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Submitted by
MattZo
a Weekend Warrior
from Derby, UK
Date Reviewed: July 1, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Edale/ Jacobs ladder | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | Came as shock option | | Strengths: | Reliability and tuning options | | Weaknesses: | Difficulty in getting precise pressures | | Similar Products Used: | Fox coil shocks | | Bike Setup: | Intense 5.5 with Fox Talas RLC | | Bottom Line: | I regard myself as heavy at around 225lbs. I was worried about the shock blowing on rocky downhill sections but have not suffered any issues at all. I think that it is probably more to do with the leverages of the frame but i rarely get close to bottoming out the shock with the sag set to 35% and the SPV valve wound right out. Maybe I'm just not aggressive enough! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jSatch
a Weekend Warrior
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: October 27, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Tunnels | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Swinger 3-way: Smooth, good SPV, no leaks after setting.
Best feature- set and forget | | Weaknesses: | SPV valve leaks when detaching pump. It leaks reliably 15psi, so I just over-inflate by 15 psi. Odd, not same issue when filling main chamber. Not really a weakness once you are aware of it.
Not quite a coil ride (but lighter). | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Float | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Heckler | | Bottom Line: | I prefer this to the Fox. I like the set and forget. Too many times I've forgotten to switch out the lockout of the Fox until I'm going downhill. My bad. The Swinger SPV does a nice job when climbing, so no switch needed. One less thing to grab for, or think about, when riding.
I get the feeling that the Swinger is smoother, less bouncy than the Fox. Different bikes, so not sure. Still not a coil. I haven't tried the Fox RP23 model though.
Your milage may vary. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Sinkoski
a Cross Country Rider
from martinsville, IN
Date Reviewed: October 26, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | bcsp | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | adjustability, and serviceability | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | fox float | | Bike Setup: | 2000 specialized rockhopper a1 fsr | | Bottom Line: | this is for the 3 way spv air, shock is bottomless feeling with a platform that keeps all that supple travel from sapping your power. the rebound can be adjusted from none to dead slow and the air pressures are less than the same sag on a fox shock, anyone thinking of upgrading a older rig with a newer shock with spv wont be sorry. This shock transforms the suspension feel of my fsr that it feels like a new bike. I dont know if a rp23 is comparable but it seems that there is only 3 settings for the platform where the swinger is infinately adjustable. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
joker24
a Cross Country Rider
from Davis, Ca USA
Date Reviewed: October 6, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Rockville | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | Super adjustable, doesn't leak, very smooth | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Vanilla R | | Bike Setup: | Ellsworth Joker, Fox Float RLC, Swinger 4-way Air, mavic wheels, Sram X.7 drivetrain, avid SD7s | | Bottom Line: | This shock is light, durable, and only needs to be set up once. Every aspect of the shock is adjustable, and the directions are very simple to follow. The SPV platform works well and really improves the efficiency of a single pivot frame like the Joker. If you have an older single pivot frame you love but are wishing for a more efficient ride, this is definitely a cheap way to get a lot more performance out of your ride. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
wisemonkey72
a Cross Country Rider
from everywhere, china currently
Date Reviewed: September 4, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | whites level, afan | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | online | | Strengths: | smooth performance, easy to set up, rebound adjust works pretty nice. spv valve is a nice feature. really nice xc shock. | | Weaknesses: | why oh why oh why does the airvalve screw into the shock body, this is a really lame design. i find it really fiddly inflating as the valve seems to come loose whenever i remove my pump. | | Similar Products Used: | all the fox ones,fox float, rp2,rp23 | | Bike Setup: | i drive, revalation u turns, xtr drivetrain 3 way swinger up back. | | Bottom Line: | i like the shock i really do, this bike has had alo of action this summer and the swinger laps up the downhills and climbs lovely, works really nicely with my u turns. but the airvalve is a real shame. my i drive is now in the hands of my girlfriend as i have a new machine now, and i have to say i will be sticking with fox shocks from now on. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
darrinw2001
a Weekend Warrior
from Valrico, Fl
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | North Creek | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | included on used Gar | | Strengths: | adjustability, SPV is great for no pedal bob | | Weaknesses: | none yet, I do have to pump a litle air in before every ride, but being over 260lbs, i expect that | | Similar Products Used: | coil over | | Bike Setup: | 2004 Garry Fisher Cake 2 stock | | Bottom Line: | So far so good for a larger "Clydesdale" rider. I needed air shocks due to my size and this has fit the bill so far. I got a great deal on this bike used on Craig's list, and so far my favorite thing about it is the shock and the Manitou Black Super Air forks! I hve put it to test on some pretty rough trails so far and have not bottomed out yet. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bryan Corbridge
a Cross Country Rider
from Goshen, In USA
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | This is for the 3 way swinger with SPV. Light weight, multiple adjustments and good customer service. | | Weaknesses: | None so far. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Vanilla. | | Bike Setup: | 2005 Jamis Dakar with a Marzocchi Bomber XC 600 fork and a Manitou Swinger 3 way with SPV rear air shock. | | Bottom Line: | I recently purchased this shock on E-bay just rebuilt by Manitou. I was looking to replace my coil over shock for something with less pedal bob but with the smoothness I need. I researched every shock on the market extensively and found that the Manitou offered the features I was looking for. I was right. Love the adjustability. Seems to be almost endless possibilities. You can set it up as firm or soft as you like. I set it up to be plenty active to supply the smoothness but enough air in the SPV to offer the pedaling efficiency I needed. Set the rebound in the medium and I have a shock that is smooth and efficient. Love it!!! Granted I've only had the shock for a short period of time, but will submit another sometime down the road. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matthew
a Weekend Warrior
from Escondido
Date Reviewed: May 29, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Daley Ranch (closest) | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | E-Bay | | Strengths: | This review is for the 4-Way. The air valves are easy to get to. The platform works really well on single pivot bikes and exceptional on Faux Bar bikes. The bottom-out feature is nice for clydesdales. Rebound very responsive to adjustments | | Weaknesses: | It took me a while to learn how to set up the shock, but I was just learning. Small bump compliance is so so, but it is a platform shock. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox DHX Air, | | Bike Setup: | Jamis XLT, Fox Vanilla 32 RLC, Stylo Crank, XT shifters/deraillers, Hayes HFX-9, FSA Stem, Answer Pro-Taper bars, DT Swiss Wheels/ WTB Laserdisc Hubs | | Bottom Line: | This a great rear shock for do it all use. I originally put on my GF Cake and it provided a more plush ride with the ability to take bigger hits. Only experience a small amount of pedal bob in second and third chainrings while cranking. On the Jamis it is super smooth. I have been able to tune it to nearly bottom about 10% of the time leaving the remainder of the riding smooth. No pedal bob with minimal pressure in the SPV. I don't set sag because I blow through travel too quickly and at 210+ lbs the shock has held up really well. The Cake shock has over 500 miles on it and Jamis shock has 600 miles on it. I have thought about replacing it but for no good reason other trying something else. No complaints, no problems, 5 psi air changes in main chamber make a big difference. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
daryl stahler
a Cross Country Rider
from tucson, AZ
Date Reviewed: March 30, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Fantasy Island/50 year trail | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | Completely eliminated pedal bob. | | Weaknesses: | No specific on-line manual support. Kind of a pain to set up on my bike. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Float R | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Jekyll, ELO Lefty, Spinergy Wheels, SRAM 9.0 shifter & rear der, XTR front der, XTR cranks, Easton Monkey lite bars, Easton EC-90 seat post. | | Bottom Line: | I purchased this on ebay for $60 NIP, so what did I have to loose? Not a lot of choices for the Jekyll. The Fox Float served well over the years, but needed the seals changed every 12 - 14 months. The Swinger is a 3-way, and I could not find specific details in the manual. So I read a few reviews, and tried setting it up. The sag adjustment is a real pain on my Jekyll, I need to remove the rear bolt and swing the shock down. Once I'll dialed it in I took it out for some urban assault. I'm in Luxembourg, so I headed up through the vineyards, and few forest roads, through some villages, down stairs, etc. Did I say, there is no pedal bob. I didn't realize how bad my Fox was!! Appears to suck up medium to big hits well, so well I stopped a few times thinking my tire was low or something!!
If you want to update that old full suspended bike without breaking the bank, this should do it!!
