Strengths: Very light, certainly stiff enough for cross country.
Weaknesses: Its definitely starting to show some age, but for a 7 year old fork its really not so bad. I've had minor leaks, and the suspension has gotten subtly flatter since I installed it.
Bottom Line:
Not a bad fork at all, especially considering its age and price. If you want a cheap but functional XC fork this is about the best value you'll find. so far I've been able to fix any leak or problem I've come across, but I can feel the elastomers becoming worn out, and since this is so old once its done its done for good. Try to find one that has seen some light use and you'll be in good shape, but if you need to get one of these serviced you might as well save the trouble of calling Manitou's phantom customer service and invest in something more youthful.
Similar Products Used: Marzocchi Marathon (the reason i don't like my SXR anymore), newer Manitou forks.
Bike Setup: litech magnesium frame, cane creek wheels, hollowtech lx cranks.
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Submitted by
Christian H
a Cross Country Rider
from Melrose,MA
Date Reviewed: December 10, 2004
Strengths: Easy to maintain, and upgrade innards.
Weaknesses: Strictly a XC fork
Bottom Line:
This fork came on my 2001 MOAB DISC SL, and well I found that it was well, just a cross country fork... Which to say is not bad but if you want to venture out of the relm of fast single track, with uncomplicated fun the fork is not going to hold its own. If you want to have some technical fun, the fork really can't hold up to the abuse. Now I am not dissing this fork, I am just pointing out in a very non judgemental way that it is strictly a XC only fork.
Submitted by
Ramsés
a Weekend Warrior
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: October 4, 2003
Strengths: Lateral stiffness, Adjustability (R, C, and Lock-Out), and maintenance.
Weaknesses: could be plushier, nothing else.
Bottom Line:
This fork has never let me down. It isn't as plush as Marzocchi's and even some Rock Shox, but performance-wise (on the trails, singletracks, etc., where it matters) it surpasses just about every non-air and under $300 fork (2000 and 2001, at least). The MicroLube ports and some Prep M lube are all I've needed to keep the fork tuned. The adjustability with compression and rebound are awesome for riding in different types of terrain, and the lock-out feature lets you crank it up on flats and in climbs.
All in all, this was the baddest and best bang-for-the-buck fork around in 2000/2001. The 80mm travel really soaks up most XC trails and if you use the adjustability correctly, you can take some good drops on it. At 3.5 lbs. with lock-out, this is one very light non-air, sub-$300 fork.
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox Judy XC, Jett, some Marzocchi forks, and a Manitou Axel
Bike Setup: 2000 Diamondback Apex frame, Mavic Crossrides wheelset, Avid SD7 Brakes, SRAM 9.0SL Shifters/Derailleurs, Truvativ Stylo Team ISIS cranks.
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Submitted by
dave
a Cross Country Rider
from santa barbara, ca,
Date Reviewed: September 25, 2003
Strengths: plush, lasts forever, good value, resonable weight (ya'll are probably riding bikes too light anyway).
Weaknesses: nothing really rhymes with orange, and just as few bikes look good with that colored fork
Bottom Line:
An immediate improvement from the ten-piece boutique sx-ti my frame was speced with- this was a non-warranty replacement for the 2nd crack sx-ti I had- very nice of manitou. Slap it on and ride- grease occasionally- gets some play- what fork doesn't?- it's really quite bomber- I've but a lot of miles, drops,rocks (and a 100 mile race) on this sucker- I'ts now sitting in my closet to be used for a second frame-it will play again.
Similar Products Used: Manitou SX-ti (98). Marzocchi Marathon S 80- '02
Bike Setup: 98 S- works hardtail
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Submitted by
J-P Malo
a Cross Country Rider
from Kinnear's Mills, Québec
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2003
Strengths: Adjustability. Can take everything intended with XC trail use, track very well, make roots and rocks almost "invisible" and can even take 4 feet jumps without problem.Very affordable for so much quality :).
