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Submitted by
big daddy
a Racer
from PA
Date Reviewed: March 20, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$220.00 | | Purchased At: | BIKE USA | | Bottom Line: | GREAT FORK | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Heriberto Mejia
a Weekend Warrior
from Mexico, D.F:
Date Reviewed: December 30, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Chiluca | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Purchased At: | Local bike shop | | Strengths: | Performace, long lasting and condenfice | | Weaknesses: | Leaking cartrige (after two years), MCU spring (upgrade in 1998), Preload knobs. | | Similar Products Used: | RS Judy SL 98; RST Mozo Pro 97; Marzocchi Z2, Z3 98-99. All on buddie bikes. | | Bottom Line: | I buy this fork only because I see an add-on of Supergo in MBA, the MSRP is $345 so when i see in a local bike shop in $120 I'm run to buy it. I'm used by five years and I'm very happy whit it, but last month when I'm service I see that one upper leg have a snap, so I need replace.
In five years I'm run XC and DH and the fork have a nice performace only in XC. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Buffalo
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$170.00 | | Purchased At: | supergo | | Strengths: | hasn't broke, does its thing, was ok a few years back, but old technology isnt better than new in this case. easy to tear apart. bushings still oe. | | Weaknesses: | have seen similar forks die, oil leaks when hung, stock springs no good for me | | Similar Products Used: | only other fork i've owned is '00 sid 100, but have used various others | | Bike Setup: | '97 gt zaskar le, sid 100, mavic cross link, 8/9sp xtr group, thompson post, lp dh bar, azonic stem, michelin hot s, sdg saddle, s-works grips, d-ace cassette, primo platform pedals | | Bottom Line: | man oh man. now that ive just read a review i did over three years ago for this fork, i realize i really was on crack back then, but i guess it has helped to have worked in a couple bike shops. well, i rode the fork without oil in it for over a year because it continually leaked from the cartridge. turns out, that if you hang your bike from the ceiling, from the front wheel, you need to turn the damping adjuster in all the way, or else oil will begin to flow out of the fork and onto the floor. the fork itself has held up well otherwise, run without boots this whole time with oe bushings. however, i question the durability of the whole fs/sx line for that year. buddy had fs stroker, the fork felt like ass. another friend had an sx, and cracked the brake arch from the lowers, twice, and i saw an fs ti in the shop i worked at where holes were worn through the stanchions. the stock springs/mcus weren't right at all for me, switched to speed springs last year. mcu's would get hard in the winter, but with the springs its less noticeable then a judy from the same era. plus, now that ive torn apart my sid, it is a whole heck of a lot easier the tear apart this old manitou. but, all in all, the fork is ok. i like my sid, can set it up however i like easily but we'll see about that fork in three years. my manitou is still on my beater bike, and it works, so to those of you who still have the old manitous, ill be honest, its an ok fork. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom Loonan
a Cross Country Rider
from Waterloo, IA, United States
Date Reviewed: February 21, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Sidewinder | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Super plush, especially after tweaking with the elastomers
and oil. Alloy steer tube and crown arch add strength
and lightness. Ease of greasing elastomers. | | Weaknesses: | Had mucho problems with leaking, until I changed oil. I realized that the top screw on the damping unit(the part name escapes me now) was totally unscrewed!! OK now. Would have preferred a color other than white. Cheap-o elastomer tuning knobs, anyone know where to get maybe some alloy ones? | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox Judy XC
Rock Shox Mag 21 | | Bike Setup: | Gary Fisher hardtail | | Bottom Line: | I've recommended this fork to several friends, however, they haven't 'seen the light' yet, their losses. I see no reason to replace this fork, I'll thrash it until she don't work no more, then rebuild it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bike Master Mike
a Racer
from Canton, MI
Date Reviewed: January 12, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Island lake | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Great damping adjustment
VERY easy to rebuild
Looks great
Not a Rock Shox | | Weaknesses: | Maybe slightly heavy
Leaks (read below) | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox Mag 20, Mag 21, Judy XC, Judy XL | | Bike Setup: | 97 Trek Y with XT/XTR/Race Face | | Bottom Line: | From a letter in September....I bought a Judy XL for my Y
Well, after 260 miles on the XL, the damper had no oil left. Rock Shox great customer service screwed up like usual. Luckily I had rebuilt the FS back in June and it was already for some action. I brought it to school hoping to sell and it and fortunately I didnt. The FS went back on the Y. With an inch less travel, I likes it better for the riding I do. Trials, Jumping, Trails, and drop offs. All on one bike. The Trials thing is tough with a 4" travel for, so the FS was much better with that. The FS actually has decent damping, unlike the Rock Shos, so that was a major plus with drop offs. The fork is always leaking oil, so I ordered a high pressure seal kit from Manitou (Answer). The use double lip rubber seals! Wow! The original ones have single PLASTIC lips that dont seal a damn thing.
