[Two_bricks]

His custom-tuned Dorados do look amazing, and probably perform as good as they look too. But so far very little information on the web, Paul Aston have some experience and mentions it briefly in his G1 article:

Ultra-Long, 210mm Travel Enduro Machine - Is This the Ultimate MTB?

Ex-MTB editor turned brand ambassador Paul Aston has built what he calls "his life's work". Dig in to find out what makes it unique (hint: pretty much everything).

www.vitalmtb.com

"Rulezman is a suspension centre in Liguria. 'Crazy Dave' the owner pisses a lot of people off by telling them the truth about the products they just spent a fortune on, he's focussed only on performance and measures everything. He's a helicopter pilot, and can strip and rebuild a Cane Creek DB shock blindfolded; that should give you more idea of the kind of guy he is. Anyway, he loves the Dorado and believes it is the best fork on the market and has taken this fork to the extreme: extended 210mm travel, fully customized and modified damper and IRT triple air spring, every single sliding surface and seal has been worked on, ti-bolts everywhere and even the bushings have been reworked for less stiction on fore-aft movements"

Sounds like a pretty thorough rework of the fork. Anyone else that have had their Manitou forks (or Cane Creek DB shock, apparently that seems to be Dave's favorite too) sent in for a Rulezman Race Tune? Apparently he has tuning program for the Mezzer too. Any experience?

 

[DMdh]

In 2016 me and 3 friends sent 3 dorados to make the conversion to rrt, plusa couple of shocks, and couldnt be happier.
I sold it last year with the bike but still it outperforms my new my2021 fox40, with the irt its really incredible.
Only thing I didnt like (but it isnt daves fault) its the open damper in the dorado, I could feel it foaming at the races with long tracks.

 

[nikon255]

I know he modified MC2 damper from Mezzer to fit Dorado. I'd ask if its possible in RRT tune.

 

[Two_bricks]

In 2016 me and 3 friends sent 3 dorados to make the conversion to rrt, plusa couple of shocks, and couldnt be happier.
I sold it last year with the bike but still it outperforms my new my2021 fox40, with the irt its really incredible.
Only thing I didnt like (but it isnt daves fault) its the open damper in the dorado, I could feel it foaming at the races with long tracks.

Great to hear! (Except for the foaming though). Since you had it for 4 years-ish, any surprises/changes when it comes to serviceability compared to a stock Dorado need to consider?

I know he modified MC2 damper from Mezzer to fit Dorado. I'd ask if its possible in RRT tune.

The "Dozzer"? The one he modified in his DC vs SC test:

Single Crown vs Dual Crown Fork: Which One is the Best for Enduro?

Dave Cerutti of Rulezman Suspension pulls off a very in-depth study to answer this burning question with data and real-life testing.

www.vitalmtb.com

 

[DMdh]

The foaming happens to every open bath damper, and only was noticeable on long tracks, it wasnt much off an issue but something that I still perceived.
The forks held amazing, one of the guys its still using it, and its a really good rider probably around top 30 the whole country.
that being said you will have to use exactly the oils and grease that dave orders you to use, he sold us the bottles per our request when we bought the forks. The service proccess doesnt change, but he will insistis on doing it more often to keep it performing at its top.

 

[CaveGiant]

Who would want the mezzer damper over the Dorado!

The mezzer is allegedly a great damper, but it lacks the tpc+ stack of the Dorado. That's the best bit!

 

[Deviant_MechE]

I purchased a RRT tuned Dorado used last year. It is very possible it was DMdh's or his friend's as it came from Spain. It did not get a ton of use last year because of COVID but I ran about 12 shuttle/uplift days. The fork is by far the best fork I've ever felt and that includes being better than the following: DVO Emerald, Kowa GF Air, Rockshox Boxxer WC coil. And the following single crown forks as well: Ohlins rxf coil, Xfusion Revel, Fox 36 Van, DVO Diamond. I prefer the feel of inverted forks and the RRT Dorado is the pinnacle in my opinion. It was not tuned for me but the previous owner is similar weight and riding style so I have found no need to change any valving internally.

Performance wise it is just as plush as advertised, seriously the lightest breakaway force I've ever felt, it is very composed and stays high in travel. Travel truly feels endless with the standard Dorado already having hydraulic bottom out. I've bottomed it twice according to the sag ring by doing really dumb hucks to flat from over jumping and I barely felt it. Compression is on the firmer side but not harsh and is how I prefer, there is a lot of support in the midstroke as well and you can really lean on it in turns without it blowing through travel (a problem I had with the kowa and boxxer). Additionally I had reduced fatigue on long days of tracks with multiple brake bumps.