Oh, I weight in at a light 16 stones, 102 kg, or 225 lbs.
Two days and air pressure is still holding. I'll update the rating after some time! I only gave it 4 flamers for value since I got it off ebay. Overall - it's too early to tell. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Plug
a Cross Country Rider
from England
Date Reviewed: January 19, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Configurable, reliable. | | Weaknesses: | Lack of on-the-fly SPV control | | Bottom Line: | I'm running the original 2003 Swinger 4-Way here, now 2008, and it's still running really well considering. It doesn't noticably lose any air pressure over time. It still feels smooth and plush though it did benefit a lot from sucking a bit of oil into the main air chamber last year as it was getting a bit sticky. There's a bit of air in the damping circuit though nothing that appears to affect its operation.
I'd definately consider upgrading to the latest model if they're as good as this, particularly given the newer model's addition of the on-the-fly adjustable SPV which I think could be useful out on the trails. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark B.
a Weekend Warrior
from Ft Wayne, IN
Date Reviewed: December 8, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | the next one | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA.com | | Strengths: | easy to air up, SPV works, light weight, simple to disassemble | | Weaknesses: | MANUFACTURER SUPPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seals easy to replace, but HARD to get for replacement!! | | Similar Products Used: | QRL, coil-overs | | Bike Setup: | Jamis Dakar XLT 1.0, Nixon Comp, X.9, Avid BB7 (7/7), Race Face cockpit, Hutch Spiders | | Bottom Line: | While it worked, it worked great -- but the seals went, and it's been a chase-your-tail to get a seal kit. Since nobody wants to step up and do the right thing here, the only savior for the air shock industry is Fox, and I can't pop for a DHX right now! I'll likely go coil for the rest of my life (Fox Vans are reasonable, 5th E is GONE!, and Cane Creek is ridiculous) | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric B
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | anything dirty | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$99.00 | | Purchased At: | santa cruz website | | Strengths: | easy to set up if you don't try and overthink it | | Weaknesses: | too early to tell...will write more if it ends up sucking like most of the Manitou shocks! | | Similar Products Used: | fox float rc
tried the rp3 and rp23 on showroom bikes | | Bike Setup: | 2000 superlight, raceface deus, thompson, king, reba race, crossmax enduro | | Bottom Line: | this shock changed my whole bike and possibly saved me the money of buying a whole new frame. the old fox float rc was like riding a pogo stick. Not sure how I did it for so long. that said the new p/p technology is pretty darn good.
I just rode the swinger-i'm using the 3 way-last night for the first time. I ride 5 days a week and weigh 190 lbs. I try and brake the bike or myself everytime I ride and crank the biggest gears possible (I ride a 1x1 when I'm not on the superlight). however, I may ride the 1x1 less. because the swinger three has made the single pivot superlight climb like a hard tail...only better since it gives just enough that I don't spin the back wheel when I'm standing up on the bike. Otherwise the rear end is immobile until i hit something at which point it moves upward.
on descents it railed and was very plush. This canged the whole ride of the bike and enabled me to push harder and go faster since I could keep my body weight where I wanted it and not get bucked by the pogo-ing shock.
I am running at about 105 in the main chamber and 55 in the spv chamber. I guess the accepted rule is to ride it at 15 lbs below your body weight in the main but that is crazy. The shock didn't move when I did that. and I like a very firm rear-end! I set the rebound on the slow side of the middle of the range. I perhaps haven't found the "sweet spot" that everybody is looking for but it's sick and I probably won't fu*&k with it too much. Honestly, the bike rides way better than any of the blurs or yeti's that I've riden with a variety of shocks. All of the VPPs that I've riden have bounced after being "set-up" by the shop guys. If any body has studied physics or rides by feel as much as they think they do then you know that force or motion down and into the suspension saps your energy forward. riding a plush, sagged out overpriced frame is not for me. firm up your ride, gear up and ride faster. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bart Simpson
a Weekend Warrior
from UK
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Hassle free motoring. Does what it says on the tin | | Weaknesses: | Only one setting, ie you set the pressure in the main can and SPV chamber and get on with it. | | Similar Products Used: | RP23 | | Bike Setup: | Orange 5, swinger 4-way, Talas 130 forks. | | Bottom Line: | I have had this shock for three years, and it has been through regular mudfests, rock gardens, rain and sludge( ie a good day in the UK ). It is a bit of a faff to find the best combination of pressures for you and the type of riding that you do, but when you do( in my case about 140 psi in the main and 70-80 psi in the SPV chamber ), it is reliable and quite plush. It is also fantastic with regards to pedalling, and virtually eliminates bob, which is a good thing on my single pivot bike. All in all, it works, and works well. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Simon Jeffery
a Weekend Warrior
from Kuala Lumpur
Date Reviewed: May 27, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Rush Hour - Bukit Kiara | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | When it works, it seems OK | | Weaknesses: | Leaking seals and questionable assembly | | Similar Products Used: | SPV 3 way | | Bike Setup: | Intense 5.5. frame, Fox Float forks, usual stuff. | | Bottom Line: | I took delivery of a new 5.5 frame last December. I specified the SPV 4 way because I'd had a great expereince with a SPV 3 way supplied with a 2004 model Trek Liquid. (There were a few options of shocks you could specify with the Intense frame). On the first day of delivery, I went to pump up the shock, and all the air immediately leaked out. I found out that the little valve holder that you stick your pump onto wasn't screwed in tight. Well I screwed it up finger tight and the "O" ring split. This was not a big deal as I removed the valve holder, wrapped a bit of teflon tape around its thread, pumped it up and off I went. The local Malaysian bike store that supplied the shock got me a replacement "O" ring. (They are good guys here - called KSH Bicycles) No big deal. BUT - over the coming months I noticed it slowly but surely lost air. My old SPV never lost a single psi, so this annoyed me a bit. I sent an email to Answer products who responded with the same as they responded to the writer below on the 11th Oct 2005 - sort of saying nicely it is loosing air because it does this when I stick my pump on (duh). I suppose at least they responded to my email. Anyway I didn't want to have to send it all the way back to the States and not be able to ride so my LBS double checked the seals for me (and loaned me a spare SPV 3 Way they had - told you they were good guys). Well this helped, but still it slowly but surely leaked air.
Finally I thought I'd upgade it to another brand as I got sick of pumping it up. The LBS has checked Intense and worked out a fair price for me (the Intense guys are good as well). I took it off on the weekend, dumped the air out of it and "bingo", it sucked fully in on itself. At least I know where all the leaking air was going now - to the wrong side of the piston.
So in conclusion I'm a little unsure on Manitou shocks now. My first SPV 3 Way was extremely reliable. This second one leaves me puzzled, not so much with the seal issue, but also that from day one it had a small assembly problem. Also the shock has a SPV lockout/bypass(??) lever, but to this day I can not find a manaul on their website that notes how this lever is to be used. Perhaps I was just unlucky, as I'm sure they sell thousands of these shock every year. When they work, they are well priced and work well, but I'm a little disappointed at present. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Soki
a Weekend Warrior
from Ellensburg WA USA
Date Reviewed: May 23, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$105.00 | | Purchased At: | Good old Ebay | | Strengths: | Good adjustments for the cost. Easy to use and set up. | | Weaknesses: | Bottoms out a bit. | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shock Deluxe Pro, Fox Float R | | Bike Setup: | Mongoose Tocali, SR SunTrour Duro E, SR SunTour Cranks, BigEarl bars, Race light stem, wiennman rims... | | Bottom Line: | Its a good air shock and the first one I have ever owned. So far so good, but Im a bit worried about the bottoming out on it. Odds are I haven't set it up 100% right yet. But it gets me to work and back so Im happy. Does well on smooth trails with smaller jumps and bumps. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Doug
a Cross Country Rider
from Greater Boston
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$170.00 | | Purchased At: | eBay | | Strengths: | SWINGER 3-WAY: Adjustablity, plushness, pedaling platform | | Weaknesses: | SWINGER 3-WAY: None so far. Might leak a little air, but nothing I've really noticed. | | Similar Products Used: | X-fusion RPV2 | | Bike Setup: | Specialized FSRxc, Rock Shox Revelation 426 dual air, Truvative Team bars, stem, seatpost, XT drivetrain, Hayes MX1 brakes, XT hubs/Mavic xc717 rims. | | Bottom Line: | SWINGER 3-WAY:
This is a trememdous upgrade from the stock X-fusion shock that came with my 05 Specialized. The pedaling platform negative air chamber adjustment works great..better than I thought. Once you hit a bump it becomes a really plush (but not squishy) ride. You can get up off the seat and hammer pretty well up hills depending on how high you set the air pressure. Rebound dampening works well. Holds air well, lightweight. Pick one up. Its well worth it. I had some trouble at the LBS getting a bushing set, but I called X-Fusion and they sent me the parts I needed and they fit nicely into the Swinger. Not sure this is entirely how things work, but I was able to make it work. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mtn rider
a
from cornvalley
Date Reviewed: February 15, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | goride | | Strengths: | SPV
durability
great feel through travel
Very tunable | | Weaknesses: | cost
out of the box spv air valve leaked when attached to pump | | Similar Products Used: | cloud nine
vanilla | | Bike Setup: | faux bar FS, minute 1 in front, swinger 4 way in back. | | Bottom Line: | Yes this shock was expensive, but it totally transformed the way my bike climbs and descends. I think it was worth every penny.