Now I have ordered a 2000 X-Vert DC with 120 mm of travel for the Y. They are out of stock till February, but I cant wait to ride it. There is a 6.5 foot drop that Im waiting to do. I know that fork will smoke my Judy XL. DOnt buy Rock Shox. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Erik
a Cross-Country Rider
from NC
Date Reviewed: December 22, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Poplar Tent | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
very good at slow to medium speed | | Weaknesses: |
maintenance | | Similar Products Used: |
TPC | | Bike Setup: |
Proflex 857 w/NR-2 | | Bottom Line: | I have used this fork for 2 years. Initially I had some leakage problems for which, Answer was extremely responsive. If you own this fork, lube it every 10 hours or so. This only takes 15 minutes. And, change the fluid every 25-30 hours. If you do this, the fork should work extremely well. Changing the fluid in the damping chamber should take less than 30 minutes and will pay off for you long term. I have to say that the staff at Answer has been extremely accommodating and helpful. | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lee Henrici
a Weekend Warrior
from Salem
Date Reviewed: October 26, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
metal muffin | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
It has plush movement and it soaks up all the little stuff and provides a supple proggresive feel. | | Weaknesses: |
None but it helps to put speed springs in. | | Similar Products Used: |
Sid SL Ti
Superfly
Sx Carbon
Sc72ul | | Bike Setup: |
Trek 970 HT
Spooky Darkside HT | | Bottom Line: | It is a great fork and I like it alot a little on the hefty side compared to my other forks. A good fork for the price I paid. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
john b
a Cross-Country Rider
from golden, co
Date Reviewed: October 15, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
nice ride. easy to adjust. great price. | | Weaknesses: |
the brake arch broke at about 15 months. looking at some of the other reviews, this seems to be common. could have had brutal consequences but someone was looking out for me. | | Similar Products Used: |
rock shox judy xc, manitou sx-r | | Bottom Line: | for about a year this was a really cool fork then it broke. i ended up buying another manitou because i really, really liked the sx-r and i think they fixed the weak magnesium brake arch problem. let's hope so. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Michael
a Racer
from Canton, MI
Date Reviewed: October 7, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Island Lake | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
Stiff, high damping rate | | Weaknesses: |
Like to spew oil riding big hits | | Similar Products Used: |
RS Indy SL, RS Judy XC, RS Mag 21, RS Mag 20 | | Bike Setup: |
Trek Y OCLV | | Bottom Line: | This fork was working great for terrorizingthe campus until I started getting major top out smack. Obviously there was no oil in the damper and it was rebounding too hard. Manitou recommends no more than 10 weight oil, so I put 20 and the damping rate went way up. It felt sweet! Going off 6 foot drops were harsh, but VERY well damped and controlled. I put Speed Springs in it and it got a lot better. Especially in the winter. I just ordered a Judy XL to replace this fork. After hiting a stair in a messed up jumping attempt, It started making a popping sound when I hit the brakes or a bump. After investigating, it appears to be the pressed joint between the steerer tube and crown. $70 for a new crown or $200 for a BRAND NEW Judy XL...Anyone wanna buy an FS? | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Xandi
a Downhiller
from Vic Australia
Date Reviewed: September 7, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Guana Trek | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
Marketing (so Fools like us by them.) | | Weaknesses: |
Magnesium legs snap easy
continious oilleaks
terrible customerservice in Oz. | | Similar Products Used: |
Rock Shock Judy DH
Marzzocci Z1 | | Bike Setup: |
DBR,Trek | | Bottom Line: | IF YOU VALUE YOUR FACE DO NOT USE THIS FORK IN DOWNHILL CONDITIONS.Within 1 week of purchase I had my first oilleak,within 2Weeks the magnesium forklegs broke the first time.The 2 month after that, I cracked 3 simular FS forks in the same spot(magnesium brakearches)So if you owe a FS I would check the brakearches for cracks before every ride.(the same goes for Mach forks).
Overall the only positive thing was the help I got from Manitou in the U.S.A.(the guys in Australia could not have cared less).
It is good to see they redesigned the forklegs in the models following the FS series. | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ben florie
a Cross-Country Rider
from reisterstown, maryland
Date Reviewed: July 8, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
avolon- valley view | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
cheap | | Weaknesses: |
heavy, stiff, unreliable | | Bike Setup: |
gt tempest | | Bottom Line: | i bought mine for $120 last winter. i used it for a month, went to tear it down(being careful to only undo the 8mm, not the damping adjuster), and it spilled 3oz. of shock oil on my shop floor. theelastomers harden quickly, and the springs are too short. mine sucks in dirt, and the boot won't stretch over the seal. i have a stiff fork with no damping now. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jimbo
a Cross-Country Rider
from dartmouth ma
Date Reviewed: April 30, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Arcadia Forest R.I. | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Ridgid,long teavel, adjustable,reliable | | Weaknesses: |
slightly heavy | | Similar Products Used: |
manitou pro, pro comp | | Bike Setup: |
fisher joshua x1 | | Bottom Line: | Bought from colorado cycle for 109.didn't like it at first, to stiff, damping adjustment was unusable.Being a tinkerer, i took it to the shop and started to play.changed the elastomers to soft ones and lubed them with judy butter.replaced the oil in the damper with finnish line 2-1/2 weight.what a difference.now it soaks up the small baby's head rocks and roots of the new england forests like they weren't even there. the action is very progressive,and i rarely bottom it out ,even though i weigh 195. next month it will be two years old and outside of routine maintenance it has been flawless. this fork rocks. i wish they made a rear shock to replace that piece of crap rs deluxe. 5 chillies no doubt. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Owen
a Weekend Warrior
from western massachusetts
Date Reviewed: April 23, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
very plush, smooth, and a great value | | Weaknesses: |
the bolt on the preload leg is weak! i broke it off! | | Similar Products Used: |
RST 161b - it sucked! | | Bike Setup: |
i just got a stumpey and theyre a great combo | | Bottom Line: | this is a great fork for the price -- and the answer people were great at helping me with the broken bolt, this fork is also very easily servicable saving tons of $ in bike shop fees :) - 5 chillies for performance minus one for the broken bolt (and the injuries that it entailed) = 4 flamin' chillies | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
BIG T
a Cross-Country Rider
from Wash. D.C.
