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Average Rating
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3.75/5
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# of Reviews
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32
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MSRP
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$ 599.95
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Weight
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More Products from Manitou
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Description:Nixon is Manitou's new fork lineup for long-travel trailbikes. The Elite offers 115-145mm of travel, adjustable via the Rapid Travel Wind Down system. You get a new for '05 Reverse Arch casting, hollow black-satin crown, and 32mm aluminum stanchions for incredible stiffness. Manitou's proven TPC setup handles the damping duties.
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Submitted by
warren krywko
a Weekend Warrior
from Alberta
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$305.00 | | Purchased At: | wheelandsprocketos | | Strengths: | stiff, progressive, adjustable, very light, looks good. | | Weaknesses: | requires post mount brake adapter (I didn't have one on hand, but really not the fork's problem) | | Similar Products Used: | DJ3, Minute 2.00, Travis 180, Dorado 180, Manitou Black 120. | | Bike Setup: | 6" travel custom built Horst link frame (similar design to norco 6), Sun Single track wheels, SRAM X-7 f&r, Nevegals, FSA V-drive, hayes stroker brakes (may go back to bb7's, not sure yet) | | Bottom Line: | I was looking for a 6" fork to match the 6" rear suspension, and I thought 5.7 was close enough. This is my favorite fork out of all my bikes, with the best balance between weight and stiffness. I am no stranger to high end components, and this fork rocks.
For all those kiddies who say this fork is too soft, manufacturers sell their forks with a target rider of 150-160lbs. If you weigh more, expect to modify the fork with a firmer ride kit, or use the air pressure the fork is designed to work with. I weigh 260lbs, and the fork does not bottom out, as it is set for me. There is not a "one setting works for all frames and riders." My fork was shipped with zero air pressure as it was air freight. It bottomed by just leaning on it. Recommended setting is 65-80% body weight. Even going to 100psi made the for workable.
I recommend this fork to anyone looking for a weight conscious fork in the 5-6" range for an all mountain or enduro bike. I think the weight penalty for the travis or dorado makes sense with a freeride or downhill rig. The minute is lighter for cross country, mild to moderate trails, but gives up a lot of rigidity for that 1.25lbs.
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John R.
a Cross Country Rider
from salinas. CA. U.S.
Date Reviewed: February 12, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$199.00 | | Purchased At: | greenfishsports.com | | Strengths: | amazing quality to price ratio, lots of travel, soft for small bumps, stiff for big hits, never bottoms out | | Weaknesses: | travel reduction only goes down 1 maybe 1 1/2 inches, thru axle hard to take off, thats it! | | Similar Products Used: | marzocchi all mountain 1 | | Bike Setup: | hardrock comp with avid disc brakes and mavic rims | | Bottom Line: | this fork was a lot softer than i was use to and at first i was afraid it was too soft.. but not at all. this fork glides over small bumps and when you hit a hardrock or a drop it stiffens quick and doesnt bottom out at all. it looks great and was the best fork for the price.. before i bought it i read reviews saying it bottoms out too easily.. well that is BS. what they were feeling was the transition of the soft fork stiffening on hard hits. there is a rubber end at the top of the fork to ensure it never bottoms out so dont think its bottoming out. this fork is very good quality and low maintenence. it can take drops, jumps and everything else you throw at it... this is a dam good fork with plenty of travel!!! take y word for it!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Glenn Bearry
a Weekend Warrior
from Austin
Date Reviewed: February 11, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Urban and undeveloped forest | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | Greenfish | | Strengths: | Plushness, smart fork, ability to adapt, ride, stiffness, looks, and, believe it or not, dips/drops, and it's TOUGH. | | Weaknesses: | Inaccurate travel due to "travel upgrade," and the rebound/compression dampening appear ineffective (at first),
the need for the x-firm spring. | | Similar Products Used: | Torra, Drop Off II, All mountain 4. | | Bike Setup: | See previous review. | | Bottom Line: | I can admit when I'm wrong. Manitou...I'm sorry. Try to follow this comparison...Say you free fall drop 2 bombs. The bigger one goes BOOM! The smaller one goes "boom". Which do you want to have on your side in a war? BUT, say the smaller bomb is actually a "smart bomb", and the target is a small opening in a bunker? which bomb do you want for most effectiveness?