SPV if for real, works great, allows you to firm up the rear for efficient climbing, yet oh so plush on the descents.
Sure the spv air valve leaked straight out of the box, but a call to manitou CS and I had a replacement air valve in less than a week.
Since then its been ridden aggressively for over two years w/o service and I have had no problems.
No their products are not perfect (had some problems with the minute too), but manitou CS was great in helping me sort out the bugs and since its been all good.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Doug
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: December 19, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Stock on my Giant Reign | | Strengths: | No real strengths to speak of | | Weaknesses: | SPV chamber leaks air constantly. In order to reduce BOB, air pressures have to be so high that small bump compliance suffers. At least on the Giant Reign, the SPV valve is nearly impossible to get to.
| | Similar Products Used: | Fox Float, Fox Vanilla coil | | Bike Setup: | Giant Reign | | Bottom Line: | This review is for the Swinger 3 Way:
This came stock on my Giant Reign and I am not very impressed. It was a pain to set-up initially. Not impossible by any means, but it took a lot of experimenting to find the sweet spot. I prefer the ease of the Fox Float as far as set-up goes.
The red capped SPV chamber leaks air constantly. I have to pump it up before every ride. Also, to eliminate BOB, small bump compliance suffers a great deal. On my other bike equipped with a Fox Float, I can have both. Not so with the Swinger. At least on the Giant Reign, the SPV valve is nearly impossible to get to. Not a negative for the shock itself, but something to think about if the fit is going to be tight.
Also, the Swinger seems to blow through its travel very quickly--at least on Giant's Maestro suspension. I don't feel like I even have 5", let alone the 6" I'm supposed to have.
Don't get me wrong. The shock works OK. It feels plush and pretty stable as far as BOB goes. If you don't mind checking the air pressure before every ride, ruining 2-3 rides while you figure out the set-up and loosing a bit of small bump compliance, then get this shock.
If you want an easy "set it and forget it" system that is efficient yet soaks up the small stuff--get a Fox Float. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
cameron ventura
a Downhiller
from melbourne
Date Reviewed: December 1, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1450.00 | | Purchased At: | came on my raceline | | Strengths: | Ummmm...... everything. the rebound is awesome, plenty of travel and does the job well | | Weaknesses: | hmmmm.... rebound dosent work when there is no air pumped into the air chamber, as it should (the suspension shouldnt be ridden without air in it, | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | 2005 raceline extreme pro, manitou swinger rear suspension, 2005 rock shoz boxxer race | | Bottom Line: | Awesome rear suspension | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark Wallace
a Weekend Warrior
from Tucson
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Plush | | Weaknesses: | Sticks down. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox | | Bike Setup: | Stock | | Bottom Line: | The four way has an issue with them getting stuck down. I bought my son and I each a VT 1. The 4 way came stock. First ride out my shock got stuck in the down position. LBS gave me a loaner Manitou fixed original. A year later my son's bike had the same issue. I met another guy with a VT 1 and he said he had the same problem with his 4 way. This shock has issues it should be recalled!!! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Collin
a Cross Country Rider
from SC
Date Reviewed: September 7, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | No bobbing with a nice plush ride. Set up was a breeze thanks to Cannondale's set up guide | | Weaknesses: | Started leaking at about 1 1/2 years...Manitou service center say it needs to be rebuilt once a year because SPV valve gets contaminated | | Similar Products Used: | Fox vanilla and alps 4 | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Prophet 1000 | | Bottom Line: | Lots of plush travel, bob-free. I would like it to be a little more maintenance free. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
RBeller
a Weekend Warrior
from Fort Collins
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Wathan | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Came with Bike | | Strengths: | Easy to set up; good instructions; great adjustability and shock absorption; no maintenance issues | | Weaknesses: | None yet. | | Bike Setup: | 2005 Cannondale Prophet 4-cross Team Replica with Marzocchi Z1 forks | | Bottom Line: | For all-mountain use, I have nothing to complain about. I followed the setup instructions exactly, and it's stable climbing hills, with no bob, supple on small bumps, and has never bottomed out on larger rocks and drops. By way of comparison, I wish my Marzocchi Z1 forks were nearly as good, because the only bumps I feel are in front. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
SharkRider
a Cross Country Rider
from Fremont, CA
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | All trails that allow bikes | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | eBay, but not really | | Strengths: | Highly customizable. Never bottoms out. Plush with bob-resistance. | | Weaknesses: | A little complicated at first to set up, but makes sense later. | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou 3-way | | Bike Setup: | Giant VT3 frame, Juicy 5, SRAM X.0/9 drivetrain (except for LX FD), WTB Laser Disc w/ Mavic XC717 | | Bottom Line: | I had the 3-way initially with the frame, but opted to get a 4-way, and topped it with Manitou's No Tools Volume Adjust.
I love the ride of the 3-way. At 170lbs., I set mine (like someone earlier) at 150 PSI in the main, and 90 PSI in the SPV, rebound a click or two on the fast side, and that gives me the platform AND the plush ride I love, without the pogo affect.
I "upgraded" to the 4-way to add additional adjustability, and complemented it with the No Tools, and man, it is such a blast! I flip between all 4 settings depending on the type of trails I am anticipating. Now I feel so much more in controle and stable in the real with the progressive travel coming off of jumps! The slight weight penalty is worth it!
Be patient and understand the relationship between the SPV and the air spring, as you will find an infinite number of options to dial in your ride.
The 3-way is recommended for the XC rider, while the 4-way is for the rider that wants some insurance against bottoming out from big hits, as well as a little progressive feel like custom springs on a car! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from Murrieta, CA
Date Reviewed: June 19, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | Smooth adjustable reliable durable holds air well | | Weaknesses: | weight, takes the room away for bottle cage | | Similar Products Used: | DHX AIR | | Bike Setup: | Intense 5.5 Fox float ID | | Bottom Line: | I have beaten this shock for a couple of years now with no Issues at all. I tried the DHX Air and did not like it much. The shock has been set it and forget it | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nathaniel Williams
a Weekend Warrior
from Lynnfield,mass,usa
Date Reviewed: March 3, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Any rocky,rooty, hard trail. (LYNN WOODS) | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | REI (came w/bike, paid $580) | | Strengths: | Spv does it's job. It is not like a Terrilogic fork but, it makes the shock controled so it does not feel like a po-go stick. Holds air.
I like it. | | Weaknesses: | Does not eliminate bobbing.
Does leak oil, drips from rebound adj. And oil marks on the air sleeve.
The $$$ for those who buy it aftermarket.
| | Similar Products Used: | RP3, save your hard earned money. Anything is better than that. | | Bike Setup: | Novara Buzz. SPV fork and shock. 120mm SPV black, and 3 way.
LX, Deore, Huffelset. | | Bottom Line: | Good shock. the oil does not seem to affect the preformance.
Sometimes I run it at 20psi (main chamber), sometimes 200psi.
For SPV, always at 175PSI, but if I go down to 20PSI in main chamber, I'll decrease SPV.