Date Reviewed: April 20, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Patapsco | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
The fork is stiff in the
cornering, and it sucks
the bumps up nicely
(Speed Springs help) | | Weaknesses: |
I will let you know when
I find one | | Similar Products Used: |
Other brand name forks | | Bike Setup: |
20 GT Zaskar very hard
tail | | Bottom Line: | I've heard some horror stories about these forks
breaking at the crown, but I've had no trouble so
far. I think you would have a hard time finding a
guy my size that rides as aggressive as my partners and I do. So stop trying to scare BIG T | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Big Red
a Cross-Country Rider
from African Amish City
Date Reviewed: March 21, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Your Mom | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Plush as a monkey with speed springs up its ass
VERY stiff
looks cool
smooth plus travel
adjustability
price | | Weaknesses: |
Heavy | | Similar Products Used: |
Rock shox indy c, judy XC and a few other forks | | Bike Setup: |
hardtail about 27 lbs when finished | | Bottom Line: | This fork kicks ass buy it damn it! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Slim
a racer
from Milwaukie OR
Date Reviewed: January 24, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
This is a pretty good fork for the money, but I think I'm the only person
in this review column that didn't buy it mail order. I actually bought mine
at a bike shop for $280 in Sept of '97. It was a great fork until I started
blowing damping cartridges. If you do decide to buy this fork, realize you
may have alot of down time due to damper problems. Also installing Speed
Springs (oh what a difference) is hard on the cartridges. All in all it's
a good working, fairly light (3lbs 9oz with speed springs), nice looking
fork. I'd recommend it if you can find it on sale for under $150.
These days there are so many great forks, it pays to search around and
try many before you buy. I recently replaced my FS with a '99 Bomber Z2.
The Bomber is the most amazing fork I've ever ridden. There's no
comparison, it's so stiff, but rides so plush that obstacles just disappear
beneath you. It makes you forget about the extra weight (it weighs 4 lbs)
For $150 or less you can't beat the FS, but look around before you buy.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
kevin
a cross-country rider
from Marietta, ga
Date Reviewed: December 2, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Had this fork for almost a year. A good fork overall. Couple of months ago the lowers came apart. Manitou had my fork back to me within 4 days. Can't nuthin about their service. Got a great price on this back when colorado cyclist was blowing these out earlier this year. THe FS is nothing fancy but it serves its purpose. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Crash
a cross-country rider
from Radford, VA
Date Reviewed: November 19, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
This is a follow up to my previous review for this fork. I still say it is one of the best riding forks out there, not too heavy, although a little long for a small frame (say, 17) On the other hand, keeping the thing in working order is the fun part. The oil cartridge has blown on mine about 7 times now, and were it not for the warranty service, that'sa about $25 per cartridge if you can fix the thing yourself. Thank God answer has it's great customer service, they're sending me a '99 SXTi since theyre as tired of seeing my fork as I am of sending it to them for repairs. I'll get you guys the 411 on that monster in a few weeks. Till then, be careful about buying one of these used. Think of it as the Austin Healey of the suspension world; lots of fun when they work, but lots of time in the shop too.
3 flaming Mr Hanky's for the fork, 5 for the support, 4 total
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
monkeyboy
a cross-country rider
from Redfield, SD
Date Reviewed: November 18, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I have only had this fork for about 1 mo, but it is still a good fork. I bought a my dads old bike (in perfect condition cause he didn't use it as much as he would have liked) and he had this fork on it. I had to rearange the elastomer stack to make it a little more sensitive to the small stuff, cause it is kind of stiff for a 165 lbs kid like me. I am used to the sx which has lighter springs. I am going to get some speed springs for it, I hope. I am not sure if they make them in the right size. If anyone knows please tell me or give suggestions on better springs to put in it. Even thought it is stiff I give it 4 flaming bananas. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
J.J.
a racer
from Vancouver Canada
Date Reviewed: November 8, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I think that the 97 Manitou FS are awesome forks for the buck. Think about
it. When they first came out they were $380 US. I bought them for the
97 closing price of $139. Great forks at a cheap price. Also when I first
bought them they had a lot of stiction. I lubed them up with some Judy
butter and this fixed the problem. They are very ridgid torsionally
and laterally. I even talked to a few guys that had broken the brace
because they are actually too stiff, thats why Manitou made it's TPC
forks. The twin piston chamber is nice but they also made the brake
arch more foregiving and flexy. Overall I haven't snapped my brake arch
and I think that these forks kick ass, five chillies!!!
