Price, Weight, Ease of Use, 15mm QR system

Possibly claimed weight (haven't put it on a scale to verify) other than that none thus far

I picked this up on eBay for a great price $200 delivered. This replaced a Fox F29 that I sold because the steer tube was just a little to short for my frame. So far I am happy with this fork although I am not sure it is actually as light as Manitou states it is. According to Manitou it should have been about 1/4lb lighter than my Fox was but it actually feels slightly heavier (could just be me though). I run it fairly firm so I have not had any issues with bottoming. Great fork for the price no need to spend $600+ when forks of this quality are available for much less.

Excellent small bump compliance, Adjust-ability is unmatched in the industry, smooth yet stiff. My feeling whenever riding with this fork is one of COMPLETE SATISFACTION. It really is that good, and consistently puts a smile on my face...

Slight fore-aft flexibility; however, I wouldn't characterize this a weakness given the overall feel / excellence of the fork (basically once you get a feel for the fork you can adjust riding without losing anything)....

I've put approximately 250 rough Pacific NW miles on this fork so far this year and it is amazing. In the recent past, I've ridden X-fusion Slide and RockShox Reba and it blows the X-Fusion out of the water in terms of small bump compliance and almost every other category (except equal on stiffness) while being very comparable with the Rockshox in plushness. I believe the Manitou is better on small bump compliance than either and just feels GREAT throughout the travel....

I'm running a 120mm, tapered, thru bolt, and lateral stiffness is fine. If there is one major plus on the Manitou it is the adjustability of the fork both in the shop (different springs / oil thickness) and on the ride (8 clicks is a lot of adjustability).

I personally LOVE the on-the-fly adjustability. I've ridden the same loops many times in different configurations and can immediately tell differences in speed and characteristics of the bike. So for instance, If I want small bump compliance and sit and pedal over roots, rocks, etc. I keep it soft with a couple clicks....If I want to be more aggressive on the same loop mid ride, I just click it a few notches up and get after it. If I want to feel like a rigid but not quite locked out, I'll click it up 5-6 times....and so on (until it locks out). No other fork has this amount of adjustability and it does make a difference on every ride. I've got it dialed to specific settings for specific trails and it makes me faster and more confident on each trail (I've know this because I've compared my times and comfort levels with different settings).

So, for the price, this fork will not be beaten.....take out the price and you still won't beat it. It's as good as or better than any offering on the market and will give you complete satisfaction every ride especially when you pass your buddy who is either getting beat to death on his fork or trying not to go over the bars with plushness.....

Similar Products Used:

X-fusion, RockShox,

Cost, ease of install, weight, smooth operation

None

For $250 I picked up an 80mm tower pro for my 29er Airborne . I can't believe how amazing this fork is. Yes I am coming from a total hunk of junk rock shox xc 28 I expected to feel a big change, but not like this. The fork absorbs every little bump, keeping me and the bike level and under control. The confidence I gained on descents is amazing, the bike is just so much more stable. I would highly recommend this fork for any XC riding. I paid much lower than MSRP but even at the MSRP price this fork is worth it. It's light, smooth, responsive, and easy to set up.

Inexpensive, good small bump feel, stiff, 48mm offset, plush

Harsh feeling top-out on the rebound

Best value in a fork I think I've ever ridden. I have the 100mm travel QR version on an On-one Lurcher carbon hardtail frame. Paid $250 from Pricepoint (list price was $550.) I've ridden nothing but Fox (meh) and Rock Shox forks for most of the last 15 years. I'd say the Tower Pro feels better than all Fox forks I've ever ridden (except the very first TALAS) and nearly as good as a Rock Shox Reba of the same travel. Plush, nice small bump feel, laterally stiff, tracks well, and did you see that price? My only gripe would be that it has a relatively harsh "top-out" on the rebound. (I'm used to the smooth top-out feel on the Rock Shox dual air forks, so this one feels a bit more harsh.) Otherwise, so far, no complaints. 85% of the performance of a similar Rock Shox fork at 25% of the price.

Similar Products Used:

Fox Float, Fox TALAS, Rock Shox Reba, Rock Shox Revelation

Butter Smooth, Adjustable lockout, 15QR, Adjustability.

White shows marks, scratches easily. That backwards brake arch makes mounting a mud flap a little weird, but not a big deal.

