Big news, if not exactly new news, is that Manitou has been working hard on a new DH fork. The rumor mill has been pumping out some gems and the forums have been living up to expectations: full of gossip and innuendo. Full stop to that nonsense. We cornered one of the men responsible for the new super fork and have the answers to all your questions.
After four years of absence let me present the 2009 Dorado!
Technical HD Video Inside!
The original Dorado fork revolutionized damping technology in downhill forks of it's day. In fact, after all those years the first TPC+ damping systems are still more advanced than what you will find in some of the current offerings. The new Dorado is based on the original design, an advanced TPC+ system and air spring, and larger diameter tubes all around.
2009 Manitou Dorado
Manitou Dorado Key Features
-Dual layer carbon outer legs -36mm hard anodized stanchions -Internally adjustable travel between 180mm and 203mm -Self regulating positive and negative air springs -Advanced TPC+ damping -Hydraulic Bottom out and top out -20mm HexLock Thru-axle -International Standard integrated stem mounting -6.4 lbs (2902g)
External Adjustments
-Self regulating positive and negative air spring -Rebound adj. (blue knob, top left) -Low-speed damping (red knob, bottom left) -High-speed damping (black dial, bottom left)
HD Video: Denny Yunk showing the details of the 2009 Dorado
Dorado damping cartridge viewed from the top
20mm HexLock thru-axle
Smart and simple hose guide
Sans leg guard
If your last name isn't Kovarik or Lehikoinen you'll have to wait until January before you can bolt the new MRD fork onto your rig. With a projected retail of $2775 USD. you may need that extra time to save up anyways. We'll be doing our best to get our paws on a test fork to review and are holding onto high expectations. With arguably the best damping available and among the lightest in class it may set a new benchmark for tomorrows DH forks.
Check out the Manitou site but don't expect to see the new Dorado up there yet, it's from the future!
no ,no , no. i dont get Manitou. Why come out whit a super high end , mega expensive fork ? dont they know that they have to rebuild confidence in the riders first ? Manitou as been known to have really poor reliablity in the past years and now they want us , the average joe rider , to buy this racer ready fork for almost $3k ??? what ? ...this is so stupid it's funny.
ok , Manitou , here is the plan. Keep it in the WC circuit and IMBA circuits , get this thing on the podium (higest step would be best..) get other forks model to work good , get the Dorado priced at around $1600 and hope for the best. thanks.
oh and by the way , usually ,tech demo video have shots of the thing (whatever they are trying to push) to actually work and move.
Wow why do people think they know more than the company does. They PAY people to come up with ideas that will help their company, they obviously have a marketing strategy and have scoped the demograpic. The fork wont sell for $2775 its MSRP, the MSRP on a Fox 40 is $2500 and how many people actually pay that? Only really stupid people. They are going to build confidence in the consumer with this product as long as it holds up this will be the best fork out there.
Im still not to sure about Manitou. In my opinion, for the last few years the're product has been below the market standard for performance and durability. When I worked at a shop and we would constantly get Manitou product back because the damping system or whatever broke. Because of this and there performance, they have really lost their street credit. Not too many companies have been building their bikes with the product. In addition, riders in general really haven't been sporting there product as well. In-fact for the last two years its almost like Manitou dropped out of the market. They also lost a chunk of their team riders to Fox Racing Shox. I have a feeling most of them switched for reasons other than money.
Even if this fork is the best thing since sliced bread, I don't see how its gonna get them back in the game at that price point. You buy a pretty nice ride for $2800, and it will probably come with a good fork too! Not everyone rides world cup and has end less pockets. Bottom line if Manitou expects to get back in the game they need to release good competitive products that are reasonably affordable. I think Fox and Rock shox have the ticket. I just hope Fox doesn't sell out in the future and start manufacturing over seas. That would suck.
Why's everyone freaking out about the price.......it's MSRP.....it won't sell for that. Isn't the 40's around $2500 anyways. All the Manitou bashing is getting old, everyone raves about the Boxxers, what about 8 years ago. People couldn't give them away. And, the maintenance follows a Boxxer WC, if you aren't willing to maintain it don't buy it.
Hurray someone that isnt just talking out of their ass to bash on manitou. Thanks for being sensible, and for the record i dont like the way boxxers wcs feel i dont like air forks, the 40 (when functioning) feels incredible.
The 09 Dorado is the return of Manitou. Doesn't anyone recall when SRAM had to buy rockshox when they fell apart? No, most people don't because they are brand new to the sport. With SRAM's superior R+D capabilities, it only took them a few years to get the Boxxer back up to speed. Look what Hayes has done at the Helm of the new Manitou in such short time. This is the '03 in new form with 36mm stanchions with extra sickness on top. No, it is not for budget minded weekend warriors. So what? Only the fastest need this thing anyway. Competition is good for our sport, the big four help each other in ways no one else can. Manitou haters listen to Nickelback anyway. Props to Manitou, Marzocchi, RS and Fox for giving us so many sweet toys to choose from. 40, 888, Boxxer, Dorado, it's all good. Ride what you want and don't forget to have fun. That's what we're in this for.
No doubt about it, but the point is, that it's just a comeback, nothing more. Happy to see another fruit on a tree, but let's not be too hasty with opinions. It's an evolution, but not a revolution.
the reliability problem is a lie
every person ive ever seen and know and i have one
has never had a problem not one
the reason people think they suck is because of the stance it was made with good internals but cheap so it could be on cheap bike witch made it weak
try looking up snapped manitous compared to 40's or rockshox or marazochi
my freind had the stanchoins pop out of his fork from doin a wheelie
he was lucky there was warranty
Looks insanely good, but... Marketing Department strikes again! Boxxer is the same, all marketing and sponsoring the pros... Kids get horny just cause Peat or Hill have this or that. In the terrain, if you want reliability, with good "suspensioning", you'll get Marzo. If u are a weight freak, u'll get a boxxer. If u wanna have something that looks like a race suspension, u'll get fox. I guess Dorado is the same... Looks insanely good, i'll admit
yh, if i may id like to edit your post, '...the terrain, if you want reliability, with good "suspensioning", you'll get a 2006/7 Marzo...' the 08 models are shit, and i cant even remember the 05's! compleatly agree with you though, hence why id rather have my 2006 888 VF2/WC hybrids over any other fork.
Dude, I've ridden so hard with so many bros on marzos 66 or 888 and time and time again they have performed on the biggest stunts I've ever seen. They are a good time and tested dman good product.
every fork can brake or snap sure it can happen when your just hopping off a curd. but nothing lasts for ever all thows times you did a drop to flat or bailed/hit a tree all puts stress on your forks and frame ive had my 05 shivers sine the start of 06 and ive had quite a few good bails on them and every one says they flex soooo much and its soo bad and ther shitty but when i tell them to try it wow they feel soo nice way better then my forks i go well no shit inverted forks will always feel better ive owned a pair of 05 sc shivers and they felt the same way i wish i never sold them cause in the end i shut all the haters up when i rip past them on the most rocky/bumpy steep parts on the trail and ther stuck going slow cause ther forks cant take the hits.
mulishacrew - as long as you are comparing forks with similar travel, trust me... that is not the matter of the fork... if someone says that something is shitty without an explanation he is stupid. And well Shiver's performance is excelent but the weight is... I think someone put it nice one day: "riding a shiver or a monster makes the same sense as putting 2kg piece of iron on top of my boxxer bars..."
Weeping has to do with seal quality (which in the past Manitou HAS had problems with I’ll admit). In actual fact an inverted fork will always have bath oil where it's needed most - at the seals - and should cycle through its travel with less stiction. With good seals you should get the benefit with out the weep.
As for Manitou lagging behind - that's pretty subjective. Pretty sure they have the best big hit air shock on the market now (Evolver). You may ramble on about the DHX Air, but in actual fact the Evolver works best in just about all applications if you do some research (or have had experience with both) - especially trail and dh application on bikes with a falling leverage ratio (a bike that ramps up near the end of it's travel) – which is pretty much all dr/fr bikes and most trail bikes.
And although we have not seen much new, TPC has remained arguably the most reliable, tunable and easily serviced damper to date, and can still compete performance wise with the other big dampers out there – especially when tuned with the proper shimming. I am interested to see what this improved TPC is all about – it sounds promising.
I don't know, why everyone jerks off on forks like the dorado. The boxxers have been under 3 kg for three years now, and the last WC is (100g) under the newest target weight of the new carbon dorado as well. The manitous have always been a pain in the ass to maintain and service, and they needed a lot of them. Kids, get a boxxer or a 888. Manitou is long gone... The boxxers or the 888 will kick ass. And they are not meant for multimillionaires anyway. 3000 USD... hahaha. Good luck.
You are right. The boxxer is an awesome fork, the dorado is an expensive one. The boxxer is a fine working one, the dorado has never been working well longer than one run. But you are right about the design. Carbon fibre is cool looking. So, we have a cool looking, damn expensive, non-reliable design masterpiece. Good job, well done. You might need a designer bike (for around 15000 USD) to fit it into. It doesn't matter if it's not good if it looks good...
Unless this for will cook me breakfast before I head out for a day of riding it is definitly overpriced. Manitou is clearly trying to keep up with fox and rock shox and be the coolest kid on the block, but the problem is that they're trying way too hard; even the overdone busy graphics show it. I guess this fork is targetted at pro racers, but it's not a great business decision, because how many of them pay for their own forks? Not many average Joes are gonna wake up and say to themselves "hmmm I think I'll go drop almost 3 Gs on a fork today". RIP Manitou.
i don't think the dorado is meant to be manitou's bread and butter DH fork. It's meant to make huge noise in the media with it's expensive price tag and flashy looks in order to get the manitou name back out there. After all the manitou name has been beaten up the last few years and this fork will hopefully make people think about manitou again. It's worked so far judging by how many websites have articles about this highly anticipated fork. thats alot of free advertising.
Normally I don't join in with the ramblings that go on in the comments, but as an owner of some Dorado MRD X-Works, I feel I should comment. I've owned my dorados for 3 years now, and they have been to Morzine, France twice for a total duration of roughly a month, as well as many UK circuits. The only problem I have ever had, is when I accidently overfilled the hydraulic oil in the right leg during its first and only oil change, causing oil to seep out of the seals onto the stanchions when it was ridden. There is also no noticeable flex (And hey, a little flex is actually a good thing). Lastly, IMO, Dorados feel better than any other fork out there.
OKAY!!! before all of you guys cry about the price, take this into consideration...ITS MSRP!!!! It wont actually sell at msrp. The MSRP of a fox 40 is 2500!! So it will cost around the same price as a 40 or WC or WC ATA!!! Be smart about what you say before you go crying, plus don't round it up to 3G's...
Maybe the reason for the price on this fork is so that they will give the owner some decent service, myself being a manitou owner have been told that an adapter for my fork would come from manitou within 2 weeks, a month and a half later my bike shop called me to finally tell me my adapter came in, and on my newer fork (also manitou) i had to replace the seals on them, only to find out it would be a month before the seals would come in, so instead my manitou has marzocchi seals.
sorry about the little rant but the point is if anyone is going to drop that much cash on a fork and if anything goes wrong with it be stuck without service, is buying that fork even worth it?
why are people so scared of inverted forks?? Foes makes some of the BEST bikes and they make an inverted fork. they must know something eh? and hmm...what kind of fork do motocross bikes use?? and correct me if im wrong, but don't moto-x bikes weigh at the LEAST 100 pounds??. a DH bike weighs what? 50 pounds. MAX! they are STRONG its a good fork, BUY IT!!! STOP BITCHING about how 'it flexes!' 'it's gona snap!' shut up, its a good fork. and it will never retail for $2775. pikes in catalogs are like 750-800 but you get them for like 500. think of that.
could be a good fork, could be a load of crap... look what happened with the '08 Zokie line...
forks dot suck when they are put together properly... minscule mL's of oil will change the way any damping system performs, peoples '07 888SL's were having mega problems with the PAR system, not because it doesnt work, but because it wasnt assembled to exact specs before being put to work... i know from experience with that exact issue i dont know about the '08s so much, but i bet it is the same concept
companies dont blow millions of dollars a year to put a product that sucks out on the market... this one isnt even out yet, so dont go bashing it until you actually put it to the the test... however expensive that test may be.
boxxers, 888's, and 40's have their drawbacks too... boxxers feel like crap, but are featherweight. 888's feel amazing but need to be assembled perfectly. 40's are amazing, but are paper thin and weak... do each of these quirks make these forks better? not at all....
yeah inverted are so much better because the stanchion always has less diameter so has more flex than the lower on a normal fork and its longer too
but when u turn it upside down the stanchoins are shorter and i guess u can call them lowers anymore but whatever they are theres more diameter on the longest part of the fork meaning less flex and allowing them to use carbon fiber to lighten it up
and they also just look cool
I ride a travis 180 single and I love it! Eats up bumps and super smooth. I don't know why everyone thinks manitou is dead just because they don't have a huge product line.
they are structurally sound to major HITS, but i've seen too many firsthand cases of the legs getting holes blown in them from internal PRESSURE during hard compression... when you see the wall thickness of the leg for yourself, youll see why i say they are paper thin and weak
other than that, as i said, they are just friggin amazing forks!
I have high hopes for the Dorado. I will never be able to afford one, but I'd at least like to ride one. Aside from the leaky seals and structural unsoundness everyone is claiming, I'd like to see how well an inverted fork can do on a WC track if properly maintained. Reversing the fork keeps the weight attached to the frame and probably makes the bike a lot more maneuverable.
Calling a fork that weighs 2902 grams a benchmark is rather too much. No matter how sophisticated the damping system is, how much of carbon has been put into legs, they just can't make a big difference compared to present forks. We're at the point when bicycle suspension has reach its top level, riders are pleased with todays forks and there's always motorbike and automobile market, where big ideas come out first. They all stand in the same place for many years, so don't expect a revolution by this Dorado.
Manitou relyability issues are becomming a thing of the past folks. They are making good product for at least the past 2-3 years now. TPC+ dampers are about as relyable as you get, and they feel really good.
Oh...Manitou/Hayes customer service is a world above Sram/Rockshox. I can guarentee you that because I've warrantied both within the past year. The folks at Trident Sport and Hayes/Manitou beat the pants off Avid and Lambert Cycles IMHO.
The same for customer support applies in the UK too!
- It doesn't bode well though that Kovaric has already stoppped using the Dorado's and gone back to the Travis triples - they appeared for a brief while on his bike then disappeared again, without a reason, it don't look good!
USD Fork means less unsprung weight = a more responsive fork. A Conventional fork has he wheel, hub, brakes and fork lowers as unsprung weight, whereas USD fork has less due to the fact that there is less unsprung fork weight, coz the internals are in the upper sprung section. Just the stanchions are unsprung. A USD fork with the same travel and weight as a conventional fork will be way more responsive and have a much better 'Feel' to them; Due to what I said above - Less unsprung weight.
The lower the unsprung weight, the less work the forks have to do to keep the tires in contact with the dirt. When the tire hits a bump, forces are transferred through the wheel and the fork reacts to those forces, the less unsprung weight there is the more precise and smooth the suspension movement will be.
High unsprung weight (Conventional fork) also leads to more wheel hop under breaking. Due to the suspension being less active.
Mx bikes have been using this technology for years. USD forks do not flex more than conventional forks!
But I do agree that the forks are pretty pricy. A lot to cough up. I am still happy with my Beasts = Marzocchi Shivers!!
nice! who knows? you are comparing the old dorados on here to more recently refined forks, and some pretty quick racers at the track still prefer them.
less unsprung weight means the action of the fork carries less mass momentum ie less wheel bounce and more responsive action.
usd forks is not a flawed design look at the showa forks (honda) or curnut. well not sure if i wud have them at that price but hey im sure they are good
Basically. stop argueing. if you have the money, and your truely into racing, and compete regualrly, then its no problem to buy the dorado, but if your a enthusiest. just ride a boxxer. 888. 66, anything you argue about.. just take my point
mmmmm bos!! i reckon manitou or "hayes" are actually doing something good. yes they've brought back the dorado, but they've pretty much totally reinvented it and gone over it pretty thoroughly it seems. has everyone forgotten manitou isn't manitou anymore?? its hayes and they seem to be doing something good for the manitou brand!! but if your spending that much...get bos!!
Yo guys.. from talking with the boys at HGB the Dorado is that price for a couple of reasons...It is going to be a dealer direct product which means you will get a customs spec build on your fork and it will be set up direct from the factory to your riding style and such so each fork will be totally custom. Also it sounds like it will come with a killer warranty. That means if your at a race and you own one of these they will service it, set it up and spit polish it and then spank your bum with a "good game" and send you back on the course.So basically it come with factory support.
Sure they look great, but I've found that Manitou's customer service leaves alot to be desired. I sent my Travis' away in late August to be seviced and I still have not got them back. If my local shop hadn't lent me( generously) a fork I would have missed the last month of riding, that is unacceptable to me. I know the people involved are busy with the trade shows now and all that, but that excuse rings hollow when you are missing out on the rides! I run Manitous on two of my bikes currently and I love them, but I guarantee you one thing, my next bike won't have Manitous.
Nixon Fiasco? How about the 2007 Totem and Lyric bushing/lower/and crown assembly fiasco? Or the 2008 Marzocchi 66 fiasco? EVERY set of lowers had to be replaced from the initial production runs!!!
Everyone has had a bad product launch from time to time. Lots of issues with the initial Sherman and Nixon platforms - but no more than anyone elses forks. I had to warranty my totem twice, right out of the box! Just to get it working properly(one part bad bushings and one part creeky crown assembly)!
BTW the Nixon platform has been fantastic now for several years. I have ridden numerous and own one now.
After the Nixon fiasco Manitou has a lot of apologies to make before the get to ask for that kind of money. The fork might be amazing but there rep sucks poodle vomit. Someone in promotions has to put a thinking cap on and put down the crack pipe...even if it's made of carbon fibre
like what ilikebike23 said manitou has such a bad reputation from pros and riders,i doubt they will even be put on many bikes. i just think if manitou wants to get the dorados as a well known fork if the fork is any good they should drop the price by quite a bit to start so more people might think of them as an ideal fork rather than looking away immediatley because theyre so expensive
ok ive said it before ill say it again did ur mothers ever tell u if u cant say sumtin nice dont say anything at all.
One question almost half of these comenets saying that inverted forks flex and weep .......well i dont see many dirt bike inverted forks doin this.....oh i know bcuz most of u who have bagged on this fork dont take care of their equipment and dont service it enough....point in case these forks rok
With all the problems and bad reputation from riders and the pros.And how manitou's require lots of maintenance the Dorodo will be a huge failure this year in my opinion because of its ridiculous price. I doubt this fork will even be put on a stock bike cause bike companies rarely put manitous in general on their bikes cause they suck.
Manitou Please go out of buisness lol
im really thinking of buying one of those since i am getting the 09 intense m6.... yah it looks good and all but maybe they have come back with something thats worth spending that much money on. and now since everyone is saying that there service sucks... well maybe its about to turn around and be great service cuz hayes controls them and will give a good kick in thee a*s if they screw around.
To try and make it short, this may be the year where manitou and hayes will be one of the most talked about because of there great products. Just my opinion on this fork and a little comeback for you all tho think about.