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
None other than ME
a weekend warrior
from Vancouver, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 6, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I bought these at my LBS for a really good deal, When I got them they were pretty sticky out of the box, I lubed them a bit and that went away. They're much stiffer than my old forks and are great for Slalom Racing because of the travel/stiffness. They're pretty light for a 3inch travel fork too. Right now the spring rate is a bit too stiff for me (130lbs) so I'm gonna put in the softride kit to plushen things up a bit. I like em, stiff, good damping, lightish. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris S.
a cross-country rider
from Houston
Date Reviewed: August 17, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Got this fork from Bike World on the 97 closeout price of $139.00. What a great fork. It takes the hits, both heavy and light very well. Only problem I had was a misalignment of the brake mounts but that was easily fixed by my local LBS. I really like the ride and have not bottomed it out yet even though I am $210. I highly recommend this shock to whomever wants a good reliable shock for a very resonable cost. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nathan Raymond
a weekend warrior
from hampden MA
Date Reviewed: August 13, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I got the fs last year, for a real deal out of supergo. I put it on my 17
specialized hardrock ax, witch is now in the process of getting built for dual slalom racing. But the fork is sweet. And for dual slalom it is perfect. with long travel, and those stiff buldge legs. I am nothing but pleased with my fork, and I have had no problems yet. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Daniel Marzani
a cross-country rider
from NYC
Date Reviewed: August 6, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
This is a followup for the review I posted on September 30, 1997 (first review at bottom of page)I have made several modifications to this fork-FS97:Spring Stack mod:
I installed blue (soft) 6 SpeedSprings , with red MCU's on top (1 on left, 1/2 on right) for the remaining length-I weigh 164lbs. The action is much better, and travel is about 2-3/4 with 1/2-3/4 sag. These are especially useful in colder climates (Like NYC in winter), where MCU's harden up and leave your arms in pain. I put in the 6 instead on 7 because I heard that rebounding full coil springs release a lot of energy real quick and can overstress the damper. The MCU should help absorb some of this energy. So I played it safe and went with the 6. Added bonuses: No worry of harsh bottoming and increased tunability-I can change the short MCU's on top to firmer or softer ones. To help protect the damper from absorbing excess energy from the rebounding coil springs, I keep the preload on the left damper leg at 50% of the right leg (i,e. from full out:2 turns in on right, 1 turn in on left).
Fork travel mod:
For about a year I loved the plushness of the full travel-my 18 hardtails' geomtery was somewhat compromised by the extra travel-it replaced a Q5. The front end raised and the headtube angle slackenned resulting in a less stable feel and slower steering response-in general this was not a problem, but it was especially noticable riding uphill on technical trails (for downhill riding, the altered geomtry was fine). So I dissasembled the fork and added 1/4 to 1/2 MCU to the rebound MCU on the dummy shaft (I just drilled a larger hole in a leftover piece of blue MCU) This makes the fork sit a little farther into its travel and makes it just like an SX as far as your bikes geometry in conserned. I then removed the same length that I added to the dummy shaft from the spring stacks (to avoid overcompressing the spring stacks). This lowered the front end, bringing the bike back/closer to its original geometry, but I did lose some plushness from the fork due to the decreased travel-however it still works great. I recently did this modification to my 97FS (on a hartail 18) to get the bike back to the original geometry. I rode the fork with full travel for about a year-I loved the plushness (especially with the 6 soft speedsprings installed), but the raised front end made controlling the bike a little more tricky-especially in technical sigletrack.
When I go downhilling I'll put the fork back to full travel.
Moral of the story: If you are mechanically inclined and plan to work on the fork yourself/which is pretty easy-I would suggest the FS. It has better construction-2 bolt bulge legs and 5mm more travel-than the SX and is about 80-100bucks cheaper than the Ti models, use the money you save with the FS and buy speedsprings for about 40 bucks).
Added bonus-if you buy a full suspension frame in the future, you can change the fork back to max travel.Damper piston mod:
I needed to reduce my damping further (even with the adjustment set to min) to increase the speed of compression/rebound. Dougal (another mtbr contribuor) made some excellent suggestion on how to do this. Following his advise, I did the following:
I removed the the second spring shim on the compression side of the piston and put in 5.0wt PJ1 hydraulic fluid-you can by this at any motorcycle supply store. (Dougal suggested using PJ1 2.5wt-but the store did not have it)
Fork action is much improved (especially on compression) , the damping adjustment range is much better. Because of the reduced travel and compression damping I had to up my preload from zero a bit to prevent bottoming (w/ 6 soft SpeedSprings installed). I love this thing!!!
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chucko
a weekend warrior
from Silicon Valley, USA
Date Reviewed: August 5, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Bought the FS on closeout some months ago, but hadn't spent much time riding on them til things finally dried out around here. Now I can safely say it was well worth the $109 I spent!It's plush, stiff, easily maintained, and doesn't require any special lubricants like that fork with the girl's name. Plain old oil and lithium grease, instead of J*** Butter. Plus my V brakes seem to work better now. Maybe it's a tad heavy, but whaddya want for the price? Actually I think it was the same weight as the Indy C it replaced.Best of all, when the warranty's gone, I can put speed springs in it... heh, heh, heh.The only downside so far is that it raises the front of my bike enough that I can't clear some trail gates, and low speed handling's slightly compromised too. But that's what happens when you replace a short travel fork with a longer one.No more Rock Schlox for me. Manitou all the way! If you can find any of these forks left, BUY ONE. You won't regret it!Only 4 chilis, because there must be something better out there... but if there is, I can't afford it! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrei
a cross-country rider
from USA
Date Reviewed: July 18, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
This fork is not that good, but the customer cervise is a whole other story. They actually care about their products and well sort of customers. I had mine for 5 months. I broke it twice, blew the cartridge 6 times, hey trials and downhill is all I think about.I rode it in winter(trials riding). Well don't do that, the MCU's get very stiff, microvave them for 1 min before using in the winter. Magnesium leggs snap like twigs whe its cold, and the oil cartridges blow every other week. If maintained properly it will last unless you do DUMB things. THIS FORK IS WORTH almost EVERY PENNYTHE BEST THING IS THAT I bought the fork for under $100 new. sold it for $130
with all the shipping charges I managed to make 50 cents | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
BobC
a weekend warrior
from RI
Date Reviewed: July 16, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Had this fork for 4 months.. most of time during the winter it sat after
my install. Two months of riding weekends and the dampener is bleeding.
Customer Service? hah. Waited a month emailing tech/ shane / warranty..
called them after they said in email.. take care of the situation. Called..
go to your LBS. Wait! I wanted to avoid losing my fork during prime riding time.. this is satisfying me? And sending me to the LBS.. when I got this mail order.. was a chilling effect on me. I'll ride this fork till the leaks completely then send it in. Truly poor quality and worse... chilling customer service. The LBS would really help out? Yeah.. right.. they'll help but not willingly. Zero for this fork. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ben
a racer
from Mankato, MN 56001
Date Reviewed: July 14, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
This year I purchased the FS as an upgrade from a Mach 5. I love the way the FS just sucks up the bumps with out loosing any control. This is the best fork that I have ever used. I think that Manitou is the way to go with a fork shock!! Keep em' coming Answer!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jedi
a cross-country rider
from Lost Angeles
Date Reviewed: July 7, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
HOW TO MAKE THE FORK MORE ACTIVE: Here's my golden set-up tip for riders who use the fork with 7 Speed Springs (BTW, I'm light at 140 lbs): First, get some springs, probably one color harder than recommended (I use the red ones) -- they void the warranty but they're most necessary. Second (here's the key), install the right spring with BOTH the black plastic top hat spacers facing into the spring (so the top of the top hat fits inside the spring). (The package tells you to put one of the spacers in backwards on the right spring for proper overall stack length, but try it out my way.) The result is that the right stack contributes little or no preload, making the fork much more active on the little stuff while handling the big hits just as well. This simple modification really changes the character of the fork. But wait, there's more: rebound from big hits is less violent, and the fork will ride with a little bit of sag. As always, keep the fork clean and lubed if you want it to work. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Roger Orr
a weekend warrior
from Redfield, South Dakota
Date Reviewed: July 1, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I bought my 97 Answer Manitou FS to replace the cheesey Indy C that came on my bike. Man! what an improvement. I am not a small person (6'5, 220), and this shock handles me just fine. Easy to maintain, easy adjustments, nice and stiff, what more could you ask for. Okay, maybe a better selection of colors would be nice, but I can live with white. Like was mentioned in earlier review, point the bike down a BIG HILL and hold on. Great Product! I give it five flamers. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cory
a weekend warrior
from Clinton Wa.
Date Reviewed: June 30, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
This fork is excellent but it's pointless to buy!! You can get the top of the line special edition manitou fs-ti shawn palmer stroker special edition @ supergo for $198 it's got titanium springs and 4mm more travel for about the same price (if you don't mind the green color). | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JIM
a
from Orig from CA, now OK
Date Reviewed: June 27, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I bought this fork in '97 when it first came out. I bought it to replace the Manitou XC COMP piece of crap that came w/ my bike. This is a great all around fork, especially at really fast speeds. The only negative thing is the fork loses some of its initial sensitivity with heavier riders. Tip: Turn the dampening to 8 clicks set the preload to 1 click on each, find a big hill, point the bike downhill and hold on!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John Schroeder
a weekend warrior
from SF, CA
Date Reviewed: June 24, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I've had the fork for about a year and half. I'm a fatass (60 230lbs.) and the fork works great for my size. I just blew a dampening cartridge. I think I took it apart in correctly, but anyway, I called answer regarding my problem and they sent me a new leg containing the cartridge so all I have to do is put in the leg (it arrived 3 days after i called). I don't think you'd get that type of response from rockshox, especially not for free. I will always buy answer products because of the customer service. 5 hotties for th FS. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul G.
a cross-country rider
from CA
Date Reviewed: May 20, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I finnally got rid of this fork. When I first rode it, it seemed great,
then the stiction built up. I tried to get help from Answer, but couldn't.