Point is, This is a smart fork. Like others, I found that I could bottom it out by slowly dropping it over a curb. It's sag was about 30% even with the x-firm spring (I weigh about 210 lbs). So I said to myself, I'll mount this thing, and beat the hell out of it until it destroys itself.
So, I have the fork on my bike, and am going down my fastest downhill urban run, and came up fast on "the dip from hell." It is very hard not to bottom out on ANY fork on this evil dip at speed so I usually pull up hard as I go over, even with my Drop Off II. I did not pull up on the Nixon, as my goal was to abuse the hell out of the fork. POW I hit it...but no "clunk" or any bottom out noise. I stopped, looked at my travel marker. The Nixon after taking into account the "travel upgrade" STILL HAD AN INCH+ of unused travel! I repeated this over and over and had the same result! So..the fork that can bottom out going over a curb will successfully dampen a bone-crushing dip that has flatted tires it hits so hard???? With room to spare????
Closing: I was like some others. I was judging this fork based on my experience with less expensive forks, or with free ride forks, where what you see is what you get, at any speed. This is a high-end fork, that has been ditched, in my opinion, by riders who assumed what I assumed. We got lucky and got a $600.00 MSRP fork for a fraction of that price, and therefore judged it by the low to mid-range fork standards. It's like saying that a BMW at slow speed is very plush and therefore, must suck at high speeds and aggressive roads as well. When some said that the fork tightens up as the conditions get more hardcore, I thought they were full of BS.
Boy, was I wrong. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Glenn Bearry
a Weekend Warrior
from Austin, TX USA
Date Reviewed: November 29, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Urban Assult | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | GreenFish | | Strengths: | It's pretty and soft... the oil rings left by wipers can be wiped off and used to oil down the bike. Plush and mushy. When I am standing there at a traffic light, it looks great, as long as I don't put any weight on it. New ex-firm spring is only 25 bucks
| | Weaknesses: | The usual, stock springs are stunningly soft, compression and rebound knobs apparently put there for looks only. has max of 120mm travel. and both wipers leak and leave pronounced oil rings. | | Similar Products Used: | Drop Off 2, Tora, and in this case, the Dart 2. | | Bike Setup: | Mongoose (2007 Tyax frame), Sun Double Track Wheel Set, XT all the way around. Hays M-1 8" disc, Maxxis 2.4 tires | | Bottom Line: | I want to like Manatou, I really do. I just cant fathom how a company with the experience that Manitou has putting out a product with such huge flaws that any testing should have pointed out...for God sake, how could they not know that the tire would need more clearence for full travel??? How could they not know that the dampening adjusters didn't noticably work?? How could they put out a fork with this much travel and even with a 20mm through axel with springs so soft it's common knowlage that you automatically put in the x-tra firm spring as part of the initial set-up, like punping up the tire before you use it? Was this thing designed by freshman engineering students as a class project???
I put the fork on without reading these reviews. At 200 bucks, I thought that It would at least be worth the 200 bucks I paid. I would have been so pissed if I bought this fork for anywhere close to the retail price of around 5 to 6 hundred (ha ha ha!). My comments about the fork were not based on reviewes, but my experience thus far.
To be fair, I am 6'2" and with my urban back pack I weigh close to 250 lbs. My other bikes have Rock Shox Tora with 130mm travel and a Marzocchi Drop Off 2 with 150mm travel.
Both have stock springs and ROCK!
