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Manitou Q-Air

MSRP $
# of Reviews 12
Average Rating 3.33/5
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Submitted by Discopooh a Cross Country Rider from UK
Date Reviewed: July 23, 2008
Favorite Trail:The Beast (wales)
Duration Product Used:2 Years
Purchased At:came with a Club Roo
Strengths:It works, no problems. Loses zero air, nuff said - I'm using the QRL
Weaknesses:None to speak of.
Similar Products Used:Fox float 230
Bike Setup:Marin Mount vision 02,hope 2's on mavic 717,Full XT, carbon bits and bobs, pace 38 LT forks 25.5lb
Bottom Line:Buy this shock if you can find it and want a pump up and forget shock. tweaking rebound makes the world of differance and the lock out helps on those climbs.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

Submitted by mark b. a Cross Country Rider from fort wayne, in
Date Reviewed: February 24, 2007
Duration Product Used:2 Years
Purchased At:supergo - on weyless sp
Strengths:holds air well, adjustments make a difference, light but sturdy
Weaknesses:rebound & lockout only -- could use compression
Similar Products Used:swinger 3-w, coilover crap
Bike Setup:weyless sp (on rebuild sabbatical)
Bottom Line:i believe this shock will outlast the frame! never figured an air shock would handle my big a$$, but this one does just fine. lockout works VERY well, and rebound adjustment responds, makes a difference.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

Submitted by hcampian a Cross Country Rider from Cluj, Romania
Date Reviewed: September 19, 2006
Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
Strengths:Solid lockout
Good absorbtion
Weaknesses:Sometimes lockout doesn't work, sometimes it does
No rebound adjustment (QL version) and the factory rebound tuning is a little too fast
Similar Products Used:none
Bike Setup:B1 Rockbumble frame
Bottom Line:The review is for the QL version (without lockout)

It works well, no air/oil losses, but I'd like some kind of rebound adjustment. I can't figure it out why the lockout sometimes failes to activate. However, it never lets me down on trails, only when testing it without riding. It's quite odd. When it wotks, the lockout is rock-solid and helps a lot for difficult climbs.

I think I'll keep it until it breaks, and I'll replace it with a more technically advanced RS MC or Ario.
Value Rating:4Overall Rating:3

Submitted by Mike a Cross Country Rider from Arlington, Va
Date Reviewed: May 2, 2006
Favorite Trail:Any quick singletrack
Duration Product Used:1 Year
Purchased At:Gary Fisher bike
Strengths:light, does what's it supposed to. No problems for past year. Has rebound and Lockouot
Weaknesses:none when regular maintenance done to it.
Similar Products Used:Fox Float, For Float RL
Bike Setup:Stock 292 GAry fisher
Bottom Line:It's rear shock, I have had no problems with air. When property maintained and cleaned holds air.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

Submitted by Big Papi a Cross Country Rider from Somewhere, MA
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2006
Duration Product Used:2 Years
Purchased At:Supergo
Strengths:Works fine for cross country riding. Lockout has worked fine for me, and I use it a lot!
Weaknesses:I tend to hit the lockout switch with the inside of my leg a lot when jumping causing the shock to lockout before I land. Kind of defeats the purpose
Bottom Line:I really can't complain too much about this shock (this is in reference to the QRL by the way). Aside of the occasional bumping of the lockout switch, I haven't experienced any of the other problems that others have with it.
Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4

Submitted by Boner a from Uranus
Date Reviewed: November 15, 2005
Duration Product Used:More than 3 years
Price Paid: $9999999999.00
Purchased At:ya moms house
Strengths:well when my boner goes hard it feels real nice
Weaknesses:sometimes it gets bent !!
Similar Products Used:ur mothers
Bike Setup:its about 12"
Bottom Line:ur mum was a great root... Whenever there was penetration she would scream like a little girl...