Luckily I didn't spend a fortune to find out the fork sucked (like the SID buyers); all in all I was only out 75 bucks. I'm still shopping around for some consistantly smooth forks. I'm fed up with Answer. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nathan
a cross-country rider
from Los Gatos, CA
Date Reviewed: May 1, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Before I bought this fork I had tried several different forks like the '97 Judy SL, '97 Marzocchi Z1 Bomber, RST Mozo XL, Rock Shock Indy SL and C with springs, and the '97 Answer/Manitou FS. I chose the FS because it was stiff and plush, but not super plush like the Z1(to plush for me), and it wasn't exactly a heavy fork. I have had this fork for 3 months and I haven't had any problems with it(except having all my friends wanting to see how nice it is). This fork has 3 inches of travel (76mm) and 3.4 pounds and $149 at SuperGo so how can anyone resist getting one??? Plus if you think it's to heavy you can buy Manitou's hop up kit to make it like 2.9-3 pounds. It's a great all around fork but just make sure you take good care of it and lube it like at least 1 time every two months for the best performance. I give the '97 Answer/Manitou FS 5 CHILIES!!!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Marc
a cross-country rider
from Boulder, CO
Date Reviewed: April 27, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I bought the Manitou FS to replace the Pro C that came on my Marin Rift Zone. For the season prior to that I rode a Manitou EFC. I found the FS to be quite a bit more tunable than the pro C. It also gave a lot better front control especially on rocky terrain. The FS is also a welcome relief from the torsional instability of the EFC. This fork is quite a bit stiffer than my previous fork, and front wheel control is what I want from a shock. I have ridden (on several occasions) Marzocchi forks, and I really perfer the FS. The Marzocchi's are plush, so plush in fact that I did not feel in control. The effect, especially on the GT full suspension bikes, was like being on a rocking horse. The bike noodeled and rocked and gave me absolutely no trail feedback. I felt like I was driving a Lincoln down the trail, when what I really wanted was a Land Rover. You can chalk this up to my cross country bias. I like to climb rocky trails and I like my forks a little stiff. There is nothing wrong with liking the Marzocchi better. If plush is your bag, then by all means go for it. If, however, you find your taste for trail feel and control is more like mine, you really should try the Manitou. Not everyone who bought a FS did it just because they were unenlightened about the Marzocchi. Some of us rode a lot of forks, and just liked the Manitou. After all it would be a boring world if we all liked the same stuff. Five of the big hot ones for another good shock from Manitou. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff Kuo
a racer
from Atlanta, GA
Date Reviewed: April 22, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I've had mine for about 2 months now and have ridden it extensively. It replaced an EFC which was a nice fork in it's own right, but the FS is simply better. It's plush, and doesn't flex. It did take some time to break in, but since then, it's been working great. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Storey
a racer
from CANADA
Date Reviewed: April 18, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
These forks rule! Almost as much as Canada. I used to have 95 Manitou Comps, they had about 1/2 of undamped travel, they sucked for any riding other than gravel roads. My new forks are so plush. The damping is great. Manitou forks are super stiff, no flex. I'd give it 69.69 chilies | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob Walker
a cross-country rider
from Davis, CA
Date Reviewed: April 12, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I bought this fork on a closeout. My initial thoughts: Handles big bumps well but doesn't really smoothen out continuous small bumps. One blown cartridge so far and just upgraded my elastomer/small spring stacks for a custom spring combo. I used the rockshox 98' Judy XC (red 4-5 inch ?) springs with the stock FS springs (silver 2inch ?) + one elastomer on each side to make my own custom setup. (I had one set of Judy Type III springs laying around) This made the initial travel softer for small bumps and yet still able to absorb other big hits. After changing to the springs, I had to increase the rebound because it came up too quick. This setup was quite effective for my weight, which is 165lbs. So far, very pleased with the FS fork. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim Weaver
a downhiller
from England
Date Reviewed: March 29, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
This fork is foking good , the performance is amazing , after destroying 3 cartridges in my 95 Judy SL I deceide it was time for a new fork , I didn't want a rubbish flexy and expensive Rock shox indy so I slumped for a Manitou fs.The siffnes of this fork is right up there with my old Judy SL , in fact I may be enclined to say its even stiffer . Although this fork may be a littl;e heavy compared to my Judy Sl I don't care , why? because the value and performance make this fork so much better . So far I have had no problems with the damping cartridge which is quite suprising considering the pounding that they get with downhilling , big air and jumping flights of steps . I throughly recomend this fork to anyone , especiaclly in the states where this fork is even better money for value !! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ralph Atopahill
a cross-country rider
from Chico, CA
Date Reviewed: March 24, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I think this is a resonably good performer for the price, but when you look at other forks out there, you can find better performance at or less than this price. The 97 Z2's can be had for a song now that the new Bams are out.
Compare this fork to a 97 Z2 before you buy decide to by it.
I bet you won't buy it after you ride the Z2. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a racer
from Littleton, CO
Date Reviewed: March 13, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
The FS is very stiff laterally due to its bulge legs and beefy crown, which makes cornering much more predictable than a flexy fork (like a '96 Judy XC). I find the FS to be very plush on small, medium, and large obstacles. Make sure your frame geometry was designed for the increased ride height (distance from axle slots to top of crown) of this long travel fork. If not, you should get the SX instead to maintain the correct head and seat angles, which is probably more important than getting 6mm more travel. Now, if only the FS was a pound lighter... | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
James
a weekend warrior
from Atlanta
Date Reviewed: March 12, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I upgraded my Manitou EFC with the FS about 2 months ago.....a little stiff at first but has gradually become more supple. I am 6'1 and weigh a biscuit over 280 and find the stock springs/elastomers to be fine for my riding style (for now, anyway)...I would rate this fork on par with the Rock Shox Judy SL (a bit heavier but rides about the same)...plus, you can't beat the price....got mine for 109 bucks at Colorado Cyclist (http://www.colcyc.com) | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim
a weekend warrior
from Bellingham, WA
Date Reviewed: March 12, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Wow! Bought the FS for $109. After two rides I know I made the right decision!