(I weigh 102lbs)
SPV does not eliminate bobbing out of the saddle, but almost does in the saddle. Buy it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Blake
a Cross Country Rider
from Houston, Texas
Date Reviewed: February 3, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Came with Tomac Revolver | | Weaknesses: | I damaged the red cap on the SPV Schrader valve by letting it come in contact with the bottom of the seatpost when the shock compressed. The cap would not come off, so I had to back the entire SPV valve out. When I called ANSWER to order a new valve, I was told it would be 6 weeks for a replacement to come in. Both the Black Air Canister valve and the Red SPV valve are backordered for 6 weeks. | | Bike Setup: | Tomac Revolver with Manitou Swinger 3-way shock and Fox F100X forks. | | Bottom Line: | I am now without a bike for 6 weeks because, ANSWER does not stock spare parts for equipment they sell, nor can they give me the name of a dealer that stocks their parts.
BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!! If a company cannot support their product with spare parts, you could be out of a bike for 6 weeks. This valve fits all 5 models of the shocks they sell (3 way, 4 way, 6 way, coil and air) and they do not have a single one in stock. TERRIBLE. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
pedal
a Weekend Warrior
from Christchurch, New Zealand
Date Reviewed: October 14, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Widely adjustable between super plush and firm pedalling depending on the trail | | Weaknesses: | Leaks air fast. Time consuming to set up for each ride, made worse by having to start from the begining each time due to no air. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox RP3 | | Bike Setup: | This shock came on an '04 Giant VT1 - basically stock. | | Bottom Line: | I'm happy to review the shock since I recently got a 4 inch travel bike (Yeti ASR) with a Fox RP3 and can now compare.
I'm pretty happy with how the Swinger performs - after a few rides I figured how to set up and modify. Learned the approx. pressures I needed in each chamber for both a plush and firmer ride then fine tuned with calipers for an exact sag to the millimeter I wanted.
The only riding performance issue that worries me is that on the VT1 at least, a firm platform reduces the small bump compliance a little.
Leakage is the problem - since new the main chamber has lost air to zero pressure within a couple of days. The LBS sent it off to the New Zealand agent who returned it with the comment that it wasn't leaking but they'd serviced the seals anyway. Back on the bike it was leaking even faster - but when the LBS told me to "expect some leakage and anyway you'll lose some air each time you attach and remove the pump" (duh!) I gave up and resigned to the set up time before each ride. Thats also about the time I bought my first hardtail for years and marvelled that I could just lube the chain and start riding.
Now that I got the new frame with the Fox RP3 I can compare (although on 2 different bikes and the Yeti probably has a better rear end). The riding performance of the Fox feels all around better - is it superior rebound control that seems to keep the back end glued to to the trail? The Fox is plusher over small stuff in the firmest Propedal setting but of course if you want zero bob with the Swinger you can pump it all the way up to a hardtail. The bottom line here is that the Swinger does have a bigger range of adjustment than the RP3, from super plush with mega porridge pedalling thru to fast but harsh at higher pressures.
Really, there is no comparison. I've never lost any air out of the Fox shock which means there is no set-up time before a ride - only the very occasional pressure and sag check. And instead of setting the shock for a whole ride the Fox can be easily adjusted (Propedal has a noticeable effect) for fire roads, climbs, downhills, singletrack, whatever - on the fly.
On my experience, although the pedalling platform SPV technology works and the Swinger is a huge advance on earlier shocks I've used, the Manitou doesn't match the quality, reliability, versatility and ease of use of the Fox shock. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Howard
a Cross Country Rider
from Chandler, AZ
Date Reviewed: September 15, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Any Singletrack | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | Easy to adjust (once you have the right tools)
Holds air (once you figure out how to service it)
| | Weaknesses: | Setting pressures is a PITA (until you get the right pump)
Having to air it up every ride is a PITA (until you figure out how to seal it up) | | Similar Products Used: | Noleen pull shock (on an old K2), Fox AVA (the factory original), Fox Brain (on a Specialized Epic Marathon loaner) | | Bike Setup: | Basically stock Ironhorse Hollowpoint. (Love it!) I've ridden it hard (almost every day) for over 1-1/2 years! (Love it!)
I keep the main chamber pressure at 190# to get about 25%-30% sag and the SPV chamber set at 75#. The shock is set in the long travel posn (4.5") for this frame. | | Bottom Line: | This review is for the Swinger 3-way.
The bike came stock with the Fox AVA and it seemed to work great for 3 weeks of daily riding until the frame broke.
The replacement IH frame came with a 3-Way and I had no option to keep the AVA. I was disappointed until I rode the 3 way. It worked just as well after I got it dialed in, but I had fits trying to set the pressures!
It was a guessing game how much would bleed out and I had to carry the shock pump with me for awhile to ajust the shock during a ride. Once I got the pressures right, it worked great for about 6 months then started to leak air from the main chamber. Damn! Now I was back to puuming and guessing!
I picked up a pump from SGo that has a retractable pin for the schraeder valve. It was the best $20 I've ever spent on bike parts!! I could dial in the main chamber and the SPV chamber pressures spot on! I recommend this pump to anyone with an air shock or an air fork! (I have a Minute 2 fork so I can dial in the pressures on it as well).
This pump allowed me to keep up with the slow leak in the 3-Way (every ride!).
Then I got to thinking... I used to take my Noleen shock apart at least once a month to grease the o-rings and seals because it was a leaker, too. How hard can it be on the 3-Way??
It's not hard. In fact it's downright easy! I just pull out the suspension bolt on the piston end, swing up the shock in the frame, bleed off all of the air pressures, spin off the SPV (red) valve, and spin off the main chamber housing. (Mine is now hand tight.)
I clean up the piston and body piston seals and body O-ring. (It's amazing how much crap gets by the dust seal!) I lube all the seals and rings liberally with Manitou grease, put it all back together and air it up. The whole process takes about 20 minutes! I've done this several times over the last 6 mos. and I have not lost any air since the first overhaul! (I just like to keep it clean inside).
This may be more work than some riders are willing (or able) to do, but it's a no brainer for me compared with all of the other maintenance required on a complex mountain bike. It's a small price to pay for the great performance that this shock offers.
I think that a lot of the problems that other users report could be easily solved with a little maintanence and the right pump.
I give it 3 and 4 because it came on the bike (I don't know how much it costs) and because I had to discover on my own how to make it realy work! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Judah
a Racer
from Panama city Fl USA
Date Reviewed: August 11, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | tsaily | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$362.00 | | Purchased At: | Local bike shop | | Strengths: | Smooth, compliant, no bob and versital. | | Weaknesses: | adjusting the spring rate is not so easy. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox float. | | Bike Setup: | GT I-Drive, Sram X.0 drivetran, Tubeless thanks to stan's with Geax arojo tyre's | | Bottom Line: | Compliments my I-Drive suspension and rides amazingly well once set up rite. When setting up the shop remember to ONLY adjust ONE THING AT A TIME. otherwise you will get lost in it real quickly. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Max
a Racer
from Rhinebeck Ny
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | came on the bike..... | | Weaknesses: | Leaks AIR!, really hard to get setup | | Similar Products Used: | all fox shox, some rock schox rear shocks. | | Bike Setup: | Intense spyder | | Bottom Line: | Bottom line... this shock is garbage. i got the replacement parts and had them installed (apparently this is a big problem) and the shock still leaks. Every day i have to put 100 psi in the shock.. a pain to say the least. ALSO by the end of a long hard mtb ride the shock has leaked enough air to bottom like crazy.. I am so tired of dealing w/ broken rear shocks, time off of my mtb is wasted time.. do yourself a favor dont buy this shock. Also the customer service at manitou hasnt proved great yet.. they just told me to take it to the dealer and be without the bike for 2 weeks or more?? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Edward
a Cross Country Rider
from Portland, Oregon
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Flume | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Stock on 2003 VT1 | | Strengths: | Adjustability | | Weaknesses: | Maybe set-up | | Similar Products Used: | FOX, ROCK SHOX | | Bottom Line: | Super adjustable and works as advertised. This came stock on my '03 GIANT VT1. The shock recently died - negative spring did something bad. I called Manitou and spoke with Alex - he told me to send it in and he'd send me another 4-way absolutely free!!!! I have recieved the new '05 Swinger 4-way and it does not fit my bike in the 5.75" setting but works fine at the 5" setting. The rebound knob hits the back side of the frame if I try to use it in the 5.75" setting but for free, I'll keep it and just use it in the 5" setting. THANK YOU MANITOU!!! I used that shock for 2 solid years of riding and thought I'd be shelling out some bucks for a new one. Once again, thanks Alex and Manitou!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
The Machine
a Cross Country Rider
from New York City
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Strengths: | No bobbing, light (yet strong enough for a Clydesdale's weight), easy adjustability | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox Deluxe coil-over | | Bike Setup: | 1998 Gary Fisher Joshua X1 | | Bottom Line: | The shock I'm writing about here is the Manitou Swinger 3-Way Air shock. After installing this on my bike, it has completely transformed the ride and feel of my Joshua X1.
If you're a Clydesdale, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TRY THIS SHOCK!!! It is THAT good!!!
I weigh 235 lbs., and this shock can handle me no problem.
The Rock Shox Deluxe coil-over I had previously was not mated well to the Joshua's rear end. Even on flat sections with a 750 lb. spring, it would bob and wind up sapping my strength on long rides and climbs.
The Manitou Swinger 3-Way Air helps my bike to accelerate better, climb better, and pedal better with no bob at all thanks to its SPV function. I am ecstatic as to how well my bike accelerates and reacts to bump forces now. To give you an idea of what the ride feels like, those of you who are Specialized Epic owners will know exactly what I'm talking about.
This shock, combined with my Marzocchi MX Comp ETA up front, allows my Joshua to climb like a mountain goat.
I never thought I would have a Joshua that rides like a Specialized Epic, but I have one now...
...thanks to the Manitou Swinger 3-Way Air.
Five flamers across the board | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul McKenzie
a Weekend Warrior
from Thousand Oaks, CA
Date Reviewed: April 11, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Sycamore Canyon | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | supergo santa monica | | Strengths: | No bobbing, very stong also very plush | | Weaknesses: | none so far just a great product | | Bike Setup: | Weyless Xp, Manitou Minute Fork, Manitou Swinger SPV 3 way Wellgo Clip pedals | | Bottom Line: | Great Product for the all mountain rider/ light free rider. Never fails on the drops and can take any bump and rock edge that I throw at it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a
from Colorado Springs
Date Reviewed: April 9, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Just about everything. SPV keeps bob to a minimum, yet it is still very plush. | | Weaknesses: | SPV chamber loses about 40 psi when you remove pump, but it always loses 40 psi, so it is no problem to pump it to 130 psi to get it to 90 psi. | | Bike Setup: | Giant VT2 stock | | Bottom Line: | Incredible shock. I run the spv at 90 psi, the main chamber at 150 psi, the rebound on the fast side, and I weigh 170 lbs. This shock soaks up everything in its path. Although I don't go out looking for drops, I have hit several at 5', and many at 3-4', and I have never once bottomed it out. It sometimes comes very close, but the little 0-ring deal has never slid all the way off.
I have had it for 1 yr. and 3 months, and ride often on very rough trails, and it has never leaked any air whatsoever. Riding with this shock brings a smile to my face every time I ride.
Bottome line - perfect shock for all around agressive trail riding. Highly recommended. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Boyd
a Racer
from Garland, TX, US
Date Reviewed: March 31, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Colorado to Peaks trail, Breckenridge, CO | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$325.00 | | Purchased At: | Bikes and More | | Strengths: | Stout, works. | | Weaknesses: | Customer support. Shock has a touch of asthma but doesn't bother me. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox float r and rl | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight. XTR, Chris King w/517's, Easton carbon bar, Thomson stem and post. Fox f80 rlt. | | Bottom Line: | I race Expert and while I don't finish well anymore I still appreciate functioning, good-working reasonably light equipment. I know I could have gone with lighter but for 50 grams I will take the reliability. This shock works. I bought the 3-way. My bike is still only 23lbs.
On the downside, customer support is a bit lacking. no response via email re. set-up. I set it up as per the instructions, and wound up with only 45lbs in the main chamber. It rode fine although I feel like 52lbs is a bit racier. When I read someone is running "145.lbs" I think maybe I have it set up wrong but I get no replies from Manitou... I guess they spent all their money sending magazine editors on exotic trips to afford a decent customer service staff.
All in all though, I am very satisfied with the shock. I highly recommend for any type of riding within, oh say, 5 inches of travel. Just be prepared to do some dialing in. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul McKenzie
a Weekend Warrior
from Thousand Oaks
Date Reviewed: March 21, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Chesebro Canyon | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Supergo Santa Monica | | Strengths: | No bobbing, takes drops well, yet very, very plush. | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Shocks float R | | Bike Setup: | Weyless Xp, Manitou Minute, Manitou Swinger SPV, Wellgo clipless pedals, WTB Mutano Raptor tires | | Bottom Line: | Great shock, really takes what you throw at it, really practically no bobbing at all, this is basically an all Mountain/Freeride rear shock. I really suggest this rear shock. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Laguna Niguel, CA
Date Reviewed: March 10, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | right now? anything dry | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Rock n Road Cyclery | | Strengths: | An easy, dependable shock. It takes hits of various degrees and it pedals like a hardtail. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Fox, Progressive (demo) | | Bike Setup: | Trek Liquid 25 with XT upgrades,Hayes HFX brakes, and a WTB Speed saddle | | Bottom Line: | If this shock hasn't improved my downhill riding, it does get me to the bottom of the hill faster. Coming from a hardtail I was leary about pedal bob, but this shock can pedal like no other. In the year that I have had it air loss is almost nonexistent. When I step on it -- it goes. When I hit something -- it gives. Adjustment is simple, just the way I like it. Need I say any more. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bruce
a Cross Country Rider
from Mansfield, Vic, Australia
Date Reviewed: January 31, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Plain Creek Track | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$600.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Adjustability and NO MORE BOBBING! | | Weaknesses: | Haven't found any. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Rocky Mountain Pipeline, Marzocchi Z1cr, LX, XT, Ritchey. | | Bottom Line: | Instead of buying a new bike that pedals more efficiently, my old URT dually is like a new bike.
And it's plush. I was worried about changing from coil to air but I needn't have been.
I can't rave enough about what a difference this shock makes.
Yeah, it took a few attempts to get the air pressure right, about an hour of experimenting. But now that it's sorted, I love my bike all over again!
If you've got an older type of bike which has supposedly been superseded, try one of these shocks before you shell out all the cash on a new bike.
I don't consider $750 (Australian) cheap but it's well worth the money!
There needs to be a sixth chili! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
wannabeRacer
a Weekend Warrior
from Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Date Reviewed: December 7, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | functionality, plenty of adjustments and looks cool | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | mod to the max | | Bottom Line: | Pedalling is awesome on this rear shock and DH is awesome fun. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
live4mtb
a Cross Country Rider
from At The Trailhead, MI
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Grubers Grinder | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | NO BOBING, great stable platform, easy air input,rebound is great, light | | Weaknesses: | rebound must be turned with allen wrench | | Similar Products Used: | fox RP3 | | Bike Setup: | Tomac Revolver, XT, Mavic 717, Kenda Kharisma Tubeless, Avid Mechanical Disc. | | Bottom Line: | A great rear shock and great for pedaling. I prefer it better than other shocks, because it has graet choices for air input if it is squishy of hard. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
gary kowalski
a Cross Country Rider
from southaven, ms ,us
Date Reviewed: October 21, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | clear creek | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | warranty from answer | | Strengths: | Everything good in a rear skock, great customer support. | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Similar Products Used: | qrl | | Bike Setup: | Like everyone else | | Bottom Line: | This review was supposed to be for a qrl, but when I took it out of the box it was leaking oil. You would think the bike company I purchased it from would have noticed this before putting it on the frame and taking my money.After calling the bike company and getting blown off, I called Answer Product. The tech/sales rep/customer service dude who I will call Bobby ,couldnt have been mre sympathetic to my problem.Instead of blowing me off and making me go through weeks of returns and warranty BS he 3 day aired me a swinger 4way. Thats like breaking a vw and getting a mustang. Plus he called me! three days later and helped me set it up.Ive read alot of negative stuff about manitou C.S. and I gotta call bullsh--t on that.The swinger is great and the customer support is second to none. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff
a Cross Country Rider
from Southern California
Date Reviewed: October 13, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Ape Canyon on Mt. Saint Helens | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | 123Bikes | | Strengths: | Durable, Complient, eats up all the small stuff, and does fine on the long drops. I have never bottomed it out. | | Weaknesses: | Not as light as fifth element, (but not as many problems either) Not quite as stable a platform as fifth element, but more complient on all terrain. Better than the Pro Pedal. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox float RL, Fifth element, Pro Pedal, Cloud Nine.
