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Manitou Markhor...Why do people worry?

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fork advice manitu markhor stantions
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TrailRiderWithADream

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Budget parts lol
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Discussion starter · #1 ·
After reading a lot of things to get me decided between the Rockshox recon silver RL and the Manitu Markhor, I found out that the Manitu is better for me because of its features, along with its looks and reverses arch design. Though, while reading you always run into the usual "because it's not expensive it'll break" type of people, and you wonder if they are right, even though the majority who have experience with it say it's excellent. My bike consists of budget parts and they all work amazing and aren't heavy either. The thing those types of people said about the Manitu is that the stations will bend or snap due to their 30mm stantions. I highly doubt it, especially since the fork comes with options for modifications such as ABS+ and doesn't come with one of those warning stickers out of the box. And yet why is it still dangerous?

Please, I really want to know why?
Thank you so much! :))
 
#3 ·
People are scared of anything that's not the 2 major brands. Luckily Manitou and DVO are starting to get more attention, they make great products. Big brands have a lot of money and clout in the industry. Big brands get the major blogs to make reviews, they get more attention and more people use their products, there's smaller chance for the smaller brands to get a good rep. Manitou got drug through the mud when the first run of Mezzers had knocking in the lowers, but they acknowledged the issue, sent replacement lowers to those who had the issue, and after the first month it's a great fork, but it got a bad review from Pinkbike. Meanwhile Fox forks have hundreds of people commenting in the "Fox 36 grip2 harshness" thread about needing air spring rebuilds immediately due to excess grease in the negative chamber, poor bushing tolerances, and creaking crowns, yet Fox is always praised for being bets of the best.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
Cary said:
There is more to fork strength and stiffness than stanchion diameter. Bushing overlap and wall thickness are also big factors. It won't break. In the old days we were all on 28mm stanchion forks. My first trip to Downieville was a hardtail, Sid xc, and v brakes under my then 220 pounds.
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Thank this is very helpful and mind opening. Also the fact that technology has evolved with mountain bikes, I'm sure it'll hold up very strongly :)
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
acedeuce802 said:
People are scared of anything that's not the 2 major brands. Luckily Manitou and DVO are starting to get more attention, they make great products. Big brands have a lot of money and clout in the industry. Big brands get the major blogs to make reviews, they get more attention and more people use their products, there's smaller chance for the smaller brands to get a good rep. Manitou got drug through the mud when the first run of Mezzers had knocking in the lowers, but they acknowledged the issue, sent replacement lowers to those who had the issue, and after the first month it's a great fork, but it got a bad review from Pinkbike. Meanwhile Fox forks have hundreds of people commenting in the "Fox 36 grip2 harshness" thread about needing air spring rebuilds immediately due to excess grease in the negative chamber, poor bushing tolerances, and creaking crowns, yet Fox is always praised for being bets of the best.
Click to expand...
Wow thanks. Not only a great answer but a short history lessons and I couldn't agree more. I contacted worldwide cyclery and the guy told me "I'd choose Rockshox over Manitu any day" and I just can't agree with that. I'm sure the Rockshox fork is good but he didn't consider some of the points I gave. But at the same time, I'm sure he has had really good experiences with Rockshox so who am I to judge??‍♂.
 
#6 ·
Because people get duped by marketing. Stanchions don't break. They're the strongest part of the fork.

The Markhor chassis is very close (as in some parts interchange) to the Manitou Black which launched in 2002. Many of those forks are still being ridden only with seal an oil changes.
The 2002 Black TPC forks also outperform the majority of forks these days. Stick an ABS+ damper in a Markhor and it's even better.
 
#8 ·
I consider Manitou higher quality then RockShox by a long margin. Have not had a RockShox over the last 20 years that I liked. Had a Manitou R7 back in 1998(?) that was a great fork in the day. Still have the black and white jersey it came with!
 
#9 ·
Arm&Hammer said:
I consider Manitou higher quality then RockShox by a long margin. Have not had a RockShox over the last 20 years that I liked. Had a Manitou R7 back in 1998(?) that was a great fork in the day. Still have the black and white jersey it came with!
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That's gotta be 2008. R7 was launched in 2006. It's also closely related to Black and Markhor (once again parts interchange).
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
Dougal said:
Because people get duped by marketing. Stanchions don't break. They're the strongest part of the fork.

The Markhor chassis is very close (as in some parts interchange) to the Manitou Black which launched in 2002. Many of those forks are still being ridden only with seal an oil changes.
The 2002 Black TPC forks also outperform the majority of forks these days. Stick an ABS+ damper in a Markhor and it's even better.
Click to expand...
Exactly, I wanted to think outside the box and embrace the benefits. I don't want to get sucked into a one-brand mindset because all companies have their good products and they also have their "okay" products. I see the Manitu as a crown jewel at its price point because not only does it have everything, it also is innovative and is lightweight. Including the ABS plus and it's just an amazing option that is super tunable. I'm thankful for your response, thank you.
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
Arm&Hammer said:
I consider Manitou higher quality then RockShox by a long margin. Have not had a RockShox over the last 20 years that I liked. Had a Manitou R7 back in 1998(?) that was a great fork in the day. Still have the black and white jersey it came with!
Click to expand...
Oh wow cool, thank for not only information but sharing your experiences
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
Sparticus said:
After reading this thread I'm left with just one unanswered question.
OP, your MTBR handle is "TrailRiderWithADrea."
My question: What is a drea?
Thank you & welcome to MTBR.
=sParty
Click to expand...
Oh yeah I wanted to write dream but stupidly left out the "m" and now am stuck with an awkward name that I couldn't figure out how to change but thank you for asking. If you know how to fix it, could you comment?
 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
Amt0571 said:
I'd prefer a Markhor over a Recon every day of the week.

I had a Manitou R7 for 3 years and it was a really nice fork. A bit flexy, but butter smooth.

Manitou support was great also.
Click to expand...
Yeah a company with good support is a good company
 
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