I have finally found a vender with the ex-firm spring for sale, thank God. After days on the net, GreenFish found it for me. If you are thinking about getting this as a clearence item, I highly suggest you find the ex-firm spring first, before you buy the fork.
ffffff | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
raphael
a Weekend Warrior
from norcal
Date Reviewed: September 20, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | downieville | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | greenfish | | Strengths: | adjusts well, travels well | | Weaknesses: | a bit noisy | | Similar Products Used: | marozocchi jr. t, marozocci 66, manitou black | | Bike Setup: | enduro | | Bottom Line: | great buy | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Damon Hambruch
a
from Redondo Beach, Ca, USA
Date Reviewed: August 16, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Low Falls in Big Bear Lakes | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Works great for the kind of riding I do. | | Weaknesses: | Having the adjustable ride hight does not work the best. I think it broke awhile ago and now I at set for long travel. | | Similar Products Used: | Just other friends bikes with other shocks. Don't remember what they are. | | Bike Setup: | Fugi Adventure | | Bottom Line: | The shock works great for me. I ride all different types of trails and terrain. It work good on average trails and when I get into the more aggressive the shock takes the abuse. I weigh 175 and it handles everything I through at it. I would recommend the shock to anyone. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jesse
a Cross Country Rider
from Sierra Vista
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | John Cooper Loop | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Would probably be good for a lighter rider | | Weaknesses: | Spring, not air, so the adjustability for riders of different weights is weak. | | Similar Products Used: | Manituou Black | | Bike Setup: | Giant Reign 2 | | Bottom Line: | I have not been impressed with this fork. Riding at 210 pounds I have found this fork to be ineffective. I ride quite hard and adjusting the rebound and damping does not make any change. The fork has adjustable travel but when the compression is set to anything other then max, one hard hit will bottom out the travel. So heading down the trail with the travel maxed out, one hard hit will change the travel setting to the lowest. I am switching over to air. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dawid cymerman
a
from chicago, IL
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | Kettle Moraine Wisconsin | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | jenson | | Strengths: | Very stiff (through-axie version), plush, great small bump compliance... it's actually very light, for how strong it is and how much travel it has. Mine weighs 4.25 pounds with the through-axle... | | Weaknesses: | Wish it had some kind of on the fly adjustment... the rebound and compression adjustment knob labels are counter-intuitive. Turning the rebound dial towards "more" gives less rebound. Maybe it's just the fork that I got? It's no big deal, though. | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou Black, Manitou Axel Comp, Marzocchi CR Z1... | | Bike Setup: | Azonic Steelhead, with Bombshell Fatboy wheel up front, Rohloff laced to a SnowCat rim in the rear. Hayes HFX 9, FSA V-Drive Xtreme, Cane Creek Thudbuster, Iron Cross pedals, Chris King and Truvative cockpit. | | Bottom Line: | I weigh 164 before dinner... and the factory springs work great for me. I ride mostly in the lowest travel setting for off road climbing purposes, but love the plushness of the full 145mm when in the city... wish the fork had a quick way of adjusting travel for off road purposes, but I heard the system Manitou currently employs sucks...
The fork has taken moderate abuse (all kinds of drops up to 5 feet and lots of up and down stair riding) almost every day for a year now, yet it keeps performing wonderfully with occassional stanchion greasing (no disassembly). I also use Lizard Skins to protect the seals.
I feel like this fork has saved my @$$ more than once due to its stiffness and shock absorbancy.
There are no doubt better forks out there, but for under $300 I have yet to find a better price/value ratio. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Erik Kellison
a Cross Country Rider
from Bellingham, WA, US
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | None currently | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA | | Strengths: | Lightweight
Great TPC+ Damping
No tools 20mm axle
Plush out of the box, virtually no break in period
Affordable
RTWD system does not require a shock pump to adjust
Low stack height
Ano Al knobs are easy to turn
Adjustments make a noticeable difference | | Weaknesses: | None so far! | | Similar Products Used: | 2002 Marzocchi Z1 Freeride
'03 Dorado, '06 888RC2X, '03 Super T | | Bike Setup: | 6" Helius FR, built light and durable for trail riding, not XC, not FR, somewhere in between. I weigh 185ish. | | Bottom Line: | I am reviewing the '06 Nixon Elite.