| | Bike Setup: | Intense Spyder (large), Manitou 3 way, Bontrager race x lite tubeless, White Brothers AT-3 100mm, All 04 XTR, FSA 120 stem, Avid ultimate V brakes, carbon riser bar, Egg beaters, SLR, 23lbs. | | Bottom Line: | First off this is a sweet ride. I have had no problems with the 3 way. Nothing, zero, nada, and I have been riding it a full year. I weigh about 165, and I have the main chamber set at 150, and the rebound chamber at 80. The shock has stayed plush, with no stiction, and has never lost air. All around, this is the best of the stable platform shocks. If your racing X country, and you have lots of $$$, use the fifth element, its lighter. But if you want durability, and set and forget, get the 3 way. I see that Manitou has a new lighter 3 way, Well see. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
michel pinto
a Weekend Warrior
from macaé , rio de janeiro, Brazil
Date Reviewed: September 29, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | sana | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | bicicletas amazonas | | Strengths: | very tuneable , easy to ajust , light , reliable , looks well , SPV. | | Weaknesses: | spv valve , i like it has 2,5" of stroke | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | IRON HORSE SGS , manitou breakout fork , FSA k-force DH bar , kenda nevegal 2,35 tires ,manitou swinger 3way-air | | Bottom Line: | it´s rocks , fells plush than fox vanilla coil , despiste i get only 6" rear travel , cause bigger swinger 3WAY is only 2" stroke ( shock iron horse stuff , fox vanilla gets 2,25" of stroke) , now i can climb very well , i saved some bike weight , i can change bike geometry just pumping to a long climb , i have been buying mountain bikes products for many and it is the first time i have bought a true hype ,its can holds very well 6 to 8 foot drops , its do good job in low speed tecnical ,rock garden singletracks but in high speed its works not so well. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
REEK
a Weekend Warrior
from Baltimore MD
Date Reviewed: August 17, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Clementine loop in CA | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$299.00 | | Purchased At: | locally | | Strengths: | Stable platform rocks! Not too heavy, cool to look at, so far the seals have been 100%, nice adjustability | | Weaknesses: | The mounting hardware is a "special" size not the same as a Fox or Cane creek. Need to order them from Manitou at your LBS then wait, and wait, and wait. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Float RL, Cane Creek AD12, Rock Shox Sid, X-fusion O2 pro | | Bike Setup: | Dakar XLT, Shiver SC, XT/XTR | | Bottom Line: | This is by far the best shock purchase I've ever made. It made my already great bike even better! I have the spv chamber set just under 65 psi. Not too much to give it a harsh and rigid ride with no sag. But just enough to damp out the bobbing when I pedal and climb. The shock holds air perfectly. I know some have had problems with "leaks" form the SPV chamber. I think this is really a user error. The chamber is tiny so re-measuring pressure by reattaching the pump will drop your readings by 50% or so. And you also lose air when you disconnect the shock pump. I bought a Performance brand pump that you can back out the center pin on the pump to seal off the schrader valve on the shock, then uncouple the pump from the shock. Definitely makes a difference.
Without a doubt, I recommend this shock to anyone who needs a new shock or an upgrade.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tony
a Weekend Warrior
from Fillmore, CA
Date Reviewed: July 12, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Wheel World | | Strengths: | - SPV works
- Plush
- no-bobbing | | Weaknesses: | - Oil leak
- Manitou not building anymore for a few months make it difficult to get your hands on one for warranty replacement. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Giant VT1 (soon to be equipped with a swinger coil-over) | | Bottom Line: | SPV technology is by far the best that is out there. You get pedal efficiency and virtually no bobbing (by virtually i mean, when you stay seated when you pedal).
The shock worked great for me in the beginning. Until the piggy back acted up on me. It would slowly loose air pressure. It wasn't too bad. Slight air loss didn't bother me too much, until recently when the damn think leaked oil. Given I am not an aggressive rider, 2-3 foot drops at the most.
Long story short. Manitou is on a shortage of 4-way swing shocks, they are not making anymore for the next couple of months; from what the Manitou rep. is telling my LBS. Good luck to you if you are in need of a warranty replacement of the 4-way swinger. This probably explains why you see a lot of the 04' bikes being speced with the 3-way swingers instead of the 4-way.
Manitou is at least nice enough to give me a coil-over swinger as a replacment for the time being. If I decide I like the coil-over more, I am going to keep it. 2 flammin chillis out of 5. When I do receive the coil-over in the next few days (probably two-weeks), I may give a higher rating.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob wotzapollohimalaya
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | oakes/narrowneck | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | came with bike @ phantom cycles | | Strengths: | no bob when sitting
smooth
never bottoms out | | Weaknesses: | bloody crappy manitou pump!
VERY difficult to adjust
had some prob with the valves
losing air when disconnecting the pump
| | Similar Products Used: | none... first FS | | Bike Setup: | standard 2004 VT3 | | Bottom Line: | overall the performance of the shock is excellent, smooth and super absorbant but no bob unless stomping..... adjustability is phenomenal BUT working out the right pressure is a pain in the ass! maybe it would be better to have high pressure valves rather than car valves.... MANITOU????? come on! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bruce
a Cross Country Rider
from charleston, wv
Date Reviewed: June 4, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | bike shop | | Strengths: | i.have a swinger 3 on both the jeckyl and liquid 55. the jeckyl works like i have been dreaming about | | Weaknesses: | it has been a long drawn out problem with the liquid. i still do not have my shock up and running. the idiots at manitou have put me thruogh hell! | | Similar Products Used: | fox propedal. fox is the best! | | Bike Setup: | jeckyl-fox f100x front manitou swinger 3 on rear.
liquid has fox talas 125 on front swinger 3 on rear | | Bottom Line: | here we go-i hope that manitou is reading this. they cannot take care of business. this is the 2nd. time i'm writing.
after all the wasted time of trying to get my shocks to work, of going back and forth with manitou, i finally got my jeckyl shock working. and i'm impressed. it eliminated the bob on the jeckyl, unless you're standing and pedaling then it gets mushy. when manitou sent my shocks back for the 3rd time they never sent the bushings. finally they sent the bushings for both shocks, except the liquid shock had the wrong size bushings. now after almost 2 weeks i still have not received the right size bushings. i see where all these new bikes are spec'ing manitou swinger shocks over fox. i feel for anyone who purchase these bikes, because manitou cannot take care f there problems.
fox's propedal isn't as good but god damn fox always, i repeat always takes care of problems. maybe manitou can take some lessons from fox, or else they're not going to last long.
these are new bikes and until i bought the fox propedals for
backup, i couldn't ride the bikes.
fox keep up the good work!