*ambrose* is right though i agree with what he said. and guys for one thing i never ridden a manitou before only fox shox so i dont know much about them from.
i've never quite trusted manitou, my friend has a travis on his old brodie dh and has had many problems with it. on the hand, another guy i know swears by them. sound like a good idea and all,with their damping system and hydraulic bottom out thing, and they might ride well, but it is just too expensive. i'd say manitou is trying to catch up to forks like the boxxers and fox 40s.
are those $2775 accurate?!? hahaha if the Dorados are that expesive, than good luck selling them!! You could buy a sweet complete ride for that price... not many people can afford such a pricy fork...
Having opinions of stuff is great, if people didn't have opinions we'd all roll around on exactly the same stuff, depending on how much money we had.
Personally, I'm a huge fan of USD forks. Loved the shivers, loved the SC / DC Dorados and I'm hoping I'll love these too.
Got these earmarked for an M6 build. No, not because that's what the intense/crc team are using, but because they'll hopefully give the best feel. Matched to a CC DB, which has input from ohlins, who have huge amounts of knowlage when it comes to suspension and damping and with the VPP suspension it could be a great bike. It won't be a feather weight, but I have other bikes for that. (As most people will who are spending that kind of money.)
Yeah, there's no comparison... if you like the extra two pounds of weight. Sure, the Shiver was smooth, I'll give it that. But there's no question it was a tank.
btw my 888's and shivers I have my shivers on my bike right now. Don't think they are coming off any time soon. With a stainless axle HOLY CRAP!
Anyways... funny people seem to forget the Dorados in the first few NWD videos. People hucking cliffs with carbon forks...
People seem to forget that the dorados really did carry a lot of steam on the DH circuit not too many years back. Same with shivers. They function completely different from any currently made forks. Heck my there is a world of difference btw my shivers and 888's... even when I drop travel on my 888's to lower the ride height.
if your name is greg, cedric, sam, peaty, gee, ben, etc.... this fork's for you and i'll be happy to watch you use it, unless one is an astronaut one cant afford to fly a rocket.
the forks reliability has alot to do with the rider and how he rides..like free ride is hard on bikes .. like my 888 has blown the air cartridge 2 so i think this is an awesome fork that isnt overpriced
I must agree, upside down forks are solid. Riding one today and would not change! There is always going to be pro's and con's regarding forks, just get out there and RIDE!!!!
looks great BUT: costs a lot, no direct postmount at least 180mm disc at this price you can't compare to the new boxxer which is the lightest dh race fork at the market and works great
Did you ever ride an Dorado enh? You just dont know what ur talking about. Manitou have allway 5 years foward then every other fork compagnies just take a look on the famous SX Carbon 1999, the Supernova 2001 or the SC Dorado 2003 they are all master worked but to mutch for ther time so: overpriced for common of mortals! that it, Manitou have the best damping systems ever and other are just imitation of it i got a 2004 Dorado (never busted even trought 4 hardcore seasons) and an 2005 Sherman jumper 110 camo (never busted even with big ''to flat'' drop)Manitou willalway be the best and if you dont like the price of Dorado why dont buy an Travis its only MSRP: 1049$ so shut up whit your stupid comment and ride a Manitou!!!
I know there are alot of riders out there that really dislike manitou. ut what I have noticed is that 'almost' all their bad rep is cause of their seals. Lots of young riders get on them and blow the seal cause the seals do kinda suck, but then they don't know and ride there fok with know oil till the internals are crapped. Get after market seals and I find they are pretty good forks... that said I still love my old school marzocchi... but will never ride an 08 or newer.
also manitou keeps spending so much on downhill forks and they really don't have any decent DJ options. buy fox and rock shox for dh, and get a pike, argyle or a marzocchi for DJ and street.
theyve got a very good reptation and their stuff really is the top of the line BUT their suspension products are extremely expensive, which makes them relatively unheard of...
amazing stuff though, thats for sure
Push aside from the funcationlity for a moment, the look of the fork intimidates. Even the old ones that had that blue or red color, I thought was too much. I think this new Dorado looks arrogant and that's not what biking is about; it never has and don't ask me to explain why. Most bikers like a little bling bling as it adds personality, but I think that they'd much rather represent with skillz not fashion! This is why, I believe, the majority prefer the more sutle look even if the price was lower. I rip the trail, not the bloody catwalk!
look nice, but will never be able to comepete with the boxxer. Im sure they feel great and if your worrying about snapping it.. you are a hack.