I heard that the '05 sucked, but that they fixed the problems, and I am now convinced that they really did.
None of the problems I have read about, such as not getting full travel, adjustments not working, damping being of poor quality, etc. do not apply to the 2006 model. This thing is very similar to my Dorado, which also had TPC+ damping (the '05 Nixon's had plain old TPC), and they feel very similar. The compression adjustment doesn't do much when you're just jumping on the fork, but it makes a difference when you're riding. I have the knob somewhere in the middle, as well as the rebound. All in, the fork is difficult to move past half travel, and the rebound, the fork pretty much stays down (though it's not meant to be a lockout). All out rebound, the fork is a pogo stick. The adjustments work! As for travel, I get all 145mm - I measured. This thing is about a pound lighter than the Marzocchi Z1 Light that I was considering, and at what I paid, well less than half the price. Ridiculous! How can you go wrong? I am thinking that the fork may need a stiffer spring in one leg, but that's because I'm fat, and no fault of the manufacturer.
The small bump performance and sensitivity is amazing, and the fork has not bottomed on me yet (harshly at least, but I have gotten 145mm of movement out of it).
I really can't imagine a better 6" single crown. Well, I guess it bobs on the climbs, but I don't care at all. Not only am I not riding for the uphill, but one doesn't lose much efficiency if the fork bobs, as longs as one stays seated while pedaling (it's the rear that matters for efficiency). I like the fact that the fork's sensitivity to small things such as roots and rocks on the way up allow it to roll perfectly without wandering or bouncing.
This fork is money. Buy it. I can't believe they still have them in stock at JensonUSA for $250 a pop. Ridiculous.
Oh, you should buy this fork if you like trail riding, all mountain riding, XC riding or light freeriding (no hucks over 10'). You should not buy this fork if you're a huckmaster, a hardcore DH'er, or a weight weenie XC'er who's gonna gripe about the fact that the plush travel allows the fork to bob a little. I say screw platform damping, it's what gave Manitou's (SPV) such a bad rep anyway! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
duane
a Weekend Warrior
from aurora, colorado
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | like i would tell! | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | westside cyclery, the best! | | Strengths: | plush, absorbs trail bumps without equal. | | Weaknesses: | does not have the travel it claims, too plush sometimes, brake dive. | | Similar Products Used: | lots | | Bike Setup: | world's sickest kona coiler with dirty dog skull rotors! | | Bottom Line: | this is a follow up review, after 1 year of riding, I have beat on this fork over and over and the travel stops at 4 inches.I ordered a stiffer spring because it was a little too plush,but i have to agree with the guy below who says the tire clearance upgrade is just some kind of plug that prevents getting full travel.this is a great 4 inch travel fork but shame on manitou for lying and selling it as 145 mm's! I am removing some chili's for that and switching to a z-1 from marzocchi.shame,shame,shame... | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dave
a Cross Country Rider
from boise idaho
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$325.00 | | Purchased At: | performance | | Strengths: | discounted price, excellent damping, reasonably light. | | Weaknesses: | not great for out of the saddle sprint or climbing. | | Similar Products Used: | marzocchi. | | Bike Setup: | 2005 heckler with dhx5 | | Bottom Line: | I made a mistake buying this fork,it wallows unless you stay seated when pedaling.....lose so much energy to bob even when rapid wind down at 115 cm, I am returning to Marzocchi, I bought a 2005 Marzocchi all mountain SL prior to this fork, it was defective out of the box, this model must be a lemon they are so heavily discounted now, would not air up on the negative chamber so I exchanged it, went with the manitou trying to save money, Marzocchi ETA and TAS much better than any thing out there, Fox forks are unreliable....sooo I will buy another Marzocchi with coil not air.This fork is excellent on downhill sections.I installed the proper spring for my weight thus substantially improving the progressive feel of this fork, soaks up the small stuff much better, this fork takes bigs hits great. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Carl
a Weekend Warrior
from Colorado Springs, CO. USA
Date Reviewed: July 14, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | Light, stiff, adjustable, simple. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Replaced a Black 120mm with the Nixon | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Heckler with coil spring rear, set up for back country epic style rides. | | Bottom Line: | Really enjoying this fork. It's much stiffer than the Black 120mm, and I like being able to alter the head tube angle via travel adjustment. I can crank it down for long climbs or when I want the bike to have quick steering, or I can let the travel out all the way and lower my seat for a full on downhill sled feel.