manitou good luck because they have some serious customer service issues. so anyone who purchased these shocks i hope you'll never have any problems. do like i did and buy some fox for backup. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sean
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver
Date Reviewed: May 20, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Apex, Poison Spider | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Foothills Schwinn | | Strengths: | The SPV allows you to run it very plush with alot of sag. When adjusted for maximum bottoming resistance, even heavy guys who like to jump will find that bottoming resistance is incredible. Even at high elevations with relatively high pressure settings, I havn't had any problems with it holding air. Adjustability is excellent. | | Weaknesses: | The threads on the shrader valves are butter-soft. Even a meticulous mechanic will find it challenging to keep the threads alive for any length of time. Pedal bob is minimal, but it's still there. Especially if you stand up and/or run the shock at the recommended sag of 25% - 35%. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox, AMP | | Bike Setup: | 2004 Jamis XLT 2.0 | | Bottom Line: | For the first 100 miles or so, I rode the shock at max air pressure and about 5%-10% sag because I thought that was what you had to do to minimize pedal bob. I wasn't totally convinced on SPV because I still noticed a very small amount of bob in the rear linkage. Then, just for grins, I decided to go with Manitou's recomended sag setting of 25%-30%. WOW...when set soft there is surprisingly little pedal bob and an extremely plush ride. My bike has a Minute 2.0 front end, but the fork's SPV capabilities are not nearly as impressive as the rear shock. Basically, the shock outperforms all of my expectations. It enables me to ride more because I can set my suspension much softer than other FS bikes I've had in the past. I weigh about 210 lbs, and I'm an aggressive, former NORBA B-Classer, who cross-trains for pro-level motocross. In 300 miles, I havn't had any problems with this shock. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from Calgary, AB, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 12, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Calgary Cycle (OEM On Intense XVP) | | Strengths: | Plush, nice adjustability, and perfect for my meager 150lb body. And it looks slick. | | Weaknesses: | The only weakness I have it that I can't get the SPV end to hold any air. There is so little volume in there that it all shoots out as I'm taking the pump off. I see there are a few people with similar issues. | | Similar Products Used: | Only other rear used is a Fox Vanilla RC | | Bike Setup: | '03 Intense XVP SVP 3-way Swinger, SPV Minute 2:00 fork, XT, Race Face, CrossMax XL | | Bottom Line: | Nice plush ride, seems pretty durable to me, but I haven't had it out to the mountains yet for any hard XC. I would recommend it to a friend, especially for a VPP frame such as the Spider or the Intense 5.5 or the SC Blur. If anyone has a pump recommendation for me, I'd be ternally greatful if you'd message me. A pump the doesn't lose air as you un-screw it. Thanks. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kevin Kincaid
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle
Date Reviewed: April 27, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Moran State Park | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Downhill Zone, Seattle | | Strengths: | -Super Plush
-Responsive
-SPV is the shizzle
-5.5, plush or super progressive (your choice)
-Amount of Adustability
| | Weaknesses: | -Amount of Adustability can be intimidating at first
-Rumors that this shock dies easy gettin' me nervous
-I have to overpump to compensate for the air loss upon pump removal (using Wrench Force air pump) | | Similar Products Used: | -Similiar stuff to SPV? Nada.
-Products used? 5th L, Fox Brain, Fox Float | | Bike Setup: | -Intense 5.5
-Swinger 4-way rear
-Firefly SPV front
-Total Consciousness while riding(as promised by the Dali Lama)
-Nokian NBX2.3 | | Bottom Line: | Let me get two things out of the way real quick:
-I never would have bought a Manitou product back in the mid ninties, cause all they made was garbage.
-My riding style is along the lines of aggressive trail riding.
-Body weight: 165
Height: 5'9
Despite the rumors, my 4-way is holding tough.
I have to admit that after hearing the horror stories from some folks (first hand) about the shock dying on them, I got nervous and immediatly considered upgrading to coil.
However, my experience so far has been 95% dreamland and 5% techno-hell. The options scared me at first, but I stuck with it. Adjusting the air in the SPV chamber and the main air chamber was a balancing act that I finally figure out this weekend.
I read the manual many times and read reviews in MBA mag to get ideas. Turning the 16mm hex in resulted in a "much much" firmer ride. So, i increased the air volume in the piggyback, dropped the main air chamber pressure to 110, increased the SPV psi to just under 100. This is the SWEET SPOT for me.
For those familiar with the trails out on Orcas Island, I was tearing up sections of trail effortlessy while other riders with inferior fox shocks were playing catch-up. If you run a Swinger SPV in the rear, try putting an SPV fork on your rig. That's what happen in my case, and the result is the most balanced rig I have ever owned.
If you don't have SPV and at least 5 inches of travel, you ain't catching me on the trails baby!
-5 flaming chilli's all the way around.
- | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sean
a Weekend Warrior
from Los Angeles, CA
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | -SPV works very well
-good absorber
-climbs great
| | Weaknesses: | -the fine tuning is annoying (but once you got it, its great)
-nothing else | | Bike Setup: | Trek liquid 55 | | Bottom Line: | This shock is great. Everything is smooth and plush. SPV is working wonders for me. REall an awsome rear shock. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bruce
a Cross Country Rider
from charleston, wv, usa
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | bike shop with frameset | | Strengths: | i have the swinger spv 3 on a liquid 55 and a jeckyl and the only strength is manitou was quick to replace the scrader valves the first time and the schocks the 2nd. | | Weaknesses: | i am on my second set of shocks for both bikes along with replacing the schrader valve on the first set of shocks. they will not hold air. i'm talking no more than an hour..this is all within a couple of months of purchase.i have always been a fox rider but i wanted to try the spv set up.like all mountainbike magazines they only tell you how the first ride is. | | Similar Products Used: | this is my first spv shock. i will probably go to the fox propedal shock. fox is the only company that can make a shock. | | Bike Setup: | 2004 jeckyl with swinger 3;fox f100x front shock. older xtr groupo;hayes disk. also have liquid 55 with same swinger 3 shock, with hayes disk;fox talas 125 front. | | Bottom Line: | i cannot figure how two sets of shocks can leak air. brand new!!!!!!!!it took me a while to figure how to set up shock. they do not give all information in directions to set it up. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark B
a Racer
from Rocky Hill, N.J.
Date Reviewed: March 21, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Round Valley N.J. | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Bike Zone | | Strengths: | Not bad on climbs | | Weaknesses: | Durrability, totally shot on 4th ride | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shock Sid XC | | Bike Setup: | Stock Giant VT2 | | Bottom Line: | I race a Giant NRS air and beat it up too much. The bike shop suggested a VT to bomb around on, and save the NRS for racing. I had it set up at the shop and rode a few times. On a jump to an uphill that the NRS takes everyday the shock bottomed out and would not come back. Manitou e-mail support said have the shop send it back. After 6 weeks they notified the shop that it would be another 6 weeks or they could send me a 3 way adjustible. The manitou rep told the shop I hadn't used the other adjustment any way, and the new VT was coming equiped with this shock. Service sucks product sucks. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Grizz
a Weekend Warrior
from ...
Date Reviewed: March 6, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | OEM on Haro Werks EXT | | Strengths: | Light, SPV, Adjustability, Ride quality | | Weaknesses: | ??? | | Similar Products Used: | 5th Ele | | Bike Setup: | Stock 04 Haro Werks EXT | | Bottom Line: | I like this shock better than my 5th Ele that came on my Bullit. The frames are both single pivot and ride alike except the swinger 4 way rides with less movement even when sprinting. I wish it came in a size for the Bullit. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cliff Cooper
a Cross Country Rider
from Indianapolis, IN
Date Reviewed: February 4, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Nebo Ridge | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1500.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Garage Indy | | Strengths: | Shock can be set up for any style of riding, SPV works great eleminating pedal bob, As smooth as they come. | | Weaknesses: | Shock stoped holding air after about 800 miles of riding | | Similar Products Used: | fox, cane creek, fifth element | | Bike Setup: | giant vt2 | | Bottom Line: | I bought my Giant VT2 as soon as they come out. I have been very impressed with how well the SPV 4-way shock worked, especially during high speed decents. This shock seems bottomless. When hitting anything at speed, whether a stationary object or watercrossing, you feel no g-outs, no bouncing, and you never seem to feel it bottom even if it does. You do feel pedal bob when you stand and sprint but this is the best firm pedaling air shock out. All of the tuning options acually work well enough to tell a big difference when adjusted. Around mid november I was riding a local trail for about a hour when I noticed a knocking noise coming from the rear shock. When I looked at the sag setting I noticed just sitting on the bike used all the shocks travel. I pumped the shocks main chamber back up sat on the bike and within 10 seconds the shock lost all air again. The local bike shop said to leave the bike with them and the Giant rep would check it out some time the following week. So I was stuck without a bike. I didnt know if it would be under warrenty, backorder, or what so I figured I wouldnt be riding my bike any time within the next 2 months. Four days after I dropped my bike off the shop called and told me to come pick up my bike. I was told If your shock blows they send a new one and after it shows up they send the defective one back to be studied because its new technology. I got my bike back ready to ride in just four days. Thanks Manitoo, I'm thinking customer service can't get any better than that.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