Bike Setup: Manitou SXR 00 front Cane Creek AD-12 rear A light, inexpensive, super well working XC combo.
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Submitted by
Eric
a Cross Country Rider
from Pleasanton CA. USA.
Date Reviewed: March 4, 2003
Strengths: Lasts thousands of miles if its taken care of. Tunability. Paint has held up for years and 4000 miles of mostly off road use. Has fork boots to protect the sliders from rock dents. Fairly rigid ( I weigh 200 lbs ). Micro-Lube; makes it easy to lube the sliders, without taking it apart.
Weaknesses: Took Manitou 4 months to get me a tuning kit! Tunability; if you haven't got some suspention tuning experience under your belt (I used to tune motor-cycle forks) the variables can get confusing to some riders. Factory oil level of 4" from top of slider is to high for most applications. I recomend a starting point of 4.5 inchs from the top for the oil level.
Bottom Line:
Well... once I recieved the tuning kit from Manitou, I was able to get the thing to work right. I couldn't believe how long it took (4 months) for the spring and elastomer kit to arrive. I weigh 200lbs and figured out the best combo (for my weight) is a, Blue elastomer, with a yellow spring and too drop the oil level down to 4.5 inches from the top of the slider. Ever since I figured out the "magic" combination, its been a very good fork. It has almost no bob when I'm climbing out of the saddle. It's taken a couple of hard hits due to rider error and survived to its second bike. I like the Micro-Lube ports, however it needs to be lubed more often than Manitou says. This is not a big deal, since it's so easy to pump some fresh grease into the sliders. It can be a little bit tough to tune, for a novice to the art of suspension tuning, but it's worth it, to someone like me thats used to tuning things like the oil level, for the perfect ride for the conditions. If the oil level is to high, it will "hydro-lock" and you wont get full travel. It's a very good fork and it's tough. If you don't have any suspension tuning experience, make sure you know someone that can give you a hand during the learning curve, or a good bike mechanic. Lube the thing generously and often (about 7 pumps from the Micro-Lube gun every 60 miles) and it should last a long time. I would have given the fork 5 chilis overall, but Manitou's customer support sucks. It shouldn't have taken 4 months to get a tuning kit for a brand new fork, on a brand new bike.
Purchased At: Came on first FSRxc, now its on FSRxc #2.
Similar Products Used: Rock Shock and Showa.
Bike Setup: 2003 FSRxc frame with the SXR fork and some goodies.
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Submitted by
Eddie
a Cross Country Rider
from Kent
Date Reviewed: January 16, 2003
Strengths: Very durable. Just had it rebuilt after two years in the norhwest. I've been very happy with it.
Weaknesses: The ajustment knob(bottom)fell off who knows where. It does tend to stiffen when it's cold.
Bottom Line:
The fork was stock material on my bike. I kept wanting to upgrade, but the fork just would not break. So when it did, I rebuilt it rather than buy another one.
Bike Setup: Specialized Fsr stumpjumper xc built up for free riding
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Phil
a Weekend Warrior
from Providence, RI, USA
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2002
Strengths: adjustability, decent weight
Weaknesses: preload and rebound controls both broken within a few months use
Bottom Line:
It'd frusterating to have these controls broken when I bought this fork new a few months ago. I wouldn't suggest buying this fork used like the guy who posted last because if you end up in my situation you will be s*%t out of luck without a warranty. Manitou had no problem taking the fork back and fixing it.
Submitted by
Bike Rider
a Cross Country Rider
from UP, MI USA
Date Reviewed: April 12, 2002
Strengths: Plush, no apparent service issues
Weaknesses: Bob (curable?)
Bottom Line:
I haven't used these very long, but first impression is not as good as I expected. They are not nearly as responsive as my other bike with an AMP F3xc. They are way plush, pretty light, pretty cheap on e-bay, and blow Judy out of the water in weight, design, and plushness, BUT they are NOT an overall ride improvement over AMP F3xc. Horrible BOB (curable?).
