Submitted by
urbanjunkie
a Weekend Warrior
from vancouver wa
Date Reviewed: June 15, 2002
Strengths: eeer well it still works good...and its lived through a few very bad 8 foot drops and through a lot of other drops
Weaknesses: ....can be a b!tch to setup right. I had mine overhauled and had the original guts replaced with springs and stuff
Bottom Line:
well peoples i dont know that kind of acts you performed on ur forks to make em brake but i must be one of the lucky ones mine has never failed on me so far(haha)i should say i have owned it for nearly to 2 years now and so far so good....manitou offered to take it from and gimme that new inverted one for 800 bux but id rather get a shiver
Strengths: Great small to medium-hit performance,really gets the 7" advertised travel.LIGHT AS HELL!Looks real butch.Adjustable valving and spring rates.
Weaknesses: Lots 'o' weaknesses.First off,the sealing is crappy.In muddy conditions(i.e typical Northeast DH racing),the seals barely keep out anything.I had to run boots to keep it from seizing up in crappy weather,which of course meant I couldn't use all the available travel. The fork has a good deal of flex--enough to be visible while riding.This kind of sh$t does very little to inspire confidence. Big hit performance isn't too great.Most impacts that a Monster-T or a Stratos Superstar(even the 7" model)would eagerly soak up often caused the Manitou to bottom right out. Worst of all,this fork is totally lacking in durability.NO fork intended for true DH racing should ever snap at the arch after just 8 months of riding!ESPECIALLY a $1200(MSRP)fork!This is bullsh$t,through and through... Kudos goes to Answer's service.They did refund me for 3/4 of the purchase price after I returned the fork,which I promptly dumped into a MONSTER-T!!!
Bottom Line:
Not too impressed with this fork.I weighed 160 at the time,did mostly DH racing with it(no roof drops)and this fork still managed to snap right out from under me.Don't get me wrong,it did work great in dry conditions and I had few problems with the internals as long as I kept 'em clean.Hell,I even liked the range of adjustment and the superlight weight--worthy of a true champ-level DH fork.
But no fork costing 12 bills should ever have these problems.This is frickin' inexcusable.Even my '98 Boxxer(which was not a great fork by any measure)didn't flex this much,even with 6" of travel(Great snow job RockShox!Making us spend a grand on a fork that doesn't even get the advertised travel).I just don't trust those carbon lowers.Even though they look the sh$t,they aren't solid enough for DH. If they were cheaper,I could excuse some of the flaws.After all,DH forks see sh$tloads of abuse,and this isn't the first one I've seen break(though not after just 8 months).And the performance wasn't too bad.It was definitely better than the Boxxer(except for stiffness).I could even recommend this fork to really lightweight DH riders who don't ride N.E courses and are anal-retentive about maintenance.However,the high price really kills this one.There are lots of forks that kick the X-Vert's ass for lots less money,including the Monster-T and Stratos Superstar.Therefore,my ratings are:1 nuclear sh%t for value,2 overall.
Bike Setup: My '98 Super-8 was a DH fork testbed.Over the 3 years I had it,I put 3 different forks on it.I finally sold it with a Monster-T. New bike:Brooklyn TMX!!
Similar Products Used: stolen, boxxers, monster Ts etc
Bike Setup: Well i've got Scott, hope, XTR, Race Face, Manitous, sunn, tioga, funn, Goldtec, yeti, azonic, specialized, xtbb, clark cable, avid cog hog, x-lite, dt spokes, oviation seat tube, michealin, intense, sram, rockshox super delux, silkolene oil, pace grease, ebc pads, vw polo car(no radio), Micro scooter, leisure lakes bike bag, bb tool, crank extractor, 5mm allen key, 6mm allen key.(To be honest i won't go into detail)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Billy goin
a Downhiller
from san jose
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2000
Strengths: very PLUSH sweet fork super nice for DH
Weaknesses: the top crown is to small for my bike !!!! well my bike is big. that suck they could have made the crown about a 1/2" bigger it wouldn't have hurt no one
Bottom Line:
very nice fork i love it had no problems with it im should you would like it to .
