[KleinMantraWV]

Hello..Well I've put on some winter weight..So I'm digging out the old Klein Mantra ...again . The Manitou fork on it needs a rebuild .And I've gained about 30 since I last strapped this bike on , and took to the mountains .I have about $350.00 to blow on a new fork for this bad boy .I have tri-spoke rims..So I need something with brake bosses..and can handle a 220 lbs. rider .I live in a very rugged area of West Virginia..I think this is why it may have gotten its Mountain State title? I've been looking at some RockShox SID stuff ..some Manitou R7 & Black forks..any clues from other riders would be very kewl at this point ..Thanks ahead of time.....

 

[Bird]

You can get alot of fork for 350.00 especially with all the 06 closeouts but i beleive that mantra is an xc bike so your not going to want to exceed 100mm in travel,head angle,geometry etc.
At 220lbs i would look for a coil sprung fork.

Some places to look at forks:
www.jensonusa.com
www.greenfishsports.com
www.pricepoint.com
www.beyondbikes.com

 

[Kronk]

I like the Marzocchi MX Pro on mine.
Jenson has the Marathon SL and the MX pro in the price range you are looking at.
Just be sure to get one with rim brake bosses if you are not running discs!

 

[KleinMantraWV]

You can get alot of fork for 350.00 especially with all the 06 closeouts but i beleive that mantra is an xc bike so your not going to want to exceed 100mm in travel,head angle,geometry etc.
At 220lbs i would look for a coil sprung fork.

Some places to look at forks:
www.jensonusa.com
www.greenfishsports.com
www.pricepoint.com
www.beyondbikes.com

Thanks for the heads-up on the web-sites...I'm sure they'll be usefull in my search for a fork for my Klein

 

[KleinMantraWV]

I like the Marzocchi MX Pro on mine.
Jenson has the Marathon SL and the MX pro in the price range you are looking at.
Just be sure to get one with rim brake bosses if you are not running discs!

Thanks for the heads up on the Marzocchi forks...I'm going to look into those specific forks as an option , when replacing the fork on my Klein..Once again..Thanx

 

[Jups]

I ran a Fox Float 100 rlc for a while before putting it on my Turner xce, the extra travel really helped balance the bike fore and aft. The sturdier stanchions on the Fox gave me more confidence in the rocks and such, with the Manitou it feels sometimes like the fork is bending slightly backward under the bike and with the steep head angle of the Mantra it can get a little uncomfortable. The Fox eliminated that feeling. The Fox is a taller fork than the Manitou and with the extra travel I lost a little of that superb ability to climb that is the Mantra trademark, so there is a tradeoff as I am sure you have thought about. Good luck, let us know how you make out.

 

[Egan]

I ran a Fox Float 100 rlc for a while before putting it on my Turner xce, the extra travel really helped balance the bike fore and aft. The sturdier stanchions on the Fox gave me more confidence in the rocks and such, with the Manitou it feels sometimes like the fork is bending slightly backward under the bike and with the steep head angle of the Mantra it can get a little uncomfortable. The Fox eliminated that feeling. The Fox is a taller fork than the Manitou and with the extra travel I lost a little of that superb ability to climb that is the Mantra trademark, so there is a tradeoff as I am sure you have thought about. Good luck, let us know how you make out.

I'm having trouble myself deciding between 85mm and 100mm. My Manitou SX (70mm) is getting old and I want to upgrade to disc brakes. So to kill to birds with one stone, I'm upgrading the fork. I love the climbing characteristics of this bike but I too have never felt secure on the downhills. Do you think the gains in descent control outweighed the loss of climbing ability?

For the original poster, I've been looking at the Manitou R7's, Rockshox Reba's, Manitou Blacks, and Magura Menja's. They all have versions within your budget, except for the Magura's. But you can find last year's Magura Asgard on ebay for $200, which is a pretty good deal.

Let us know what you decide on. I still haven't made up my own mind.

 

[Jups]

" Do you think the gains in descent control outweighed the loss of climbing ability?"
I would say yes, having said that the changes were not dramatic, but the Fox did "feel" better than the Manitou going downhill. Going uphill there was a slight loss of climbing ability which I attribute to the Fox being taller overall which put me further back on the bike than the Manitou.

 

[paul3912]

Manitou R7 Platinum

I have a 99 Mantra Race frame that I just built up and have now ridden for a couple of months. I went with the Mantiou R7 Platinum and am pleased with it's performance. It is light without being a SID. I went with the 100mm travel and it works great on the Mantra. You can get this fork with brake bosses, but I have the disk version.

 

[Huusoku]

Sorry to post to such an old thread, but I have a fitting question.

I have a 1997 Mantra Comp with a Rock Shox Indy SL fork. I am currently looking to get a late 90s or early 00s SID and have 2 questions:

What diameter steer tube does my bike use?

What length steer tube does my bike use?

I just want to make sure that the SID I buy will fit my bike.

Thanks!!
Mike

 

[logbiter]

you should measure yourself to make sure, but the steerer tube outer diameter should be 1 1/8".

Park tool has a good page on how to measure steerer tube length.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=measure+steerer+tube+length

 

[Huusoku]

logbiter,

Awesome, thank you VERY much. I am not riding until it warms up here, so I think I'll pull my Indy off and take actual measurements so I can shop with confidence.