Travel adjustment works great. Rebound adjustment works great. The compression adjustment is very subtle. You can't tell a difference just standing around pushing down on the fork, but it makes a noticable difference when riding.
I think the people that don't like this fork are trying to use it as a freeride/downhill fork when it was really designed for epic style XC riding.
I tip the scales at 200+ pounds, and have no problem with the stock spring, but I tend to have a laid back style where I float obsticals with wheely drops. If you're a heavyweight basher, a stiff spring might be best.
I recently rode a ~20 mile trail that included 6000ft of decending. Fast, technical, baby head boulders, drops, etc. and the fork performed flawlessly. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Don
a Cross Country Rider
from TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA USA
Date Reviewed: May 26, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | Tsali | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | N/A | | Strengths: | Very agile, Climbs well | | Weaknesses: | a little weak when cold, but dial right in when warmed up. | | Similar Products Used: | 1st six inch travel fork | | Bike Setup: | Fox float Rl rear shock, Maxxis Mobster tires, Avid BB5 Mechanical disk brakes 203mm rotor front 180mm rear. | | Bottom Line: | Once the shock heats up it easily can be hucked and dropped. I weigh 210 pounds and was pissed at first but once I got on it I loved it. Climbs well and handles great. It got it as a replacement for a splice super I blew out. Manitou's customer service was great. It helps when you go through your bike dealer also. Doing good business with the same folks always pays off big dividends later. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim
a Weekend Warrior
from Las Vegas, Nevada
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$175.00 | | Purchased At: | Used on Ebay | | Strengths: | Super Plush, Relativly Cheap. | | Weaknesses: | Travel Stated inacurate. Knobs do nothing. | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou Black. | | Bike Setup: | Giant Reign. | | Bottom Line: | I've always been a Manitou Man. This is my 5th or 6th bike with a Manitou Fork.
I've found several things in common with all Manitou forks...
1) Manitou lies about their travel, always less then stated. In this case this fork is supposed to have 145mm travel when in fact it about 130mm max (A tad over 5 inches), should be 5.7 inches. The weird thing is there is only about 5.7 inches clearense from the top of my tire to the bottom of the steer tube.
The confusion I have is the fork has a sticker that sais "Tire Clearense Upgrade Installed". Which to me means at one point the fork bottomed to far into its travel and hit the top of the tire causing people to endo on their face.
In other words the sticker "Tire Clearense Upgrade Installed" means they took .7 inches of travel away with a spacer. Point 7 inches that they probably never meant for us to have.
2) None of Manitou's Compression and Rebound adjustments ever work or make any changes to the original ride of the fork. This doesnt apply to Travel or Spring rate adjustments which always works fine.
3) All of Manitou forks are super plush, which to me and my type of riding is perfect. I dont mind loseing a few inches of travel to sag, just as long as I do not feel the gravel and rocks under my bike. Thats what suspension is for.
Over all I give the fork 4 chilis for Value cause you can pick one up new right now for about $200 bucks from Cambria.
