads and sidewalks, but do some drops (2-3')and long stairways eyery day and the spyder hasn't bottomed out and in fact gives a very smooth ride
Submitted by
Yak Denno
a Weekend Warrior
from Oxford,England
Date Reviewed: August 20, 2000
Strengths: Sturdy,strong,handles and turns well,plush for 70mm. Takes up the jumps,doesn't bottom out easily.
Weaknesses: Could have nicer stanchions,better sealing and a bit more plush.Couldn't take a serious beating.
Bottom Line:
It works amazingly for the price.It can take a sound rip around and takes the edge off the hard hits.Sweet handling and hey,its Manitou,one of the most reliable fork builders.
Bike Setup: GT Zaskar,Manitou Spyders,STX-RC,XT,Azonic,Funn,24seven.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Kirk Riley
a Cross Country Rider
from Highland, MD
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2000
Strengths: Hmmmm, let me think.... NONE! OK, at least it's still in one piece, I will at least give it credit for that. I have beat the hell out of this fork and even though I hate every thing about it's still in one piece.
Weaknesses: First off, the fork came with my bike, if I knew the fork was going to be such crap I would never have bought the bike. It's wobbly, lower legs move around a lot, doesn't corner well, bounces off of every thing it doesn't bottom off of, I'm 165 lbs. and can bottom it just doing a 3 inch bunny hop, fork boots come off, Instead of inspiring confidence this fork scares the crap out of me (I'm saving up for a bomber), ever since my first ride on it it feels like it's loose and is going to fall apart.
Bottom Line:
It's good for riding on flat roads with tiny bumps and no turns. For example, canal roads, sidewalks, and paved bike trails.
It's NOT good for a normal mt. biker. For example, anyone reading this.
Similar Products Used: Suspension? Huh, what's that?
Bike Setup: 2 wheels, a frame, a handle bar, some brakes and some shifter gismo's. Oh yeah, I almost forget about the seat!
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
a Downhiller
from Beverly,massachusetts,U.S.A
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2000
Strengths: You can bang this thing up well! It is durable, and great for entry level riders who are looking for their first shock. It looks good too, so u can brag to your friends about your new fork.
Weaknesses: When you get into DH biking like me....you need more travel, Manitou 2000 carbons here I come.
Strengths: Extremely smooth for x country. Not too much flex. Good compression adjustment. Cheap too!
Weaknesses: Harsh bottoming on big hits as I did abuse it for DH. one of the caps fell off, but all you need is some krazy glue. No rebound adjustment. No adapter for a disc brake.
Bottom Line:
This fork is for the non-extremist rider who likes to trailride. I took this fork on the downhill slopes that were fairly technical and fast. As expected, it bottomed out like no other, but its purpose was not ment to be for downhill. Basically, if you want a cheap fork for trailride use, cant go wrong with this. It held up for DH, but not enough travel. five flammin craps for trailriding! 1 crap or lower for DH!
Bike Setup: Specialized FSR with mountainspeed kit (stratos), xt hollowtech cranks and chainrings, and soon to have the risse champ forks (7" travel) with a prostop disc brake and sun mammoth rim. Sweet ride!
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Adam Serediuk
a Cross Country Rider
from Calgary, AB
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2000
Strengths: -Price -3.5" Travel -Adjustable
Weaknesses: -Adjustment cap comes off easily
Bottom Line:
I bought this fork because I was on a budget to get my new bike up and going. I have been impressed with it's performance so far. Stiff or soft, this fork can do it. The adjustment caps came off before I ever rode on the fork, but that's nothing a little glue can't fix. The adjustment caps don't do much either, you're better off replacing mcu's.
Bike Setup: GT LTS-2000, LX/XT mix, RS Deluxe rear shock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Peter Andrews
a Weekend Warrior
from Victoria BC Canada
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2000
Strengths: -Good price, looks nice! -Has the manitou name behind it -adjustability -microlube
Weaknesses: -my main grief with this shock is that the adjustment Cap came off after about 3 months, I didn't even get a chance to ride it off road. and it was really hard to try to get a replacement for the cap! I'm still waiting for teh supplier to get his ass in gear and send my local shop a new piece! -the dust guard slides up once in awhile, but is fine after some dirt builds up around it :ø) -doesn't adjust all that much
Bottom Line:
Great shock to learn to off road with, keeps my tire firm to the ground when riding over knobs quickly. Wish it had a firm adjustment though, I'm only 140 and i find it a bit soft for riding around town.
Bike Setup: 99 Brodie Energy, nice black shocks with the red bike
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rit
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle, Washington, USA
Date Reviewed: March 18, 2000
Strengths: Cheap, good for a light rider, 140 or less, has some adjustment, doesn't flex when strong v-brakes are applied.
Weaknesses: too soft for a hevier rider, I'm 170, It bottoms out even when I bunny hop, needs a spring kit for riders that are too light or too hevy. when going off big jumps the tire rubs against the crown of the fork(very bad and scary), oh an the boots don't stay on very well, they come off too easy.
Bottom Line:
This fork is good for an average weight rider(bout 140)too many complaints that its too hard for light riders and to soft for hevy riders. Its a good entry level fork for riders who don't do any extreme riding, good for light trail riding. I'd like a stiffer fork. This one is like a pogo stick, bounces too much when accelerating hard. For more extreme riders, get a fork for what you do, I didn't and now I'm complaining. I do mostly cross-country so I'm looking for a fork that I can put, shall I say it, a lock-out kit, ohhhhhhh....
Nashbar has Hutchinson Spider Air Light 26x2.3 for $9.99
[url]http://www.nashbar.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10053_10052_228964_-1_202053_10000_202057[/url]
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