Stiff steering, well balanced suspension (small and large bumps), great adjustability! During my first ride I asked my riding partner if they had groomed the trail. During my second ride (a NORBA race -beginner) I couldn't beleive how well it handled in the mudbaths. It ate up everything I could throw at it including me a few times!
I can't wait to see how it holds up for the rest of the season. Keep on bikin'!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hans
a cross-country rider
from Michigan
Date Reviewed: February 26, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I replaced the Rock Shox Indy XC long travel that came on my bike with the FS from Supergo. Great deal for a great shock...the FS tracks really well, soaks up the big hits with ease, and the dampening works well. Initially it is a little stiff on the small bumps, but after the spring softens...nice and plush. Besides, it just looks so sweet :) | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Crash
a cross-country rider
from Radford, VA
Date Reviewed: February 19, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
The fork rocks! I may be a bit biased, since it's my first real suspension fork. Moving up from a 1/2 travel RST, it's mounted on my '97 Schwinn Mesa GS and rides like a dream. The dampener helps a little against the bumps in the road, but when you start hitting the big stuff the fork comes to life. It's awesome for logs, pot holes, ditches, and even keeps you in control dropping stairs on campus! For $110, (closeout) you can't get a better fork with 3 of adjustable travel and a dampner! Rock Shox don't have anything on this one. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dual Slalom Dave
a downhiller
from Ye Olde Englande
Date Reviewed: February 16, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Mmmmmmm, These forks were a real hit for me and i cannot believe for the price you can pick 'em up for at the moment more people dont get them. I ride REALLY hard and have gone through not one but TWO Judy DH forks...The manitous are stiff, fast, active and most definately the best forks i have ever tried.. buy em, love em and thrash them cause they aint gonna break... | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Derrick Yeo
a cross-country rider
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: February 9, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Although known as the garden city,Singapore is also home to some superb single
track.Actually,i don't really ride a '97 FS , but a SX which i find,handles just about the same.It's a really good fork,no doubt,but Manitou's damping system is a real pain in the ass.To all you hard riders around , i strongly
reccomend you take precautions against a damper disaster.Eg,take off preload
from the cartridge(left) leg.(This i got from Manitous excellent customer service site.)
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Maple
a cross-country rider
from ffff
Date Reviewed: January 28, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
one once less than the fs ti and the only difference betwen the two is a ti coil
spring and a race piston great fork! rock shox do not stand a chance angainst
manitou they rock!!! if you want a fork for you fs or ht look manitou first
if you dont have $$$ for a ti just go for the fs !!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ken Sechler
a cross-country rider
from Frederick, MD
Date Reviewed: January 14, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I just updated from my rigid fork and I love it. I weigh 160 lbs and ride in very rocky and hilly terrain. The fork seems to take the big and medium hits very well but isn't real responsive on the smaller bumps. This isn't really a problem since you can just unload the wheel on the smaller bumps anyway. The fork is also very rigid and the overall handling is great. I like the adjustability and am still fooling around with the damping and preload to optimize performance. I don't think there is a better fork out there for the price. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt
a racer
from Buffalo
Date Reviewed: January 7, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
The FS is a great fork, if you can find it cheap. For $169 from Supergo, no other fork can touch it. The travel is plush, even in the dead of winter. Stiff as hell and durable too. I wish I made the switch from rigid sooner. The preload adjustment is the only qualm I have found, plus the decals were misaligned on the fork itself. Who cares if its not a '98 fork? For less than $200 this will be the only fork you will ever need. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jason Murdock
a cross-country rider
from E.P. Ohio
Date Reviewed: January 2, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I just got mine today on a close out. I've only used them for about 30 minutes, but from what I can tell is that they absorb street bumps better than my friends Girvin's and my other friends Fatty's. So i hope to use them on tge singletrack tomorrow soI can really put them to the test on my 6'5, 220 pound frame. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Phil Avery
a weekend warrior
from Indianapolis
Date Reviewed: December 19, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
The over-all action on this shock is great! My roomate has a rockshox
quadra air shock and it sucks! My mach 5 is very stiff, which I like very
much. After about a month of riding it, I was watching bmx'ers on a
half pipe and tried to imitate some of what they do. I tried to get some
air before going down a natural quarter pipe. I missed the down ramp
completely and nearly wet myself coming down. My bike was at least 6 feet
up. It was an amazingly smooth landing but I broke the shock! My shock
was fixed for free and I read today that Answer did recall my shock but
I am still disappointed that it broke on the very first monster hit! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter Taylor
a cross-country rider
from Chicago, IL
Date Reviewed: December 8, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Ho, Ho, Ho, I'm a giant(6'6,270) and I need a suspension fork. What do I buy? I like that Girvin, but too expensive for the carbon legs. Rock shox, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, I'm still laughing. I bought a Mach 5 FS at the yearend closeout price. I LOVE THIS FORK and I haven't even got the stiff springs yet. Great manuverability on tight singletrack;stiff. Soaks up most of rocky/rooty terrain I ride;supple. Keeps my hands on the bars and brakes on rough downhills without losing my feel for the trail. I can go faster to clear technical sections better. Get one. Kudos to Mud, Sweat and Gears Fitness aka www.bikeusa.com. Mike & Keith really worked with me to get the right fork for my bike. They are my Internet Bike Shop of Choice. The giant smiles. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Ferguson