Would give it 5 Chilis if the Rebound and Compression did anything. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dave halford
a Weekend Warrior
from ontario canada
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | dufferin forest | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$550.00 | | Purchased At: | bike land | | Strengths: | none | | Weaknesses: | revers arch breaks under load | | Similar Products Used: | marzocchi dirt jam comp, jrt | | Bike Setup: | kona cowan full xt hayes 8" hydraulic brakes | | Bottom Line: | reverse arch failed under extream braking wich lead to me caressing a tree ever so gently breaking my arm thanks manitou. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Fred
a Weekend Warrior
from North Georgia
Date Reviewed: January 22, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | Bear Creek | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$450.00 | | Purchased At: | Reality Bikes | | Strengths: | Smooooth, Stiff, Easy to adjust
| | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | Z1 CR | | Bike Setup: | 04' Enduro Pro, Romic,Raceface cranks, Hope hubs, Mavic 819's Sram triggers, Shroomano ders,King head set | | Bottom Line: | I weigh 255#. After Initial breakin set up had to be tweaked then I almost forget it's there. RTWD is kind of a pain in the A$$ but it is better than none at all. Obviously i had to change the spring ,anyone who weighs over 150# & thinks the stock spring is going to do the job Has not read the specs. I tollerate Climbs to blast the DOWNHILLS. (BearCreek 7.5 mi up 7.5 mi down lots of rocks water bars & creeks) This fork performs great.
Do your homework install the proper springs learn how to adjust the fork and you will be more than happy with this fork. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Maciek
a
from Poland
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | plus | | Strengths: | * mamazing stifness
* great damping and work
* can be easily tiuned ;)
* lo weight | | Weaknesses: | * adjustments doesnt seem to effect much on how fork works | | Similar Products Used: | * black, psylo, dj 3 (tested only) | | Bike Setup: | polish frame dangerousmike ds 3.0 (very small and short), ns-bikes bar, hone cranks, 525 brakes, 26" wheels on alex dm24 etc. - light street / do everything bike | | Bottom Line: | This is review for comp 145mm version. I tuned it to 110 mm. Stifness is amazing, damping works great - soaks everything. I simply love it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Indianapolis
Date Reviewed: November 18, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Nebo Ridge | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Plush, stiff, gets the job done well, Manitou has the best costomer service in the world | | Weaknesses: | rebound and compresion adjustments dont work very well | | Similar Products Used: | Fox vanilla, float Manitou stance, black Rockshock psylo | | Bike Setup: | Custom Reighn 2 | | Bottom Line: | I think all this technology is making mountain bikers soft. All you hear about anymore are people complaining about stupid s**t. My travel ajustment doesnt work properly, or another product is two ounces lighter, Manitou wont call me back(I dont belive this at all). Boo hoo. Ive been riding this fork for almost a year now and have had no problems. I weight 160 pounds and have put this fork through hell. 50 mph downhills, many four footers to flat landing, eight footers to roll-ins and over 2000 agressive cross country miles, and never failed me once. I hear many people comparing ths fork to fox forks. Fox has the best performance and stiffness to weight ratio in my opinion but in two years my forks seals blew 3 times. It took about 2 months to get my fork back each time from fox. While I have never had a problem with any Manitou fork I did blow seals on my swinger 4 way shock 2 times and they sent me a new one each time within one week. They also helped me with problems with my local bike shop trying to over charge me for a coilover shock. One phone call saved me 125 dollors. Manitou sets a standard for performance and value. They allways call me back quickly and have never not called me back. As far as the problems with the travel adjustments, I would'nt know. Ive never used it. I bought it set it at six inches and never looked back. My bike climbs like a mountain goat. Very rarely does the fork bottom out with stock springs. Usaully only on high speed decents. Without a smooth rider good suspension only goes so far. Quit bit**ing and start practicing your riding skills. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