Maybe someone can help me out here, THEY BOB LIKE CRAZY. I maxed-out preload and damping, but if I stand up, there I go, up down, up down. I _HOPE_ this is an adjustment issue. I'm kinda big (~190), maybe I need some big-guy tuning set?
Bottom line: 5 poops for value at e-bay prices, 3.5 (rounded to 4) poops cuz they bob so much and are heavier and not as direct as AMP, which I gave 4 poops. 4 or 4.5 poops if somebody helps me cure bobbing.
Oh, and did I mention the fact that they really BOB A LOT?
Submitted by
Bob
a Cross Country Rider
from Canada
Date Reviewed: February 25, 2002
Strengths: Light, Decent travel, Easy to maintain, Very good online techincal documentation from Answer
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
This is a great upgrade from my previous Judys both in ride performance and ease of maintenance. You don't need any special tools to adjust or perform work on, and microlube I think works well.
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox Judy '95 & '98 Judy XC
Bike Setup: Giant ATX 970 - RS Coupe Deluxe rear shock, XT / STX-RC drive, alot of after market "upgrades"
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Submitted by
robby
a Cross Country Rider
from chattanooga, tn
Date Reviewed: February 24, 2002
Strengths: fairly light very durable quite a bit of adjustment microlube
Weaknesses: could be lighter?
Bottom Line:
this isn't the lightest fork on the market, but its probably the best deal out there.. its far from heavy and the performance is very impressive. the microlube ports make maintenance amost nothing.
Similar Products Used: rock shox indy xc rock shox judy xc
Bike Setup: xt/xtr/sram 9.0
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Submitted by
Andy
a Weekend Warrior
from Colorado, U.S.
Date Reviewed: January 28, 2002
Strengths: extremely and easily adjustable, great price range, great damping and rebound, good travel... super smooth and durable to this point.
Weaknesses: can't say i have found any yet... average weight though.
Bottom Line:
This is a great shock to own. It offers great performance and durablility at a very affordable price. It isn't extremely light for racing, but at about 3.5 lbs, it will take almost anything. Arguably the best shock for the price. I would definitely purchase again, and I would recommend to anyone from an entry level to xc experienced. Some reviews list that this shock is flexy... i weigh in at just over 175lbs, with the right springs and oil weight, this shock can be perfectly tuned in.
Similar Products Used: rock shox judy xc, manitou sx
Bike Setup: '99 fisher kaitai w/ all 9 speed xt components, sx-r, mavic wheels
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Submitted by
Alan Koslowski
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle, WA, USA
Date Reviewed: January 17, 2002
Strengths: Reliable, durable, value, good travel and stiffness for XC rider, relatively low maintenance.
Weaknesses: Heavy-ish (not too bad), stiff in cool weather, TPC rebound dampening of minimal benefit for light riders
Bottom Line:
This is a great value for an entry/mid level XC fork. Since it's a couple years old (and isn't made anymore) you'll probably be able to find some good deals. I've used mine since Oct. of 2000 in all kinds of conditions and have had no serious probs. The travel (80mm) is perfect of XC riders; enough to smooth things out, and not so much to cause anything more than incidental bob. Stiffness preferences are pretty subjective (based on rider weight), but for me (150 pds) the SX-R feels about right (maybe slightly stiff).
There are only a couple minor probs: In cold temperatures travel and responsiveness is greatly reduced, but this is true of most forks [In all fairness, I haven't serviced it regularly]. The TPC rebound dampening might be more useful for heavier riders, but I really can't tell much difference between high and low settings.
This for has served me well for over a year, and the stiction problem it started to develop a couple months ago probably would've been minimized if I'd greased it regularly. I'm having it serviced in a couple days, after which I'll get the grease gun for the microtubles. If you grease it every month or two, the fork should only need service (oil change, etc.) once a year or so. Overall, a very good fork and a great value.