Thanks! I'm very glad I joined and posted up today

BigMike

 

[logbiter]

logbiter,

Awesome, thank you VERY much. I am not riding until it warms up here, so I think I'll pull my Indy off and take actual measurements so I can shop with confidence.

Thanks! I'm very glad I joined and posted up today

BigMike

No need to take it off to measure the length, just measure from the crown race/bottom headset cup to your topcap. For width, remove topcap & measure diameter(assuming it's threadless).

 

[bad mechanic]

I am currently looking to get a late 90s or early 00s SID...

My question is...why?!? Those SIDs were complete noodles.

 

[Huusoku]

No need to take it off to measure the length, just measure from the crown race/bottom headset cup to your topcap. For width, remove topcap & measure diameter(assuming it's threadless).

Excellent idea! I will do this before I purchase anything.

My question is...why?!? Those SIDs were complete noodles.

To be honest, I've been out of the MTB world for about 5 or 6 years and am preparing right now to get back into it this summer. Here is a pic of my Mantra from last week:

Moreover, I've actually never even ridden a bike with SIDs, I've just heard from back in the day that they are an amazing XC fork (which is my primary use). I am turned on by their lightweight, and I can only budget about $150-$200. My Indy's weigh just over 1300 grams so I want to replace them with a 80 or 100mm fork of comparable weight, so finding an old used SID seems reasonable to me.

I realize there are really amazing shocks nowadays, like Fox, but there is no way I can afford that right now. I mean, I've been using my same Indy SLs since 1997 for Pete's sake!! The SIDs _HAVE_ to be better than my Indys, which, despite having the "Long Travel Kit", only get 57mm of travel (measured with the internals removed, so this is max possible travel) and bottom out sometimes. I actually just put in the Wings-Suspension Spring kit on Monday which was only a marginal improvement.

In this case, the proper question for me would be to ask *what* SID is a good model to use for XC, that is around 1300grams and that can be had for under 2-bills?

How about something like this? https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170627053303 It's a 2004 Dual Air SID with Black Box. Would something like this be a good choice for me?

...or how about https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160571511716 ? What year is this one?

Thank you so much for everyone's advice!!
Mike

 

[bad mechanic]

Moreover, I've actually never even ridden a bike with SIDs, I've just heard from back in the day that they are an amazing XC fork (which is my primary use). I am turned on by their lightweight, and I can only budget about $150-$200.

Not even close. Their light weight is all that SIDs have going for them. They're just not good forks. Try and find a used Manitou Minute or R7. You should be able to find one or the other under $200, and either will give you much better performance.

 

[logbiter]

Bad Mechanic speaks sooth, especially that era of SID's. Also, I tink you can find a new manitou match for close to $200. manitou's are currently the best bang for the buck.

 

[Huusoku]

Hey guys,

It's been a while since I've been on the forums -- had waaay too much fun racing my Mantra all of last year!!

Against the recommendations, I found and installed a 2004 SID Team and upgraded to front disc brakes (BB7s). WOW what an improvement! As for the strength of the SIDs, they feel twice as strong as my old Indy and work sooo much better. They take a direct hit and just absorb it like nothing. I would have been bucked off before with the Indy.

Weight comparo (sorry I only had a pound/ounce scale at the time):

1996 Indy SL, 8-1/8" steer tube with all coil spring upgrade: 3 lbs 0.1 oz (possible range of 455 to 458 grams based on the resolution of my scale) (includes external rubber stanchion boots)

2004 SID Team 7-5/8" steer tube with lockout knob on fork: 3 lbs 0.4 oz (possible range of 463 to 466 grams) (no stanchion boots)

I am completely sold with the SID Team fork. I love it. I can see based on your replies there are plenty better forks out there but this thing works great for me and I don't see myself upgrading for a long time.

 

[Huusoku]

The new racing season is at hand I do have a few questions that I am hoping someone can help me with.

This model SID I have was advertised to be available in either 63mm or 80mm travel, depending if an internal "20mm All Travel spacer" is installed or not.

When I deflate and fully compress my fork I get exactly 72 mm of travel. It seems to bottom out pretty good with a solid feel so there is no way it could get 80mm. When I bunny hop the bike with the shock at operating pressure on the lightest dampening setting I also get 72 mm.

Question: Do you think I already have the spacer removed? I bought the fork used and don't know anything about it. It seems odd to be almost right in the middle of the two ranges set by the manufacture. Maybe 72mm is all a 80mm shock gets?

I have the service manual for the shock and am ready to open it up for myself. Question: What shock oil should I get for a good replacement? I weigh 170 lbs and race XC, and my strengths are climbing and descending.

Question: Do any shops still service these older SID forks? If I were to just send it in somewhere, do you guys have any recommendations for a good older SID service place?

Thank you so much for the help!!

Regards,
Mike

 

[Huusoku]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh finally got enough post counts to include pictures in my replies (must be a new security measure)

While I did mention the steer tube length was shorter on the SID I found, the difference was covered in a slightly longer shock body length. The overall difference ended up only being 1/16" taller with the SID. Fortunately when my bike was built they used a bunch of spacers above the frame, which I simply removed to cover the difference. This meant that the center of gravity moved up and rearward slightly, and the head tube angle reduced but its steep enough with the Mantra so this was another welcomed change.

Here are pics of my install process:

And some pics where I love it the most, out on the trail!!