Bike Setup: FSR DH hayes race face Hugi fox mountain speed chris king azonic
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
urbankjunkie
a Weekend Warrior
from vaancouver
Date Reviewed: September 6, 2000
Strengths: uhm its pretty....works unlike some of the other manitou forks i felt . smoorh travel ,no topout tons of adjustability.open bath tpc (as far is know mine has no cartrige or any of that silly sh1t. also mine has microlube (i dont know the year on mine its the older 6inch ones)oil woosh sound scares pedestrians and small children
Weaknesses: uh OIL TONS OF OIL i open her up and she spit at me !!! only in one side thankgod. pain in the 8ss to service and very very messy.(dont need much service with microlube though)
Bottom Line:
ok boys and girls ....i got the fork for 450 bux and i dont regret it also i got my super8 for 800 and the front triangle was new on it and so was the shock so it was like a new bike!!! for the whole thing i payed 1300 as far as i know i got a pretty sweet deal THANKYOU MTBR MARKETPLACE !! this thing is d#mn cool for the money feel great is actualy tough to bottom on the last inch even in the softest setting .....i guess mine is progressive. Its team fork and has been serviced only by good mechanics and it shows the thing works like a charm .....now i have get me that damn microlube gun god d8mit ...oh well have add grease the manual way ! Love it !
Strengths: FIRST OFF, i'd like to retract my review of this fork before, its the one at the bottom of this page i believe.
Light. Thats about it.
Weaknesses: Everything. I loved this fork at first, but now I hate it, thats why I got rid of it. It flexes sooooooo bad, its so unactive hitting 3" rocks barely gets it going. Lube it up and rebuild it and its sick, but it lasts for a couple minutes. Hard to mess with, cheesy adjuster knobs, brake like twigs, and the crowns are sharp to the knees. Sucks on big stuff also
Bottom Line:
This fork would be the best, if it had adjusters that worked, was active, did well on big stuff as well as small, was stiffer, looked better, wasn't as sharp, didn't break as much, and if didn't cost so much. Gee, there seems to be a fork that can do all that, a Boxxer!!!!!
Similar Products Used: Boxxer (the Best), Trixxy, Champ, Monster
Bike Setup: was on a Super 8, now I got a real bike, Karpiel
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Noah crary
a Downhiller
from S.B., Ca
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2000
Strengths: Light, good feel, pretty stiff, Great adjustment, easy to maintain.
Weaknesses: some people break em at the arch, no prob so far
Bottom Line:
Good fork for the light rider. Weight still matters, even in downhill. For ugly 10 foot drops go with Monster variety forks, for winning races get these.
Weaknesses: Flex, Flex, Flex, and endless Flex. Forks flex like spaghetti, leads to lousy un-precise handling. Unacceptable amount of free-play at seal and teflon bushing inside the lowers. Poorly engineered. Fork comes in 3 sizes to fit different head tube length - so watch out if you change frames, it may not fit! Lousy damping, considering top dollar paid. The weakness list goes on and on and on. Oh yeah, lousy Manitou service (never answer Email)
Bottom Line:
My advice is always avoid carbon fiber on anything downhill. Don't believe the marketing hype about carbon fiber strength - they flex, break, and crack. Well, at least on a bike. Recommend fork for show, not ride. Forget it. Sold mine (lucky) after 8 rides.
Similar Products Used: Z1 Bam, Monster T, Z1 QR, 2000 Boxxer - owned it all
Bike Setup: GT, Sintesi DH, now Kuwuhara Diver DH (a perfected M1)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rick Malone
a Downhiller
from Bristol, UK
Date Reviewed: January 27, 2000
Strengths: Light, adjustable, great looks, works!
Weaknesses: Seen 5 braces snapped, but I ride much lighter than the mashers who were running them. (Inside the carbon wrap there's a biscuity, waffle type thing - a little scary!)Expensive, and plastic bits which round out really easy.
Bottom Line:
Don't have the same linear feel as Bombers, but don't have the weight either (especially of the Monster T!) Really light, so if you're a light rider makes the bike so much more resposive. Shame the flats for spanners on the end caps are so shallow - make them really easy to mash with a spanner. 99 ones had nasty plastic adjusters too... glad to see this has changed for 2000. I liked my 99 ones so much I've just bought the 2000 ones since the Bullit got stolen... nice!
Weaknesses: initial stiction for first minute of ride, goes away
Bottom Line:
simply, a nice fork. very plush, and incredibly adjustable. great for DH, and even just riding around. Many upgrades and easily attainable parts. Very light, lighter then many freeride forks, and stiff. Tough, strong, fun