a
from cross-country rider
Date Reviewed: November 28, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I recieved a Manitou FS with my '97 Mount Vision, and I just wanted to say how pleased I am with its performance. I did though have to put stiffer springs into it, partly because of my riding style and my weight (185lbs). I find it to be very stiff and turnable, sucking up the small and medium bumps nicely but is sometimes overwhelmed with the really big hits. My friend who rides with a FS disagrees, although he only weighs 170lbs. I will admit the Bomber is alot more plush, but I'm not sure if it is worth the extra weight. My bike is already 26.5 pounds as it is. All in all I'm very happy and would recommend the Manitou FS for any cross country rideror weekend warrior. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
krik
a downhiller
from wellington [new zealand]
Date Reviewed: November 14, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I just broke mine today!!!!!!fast single tracks and trees are not a good
combination.hit a tree got back on finshed very fast single track looked
at forks at the bottom had huge crack on brace. other than that they are
a great fork.the only thing I dont like about then is that I cant ride
for a week till I get my new fork from answer for free GREAT CUSTOMER
SERVICE. FIVE RED HOT CHILLIES-ONE FOR INCONVIENENCE (FORGIVE THE SPELLING MISTAKES) | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Wayne
a downhiller
from Cape Town, South Africa
Date Reviewed: October 24, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I have had this fork for a period of 5 months and the cartridge has already leaked out all of its oil.The suspension seems very soft at first and keeps on getting worse after big hits and drop offs .It is an improvement over my previous fork (quadra 21R) but does not come close to the suspension action of a Bomber Z1. This fork is fine for easy cross country riding but not recommended for downhilling(even with harder springs and elastomers). As for Manitou,s service in South Africa it sucks!!! Overall I woudn't be embaressed with this fork on my bike but there is still a lot of room for improvement,think carefully before spending your money(a new fork every 6 months is expensive) | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Albert
a weekend warrior
from Earth
Date Reviewed: October 17, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
VERY VERY Happy with it.
it is great--no complaints | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
XCRacer
a racer
from deep in the woods
Date Reviewed: October 10, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Manitou has come a long way with their products. They finally got rid of the horrible elastomer construction and jumped on the coil bandwagon. So yes, this fork is better then a Quadra 5 and a ridged fork. Yet when compaired to other top of the line xc forks, Manitou is behind in the game. The main problem with this fork is that it soaks up medium hits well, but the fork is sometimes overcome by big hits yet still doesn't have the small hit performance of a Marzocchi Bomber fork. There is more flex in the Manitou compaired to the Bomber, SL, Girvin and Judy. Consider your options first.
3 stars because it isn't a bad fork, but it isn't a great one either | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike West
a cross-country rider
from Palmdale, CA
Date Reviewed: October 5, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
This is the first suspesion fork I've used so I can't compare it to any other but I have no complaints about its durability. I bought it because it had the four steering crown bolts and the bulged legs. It looked like it was meant for heavy duty use which I'm happy to say it is. It is almost the same as the FS Ti for a lot less money.
It was very stiff in the suspension when I was first using it and I thought about getting some softer elastomers but it has softened up with use.
One thing I don't understand is the colors these things come in. All the fork makers (Answer, Rockshox, Marzocchi) keep changing to colors that don't match any bike except maybe a Ti frame. The '98 colors have gotten really bizarre. They would look better just painted silver. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Daniel Marzani
a cross-country rider
from NYC
Date Reviewed: September 30, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I recently purchased a Manitou97FS for my 18 95 specialized rockhopper A1 comp (it replaced a crappy rockshox quadra 5). Wow! What a difference. I got it for 230 (hangerless/alum steerer) at supergo. What a deal! (almost half off late 96/early 97 MSRP!). I installed it myself with a few personal modifications 1. I left about an extra inch of steerer tube on over my previous fork (I installed the fork and put on the stem BEFORE CUTING THE STEERER to avoid a stupid mistake). This greatly increases the stem height adjusment to a full 1. (I have two stems: a short high rise=upright comfortable/super quick & accurate steering, and a longer low rise=more rangy/racing position). I also put silicone sealant at the top of the boots to keep them in position and keep the crap out. My front end raised about 1/4 to 1/2 after I installed it. I just moved the spacers around to lower the stem about 1/2 inch. This fork is STIFF,STIFF,STIFF (I only got it to flex noticebly by turning, V braking the front wheel, and hitting a moster pothole all at the same time (I would not recommend trying this). The preload and damping adjustment really changes fork action over a decent range, but I am thinking about putting lighter wt oil (maybe 4wt) to slighly reduce the amount of damping in the cartridge (has anyone out there done this?) . PLUSH,PLUSH,PLUSH. Only two complaints. I'm not getting the full 3 of travel-seems more like 2 and the decals are not clearcoated. This thing makes riding the trails 100x more enjoyable-I never worry anymore about fork flex and steering control (i,e. I won't be slamming into any trees, etc). Great fork-fantastic price. I will probably upgrade to MS/White/DirkWorks? springs more travel and better response in the future.
Oh one other thing: the damping cartridge weeps a very small amount of oil which does not seem to be a problem so far-except that the oil can cause the external adjuster knob to fall off. I emailed answer about this (answerinc@aol.com) and they got right back to me with advice (add a little more oil to the cartridge). I have emailed them 3 times and they always get back to me the same day with terrific feedback. NOW THAT'S CUSTOMER SERVICE!-GREAT JOB ANSWER! | | Overall Rating: |
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