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2020+ Manitou R7 Pro Owners Thread

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#24 ·
Dougal said:
My R7 Experts arrived yesterday. 1840g for the bare fork (uncut steerer, axle installed, no mudguard, no cable clamp).

This is the 29" 120mm version. It's got the three position VTT damper.
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Jeez, a Pike with 35mm stanchions and travel range between 120-150mm is the same weight.

Why can't Manitou make lighter short travel forks, but it can make the Mezzer bigger, longer travel, more complex, and still the same weight as smaller competitors?

At this point, why would anyone run the R7 or Mattoc over the Mezzer? 200g difference in weight but far more versatile and way more stiff.
 
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#25 ·
PHeller said:
Jeez, a Pike with 35mm stanchions and travel range between 120-150mm is the same weight.

Why can't Manitou make lighter short travel forks, but it can make the Mezzer bigger, longer travel, more complex, and still the same weight as smaller competitors?

At this point, why would anyone run the R7 or Mattoc over the Mezzer? 200g difference in weight but far more versatile and way more stiff.
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That's the Expert model (black crowm). It's a lot cheaper than a Pike. The Pro version (polished crown) is claimed 1650g but I haven't got one yet to confirm.
These sort of Manitou 32mm forks are the ones I sell to bike-packers. They're rock solid and can do thousands of km between service intervals.

The Mezzer has outclassed the Mattoc for weight and stiffness, but I'm keeping Mrs Dougal on a Mattoc because it's less progressive and doesn't take an aggressive rider to get full travel.

It's obvious there'll be a new Mattoc at some stage, but I don't know when.
 
#26 ·
mik_git said:
@dougal, how hard are they to alter the travel? And how hard it is to change between bolt and QR? Can you order them with QR?
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Travel change is the same as a Mattoc. So you can temporarily set travel shorter with a shock-pump or use the 10mm clip in spacers. Lower legs off and air shaft out to do that.

QR15 I think has been quietly dropped. To swap over requires the QR15 boost hexlock axle and the matching dropout hardware.
 
#28 ·
amadkins said:
Have R7 Pros made it into the wild yet? I haven't seen much, and I'm hoping this is a winner from Manitou.
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Agreed. I ended up getting a carbon rigid fork for my hardtail as an experiment and holdover until the R7 Pro hits the market. The SID and Step-cast don't interest me, and bigger forks by all brand lack the lockout feature. I'm using the hardtail as a road/gravel/xc rig, so the lockout is a must-have. Pretty sure I'm trying out the R7 Pro no matter what, but hoping I don't fall in love with the rigid, haha.
 
#30 ·
@Dougal any news on when us Aussie/kiwis get some R7 Pros? I'm super keen to have a lightweight manitou fork for my XC race bike! However our Aussie 'distributer' does not seem keen to push to get them in. So I nearly bought some online from US, then realised with GST it will be similar price to buying from you. So I thought I'd ask how long til you think you will get some?
I've had to put up with the uninspiring but lightweight fox suspension on every bike I owned, a few years back based on the information you and many others contributed I put a Manitou Minute on 2 of my bikes and loved it... since then I'm stuck with fox being the standard build again, the new r7 pro looks like the solution!
 
#31 ·
minisman said:
@Dougal any news on when us Aussie/kiwis get some R7 Pros? I'm super keen to have a lightweight manitou fork for my XC race bike! However our Aussie 'distributer' does not seem keen to push to get them in. So I nearly bought some online from US, then realised with GST it will be similar price to buying from you. So I thought I'd ask how long til you think you will get some?
I've had to put up with the uninspiring but lightweight fox suspension on every bike I owned, a few years back based on the information you and many others contributed I put a Manitou Minute on 2 of my bikes and loved it... since then I'm stuck with fox being the standard build again, the new r7 pro looks like the solution!
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USA warehouse has some configurations in stock. Depends what you need for wheel size, offset and travel. Let us know and I'll check.
 
#32 ·
Dougal said:
USA warehouse has some configurations in stock. Depends what you need for wheel size, offset and travel. Let us know and I'll check.
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I'm keen on a r7 pro 27.5+ /29er set at 120mm travel. according to the latest fad maybe go 51mm offset, but I'm not 100% sold on that so maybe just stick with 44mm. what are your thoughts on when longer offset is better?
 
