Submitted by
Hector
a Weekend Warrior
from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada Date Reviewed: October 8, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Shorthills, Brock Escarpment
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$20.00
Purchased At:
Main Cycle- Hamilton, Ontario
Strengths:
It works.
Weaknesses:
None yet.
Similar Products Used:
None
Bike Setup:
Stock 2002 Trek 6500 Manitou Super Six forks
Bottom Line:
I borrowed a friends Specialized Rock Hopper for a couple of months. Bike was equipped with Manitou Super Six forks. I immediately noticed the forks were too doughy. I weigh 205 lbs. Checked out this site and found many people with a similar complaint. Was told by a few bike shops that a firm ride spring kit was unavailable. E-mailed Answer products and they responded quickly with a firm ride kit reference # 85-4828. Returned my buddies Specialized and purchased a 2002 Trek 6500 similarily equipped in my price range. Had the firm ride spring kit installed immediately. Huge improvement. I intend to get a fork compression lock out next. Hopefully Manitou will offer a remote control compression lock out in the near future. I know they have one available that you flick the control on the fork......pain in the ass. Would be great for climbing hills and daily commuting.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Hawk
a Weekend Warrior
from Paradise, CA, USA Date Reviewed: April 30, 2002
Favorite Trail:
Bidwell Park, Chico, CA
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$30.00
Purchased At:
Gold County Bicycle, Lincoln, CA
Strengths:
Greatly improves the shock performance.
Weaknesses:
None noted to date.
Similar Products Used:
None
Bike Setup:
Giant XTC NRS-2 basically stock with bar ends.
Bottom Line:
I weigh about 200 lbs. Shock was easily and regularly bottoming. I am just a beginner but read the web postings about the spring upgrade. Got the extra firm weight. This upgrade really improved the bike ride and performance. Do it. Cheap. Easy install. LBS ordered the spring. Had no problem. Saw the LBS mgr. make the phone call. The LBS mailed the spring to me. Spring comes with simple but effective instruction sheet for the installation.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
DeBlois Louis
a Downhiller
from New Orleans,LA Date Reviewed: April 25, 2002
Favorite Trail:
Windy Gap, Ellijay GA
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$30.00
Purchased At:
Joes Bicycle on Tulane
Strengths:
Easy to install, economically priced.
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
Intense tracer with 2001 X-Vert Super(105mm)built mostly with downhill parts
Bottom Line:
The tracer was built up with this fork and it was so soft I immediately realized I was going to HAVE to buy something else. Peadaling Perry from Joes put the firm ride spring and elastomer kit as a last ditch attempt. I weigh 180 and like to jump. In stock form the fork was definitely (Mani-poo). The firm ride kit was night and day difference! Totally different feel but still somewhat plush. The problem then was that the fork would rebound too fast and could not be externally adjusted as Answer ships the fork with micky mouse 5 weight fluid in the right side leg. I later installed 10 weight fluid to slow the rebound down and the external adjusters now are useable as opposed to an extreme side of their adjustment range. I recomend this upgrade from the start to anyone over 140 lbs or who rides aggresively. The fluid change from 5w to 7w or 10w is also a must! This procedure woke my fork up but I wish the fork industry would start to build product with spring rates and settings with someone other than 140lb riders in mind. Almost every fork these days has to be upgraded from the start if any kind of freeriding is involved.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dennis Romano
a Cross Country Rider
from Las Vegas, NV, USA Date Reviewed: October 1, 2001
Favorite Trail:
Bunker Creek, UT
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$20.00
Purchased At:
Answer Web Page
Strengths:
Relatively easy to install. Immediate riding improvement. Original spring was to light for me. I weigh 220 lbs. The ride improvements were tracking, no bottoming out and no stacking. Another important benefit was during heavy braking on descents the shock did not nose dive ( no endo ).
Weaknesses:
Hard to get the kits. Seems like everyone is buying them. I waited for four weeks to get it from Answer.
Bike Setup:
Marin Rocky Ridge with an 99 XVert E (100mm) shock with all XT components. Bike weighs 25.5 lbs.
Bottom Line:
This upgrade provide real instant ride improvements with low cost and easy installation. I recommend calling the tech line instead of using the web ordering system. They have just moved into a new building and the service was very good.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from Scottsdale, AZ USA Date Reviewed: September 5, 2001
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$20.00
Purchased At:
Supergo
Strengths:
Easy to change yourself. At 230 pounds the stock springs were too soft. It is better to change out the springs than the preload and conmpression dampening.
Weaknesses:
none
Bike Setup:
2000 Specialized A-1 Rockhopper FSR
Bottom Line:
Make the change if you are heavy or light rider (ie not 150-170 lbs)
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Thom
a Cross Country Rider
from Newcastle, WA, USA Date Reviewed: July 6, 2001
Favorite Trail:
Lake Sawyer, WA
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$14.00
Purchased At:
Downhill Zone
Strengths:
They work great, making a mooooshy fork much better for my size. If you're outside the normal range for the stock spring, changing the air pressure won't make it stiffer. Take the plunge, and get the spring that's right. The fork is much better with the right spring stiffness.
Weaknesses:
They proved way too difficult to find; maddeningly so.
Similar Products Used:
none-the fork came on the bike, the springs had to be tracked down.
Bike Setup:
Gary Fisher Sugar 2 with heavy rider
Bottom Line:
The shock works great, and works SO much better with the proper spring. But, it was an ordeal to accomplish this. Hopefully my eventual success in finding one will give you the "secret-handshake" to actually GET the right spring.
Being a larger (220lbs) rider, I needed a firmer shock than the stock red spring. The bike shop tried to find the black or yellow springs, but was unable to. I called Answer products, and they had none.
Here's the real bottom line: if you can't get the springs, check with the service department, and see if they have one in their fork repair kit. Answer sells this repair kit with tons of shock springs. The one I saw looked like it had one of each firmness for each type of fork.
I went to a downhill-specific shop, and none of their other customers had ever brought in a Mars fork for service (too little travel for their normal customers). So, their repair kit had the springs I needed.
My guess is that Answer is (unconsciously?) working with the shops to bring in money on service. I could be wrong, but here's how it seems to have worked. You need a firmer spring, and you can turn a wrench with sufficient skill that you could change the spring yourself. You order the spring, expecting it to cost a very affordable US$14, but the shop can't find one anywhere. No distributors, not even Answer have any in stock. What to do? My shop said "uh, wait till they make some more?" Yeah right. A one week old bike and it can't be tuned so it rides properly.
Finally, in desperation, you bring the bike in to a mechanic to do the work for you. Lo and behold, they have a spring right there in the repair kit, change it for you, and charge US$30 for the labor, and the US$14 for the part.
That might not be the intent of Answer's manufacturing planning, but if it isn't, then what's the real story?
$
Overall Rating:
