One of the most versatile forks on the market, it contains one-switch instant travel adjust, coil spring internals and the best damping system on the planet with TPC.
Submitted by
Chris Smith
a Weekend Warrior
from Canada
Date Reviewed: May 17, 2005
Strengths: Lots of featurs, realy smooth if your just riding over bumps and not hiting any jumps.
Weaknesses: had to use a zip-tie to hold my brake cable, weak weak compresion,(this is kinda my falt but) I striper the front disc break mount (didn't cross thread just tightened too hard) so I'm gunna try to get some longer bolts cuz theres still some thread in there
Bottom Line:
this is a fairly good fork for your money but It is the weakest part of my bike (it's a $1299.00 bike so...) its better than my old forks but I don't have the extra cash to put a heavyer spring set in it, and im sooo pissed that the brake mount stripped (the place that pit my bike togeather striped the bottom mount, I noticed when I was cleaning them, so I tightened the top hard to try to stop any play but that stripped the top.
Submitted by
ward
a Cross Country Rider
from vernon
Date Reviewed: January 15, 2003
Strengths: very plush, very stiff.
Weaknesses: compression seems very minimal when cranked up
Bottom Line:
Great fork all around. Joe from Seattle should take a hissy fit brake. People want to know all of a forks weaknesses, and I agree though it's nothing major the decals aren't designed to stay on to well, and if your spending $500.00+ dollars on a fork, they had better be. Joe, was your one star review for the forks performance, or for the hissy state of mood you were in when writing your useless review.
Similar Products Used: lots of other suspension forks
Bike Setup: cross country
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Eric Jordan
a Cross Country Rider
from Beaverton, Oregon, USA
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2003
Strengths: adjustable Travel, Rebound dampening and compression, unique "reverse arch" design, nice colors (red, black, bronze, etc.,) lightweight, VERY EASY to lubricate with microlube technology
Weaknesses: The oil slightly leaked out of the rebound cap for a while, but it seemed to have stopped (and the fork still seemes to be lubricated just fine)
Bottom Line:
Lightweight, manuverable, just great. it's not quite a Marzocchi arrid (although this is an air fork and the Marzocchi was a spring fork) but it rides better than the rock shox psylo I rode on. all three are good forks, but the Manitou was the best deal for me for the type of bike I have. I'm proud to have put the Manitou sticker on my bike frame as well!
Submitted by
Neil
a Weekend Warrior
from Tallahassee, Florida
Date Reviewed: November 29, 2002
Strengths: Lightweight, smooth travel, rigid
Weaknesses: Plastic preload adjuster, stock spring too soft, do I really need to mention the stickers? (Reglue them with a product called GOOP)
Bottom Line:
After installing the Black Elite, I immediately felt the stock spring was too soft. However, a week's worth of riding convinced me that it was really very plush on most roots, ruts and potholes....but had a tendency to bottom out on hard hits. I promptly ordered a FIRM spring kit from my LBS and installed it. Now, it was very firm and harsh and lacked the smooth response. So, what I really needed was a progressively wound spring. But that problem was easily remedied since I now had a MEDIUM and a FIRM spring. Decided I would experiment by cutting both springs and installing the pieces. This would give the smooth ride as the softer spring was compressed and yet not bottom out due to the stiffer spring. Just to be safe....I did not cut the springs in half, since that would leave no second chance to get it right. Instead, I cut each 12" spring at the 8" or 4" length leaving a short and long piece. Used a propane torch to flatten the ends and then inserted a washer between the pieces as I slid them back into the tubes. NOW, they are perfect! Hope this idea can help someone else fine tune their forks.
Strengths: work great, extremely plush, lots of travel for what I do, no problems yet
Weaknesses: the raised stickers suck, why don't they just stay on plastic knobs on the bottom
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent fork and the best one I have ever had. The only weakness is the stickers and the cheap plastic knobs on the bottom. I emailed manitou and they sent me a new pair within a few days. The best part is I accidentally sent manitou my address twice so they sent me two pairs of stickers. I am really happy with my purchase of these forks and would recommend them to anyone that isn't extremely heavy and is thinking of buying them. I weigh 150 pounds and with the forks on the 120 mm setting I could feel that the shocks where getting close to bottoming out when I was just having fun and hopping around on them. In all so far I have really enjoyed these forks for the time that I have owned them. If you get these forks I would recommend that you e-mail manitou and ask for a pair of stickers right away before they start falling off because every black elite 100/120 that I have seen has the stickers startingto come off.
Weaknesses: springs are for the under 190lb class in my opinion (I weigh 185) but you can get heavier ones.
Bottom Line:
I use this fork this summer 20 times. 5 times urban, 4 times riding the lift at Vail, and 11 times out in Moab. For me, switching to 100mm is great for highly technical runs and uphills, 120 works great for fast pedaling and light downhill. I would put this on any hardtail or full suspension that you don't want to second guess before going out to ride. clean it, grease it, ride it, enjoy it. I just got a Stratos LR-1 to put on cuz it's an inch more plus a lockout but if I wasn't gadget crazy I'd ride the Black forever. Anyone want to buy it for $200? Email me at skifryk@yahoo.com
Similar Products Used: rock shox judy xl long travel
Bike Setup: rocky mountain switch, disc, north shore crankset, fox vanilla rl rear, manitou black elite 100/120, mobster 2.5's
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Submitted by
Joe
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle, WA
Date Reviewed: October 16, 2002
Strengths: None
Weaknesses: The Stickers - OH MY GOD - the stickers!!!!!!!!