#33 ·
minisman said:
I'm keen on a r7 pro 27.5+ /29er set at 120mm travel. according to the latest fad maybe go 51mm offset, but I'm not 100% sold on that so maybe just stick with 44mm. what are your thoughts on when longer offset is better?
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Both travel/offset options in 29" 120mm are showing out of stock. Email us if you'd like us to hunt you down an ETA.

As for offset. I've never noticed the difference on flatter trails. On rock rollovers I've found shorter offset to require a lot more bar effort to keep the bike on target as the contact patch rolls up the wheel behind the axle.
I think if you're on the edge of a handling problem then offset changes can either fix or cause a problem. Otherwise it's minor.
 
#35 ·
Still haven't really seen any first hand experience on the trails, anyone have any miles on the new R7? A deal came up for an R7 Expert, I've currently got a 120mm Fox 34 Performance (Grip damper) and have been wanting to upgrade to an R7 when the time is right. I feel the Fox 34 is pretty harsh, poor small-bump, and get a lot of hand fatigue on aggressive rides, or less-aggressive long distance rides. I'm about 170 lbs geared up, it's possible the Fox 34 isn't tuned right for me, I have kicked around the idea of finding a Fit4 damper and the Vorsprung Fractive piston/shim stack, however I feel the R7 is a better overall package. Does the R7 Expert seem the right choice for me, or is it worth waiting and saving up for the Pro version? As someone who likes tinkering with HSC/LSC, will I miss the adjustment on the Pro or does the Expert seem well dialed in for someone of my weight? Any feedback on Expert vs Dorado air spring? Seems that Expert has no way to reduce volume, anyone played around with grease or anything to gain progression, or do you feel it's tuned well without that?
 
#36 ·
Recently picked up an R7 pro for my Ranger, after running the new Sid ultimate for about a month, I wasn't too impressed with its performance. Small bump sensitivity between the two is about the same, but on larger consecutive hits the R7 really shines. When speeds pick up its even more noticeable. I ended up picking up the 100mm travel version and swapping it too 120. Extremely easy travel change. If anyone is on the fence between this and either of the fox or Rockshox offerings I wouldn't hesitate to go with the R7.
 
#37 ·
acedeuce802 said:
Still haven't really seen any first hand experience on the trails, anyone have any miles on the new R7? A deal came up for an R7 Expert, I've currently got a 120mm Fox 34 Performance (Grip damper) and have been wanting to upgrade to an R7 when the time is right. I feel the Fox 34 is pretty harsh, poor small-bump, and get a lot of hand fatigue on aggressive rides, or less-aggressive long distance rides. I'm about 170 lbs geared up, it's possible the Fox 34 isn't tuned right for me, I have kicked around the idea of finding a Fit4 damper and the Vorsprung Fractive piston/shim stack, however I feel the R7 is a better overall package. Does the R7 Expert seem the right choice for me, or is it worth waiting and saving up for the Pro version? As someone who likes tinkering with HSC/LSC, will I miss the adjustment on the Pro or does the Expert seem well dialed in for someone of my weight? Any feedback on Expert vs Dorado air spring? Seems that Expert has no way to reduce volume, anyone played around with grease or anything to gain progression, or do you feel it's tuned well without that?
Click to expand...
R7 vs Pro damper is mostly about LSC adjust on the Pro and you can drop the Pro damper in. Expert Air vs Dorado Air is about materials, weight and manufacturing cost. The performance is supposed to be the same.
 
#38 ·
Dougal said:
R7 vs Pro damper is mostly about LSC adjust on the Pro and you can drop the Pro damper in. Expert Air vs Dorado Air is about materials, weight and manufacturing cost. The performance is supposed to be the same.
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Thanks to you and igc88 for the responses. Seems with the cost of the Pro damper, it's probably worth just waiting for a deal on the Pro or saving for a new one. Do you know if the Expert damper is easily shimmed? Is there a way to adjust volume on Expert air, or how would performance be the same if the Pro has adjustable ramp up and Expert doesn't?
 
#39 ·
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#40 ·
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