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manitou black elite vs fox TALAS R

1605 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by thoriii, Jul 26, 2004

antonovc

Discussion Starter · Jul 24, 2004

i am looking for a new fork for my slayer, the exr supra is just too heavy and has wayy too much bob. i would like a fork with similar travel (120mm) and something that is no more than 4 lbs, my two top choices right now are the manitou black elite (supergo, $175) or the fox TALAS R (jenson $409) im not really sure which one to go with because the black is a tad heavy, but the price is soo amazing. but the fox is almost perfect but 400 bux is about the most i woudl like to spend on my fork. i think that i am leaning toward the manitou because of the price, but any guidance would be helpful especially if you have either or both of these forks. thanks a lot for any replys

o and i am about 165lbs, and am an agressive xcer and if it helps i have a fox float R in the back

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FoShizzle

· #2 · Jul 24, 2004

I understand the $ factor...

antonovc said:
i am looking for a new fork for my slayer, the exr supra is just too heavy and has wayy too much bob. i would like a fork with similar travel (120mm) and something that is no more than 4 lbs, my two top choices right now are the manitou black elite (supergo, $175) or the fox TALAS R (jenson $409) im not really sure which one to go with because the black is a tad heavy, but the price is soo amazing. but the fox is almost perfect but 400 bux is about the most i woudl like to spend on my fork. i think that i am leaning toward the manitou because of the price, but any guidance would be helpful especially if you have either or both of these forks. thanks a lot for any replys

o and i am about 165lbs, and am an agressive xcer and if it helps i have a fox float R in the back

Not that I probably need to tell you but there is not even one parameter (in my opinion), other than absolute price, where the Manitou wins. Having said that, in a relative price amount (ie, what you get for your money), I also think there is no comparison. $409 is an incredible price for the Talas and it should also be much better suited for a Slayer. Frankly, the L & C from the Talas RLC are not necessary so the R is all you need anyway. The compression I think is a complete waste and the lockout is not necessary since you just lower it to 85 mm and bobbing is not a real factor at that point. I am looking at forks right now myself (for a project bike) and am considering the Black at that price but if it were my primary ride bike and especially if it were a slayer, I would pay the extra bucks and get this Talas at $409 since in the long, or even short-term, it will be worth it.

Cheers

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antonovc

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 24, 2004

thanks for the reply, i also just realized that i could get a manitou minuite one for 550 from either jenson or supergo are these even comparable to somthing like the fox? and if i decide to go with the fox (now after another 20 mins of research i think i will) should i go for the 04 or pay $150 more and go for the 05

thanks again and any more help would be appreciated

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FoShizzle

· #4 · Jul 24, 2004

Good question

antonovc said:
thanks for the reply, i also just realized that i could get a manitou minuite one for 550 from either jenson or supergo are these even comparable to somthing like the fox? and if i decide to go with the fox (now after another 20 mins of research i think i will) should i go for the 04 or pay $150 more and go for the 05

thanks again and any more help would be appreciated

Good question....The Minute series are very good forks but there are fundamentally different given their SPV functionality. If you stand a lot and mash the pedal there is for certain a theoretical advantage with the SPV as the bobbing will be minimized under pedaling forces. However, the fox should be stiffer than the Minute and again, in my opinion, are well suited for the Slayer. Since there are 3 versions of the Minutes I am not sure which one is going for $550. In terms of weight, the air version of the Minute, should be relatively similar in weight to the Fox Talas. If it were me, I would not pay $150 more for the 2005 Fox Talas. What you basically get is 5mm more of travel which is completely neglibible. There will also be I think a couple ounces of weight saving but for crying out loud, we are talking about a Slayer and not a Titanium hardtail so the amount of weight is trivial in my opinion. My friend has a 2005 Talas and loves it but to be honest, I cannot tell the difference when I ride his bike. I am sure Fox will say they made the 2005 to get rid of occasional ompression spike or something like that but that is what Marketing is all about. The Talas is an awesome stiff fork, period, 2003, 2004, or 2005.

Cheers

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BanzaiRider

· #5 · Jul 24, 2004

I have the 04 Talar R

It definitely does not bob like my 02 Marzo Atom which I appreciate a lot. It is way stiff so stearing precision is great. I'm light (150lbs) so I had to change the oil in the damper side to make it more plush but now that I've done that I really like that fork a lot.

Can't talk about the Black but for me the stiffness of the Fox justifies the difference in price because the fork is in my opinion the most important part of a mountain bike. The Minute is nice but I like a fork that absorbs all the small bumps, a platform fork like the Minute will definitely not be as supple on small stuff.

I'm no expert so take my comments with a grain of salt. The Black or Minute may very well be nice forks but out of the three I would go for the Fox.

Cheers.

antonovc said:
i am looking for a new fork for my slayer, the exr supra is just too heavy and has wayy too much bob. i would like a fork with similar travel (120mm) and something that is no more than 4 lbs, my two top choices right now are the manitou black elite (supergo, $175) or the fox TALAS R (jenson $409) im not really sure which one to go with because the black is a tad heavy, but the price is soo amazing. but the fox is almost perfect but 400 bux is about the most i woudl like to spend on my fork. i think that i am leaning toward the manitou because of the price, but any guidance would be helpful especially if you have either or both of these forks. thanks a lot for any replys

o and i am about 165lbs, and am an agressive xcer and if it helps i have a fox float R in the back

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antonovc

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 25, 2004

well thanks for the replys and i think that i will be going with the fox. but i still have a few questions

1 whats the tire clearance like, will it fit a 2.3
2 how does it compare to the minuite
3 can these forks handle small drops <4 feet or so

thanks again

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Homebrew

· #7 · Jul 26, 2004

antonovc said:
well thanks for the replys and i think that i will be going with the fox. but i still have a few questions

1 whats the tire clearance like, will it fit a 2.3
2 how does it compare to the minuite
3 can these forks handle small drops <4 feet or so

thanks again

I'm not positive on the Black tire clearance but my Minute has plenty of room with a 2.35 front. You won't have any tire fit troubles with the Fox either. The TALAS weighs abount the same as a Minute 1. The air versions of the Minute are lighter but less adjustable. The SPV is nice so the fork doesn't wallow and dive nearly as much. The Black is a very good fork and a killer deal. The Manitou TPC and SPV damping is much better than Fox. It looks like the 2005 Fox forks are now available and have some nice improvements (but cost a bit more).

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thoriii

· #8 · Jul 26, 2004

antonovc said:
well thanks for the replys and i think that i will be going with the fox. but i still have a few questions

1 whats the tire clearance like, will it fit a 2.3
2 how does it compare to the minuite
3 can these forks handle small drops <4 feet or so

thanks again

I am running an 03 talas with a 2.5 so tire clearence shouldn't be an issue

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