TheTowerTakes over whereThe Minute andThe Drake left off as Manitous 29er fork. With allThe adjustments youll need, youll never be short of set-up options. Weight: 3.74 lbs Spring: MARS Air Spring Rate: Medium Bottom Out: Rubber Bumper Steerer: 1 1/8" Aluminum Crown: Forged Deep Bore Hollow Crown Compression Damping:TPCTechnology, Absolute+ Rebound Damping: AdjustableTPC Adjustments? Air, CompressionTo Lockout, Rebound Leg Diameter: 32mm Leg Material: 7050 Butted Aluminum
Weaknesses: Did not come with a remote Milo lockout, hopefully they will offer remote locokut compression damper lever, so not just an on-oss switch.
Bottom Line:
Very good fork for the money. After beeing on the market for a 29er fork for some time, and doing my homework on the review part on several forums, this seemed like a much better choice than a more expensive Reba, and is much lighter than any competition. It is light, stiff and gets the job done. Servicing boils to stanchion cleaning after each ride. Combo of spring and air works for me, plush but does not bottom out.
Similar Products Used: Marzocchi MZ Comp, Headhok, Reba
Bike Setup: Haro Mary with XT components.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
TrailMaker
a Weekend Warrior
from Vestal, New York
Date Reviewed: July 11, 2011
Strengths: Price, plushness, light weight, stiff.
Weaknesses: TOO plush, cheesy rebound adjuster... STILL. Lame graphics.
Bottom Line:
Likes;
The fork is nice looking in white and is very stiff (I have the 20mm T/A option).
Concerns;
Do they offer a quick release option or is there a conversion out there? I don't think so. This thing will be a pain to undo out in the woods if (when!) I flat.
Manitou still uses the mushy feeling rebound assembly on the bottom of the leg that feels like it will snap off at any moment. I know the plastic rod is meant to be a failure mode so you don't break the valve, but it feels like limp spaghetti. I know people that have broken theres because it was so wippy they had no idea it had reached the end of its range. There is really just no excuse for something this cheesy STILL being used. Everyone else manages to make them solid and also offer some detents or other means of knowing where the H#$% the adjustment actually is within the range. C'mon guys.
I am 6'5" 230lbs, and I am struggling to get the ride of this bike where I want it. I never thought I would have a bike that was TOO plush, but this is the case here. Setting to the recommended static sag on either end (20-25%) is useless for me, as it is simply a wallowing pig at those rates. The RP23 shock and this Tower Pro have been very difficult to get set properly, and I'm still searching. The first thing I did with the fork was swap in the extra firm spring. This seemed little different than the medium spring it came with, or the firm I mistakenly tried first. I immediately went right up to the stated maximum of 110psi air pressure, and while I have never felt the fork bottom, I can blow through the travel VERY easily at this point.
When I'm on rolling non technical terrain, it is nice to have the silky smoothness, but more often than not I am on my favorite tight, rocky, rooty, creeked, log-overed technical stuff, and this fork just is far too flacid. On nasty rough downhill sections, I've actually had to lock the fork out just so I could keep the nose up, maintain geometry, and have some braking power (8" Hayes Stroker) that wouldn't endo me.
The compression damping adjustment to lockout is nice to have, but it does not seem very linear. It does very little until near the last few clicks when it ramps up fairly quickly to locked. At the max pressure of 110psi and with the x-stiff spring, I was still riding at 2 clicks from locked just to keep the front end up. I like plush, but this is more like MUSH. I would likely be able to tune it quite well if it used oil for damping, but alas it does not, being of the semi-bath variety where the oil just simply lubricates everything.
What I really need is more progressive damping that ramps up and firms as it compresses so that it will smooth the small noise out when cruising along, but ramp up and firm on large compressions as the travel nears its end. So far I have not been able to achieve this. I was able to tune my old Minute 1 perfectly, and after a lot of twiddling (Fox does not offer a spring past 200lbs!), I got my Vanilla worked out pretty well. This one is not going so well to date. I am even up to 130psi - 20 over the rated max!!! - but this is killing a lot of the plushness.
Hey... I'm not hard to please. All I want is perfection. This is a very attractively priced product (I just could not pull that $700+ Fox trigger), and with the exception of the springing/damping not being nearly progressive enough for my needs, it seems like a very nice piece. The value is quite high, in my estimation, but I'm going to have to lower my overall rating based on said difficulties. If you're a big'n like me, and ride rough terrain, I'm not sure this will be the fork for you. If I do manage to get it worked out, I will amend my comments here.
Submitted by
rhythmtech
a Weekend Warrior
from St Louis, MO USA
Date Reviewed: March 29, 2011
Strengths: Very predictable response to terrain. Almost smooth to a fault. Very easy to get setup comfortably within first or second ride. The compression speed/lockout knob is indexed and makes it easy to return to known repeatable setting quick. eg - 3 clicks gives me enough stiffness to pedal over fast flat rocky single track where I want some dampening. The fork is at an excellent price for the features and ride quality.
Weaknesses: Rebound speed knob lacks a positive feel of adjustment amount and somewhat like you might break it, even though it has held up to me twisting it to its limits.
Bottom Line:
I bought this fork because everyone in my area strictly almost all ride Rockshox/Fox as a rule. So I decided I would split from the norm and try something different out somewhat because the price was right and deep down I was angry I never got to own one of the old blue elastomer Manitou forks I coveted as a kid and wanted to make up for it.
The spring low force absorption definitely keeps your tire tracking the ground well without much input or thought from the rider. There is a wide sweet spot for adjustment, which makes it easy to dial in a satisfactory setting quick and get on with the riding. I find myself adjusting compression speed to suit terrain because the indexing makes it easy to do to an expected setting where I would avoid it on my other forks. The back side brace is kind of cool looking when everyone else has one out front. Overall I like the fork, it helps me ride fast and fun.
Similar Products Used: Rockshox Reba SL, Rockshox Recon, Fox F32
Bike Setup: Trek 69er hard tail, Stans Flow/Hope wheels, 9 speed XT
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
tgoehner
a Cross Country Rider
from Arkansas
Date Reviewed: February 1, 2011
Strengths: Very smooth, Adjustable Lockout, Very Light
Weaknesses: None so Far
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent fork, very light and very smooth. I like the adjustable lockout, and it is easy to set up for your riding style. I am 225lbs. and have yet to bottom it out. I do use the full travel on every ride. I am running the fork without a through axle and it is stiff enough for my riding style. My Scott came with a RockShock Recon Gold TK and I rode it a couple of times and then switched it out for the Manitou Tower Pro. I like the Tower Pro much better—even without the remote lockout. The bike shop I purchased the bike from gave me full retail for the Recon and only charged me the difference, which was $60.