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is a lot of folks on this board need to get a clue. You bought a MOUNTAIN BIKE for god's sake! You expect cosmetic stuff to last????? Buy another shock, put it in a glass case and leave the rest of us alone. PLEASE.
Strengths: acceptable weight, comfortable in XC, just keep on riding, it will eat up bumps for u. good for climb & easy downhill,gain more confidence to ride faster.
Weaknesses: U have to stop before you can adjust the switches at the bottom, you'll got no time to switch to 100mm before riding up hill,friends won't wait for you!
Bottom Line:
just buy one bottle of glue to keep the stickers in place. if u want a extreme xc fork for many many abuse, just go for it. u won't regret it!!
Submitted by
Jeff
a Weekend Warrior
from Bethesda, MD USA
Date Reviewed: September 11, 2002
Strengths: Floats, Looks, Travel, Makes my super V look like a chopper
Weaknesses: Stickers suck, I emailed Manitou and the sent me 2003 stickers for free
Bottom Line:
This has got to be the best upgrade ever! I don't see any problems with this fork. Buy what you want. I want a shock, no lockout. I can crank into it and it won't bob.
Strengths: SOOOOOOOO plush, unbreakable, cheap (well i bought it from a friend)
Weaknesses: none, dont care about stickers
Bottom Line:
got it from a friend, he wanted to sell it, been ridden once(all of the stickers were still on) im at mount snow w/my friend we are riding some superfast fire road. i air off the water bars as usual. i start going faster. i hit 40 (yes i have a computer on my bike, i like to track my heart rate) and launch off a big (1.5ft) water bar. my friend said i was about 6-7 feet in the air, and he had to look up to see me. im coming down and my front wheel starts to drop. i land squarely on the front wheel. doesnt even bottom, and im saved from the er. i was going "oh @&$# this is really going to hurt" in the air. nope. i stopped as quickly as possible to check to make sure it hadnt &#%! a bushing or anything and my wheel was intact. everything was normal. i love this fork. and i didnt need to change the springs or anyhting, it works perfectly for my 165lb self. only bottomed it once. dont ask how....it hurt
Submitted by
Benjamin Gehret
a Downhiller
from Trabuco Canyon
Date Reviewed: September 6, 2002
Strengths: Pretty bombproof. I race beginner downhill on this thing, and it is tough as nails. The stroke is as silky smooth as I've felt. Easily maintained and rebuilt. Manitou's warranty department rocks.
Weaknesses: Sprung very light out of the box. Purchased firm spring kit and it solved the problem, along with some 10 weight oil.
Bottom Line:
This is a follow-up to my previous posting. This shock has been through a lot of abuse, and keeps coming back for more. Little by little, I noticed that my 2.5 tire was going off center, until it eventually started rubbing on the arch, when I'd take big hits. Last week I sent the fork back to manitou, and it came back today. They replaced the entire lower leg castings, and the rebound assembly. Manitou rocks! If you are a big boy like me, get the firm spring kit, and replace the oil with 10 wt. Make sure that you lube the microports once a month, and also drip some 20 wt. oil into the fork boots. This has kept my fork running smoothly.
Similar Products Used: Rockshox psylo, Manitou X-vert, Cannondale Lefty
Bike Setup: Giant AC-2
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Paul
a Cross Country Rider
from Heidelberg, Germany
Date Reviewed: September 1, 2002
Strengths: I just bought this fork as part of a complete bike. I decided to get this one for the 120mm suspension and the adjustability. Fits exactly the tune-ability I was looking for. Fairly light, suppossedly durable, and nice to look at. What else can you ask for! We'll see how it holds up after a couple more km on it.
Weaknesses: None yet, except I realize now in hindsight that I probably will never use the 100mm mode, but hey, who cares!
Bottom Line:
First off, what's up with everyone complaining about the stickers. I actually thing the fork looks pretty cool, but the stickers simply don't stay on the fork. First ride, I was already missing letters, so I simply removed all of them. Had they stayed on, I would not have taken them off because of looks. People, it's a fork--who cares what it really looks like. Is the trail your catwalk?
For now, I am satisfied. I don't foresee any major problems here and if any show up, I am not all too concerned that they won't be remedies by my LBS or Answer themselves. Folks, you ride a mountain bike, and mostly likely aggressively off-road. Things will break and you will have to fix or replace them. That's part of the game.
Similar Products Used: Multiple Manitou forks and one Rock Shox way back when which were too early in fork development to have any major quality points.
Bike Setup: Storck Adrenalin Race, full XT, some interesting after-market stuff.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
bubba prator
a Cross Country Rider
from gearhart or.
Date Reviewed: August 29, 2002
Strengths: has not been a problem yet. Very smoooth running and stiff, Can take a beading
Weaknesses: weak springs, decals worthless goood for sticking on friends cars.
Bottom Line:
one reason i bought the expert rather than the pro from specialized is cause of the rockshock in the front. rockshock makes junk, only good for grocery runs when you need to hop a curb or run over a nasty dog. I weight in at 220 and have completely ruined alll thinngs specialized on my bike. Bolts, seat stays, frames,brakes, wheels and the only thing that is still running is the manitou fork with a update super firm spring. At my age 57 I don't do much jumping just hard riding i like staying on the ground even if it is 60 70 degree slopes, so five stars.