Foaming of damper oil is not an issue I have experienced. There may be a slight viscosity change as the oil heats, as is inherent in all open bath dampers. You have to really be paying attention to notice though, and I wouldn't let that discourage you at all.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend sending a fork in to Rulezman. If Manitou ever update the Dorado I will probably buy one just to send in for another RRT. In addition to the stellar performance, you cannot beat the KYB factory bronze color for looks - absolutely gorgeous.

In regards to service, I admit I have not opened it up yet. I only got about 3-4mo of riding in before winter. I will service it in the upcoming months before DH season. The previous owner had this to say on the subject:

Regarding service intervals you should change the air side lubrication oil every 3 months and full oil service every 6 months of regular use.

Oils:
Air side leg:
30ml of fox gold 20wt for leg lubing

4 ml of fox gold above air piston

Damper leg:

170 ml of Kayaba 01-M fork oil.

(you can use motorex 2.5 fork oil if you cant get the kayaba)

Grease: Slick honey/slickoleum ( its the same rebranded)
use it in all the dust wipers and orings (air piston etc)

Cheers

Dorados seem like very easy forks to work on and Hayes has all tech documents on their website. Additionally, because it's inverted, you can service each side individually.

 

[DMdh]

Yes that was one my friends fork, I actually made de shippment haha, what a coincidence.
Glad you are liking it.

 

[DMdh]

Regarding the oil and service, maybe now it uses diferent alternatives I dont know, and the services intervals that you state was what we were doing, but dave insisted on full oil change every 3 months when we where racing, but we found that it was a bit excesive and the oil was still clean and smooth, so we started doing it like we told you.

cheers

 

[Two_bricks]

I purchased a RRT tuned Dorado used last year. It is very possible it was DMdh's or his friend's as it came from Spain. It did not get a ton of use last year because of COVID but I ran about 12 shuttle/uplift days. The fork is by far the best fork I've ever felt and that includes being better than the following: DVO Emerald, Kowa GF Air, Rockshox Boxxer WC coil. And the following single crown forks as well: Ohlins rxf coil, Xfusion Revel, Fox 36 Van, DVO Diamond. I prefer the feel of inverted forks and the RRT Dorado is the pinnacle in my opinion. It was not tuned for me but the previous owner is similar weight and riding style so I have found no need to change any valving internally.

Performance wise it is just as plush as advertised, seriously the lightest breakaway force I've ever felt, it is very composed and stays high in travel. Travel truly feels endless with the standard Dorado already having hydraulic bottom out. I've bottomed it twice according to the sag ring by doing really dumb hucks to flat from over jumping and I barely felt it. Compression is on the firmer side but not harsh and is how I prefer, there is a lot of support in the midstroke as well and you can really lean on it in turns without it blowing through travel (a problem I had with the kowa and boxxer). Additionally I had reduced fatigue on long days of tracks with multiple brake bumps.

Foaming of damper oil is not an issue I have experienced. There may be a slight viscosity change as the oil heats, as is inherent in all open bath dampers. You have to really be paying attention to notice though, and I wouldn't let that discourage you at all.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend sending a fork in to Rulezman. If Manitou ever update the Dorado I will probably buy one just to send in for another RRT. In addition to the stellar performance, you cannot beat the KYB factory bronze color for looks - absolutely gorgeous.

In regards to service, I admit I have not opened it up yet. I only got about 3-4mo of riding in before winter. I will service it in the upcoming months before DH season. The previous owner had this to say on the subject:



Dorados seem like very easy forks to work on and Hayes has all tech documents on their website. Additionally, because it's inverted, you can service each side individually.

Great writeup, appreciate it! Regarding the updated Dorado there's been some spy shots floating around on social media, so a release might not be too far away! At least I hope so, because finding a used Dorado, or even some old stock on this side of the pond has turned out to be extremely difficult.

Who would want the mezzer damper over the Dorado!

The mezzer is allegedly a great damper, but it lacks the tpc+ stack of the Dorado. That's the best bit!

Never tried a Dorado, I have a Mezzer though, which is awesome. Nevertheless, the Dorado's energy dependent damper is ingenious, so I might have to agree on this!

 

[Deviant_MechE]

Yes that was one my friends fork, I actually made de shippment haha, what a coincidence.
Glad you are liking it.

Haha wow what a small world. Thank you for making the shipment! Cheers

Great writeup, appreciate it! Regarding the updated Dorado there's been some spy shots floating around on social media, so a release might not be too far away! At least I hope so, because finding a used Dorado, or even some old stock on this side of the pond has turned out to be extremely difficult.

Funnily enough I wasn't looking for a RRT Dorado specifically, but just any old Dorado because like you're experiencing it was very hard to find one in any condition. The guy I bought it from was parting out the bike and it just so happened to be tuned by Rulezman. I've also seen the new Dorado prototypes on social media and have heard it was supposed to come out last year even but then the supply chains got all messed up.