nate
a Weekend Warrior
from Houston TX USA
Date Reviewed: November 16, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | ant hills | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$320.00 | | Purchased At: | price point | | Strengths: | good travel very light i love the black paint rtwd travel is nice and you can adjust the compression and rebound sweet fork. | | Weaknesses: | dives a little under hard braking | | Similar Products Used: | z1 drop off, mx comp eta | | Bike Setup: | 04 Kona Coiler dee-lux fsa crank xt shifters fox dx 3.0 and nixon elite wraped around somebig fat mammoth rims and 2.5 weirwolf tires. | | Bottom Line: | great fork for the money paid takes small bumps very well while taking larger ones with good stride. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
duane
a Cross Country Rider
from aurora,colorado
Date Reviewed: November 16, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | indian creek loop | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | westside [the best] | | Strengths: | very plush initial travel,beefy,yet you can see it absorb small stuff like gravel while still having the ability to charge 3 foot dropoffs. | | Weaknesses: | all that plushness in the first two inches of travel causes horrendous brake dive! | | Similar Products Used: | Marzocci Drop Off comps,manitou Axel elite,manitou Six,Fox Vanilla,many other cheaper forks. | | Bike Setup: | worlds sickest kona coiler with dangerboy 7" travel rear plates,Evil 13 SRS,hookworm 2.5's,mavic XM 321 Disc,Profile Maniac bars,Avid disc brakes,XT 9 speed drivetrain,Thomson post,Dangerboy tank stem,Azonic x pedals and 2005 NixonElite. | | Bottom Line: | At first the fork felt too plush, but i measured the sag at 20% and decided to try it out for a hundred miles before i judged it out of hand.This fork is unmatched for small bump sensitivity and takes the chatter out of gravel roads and trails like no other fork ive ridden.At first i was hesitant to huck this fork,because like other people have stated,you can push this fork in the parking lot and it blows through its travel.At speed, however, this fork stiffens up and takes some good sized drops while not using more than 50% of its travel.The difference is in how fast it compresses.I love this fork and plan on keeping it for awhile.My only legitimate quibble with this fork is brake dive.Even set at 115 m's the fork dives through its first two inches of travel with the slightest brake application.Even rear brake action causes the bike to stinkbug.I have modified my riding style to lean back more as i brake,but it still dives.I guess that is the tradeoff for such wonderful plushness.I'm giving this fork 4 well deserved flaming chili thingies! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim
a
from Wellington, New Zealand
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Wellytrack | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Penny Farthing Cycles | | Strengths: | Plush, adjustable travel. Babys-arse smooth. Good support.
Excellent trail fork. | | Weaknesses: | Terrible name (What were they thinking?). I'm pretty sure the brake caliper threads are made from butter or something. Good idea to get them helicoiled if you are planning to ever realign/remove your brake calipers. | | Similar Products Used: | Pikes, Psylos, Jnr T's, Z1s. | | Bike Setup: | 2005 Giant Reign 2 | | Bottom Line: | Decent fork with unfortunately weak (Magnesium) sliders. Shouldn't be too much of a problem so long as you get the threads on the caliper bolts helicoiled though - worthwhile doing as otherwise they seem to be quite a solid fork.