j-unit
a Cross Country Rider
from leesburg, VA
Date Reviewed: January 19, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | wolf ridge, harrisonburg, VA | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Shenandoah Bicycle Company | | Strengths: | -one of the lightest available rear shocks
-spv is no gimmick- this thing DOES NOT bob when in the saddle
-mad adjustability (main chamber, spv, and rebound)
-looks soooo nice
-hasn't leaked any air and is soooo plush | | Weaknesses: | -if little noises bother you when riding, this shock makes a squishy sucking noise when getting to the bottom part of its travel. i could care less - i think it adds personality
-the spv shock pump that is included is crap- first of all it only inflates to 175 psi, meaning it is useless for the main air chamber (which needs 300 psi), and everytime i screw the nozzle onto the valve of my swinger the threads don't match up too well so i lose a fair amount of air whenever i take it off. | | Similar Products Used: | cane creek ad-12, which is pretty nice, but after a year the seals blew, and i've always had problems with it leaking air. | | Bike Setup: | 2004 trek liquid 55:
-minute 2 fork
-full 2004 XT grouppo
-bontrager racelite disc tubeless wheels
-geax blade 2.25's (monster tires- more like 2.4)
-thomson post
-laser v ti
-time atac xs pedals | | Bottom Line: | this is the holy grail of rear shocks. manitou purchased the rights to the 5th element design, so basically this shock is a lighter, improved version of the 5th element. the travel feels bottomless, the spv eleminates the need for a lockout when riding flats, and it is the reason why my 5" travel liquid outclimbs my 3" travel sugar 2. i honestly don't know how much this shock would improve the ride of a short travel xc racer like the sugar or fuel, since those designs are so efficient in the first place; but for a 5" travel trailbike this shock truly makes a world of difference. look into the swinger if you're in the market for a 4-5" travel trailbike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
G
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix
Date Reviewed: January 19, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | National | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | None found | | Weaknesses: | Can't hold air | | Similar Products Used: | SID shock | | Bike Setup: | Giant VT1; Bullit w/888R | | Bottom Line: | The VT1 is a replacement bike for my old Giant XTC DS1 which I recently broke. Upgraded the frame to the VT1 thanks to the guys at SMC. Set up sag when finally received bike-took it out on a ride and first small hit the shock bottomed out and stuck there-all the air escaped. Sent the shock back to Manitou. Two weeks later replacement comes in. Set up shock but left town next morning for holidays. Come back- take bike out for ride and notice that shock lost 100lbs of air just sitting in my garage. Now I'm still waiting for Manitou to replace this shock as well. To conclude this shock is a piece of crap. Maybe if I can get one that works I will actually have an opinion on how it rides. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Curt
a Weekend Warrior
from Midway City Ca
Date Reviewed: November 28, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Downeyville Downhill | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$220.00 | | Purchased At: | internet | | Strengths: | Lightish, smoother than fox or rockshock air shocks, SPV (the only SPV shock that will fit my bike | | Weaknesses: | Pricy when bought new. | | Similar Products Used: | rockshock sid, fox AVA, fox float. | | Bike Setup: | 99 Uzzi DH, 04 Sherman Flick, rhino Light XL on King hubs Hays 8" front 6 " rear Race face stem, cranks rings and BB | | Bottom Line: | If you have an uzzi dh and you'd like to run an SPV shock this is the only one I found that will work. Manitou doesn't make the hardware for the uxxi but a local machine shop made them for 25 bucks and the shock improves the peddling 100%. The only problem I have found is it takes about 25% over body weight in the main spring to keep it from bottoming on this bike which has a 3 to 1 ratio. Probably not a problem with lower leverage ratio bikes. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jay
a
from Maine
Date Reviewed: September 9, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Bradbury | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Total adjustability! Once you get it fine tuned for your riding style it will amaze. | | Weaknesses: | Takes some time to dial-in due to having 2 air chambers to play with instead of one. This actually is not a weakness if you enjoy getting your bike customized to your likings. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox. | | Bike Setup: | Hammerhead/Titus Racer-X, Fox Talas RL up front. | | Bottom Line: | You can set this up for 'bobless' XC racing or for plush free riding and everywhere in between. Air pressuere in the piggy back will determine responsiveness to bumps. The higher the pressure the bigger the bump will need to be to activate the system. Go with lower pressure and the shock will stay active all the time. It's all a matter of preference. The larger chamber primarily determines sag, which also plays a role in how active the system is. Bottom line is that you can dial this shock in however you want. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bruce Edge
a Cross Country Rider
from Calabasas, CA
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Incredible climbing efficiency.
Plush for an air shock.
| | Weaknesses: | None | | Bike Setup: | Giant AC | | Bottom Line: |
The pedals felt strangely decoupled form the rear wheel when I was
standing climbing over big rocks slowly. It's as if the first bit of pedal
energy goes to taking up slack in the shock. That took some getting used
to.
If you sit and spin though, this shock kicks ass. Normally I expect some
bounce climbing going over bumps. There is none. That's all there is to
it. It's gone. I found myself standing a lot less often as this shock is
so much more efficient when you keep your butt in the saddle. I know this
was true because I was keeping up with the XC racer crowd in our group who
usually ditch everyone with bikes over 22 lbs. FWIW the giant is 31.
The compression stroke feels as plush as oil, and the rebound dampening
actually works, which is more that I can say for Fox air shocks.
I didn't fiddle with it as it wasn't my bike so I can't comment on the
adjustability.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric
a Weekend Warrior
from Virginia
Date Reviewed: August 20, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Ramsey's Draft, Harrisonburg, VA | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Titus Cycles | | Strengths: | great (but simple) adjustability, knows the difference between pedal input and bump force, great customer service, super plush AND/OR super efficient | | Weaknesses: | only "on-the-fly" adjustment is the rebound, have to carry a shock pump around with you, not as bomb-proof as a coil | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Vanilla R, Fox Float R | | Bike Setup: | Titus Quasi Moto, Fox Forx Vanilla 125, Mavic Tubeless w/Kings | | Bottom Line: | This shock absolutely changed the way my bike rides. I'm a big-ride-slow-uphill-fast-downhill kind of rider, and the Swinger fits my bill. I can set it up to be super-efficient while climbing, but still have the cushion for some pushin' on the way down. The Swinger also dropped almost a pound off my bike by replacing the Fox Vanilla R.
My SECOND ride with the Swinger was a 100 mile off-road endurance race in PA. I ran the whole race in six inch mode! I never could have done that without the Swinger. Unfortunately, I think a rock got kicked up by my rear tire during the race and bummed up the air seal. I finished the race, but as soon as I tried to mess with the air pressure (2 days later) it wouldn't hold air. HOWEVER, I sent it to Manitou and they sent me a brand new Swinger no questions. Now that's customer service! Buy one...you won't regret it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
CHASE
a Cross Country Rider
from Greensboro, North Carolina USA
Date Reviewed: March 31, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Any trail with not many roots | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Purchased At: | Cycles De Oro | | Strengths: | Super Plush, more durable than most common cross-country air dampers, completely adjustable | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou Swinger Coil 4- Way, Progressive 5th Element, RockShox Sid rear, RockShox Deluxe, RockShox Pro Deluxe | | Bike Setup: | Stock Giant VT 2 | | Bottom Line: | BEST Air Damper EVER MADE HANDS DOWN! SUPER PLUSH AND EASY TO MAINTAIN! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Doughboy
a Weekend Warrior
from Cambridgeshire, UK
Date Reviewed: March 25, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Eliminates bob on a single pivot full susser. Makes climbing out of the saddle possible again.
Not like a lockout - the travel's there when you need it.
| | Weaknesses: | Not had it long enough for build quality issues to emerge.
Lacks the DT Swiss ball joints - uses bushings instead which are just an inferior solution. | | Similar Products Used: | DT Swiss SSD210L | | Bike Setup: | Orange Sub5, Fox Floats, King hubs & headset, Hope Minis, XT/XTR, Thomson, Easton, Race Face, Mavic, Koobi & Time for the rest | | Bottom Line: | This shock has pretty much transformed the handling of my bike. It's as plush as the DT Swiss but without the bob and not as harsh as using a lockout. I'm so impressed that as soon as I can get one of Manitou's SPV forks they'll be replacing the Fox Floats.
Only time and more miles will tell whether it's well made, but so far it's lost no air pressure from either chamber.
For set-up I'm running the piggy back at ~60% (e.g. 120 psi for a 200lbs rider) and the main chamber at 75%, with close to the maximum rebound damping. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Intenserider
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: January 11, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Very adjustable. Super plush. | | Weaknesses: | None yet, I hope the seals wont blow free riding. | | Similar Products Used: | Foxs Alps4 | | Bike Setup: | stock Giant VT2 | | Bottom Line: | According to the lbs salesman, this is an air shock with an extra resivoir(sp). This prevents from blowing the seals in the main unit, leaving you stranded. You can adjust/tune this resivoir(sp) for more controll as well as tune the main shock. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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