Submitted by
Jim Breneman
a Weekend Warrior
from San Dimas, CA, usa
Date Reviewed: January 21, 2009
Strengths: smooth
Weaknesses: Parts are hard to come by
Bottom Line:
I'm a weekend warrior with more money than skill but i like my bike componants to last more that 5 years or at the least be able to obtain part when needed.
Submitted by
Simon
a Cross Country Rider
from basingstoke
Date Reviewed: January 17, 2008
Strengths: Just to say ive had these 10 years and still out lasting my bikes!!!
Weaknesses: flex
Bottom Line:
10 years and still going strong, i think that says it all! Just look after them and they look after you :) And the fact they had disc mounts and canti stays means that whatever the brakes (hs33, vee or disc), they are completely compatible
Submitted by
Nathan
a Cross Country Rider
from Nebraska
Date Reviewed: April 25, 2005
Strengths: I can't think of anything that wasn't better about my zoke. It's "economical", I guess
Weaknesses: Leaked oil like a bandit, which of course attracted dirt, which caused more leakage, etc. Too plush stock (I only weight 180), no where near true 100mm travel, heavy.
Bottom Line:
Not a fan. Replaced with z1. I can't think of a good reason to have this fork, there are others out there you can get that are lots better for similar $. It came on my bike, there's no way in hell I'd buy this if it didn't.
Similar Products Used: Marzocchi Z1 x-fly, Manitou Mars, Rock Shox Judy race
Bike Setup: '00 Specialized Enduro Comp, stock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
g. g.
a Cross Country Rider
from santa fe, nm, usa
Date Reviewed: September 4, 2002
Strengths: Inexpensive,(almost)4" travel fork, smooth, quiet, had good geometry with tallish front end on the 2000 enduro.
Weaknesses: Too flexy, non-progressive spring feel, compression pre-load stopped functioning on first ride, non-international standard disk brake mounts, and terrifyingly out-of-control on fast bumps, and awful cold weather performance.
Bottom Line:
Manitou / Answer is doing the right thing and offering a warranty upgrade/replacement as I have had lots of problems with these forks. The pre-load knob "snapped" the first bump it hit, so it can't hold the pre-load I set it to. The dampening components essentially fell apart and stopped performing so the fork is almost intolerable on anything technical. I hadn't ridden them in a while but the 'Zokes are in for warranty repair so I threw these back on the bike. I noticed right away the front end was taller giving better BB clearance (which is good) but wonder why the forks are so damn tall, making them very scary on technical switchbacks and fast off-camber turns. The other thing is that I never got the 4" / 100 mm of travel claimed. The flex issue is compounded with the tight tolerances of disks, as when the fork flexes, the disk rubs... The upshot is that they are easy to service and the customer service is excellent. But as someone else said here, there is no reason to buy these as aftermarket forks with all the other options out there.
Submitted by
Deano Hepburn
a Downhiller
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2002
Strengths: Strong,Stiff,sticks to the track like glue.
Weaknesses: Bottomsout far tooooooooooo easly.Even bouncing on them without effort I bottomed them out. Can't do small jumps don't wanna try the big ones.
Strengths: No stiction, smooth and seems to track fine for us old slow guys. Easy to service and rebuild. It's only designed for casual riding. Any old grease will do - don't have to spend time looking for Judy Butter everywhere.
Weaknesses: Blew apart MCU stack - split a coupling and jammed the mcu's side by side. Everyone I talk to says fluke luck.
Bottom Line:
Once I changed to a better (shorter/stiffer) mcu stack and longer spring it is fine. Leaks some lube from between the bushings, but at least there is lube between the bushings. Never had dampening problems other than looking for 5 wt oil late at night.
Submitted by
Eric
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Rosa, CA
Date Reviewed: July 15, 2002
Strengths: Cheap and 100 mm of travel
Weaknesses: Leaked oit since the day I got them, cheap plastic knobs, adjustments make little to no difference in performance and worst of all these forks FLEX a lot.
Bottom Line:
Like the previous review said "wet noodle." These forks work fine on wide open stuff with moderate bumps, but if you ride anywhere where precision steering is critical go with something that has more rigidity. Technical climbing is a hugh pain with these things, they feel like they are all over place.
Bike Setup: These forks came on my specialized eduro comp that I purchased about one and a half years ago.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Matt
a Weekend Warrior
from Lenexa, KS
Date Reviewed: June 29, 2002
Strengths: Well, I got this fork as standard issue equipment on my Specialized FSR Enduro Comp 2000 model. It was a GREAT fork at first, but I quickly found out as my riding skills improved that this fork was too flexible (especially when nailing the front Hayes Discs brakes), it goozed oil EVERYWHERE (even contaminated my rotor once), and the dampening cartridges were EASY to blow. So I have been riding my FSR with a cheapo-Manitou SX-LT on it for the past 2 years... 1 of which with blown dampening cartridges.
Weaknesses: The dampening cartridge is easy to break...it's about as flexible as a wet noodle under hard braking, and it leaks more oil than my 86' Saab 900 Turbo
Bottom Line:
This fork is JUST ok. After riding other bikes with different forks, it makes you want to throw this thing over a cliff. Leave it for the newbies.