As far as I/bike shop can tell one of the caliper bolts got a little loose, and it just sorta tore the magnesium threads apart - I noticed the front brake felt a little odd, went to realign it when I got home and the thread peeled out all over the place. So if you're going to get these forks, be careful with caliper bolts - make sure you check the tension regularly. It's possibly a good idea to have your bike shop/ an engineer helicoil the threads just to be safe. In my case I get good support from my bike shop and they're sorting it out under warranty. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
brad taylor
a Weekend Warrior
from lafayette,co
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | porcupine rim, joe's ridge, betasso, | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$540.00 | | Purchased At: | carrollwood bicycle emporium | | Strengths: | responsive to bumps | | Weaknesses: | too plush! even with the stiffest spring the fork bottoms out in the parking lot with little resistance. | | Similar Products Used: | fox vanilla 130 rl, fox talas 130 rlc, manitou minute 1 | | Bike Setup: | sc heckler fifth element,hayes 9's,xt cranks & derailleurs, wtb saddle, bontranger tubeless wheels | | Bottom Line: | the fork was sent back to manitou twice for further adjustment to no avail. each time after riding for five minutes in the parking lot the fork bottomed out. on the trail the fork felt extremely sluggish. i went through every bit of the 145mm of travel on the smallest of drops in Florida mtb riding. i can't imagine using this fork where i live in colorado. also the damping adjustment on the fork was an absolute joke. i couldn't tell the slightest of changes with any manual adjustment or any adjustment manitou made with the fork. at the bike shop where i purchase the fork, noone could tell the slightest change in resistance even after manitou had sent the fork back after the second time. however i will say this, if you're ever in tampa and need some bike assistance see carrollwood bicycle emporium. i purchased this fork and my bike there and they have always been treated exceptionally well. they helped me sell this fork and i purchased a fox talas from them. if you want an outstanding all mountain fork do yourself a favor and buy a fox and buy from a great shop like carrollwood bicycle emporium. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mary
a Weekend Warrior
from Minden, NV
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Mr. Toad's | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | LBS came on Giant Reign 2 | | Strengths: | Plush, light for 145mm fork | | Weaknesses: | Bad product support from Manitou, no manual for Nixon specific fork, no spring pre-load adjustment. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Talas RLC 125 (husbands Enduro Pro), Rock Shox Duke XC | | Bike Setup: | Stock Giant Reign 2 | | Bottom Line: | The proper amount of Sag needed to make the fork perform is not obtainable with stock spring setup. Manitou support does not respond to calls or emails to find out what the stock spring rate is. Should have swapped for a Fox w/air. We have had Manitou forks in the past and they were always something less than a Fox or Marzocchi. Even with almost no sag I get approx. 5" travel on some technical rides. Manitou is not quite there yet. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
James
a Racer
from melbourne, victoria, australia
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | This is a follow up review of my previous one. The last pair was obviously heavily abused before i rode them but luckily, my friend got them back on warranty or i would have had to cough up alot of dough. I like these forks, nice plush travel, strong for their weight. good adjustability. | | Weaknesses: | they cant hold up to heavy freeride as i saw with the previous forks (thats what my friend used them for) and when i dropped with them i guess it was just the final straw. | | Similar Products Used: | other pair of nixons. | | Bike Setup: | mongoose thunderball, dice pedals, singlespeed. | | Bottom Line: | It is a good fork as long as you dont plan on huge hucks with it. Will stand up better than most trail forks but if you want to freeride or dj on it, you are better off with a sherman. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a Weekend Warrior
from Christchurch, NZ
Date Reviewed: May 19, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Came with a Reign 2 | | Strengths: | Plush, strong, SPV works well, soaks up anything, looks great. You get every bit of the huge 145mm. | | Weaknesses: | Rebound adjuster is a joke (not nearly adjustable enough). Really needs a good clicker system like a Fox. Not light...but then it does have a lot of travel and strength. Poor brake cable routing (none actually). | | Similar Products Used: | Fox F130R | | Bike Setup: | Stock Reign 2 with swinger rear shock. | | Bottom Line: | Great suspension performance and looks. A really great fork to use, with more than enough travel, beautiful stroke, excellent travel adjustment...but they aren't perfect. A tad flexy...move more than RST Gilas! They really need to sort out the rebound adjuster. Verdict:get the 20mm axle version, it would be worth it, or if thats too heavy for you get a Fox. I'd rather have an air Fox, like a 36RC. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alister
a Cross Country Rider
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: May 16, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Craigieburn | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | LBS came on Giant Reign 2 | | Strengths: | Light for a 145mm fork, Very Stiff and VERY PLUSH. | | Weaknesses: | Brake mounts are not ISO Standard, but that's all. | | Similar Products Used: | < |
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