Submitted by
David
a Weekend Warrior
from Damascus, MD, USA
Date Reviewed: February 3, 2005
Strengths: Good if you're a light rider (I've been between 125 - 140 pounds over the last six years), long term reliability
Weaknesses: Bounces like a pogo stick when climbing on pavement, preload adjustment doesn't do a whole lot
Bottom Line:
The Spyder came with my Klein Pulse Comp. Considering I had a Rock Shox Quadra 21 on the previous bike, this was a quantum leap. I haven't had any cold weather problems. I've found the shock to be very reliable...not a lick of trouble in six years. I've ridden it under all sorts of conditions from 15 - 95 degrees and it's never faltered. Granted, I am very light (140 pounds at my heaviest) and its on the smallest frame Klein offered. The downside is that it does bounce like a pogo stick when climbing. I've mulled switching to a more modern fork, but the weight penalty scares me...so I'll stick with it.
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox Quadra 21, a couple of other shocks that I can't recall
Bike Setup: '98 Klein Pulse Comp
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Bas de Bruin
a Cross Country Rider
from Uithoorn, NH, The Netherlands
Date Reviewed: December 13, 2001
Strengths: Cheap, durable, great from rigid upgrade
Weaknesses: No adjustment, you can turn the knob all you like but nothing happens, bottoms out too quickly
Bottom Line:
This fork is really good if you dont do great dropoffs, if you're not too heavy, and, well, if you just havent got the cash for a better one. I really enjoyed riding these, i've only recently upgraded to a SX (waaaayyy different league!). Despite of what others have to say, there's no difference in riding this fork with either 30 degrees celsius or minus 10.
Similar Products Used: RST 461, Manitou SX, Manitou Magnum, Manitou Spyder R
Bike Setup: B1 Torix, full LX with XTR rear derailleur, ritchey wheels&tires
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Paul
a Weekend Warrior
from Logan, Ohio
Date Reviewed: September 5, 2001
Strengths: cheap
Weaknesses: flexible, no adjustments, blows through travel going over a beetle, stiffens slightly when cold.
Bottom Line:
If you're looking to buy a fork, spend some money, and get a fork that's worth the small amount of work you're going to perform changing the fork. This fork is not worth the effort.
Weaknesses: LOTS of brake dive, unresponsive, heavy, not much travel
Bottom Line:
Okay so they're cheap. But that's about the only good thing I can say about them. I wiegh 210 lbs. and I like to leave the trail, so I guess I can dish out some abuse. This is probably why I blew out my Manitou Pro Cs, so I replaced them with Spyders because I was low on cash. I NO LONGER ENJOY RIDING MY BIKE. I hate them. I rode some Marzocchis and I will be purchasing them next week. To anybody intereted in these shocks: save up some money and buy something better. I wouldn't even recommend them to a beginner. They get peppers for value but that's about it!
Similar Products Used: Manitou Pro C, RockShox Jett, Marzocchi Z4 Air, RST 100
Bike Setup: Parkpre Alucomp (fat tube 7005 aluminum) with all Shimano XT components, 21"
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Submitted by
Greg
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 8, 2001
Strengths: Uhh weight i guess, looks good.
Weaknesses: When the temperature is below 15 degrees celcius the fork doesn't move at all. I could put all my weight on it and it will only go down less than a half an inch. Even when it is warm it still only compresses just less than two inches.
Bottom Line:
The only reason to buy this fork is if you are upgrading from an RST or some other sh!tty deparment store bike, its way better than any toys r us fork on any of their bikes.
Similar Products Used: Judy XC (way better than this) Jr. T. no, it doesn't even compare to this, RST 161 and 281 (sh!t)
Bike Setup: Stock VooDoo Erzulie with Mavic 238 rims, LX brakes and STX rear der.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Greg
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 8, 2001
Strengths: Uhh weight i guess, looks good.
Weaknesses: When the temperature is below 15 degrees celcius the fork doesn't move at all. I could put all my weight on it and it will only go down less than a half an inch. Even when it is warm it still only compresses just less than two inches.
Bottom Line:
The only reason to buy this fork is if you are upgrading from an RST or some other sh!tty deparment store bike, its way better than any toys r us fork on any of their bikes.
Similar Products Used: Judy XC (way better than this) Jr. T. no, it doesn't even compare to this, RST 161 and 281 (sh!t)
Bike Setup: Stock VooDoo Erzulie with Mavic 238 rims, LX brakes and STX rear der.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
skuldi
a Cross Country Rider
from east coast USA
Date Reviewed: January 17, 2001
Strengths: Smooths out the pavement and gravels on the road.
Weaknesses: loses all travel whenever temp is below freezing. started to wear out after 1 year but i rode on it anyways for another year cos i was broke - bushings or something inside are cheaply designed. Felt like my headset was loose but it wasn't.