BTW wtf is a Manitou Q-Air
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

Submitted by Ned a from buffalo
Date Reviewed: October 28, 2005
Duration Product Used:2 Years
Price Paid: $130.00
Strengths:Light, reliable. great on the small stuff. Rebound knob very easy to use (insead of the click wheel that fox uses)
Weaknesses:Havn't had any yet.
Similar Products Used:Fox float RL, Flox Float AVA.
Bike Setup:superlight.
Bottom Line:I have had this shock for 2 years now. I have had no problems to speak of. Its a pretty good shock. It is suprisingly smooth, though it does get a little progressive near the last 1/3rd of the stroke. Set up with the correct sag and it does a great job on the little bumps. Was way cheaper than a fox- Good value!
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

Submitted by Damian Browne a Cross Country Rider from UK
Date Reviewed: March 6, 2005
Duration Product Used:3 months
Purchased At:came with bike
Strengths:Nothing stands out, works well though no better than an equivalent RockShox.
Weaknesses:The lockout. On the first QRL I had, the lock out failed after less than 10miles, most of which was on road. The replacement has just given out after about 50miles xc riding. In conclusion, it is obviously very badly designed and a waste of time, don't waste good money on this product!!
Similar Products Used:Rockshox SID xc
Bike Setup:XT components, Hope M4 disc brakes, Hope XC hubs, Monkeylite bars
Bottom Line:Don't waste money on a Maniou QRL, it will need replacing very quickly!! Buy a Rockshox, quality!! The bike has not been riden hard, no drop offs of jumps, just normal xc enduro riding, and for the second time the lock out no longer works.
Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

Submitted by Lois Rubin a Cross Country Rider from Costa Mesa, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: February 8, 2005
Duration Product Used:6 months
Purchased At:came with new Ellsworth bike in Moab
Strengths:Holds air for about half an hour
Weaknesses:This shock lost at 25% to 30% of its air pressure in every 1.5 to 2 hour cross-country ride. Answer Products said that they would "work" with my local bike shop to fix it but all they did was send what turned out to be a permanent loaner of lesser quality with the exact same problem. Over 4 months have passed with no word from Answer as to the status of my shock. My bike shop says that Answer never returns their phone calls.
Similar Products Used:Just the 2 broken shocks discussed above.
Bottom Line:My new shock will not be by Answer.
Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

Submitted by Mike a Cross Country Rider from Antioch
Date Reviewed: December 27, 2004
Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
Strengths:When it worked, it worked well. The lockout is nice.
Weaknesses:Leaked oil badly at the rebound adjuster knob after using it on my new bike for < 1 month. Sent it back to Manitou to be repaired/replaced.
Similar Products Used:none.
Bike Setup:Fisher Sugar 292. The shock was the QRL model.
Bottom Line:Shock may have questionable reliability. Manitou has replaced it with the Radium, which may be telling. Since the shock has been discontinued for reasons unknown, I would go with the Radium instead.
Value Rating:3Overall Rating:1

Submitted by Pete a from Philadelphia
Date Reviewed: July 29, 2003
Duration Product Used:6 months
Strengths:Works
Weaknesses:Non Yet
Similar Products Used:Fox Vanilla Float
Bike Setup:Weyless SP shock came with frame
Bottom Line:I've been riding hard this season 4 times a week on very rocky downhill trails and climbs w/logs that are muddy and rocky. I've found this shock to be stiff when climbing, and soft when I need it to be. Lockout works great. Ascending is a ton of fun much faster. 5 for 5 flammers
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

Submitted by joe phipps a Cross Country Rider from eagle river,wi ,usa
Date Reviewed: February 24, 2003
Favorite Trail:hidden lakes
Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
Price Paid: $1650.00
Purchased At:joe'scyclery& repair
Strengths:clean looking ,good customer service at answer.
Weaknesses:never got to use product and lock out stopped working on test ride down driveway.not adjustable enough.
Similar Products Used:fox float rl,rock shock deluxe,noleen coil over.
Bike Setup:2003 intense tracer,2003 xtr group,cane creek team issue disc,manitou black elite,max m bar& stem.
Bottom Line:I am very disapointed with the shock this is my first experience with manitou products & hope this is not a sign of things to come
Value Rating:1Overall Rating:2






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