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Home | Product Reviews | Rear Shock | Manitou S-Type SPV | ||||
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Submitted by
Mario
a Cross Country Rider
from Italy
Date Reviewed: 10/3/2007 4:46:53 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | xc |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Strengths: | Weight |
| Weaknesses: | No possibility of deactivating SPV platform for free damping |
| Similar Products Tried: | Fox Float RP23 |
| Bike Setup: | Giant Anthem, XT, Rock Shox Reba, Mavic Crosstrail, Geax Saguaro UST |
| Bottom Line: | If right tuned, the shock works in a fine way. It is very stable and comfortable in the same time. I only ask how would it be if I might deactivate SPV platform down from hills... |
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Submitted by
the Cowboy
a Racer
from Fuzzy Duds Land
Date Reviewed: 9/15/2006 11:58:17 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Old School Coffee Road in Atlanta |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Purchased At: | Answer/Manitou Factory |
| Strengths: | Killer ride and it knocked 2.35 pounds off my Ellsworth. The SPV is so sweet!!! |
| Weaknesses: | none |
| Similar Products Tried: | Romic D |
| Bike Setup: | Ellsworth Distance with all the Bling Nugs |
| Bottom Line: | "All In" is the best bet |
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Submitted by
Bob
a Weekend Warrior
from Boca Raton, FL
Date Reviewed: 6/5/2006 6:20:06 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Oleta River State Park |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Purchased At: | eBay |
| Strengths: | SPV works really well Lightweight High quality |
| Weaknesses: | SPV valve tough to get to in my frame |
| Similar Products Tried: | RockShox SID, Cane Creek AD-5 |
| Bike Setup: | 2004 Salsa Caballero, XT F&R derailleurs, Avid mechanical discs, SRAM PC991 chain; SRAM 990 cassette, SRAM Rocket Trigger shifters, FSA headset, FSA Platinum Pro BB, Race Face Prodigy ISIS crank, Specialized Avatar Gel saddle, Answer Protaper bars, Marzocchi MX Pro ETA 105mm fork, Vuelta Vision XRP wheelset, WTB Weirwolf Race 2.1 tires |
| Bottom Line: | I decided to try a stable platform shock to rid my Salsa of the large amount of bobbing that the stock SID shock had. I expected a 4 bar link design to bob less - my Gary Fisher Sugar didn't bob nearly as much. This upgrade made a huge difference. I weigh 195 lbs., and ran 150 psi in the SPV chamber with 150 psi in the positive air chamber last Saturday at Oleta. Nothing short of an amazing difference. No bob on the quick uphills and out of the saddle cranking hard resulted in an imperceptible amount of bob. Bump absorption was awesome. My rear end was sore with the SID after 10 miles - even had some sit-bone bruising occasionally. With this shock, same seat and setup, no soreness, no brusining. Amazing. Even though it feels quite a bit stiffer in terms of initial ride quality. Cornering actually improved in the technical stuff as the bike rides higher in the stroke resulting in better steering precision. I was faster and more confident immediately. I was skeptical about how much difference a new shock could make on this frame. The S -Type Manitou has made me a believer in SPV technology. Very well worth the money. All shims needed I got via the web at Universal Cycles. Shock was bought new on eBay from someone who had ordered the wrong size. I'd recommend this shock for anyone who is a cross-country rider looking for great performance with low weight. Lockout isn't needed! |
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Submitted by
Robert Mladek
a Cross Country Rider
from Prague
Date Reviewed: 6/4/2006 10:33:41 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | zabita rokle |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $200 |
| Purchased At: | Slovakia |
| Strengths: | Light, easy to set up, nice platform. |
| Weaknesses: | Platform can be overcome fairly easily out of the saddle. |
| Similar Products Tried: | None, used to use a coil-over (had an old air shock without any platform). |
| Bike Setup: | Turner 5 Spot (with a Horst link), Fox RCL 125 fork, Mavic X-max. 130 pounds in the main chamber (about 30% sag), 150 in the SPV and the rebound four clicks to the fast side of middle. |
| Bottom Line: | I was afraid of an air shocks because I'm a heavy (220) aggressive trail rider (no big jumps but very hard hits on fast descents that I like to take seated) because I’ve head plenty of horror stories about limping home on a fully compressed shock. After about six months of abuse (I don’t pamper my equipment, just replace the broken bits) the shock’s just fine. Better than fine, in fact. It’s way lighter than my old Romic coil over (I can run a higher cog on every accent) and the platform really works (except out of the saddle). Other than that, the action is plush, comparable to the coil (except for the weight). And the price was right. Cheep at twice the price. I’d highly recommend. |
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Submitted by
carlos barcelo
a Cross Country Rider
from palmeto bay
Date Reviewed: 4/16/2006 5:12:50 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | santos |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $250 |
| Purchased At: | ebay |
| Strengths: | Light weight, solid construction, adjustment range , set and forget SPV, hot looks |
| Weaknesses: | New to the market, |
| Similar Products Tried: | Fox Float RL , Romic Twin Tube |
| Bike Setup: | Turner XCE, Fox/Push RLT fork,XTR/SRAM components,Mavic CrossMax XL rims, Easton carbon bars and seat post, |
| Bottom Line: | Once I got the sag set up and figured out how to fine tune the SPV this shock has helped me go go go. My bike now accelarates like a hard tail but floats over roots and bumps...plush. No more lever to fool with. Solid handling. The shock never feels like it bottoms. Great upgrade. Forget about a new bike for now , my riding buddies think I'm on steroids. Totally F-1. |
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Submitted by
Bret
a Cross Country Rider
from Boise, Idaho
Date Reviewed: 3/27/2006 9:31:35 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $450 |
| Purchased At: | George's Cycling & Fitness |
| Strengths: | Light, High volume oil flow when needed. |
| Weaknesses: | SPV not as stable as avertised. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Manitou swinger 3 way, platform plus(came on bike I put this shock on). Many other rear shocks over the years. |
| Bike Setup: | Cannondale Prophet spected to the max. |
| Bottom Line: | This was a definite upgrade from the cheaper platform plus that came on the Prophet. The main difference besides the small weight savings is the amount of oil that can flow with the SPV design. I can sit on the seat and hit bumps that I could not before. This is by far the biggest advantage over what came before it. Surprisingly though, the platform is not any better at all over the cheap platform plus shock. This could be somewhat cause by the fact that the Prophet's swingarm has a decreasing leverage as the shock goes through its travel. The reason this shock is lighter is because the shaft does not have a steel liner(as is with all the other light shocks such as Fox or Progressive). I do not recommend these type of shocks if it is not protected by a seattube or something as they are proned to stratching from grit. If your bike has an interupted seattube design, I would get the swinger 3way instead which is one of the few steel lined shocks made. It is also a great shock. |
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