I have a full season on this fork, a 120mm version. It's mounted on a Lynskey Pro 29 Frame. I wanted the 120mm because my previous bike had 100mm which was good....but I figured a lil more wouldn't hurt, especially with my heavier frame 230#.
The first thing I did was get the Clyde kit direct from Manitou. Installed it, reoiled it, put air in it, rode it, adjusted the air, and I haven't touched it since....really it's just awesome. The 15QR system they have is really good and quick, no guess work. I'm don't like to monkey with too many settings, once I get something that's good, I normally don't mess with it. As far as stiffness and what not, I have used 3 29er forks since I've been into 29ers. The first was a QR Rockshox Reba, the fork itself was great for years, but I didn't really understand flex until I rode a taper 15QR fork....Light Years stiffer. This Tower Pro was on par with the stiffness I experienced with the Fox Talas 29 with 15QR on my Superfly 100. This is a great fork, and at a good price. IMO it's the steal of the industry. I've had many people ask to take my bike for a ride, and the first thing they say is, wow that fork is awesome, even before they comment on the twisted tube ride of my Lynskey......So that to me speaks volumes.

Similar Products Used:

RockShox Reba, Fox Talas 29

Fantastic bang for the buck, adjustable, and very enjoyable to ride both on the trails and locked out on the road.

The stock spring and adjustable air pressure won't fit heavier riders.

I purchased the 120mm travel version of this fork after twice breaking my XC 28 fork that this replaced, as the difference is night and day, even when the XC 28 is working as intended. I have an XCR on my 26er, so I already knew the XC 28 was garbage, but I was extremely impressed by how much better this performs than the XCR I was reasonably happy with.

The first day I had this on the trails, I was finding myself surprised an hour in when I'd jarringly hit something on the rear wheel with my hardtail because the front fork was doing such a good job of just rolling over everything.

Definitely a great fork, and for the price, I am absolutely thrilled with it.

Similar Products Used:

XCR 011 (100mm, 26er), XC 28 (100mm)

PRICE!!! Service!! long lasting...

lack of spring kit availability,

I've gone through a bunch of different forks. All have been unreliable at best and have not been a decent riding fork. There are way too many "racer: types who basically use a suspension fork as a rigid, that will absorb big hits only. I was a suspension fork to absorb the 1" tree branch as well as the 4ft drop. And the Manitou's are the only one I've found that does both. There are many who will say it's "too plush" but the thing is if they have it set up correctly it will be plush, but wont bottom out except on the very big drops/hits. I remember when the truth of a suspension was.. "if you don't bottom out a suspension once or twice a ride you have it too Hard"

I jumped from Quick release to 20MM for the first time with this fork so that most likely helps with the stiffer control of the fork,.. but it most certainly has less flexy feel than any other fork I've ever ridden.

If you are racing I can see where you'd want a stiffer ride, but the average rider should be able to appreciate the plushness when they get home after a long ride and their arms aren't all stiff and sore. And if you want stiffer you can do it by adding a Under $30 ride kit.... find one other company that sells a "tuning kit" for that kinda $$$..?

People who just aren't mechanically inclined may have issues with installing ride kits, but even taking it to a shop it's going to be cheaper than a equal fork is just to buy.
On the down side, I will say they have the ride kits are rated kinda off and should have firmer kits as standard (thou the newer ones have the Firm as standard instead of the mid) and if you think you want a firm, you probably want the extra firm. Also the ride kits are kinda hard to find in the x- firm and XX-firm ranges. Also the way they are marketed makes it harder to find.

Service is awesome and you as a customer can call, e-mail or what ever you prefer to contact Manitou and they will actually talk to you. Not like Fox and Rock Shox where you have to go through a shop who has a million other things going on and takes weeks sometimes to get a simple answer to a 2 minute question.


On a last note, it may seem silly, but I friggin hate leaves getting all tangled up between the tire and the fork. The reverse arch is a big + as it sheds leaves and you end up with that annoying leaf clicking noise MUCH less than with any other fork. Not that it stops it, but it's pretty much constant annoying sound for the whole ride here during New England Fall outings with any other fork but a Manitou.

Similar Products Used:

rock Shox, Fox, limited White bros

Light weight, flex free, buttery smooth performance. Very tuneable fork.

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These have been one of the best choices made in upgrading my new bike. These forks have so many adjustments you can play with or just leave them as delivered. They are so buttery smooth and respond to small changes. I set them up with out of the box recommendations and added a little more air to get the results I feel comfortable with. At a little over 3 lbs, these are a great addition to my bike! Beautiful castings and finish. I would recommend the Manitou Tower Pro to anyone!