Bottom Line:
i wouldn't put this fork on a Huffy - well, maybe i would if i didn't ride it very often. I wish the guy at the bike shop had recommended a better fork to trade for it when i bought the bike. It's caused me to go over the handlebars. It's got too much flex. It's sluggish and doesn't rebound. Just kind of sits there. It doesn't have any travel at all in cold weather.
Submitted by
Ollie Davies
a Cross Country Rider
from Devon, United Kingdom
Date Reviewed: December 11, 2000
Strengths: Great fork... soaks up MOST things you throw at it
Weaknesses: Too soft for me, brace hits top of my tyre when i compress it too much
Bottom Line:
good fork but i wanna stiffen it up. (anyone got any ideas? oddbass@yahoo.co.uk please!). Great value, good wearing budget fork, good for evrything, apart from hardcore downhilling ofcourse, and duel.
Similar Products Used: jett t2, marzocci z5 (very good)
Bike Setup: scott kokomo frame, LX/XT groupset, dmr ring thing, middleburn/race face crankset
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Brian Bolden
a Weekend Warrior
from Abbotsford B.C. Canada
Date Reviewed: November 30, 2000
Strengths: Not too many for my riding. Very little bob while climbing as it is overly stiffly sprung.
Weaknesses: This fork is NOT smooth enough at all. The MCU and spring design is not adequate for bumpy trails. You may as well have a rigid fork mounted as the front wheel would probably stay in contact with the dirt the same amount of time... okay that's an exageration. I weigh 215 pounds and still can't bottom this thing out. I do not see this as a strength. The travel is too stiff. I suppose I could order softer MCU's but at $50 it is not worth it. I have a new fork on order as I type this. This fork is fine for smooth trails and the street.
Bottom Line:
For street and smooth trails I could recommend this fork. However, if you do a lot of serious trails then steer clear. You will not be happy with it. I have used mine for 3 months and already it is time to move on. For the same price I could have had an oil damped and non MCU fork with 100mm travel.
Strengths: works well, not to expensive(you can find it now at 60$).
Weaknesses: Not to precise to adjust, doesn't have disk brakes mounts.
Bottom Line:
This fork is not a bad one but i want to upgrade to disk brakes and i have to chage it, if you don't want disk brakes, and want a good fork this is a good idea because its now cheap thanks to the year (which wont make it work bad).
Similar Products Used: Rock shox jett, rock shox indy.
Bike Setup: Specialized rock hopper (1998)
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Submitted by
Roy Borrelli
a Weekend Warrior
from Belle Mead, NJ, USA
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2000
Strengths: Its a great shock. i like how it responds going down hill and jumping cliffs and big table tops. i have never bottomed it out yet! i don't what these people are talkin about how it always bottom. i think it is very stiff! whick i really like.
Weaknesses: so many god damn difernt noises!!!
Bottom Line:
its a really good shock for playing around but i wouldnt race with these thing you would die in sec.
Submitted by
John Christensen
a Cross Country Rider
from New Ulm, MN USA
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2000
Strengths: The overall fork doesn't look to bad. It works great for cross-country riding. A nice feature is the adjustable travel that will almost turn it into a stiff fork.
Weaknesses: It LOUD, but that doesn't really matter that much.
Bottom Line:
I've used the manitou spyder for two years going cross country and suggest it for cross country and beginning riders. Impressed and satisfied.
Similar Products Used: Started with stiff fork and ungraded to and RST that I wasn't happy with and found the sypder that I liked.
Bike Setup: GT with shimano xt cranks, stx rc shifters, kore stem and bars, barracuda var ends and seatpost, mavic rims, wtb sst saddle and platform pedals.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Josh Sutter
a Weekend Warrior
from Winston-Salem, NC U.S.A
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2000
Strengths: WoW!!! Nice response, great for jumping. Don't cost much, but they sure take a pounding (I'm 220lbs). Excellent on curbs, steps, roots, and anything else nasty.
Weaknesses: A bit noisy but who cares. A little more responsive than I'd like when using front brake.
Bottom Line:
Excellent choice for the price and for a solid, responsive front shock. Pretty light, dependable if taken care of, and you can beat them up and they'll last. For anyone who wants a reliable shock that's cheap with great performance. Maybe not for you "pro" downhillers. More of a technical-trail shock.
Strengths: simple and very easy to maintain works really nice most of the time
Weaknesses: tends to be a bit stiff in cold weather, but push it up and down for a minute and warms up and works a bit better ( a bit) After a few months it needs regular maintenance (which is really easy anyway )
Bottom Line:
this fork works very nicely if maintained well which is really not a hassle
me and a mate were goin down this reeeeally bumpy downhill and it felt relly nice for me goin down (seriously) but my mate was way behind me, and he doesnt shutup about how much better his fork is (although he's right) point is that for the price it's a really nice fork just use a nice oil on the moving outer parts