I still beleive that the boxxer wc will reign supreme. to the fool that said they feel like shit obviously has no idea what he is taking about.
sure buddy, i have no idea whatsoever
find me one boxxer that doesnt feel like the damn stanchion is going to eat the leg alive and i will more than gladly eat every word i've ever said about boxxers! i never said that theyre an overall crappy fork, i just said that they feel like crap... otherwise their damping system and weight are friggin amazing!
fool
perhaps, MARZOOCHI should bring back the death of Shiver....Bottomline is Inverted forks are sronger. Dorado is way too expensive....not mny can't afford it and then it will be discontinued again for not being a good sale item. Get Avalanche instead for that kind of money.
For those who don´t know BOS: The company is owned by Olivier Bossard, french suspension boffin. They do all the suspension-stuff for the Mitsubishi rally-raid and WRC cars, produce tuning-kits for Boxxer and 888 and have their own World Cup Rider, Fabien Pedemanaud. And, just for kicks n giggles, Nicolas Vouilloz is one of their test riders. He should know a few things on how to ride a bike...
Dorado's were great in a straight line but turn a corner and it was like "ok my bars and fork are going left but my wheel is still going straight!" - flex central
Hmmmm, you'll see a lot at WCs and the like, but on local tracks at smaller races where people don't have a van full of spares and a mechanic, I bet they will be a little less common...........
They have the best Customer service in Canaada dude - Trident Sport.
Service WAS terrible at OGC, but at Trident it's as good or better than what you'll get elsewhere. Not to mention if you are really stuck, the US guys will help you out - you won't get that anywhere else.
if u take a bad bail u can break/snap any fork. that dosen't neccisarily mean there bad forks, if u land and still break your forks, then it's the forks fault
Well you can, as the over complicated internals have a habit of exploding. When they work they are amazing but to keep them running nice is a pain in the ass.
and there made for racing so there as light as possible while just being strong enough so unless ur sponsored rich or have connections good luck affording new lowers or stanchions i know people who have peirced lowers
joedaho have you riden 40's they literly have like 5 internal peices all it is 2 air chambers and 2 Titanium springs..my freind has them he has not seviced his for 2 years and they still run like their new..
Yes, I had them on the front of my Glory for about 9 months, and within a fortnight of use of having them serviced, the compression cartridge blew up leaving no damping in the bottom half of the travel. (Mine had been used all throughout the winter at least weekly, quite often more for uplifts and sessioning local trails.) Chatting to a few other people at the bottom of the Megavalanche (where it happened) apparently such things were not at all uncommon. And I seriously doubt your friends forks are 'like new' degradation in performance is gradual and you don't notice it if thats the case.
Tell you what: That one is going to go down big time. It looks promising for this to become the biggest mistake ever to be bolted to a bike. Why? Simple. It looks awful (compare it to the new boxxer - ya feel me?), probably won´t perform as nice as a standard boxxer WC (even w/o tuning!) and is horribly costly. For such money, I´d get myself a nice ´n´ shiny BOS Idylle or a fully tuned boxxer WC with matching rear suspension. Those guys know what they do (one word: Blackbox), manitou obviously doesn´t.
Screw all of your boxxers and and 888 and 40's Get a real fork like a White Brothers DH2 or Groove 200 then you have a real downhill fork that wont break and they ride so much nicer than any of those forks. Inverted forks all the way they will always ride smooter than traditional forks just by desighn.
so true though... but nobody wants em anymore because theyre heavy... which is structurally a good thing, but doesnt sell anymore...
i could go for one tho! haha