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox Judy SL (98' model), Rock Shox Jett, Rock Shox Psylo, Manitou SX-Ti, Manitou SX-LT (80mm travel version)
Bike Setup: 00' Specialized FSR Enduro Comp. Marzocchi Z3 01' fork w/ 100mm of buttery smooth travel. Panaracer Fire XC-Pro Kevlar tires, Full Shimano XT drivetrain, THE Fenders, Hayes Discs, Powerconnection 99 chain, Fox Float rear shock.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mark Rogers
a Weekend Warrior
from Whitby
Date Reviewed: March 14, 2002
Strengths: - Plush in light stuff when set-up correctly. - Microlube ports
Weaknesses: - Stock spring and mcu way to soft for rough terrain - Flexy in fast stuff - Crappy cheap plastic caps - Does not work well when it gets cold out.
Bottom Line:
I replaced the stock Rock Shok that came with my bike with the SX LT. I'm 200 Lbs and the stock (red) elastomers and spring it came with are way to soft and tend to simply stop working when it gets colder (below 50 F).
I improved the shocks performance by dropping in an X Vert Super "firm" spring and elastomer. The spring is 5.5 " Vs the LT's 3.5" stock spring. I also needed to remove one mcu and cut another down to make this thing fit. It works much better than the SX LT stock set-up and remains a little more functional when it gets cold.
After reading all these reviews, I think I'm gong to give my wife a gift and put the SX LT on her bike... then I'll look into a more relable fork that doesn't lose half it's functionallity when it gets cold.
I will not buy another Manitou product based on the poor service most of the reviewers have received.
Bike Setup: Giant ATX 970, full XT, helix expert rear shock, bla bla bla.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from New York
Date Reviewed: February 15, 2002
Strengths: THIS IS AN UPDATE ON A PREVIOUS REVIEW - -decent fork at a low price -long travel
Weaknesses: -the seal blew, but it was an inexpensive fix, and i havnt had problems since -ajustable preload has annoying plastic knobs -travel can be a bit sloppy
I would have stuck with my old elastomer Judy's if i didnt need a 4" travel fork. I haven't had the blow out problems others have had, but I stil find the fork lacking. The steering is sloppy, and the fork flexes a _lot_ under heavy pedaling. Still, it soaks up most of the hits, most of the time. Not bad for the money, but if you can afford somthing better, get it. If not, save for somthing better.
Submitted by
Barrett Scott
a Cross Country Rider
from San Jose, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: December 17, 2001
Strengths: -Long Travel -Plush ride -Easy to maintain
Weaknesses: -If you ride hard you must maintain after every ride -leaks grease faster than an old pinto -no dampening after two months (dampening shim blew out) -bottoms out on big hits (I weigh 165 lbs) -adjustable preload did not seem to make a difference
Bottom Line:
The fork is fun to ride, but is also cheaply made. I really enjoyed it for the first couple of months, then the dampening blew out and it was horrible. I checked out the Manitou website www.answerproducts.com and downloaded the service manual. This helped diagnose the problems as the bike shop guys did not know anything and said the fork was fine. Lucky for me it was still under warranty and through a better bike shop I got free parts from Manitou. I see on many other reviews that the dampening has blown. The issue is definately the dampening shim (very cheap part not made to handle this type of stress). Solution - you can replace the entire oil piston shaft. I recommend upgrading to the newer more luxurious oil dampening adjustable model, and skipping the replacement piece. I am sure this problem will re-occur if you replace the shim/shaft with the same part. The newer dampening shaft models stack the shims, which will add to their strength and hopefully they will not blow apart.
Strengths: crap crappidy crap they are orange so they match my hat thats aboot all
Weaknesses: the whole thing sucks
Bottom Line:
they suck hairy nuts i heard of a guy doin a 10 foot drop with em and when he landed they cracked all the way up the side and it sounded like a gun shot mine havent done that yet but i have blown the seals within the first month or 2 and probly re-blew em a couple times by now iam sure the insides look like hamburger cuz.. well.. these things are just plain crap i think manitou thought little 90 pound kids with paper routes would be riding these forks.. actually even those kids would probly destroy the fork
Submitted by
adam
a Weekend Warrior
from lake cowichan bc canada
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2001
Strengths: Nice travel dont bottom out to easy
Weaknesses: Leaks more oil than that blonde that sits on the corner down the street
Bottom Line:
Good but has cause greif I got it on the bike as a bonus when i bought it so im not sure how much its worth I dont literally beat the crap out of my bike but still my forks aren't healthy. It is good for probably hardcore riders and xc riders.
Weaknesses: this fork is a good example of why they don'tmake many cheaplong travel forks. They suck the travel is not smooth. That microlube crap leaked out of the fork continuously. this is the wors four inch fork I have ever ridden.
Bottom Line:
The fork sucks if you really want 4" and don't have enough money for a good one it will work but I suggest you just save up for a better one.
