Manitou's New Fat Bike Fork - Taipei Cycle Show

Mar 24, 2017
by Mike Levy  
2017 Taipei Cycle Show

Manitou Mastadon


If you have a fat bike and want to run a suspension fork, you can currently choose either a RockShox Bluto or some sort of strange, inverted thing that may or may not work. The former is better than the latter, but there'll soon be another option: Manitou's upcoming Mastodon.


Manitou Mastadon
Manitou Mastadon


The Manitou booth didn't have much in the way of information on their new fork - it's not slated to be released until down the road - but it's obvious that it's sporting somewhere around 140mm of travel, and that it's based on the Magnum but in a massively wide chassis. How wide? Well, I can fit my head through the casting, so I bet you'll be able to squeeze in the biggest of fat bike tires. The lowers are likely beefed up where required compared to Manitou's traditional forks, and it wouldn't be a Manitou if it didn't have a reserve arch.

A decal on the lowers specified that it's using the Dorado air spring that's also employed on their high-end Mattoc fork, which means that riders will probably be able to adjust air volume and ramp-up as required. The dial atop the fork crown lets riders tinker with both low-speed and high-speed compression (rebound is at the bottom of the same leg), but you won't find Manitou's effective HBO (hydraulic bottom out) control - it appears to use a simplified damper compared to the Mattoc Pro.

No word on the Mastodon's price, but it's probably a safe bet to assume that it will ring in somewhere near its main competition, although Manitou is known for usually offering a few different price points and options. We'll have more information, including price and weights, soon.
Manitou Mastadon






Author Info:
mikelevy avatar

Member since Oct 18, 2005
2,032 articles

119 Comments
  • 60 19
 wow... manitou is really on top of the game when it comes to showing off ugly casting arches impatiently waiting to collecting mud. holy fuck manitou... this one is in its own class.
  • 28 3
 i can see a fat bike marsh gaurd so wide it acts as a spoiler too......
  • 37 7
 Do fat bikes go fast enough to shed mud/snow?
  • 21 4
 Manitou reverse arch, all those casting holes are on the back of the arch, so will collect mud the same as any other fork, that is not very much.
  • 10 5
 @nojzilla: haha, the new territory for MTB marketing: downforce and ground effect
  • 2 2
 @ChazzMichaelMichaels: Honestly thats a good question
  • 24 3
 Only looks bad from the back. Like your mom.
  • 7 15
flag mattsavage (Mar 24, 2017 at 9:18) (Below Threshold)
 @sevensixtwo: thats not appropriate
  • 10 1
 That's not very savage matt
  • 7 1
 @Ozziefish: savage by name, not by nature...
  • 1 3
 hahaha how can you write fuck because i personally cant
  • 1 1
 @chillrider199: astonishing, pb normally automaticly writes f*ck, well its a fail sry
  • 2 1
 Put a sticker over that hollowed out crown. Adds no weight, and looks stylish if done properly.
  • 4 3
 Oh yeah pinkbike allows shit, bitch too Im pretty sure. But no fucking way would they allow fuck. God forbid the word fuck because give me a fucking break the word fuck is so bad that this comment might get removed I could see it and Ive said the word fuck like 7 fucking times, 8 now! But yeah no fuck. Bad
  • 3 0
 Triggered...
  • 1 2
 @WAKIdesigns: No look at my name. Im so chill. Chill like ice tea on a hot summer side walk. And chill like a frozen wooly mammoth on a hot summer side walk. Or chill like my ex girlfriends ice cold soul on a hot summer side walk. Yeaaah
  • 3 1
 @ChazzMichaelMichaels: You wouldn't believe how fast a fat bike can be ridden until you actually ride one. As the the old saying goes "it's not the bike"
  • 1 0
 Your right, I wouldn't.......
  • 1 0
 @RimCyclery: black duct tape does the job nicely
  • 1 0
 @ChazzMichaelMichaels: they do when you blast down Mt Kosciuosko in the middle of winter mate!
  • 23 1
 An e-fat bike?

Damn you all! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!
  • 7 4
 A local has an E fat bike and he uses it instead of a car. Hauls ass on the dirt like walking trails. Hardly gets flats and never crashes from like mud or something. I can upvote it for this situation. But for recreational uses its kind of gay. Best part is he bought the bike through china at like 400$. Solid this
  • 1 0
 Thing*
  • 1 0
 i personnaly would try at least before judge!! .. i think it opens new doors for long snowy rides.. but in BE non sense 4sure
  • 2 0
 @chillrider199: did you just say gay? Are you a redneck?
  • 2 0
 @blackthorne: No I dont really know where that came from too be honest. Fill it in with the word "f*cked."
  • 14 1
 There will be 2 versions of the fork, both with 100/120/140 travel (Internally adjustable). And yes, it'll fit Snowshoe XXL.
More details imgur.com/a/Hjzlq
  • 16 2
 Hopefully a decent suspension fork for fatties at last. The Bluto is crap, It should have been based on the pike chassis.
  • 10 1
 "choose either a RockShox Bluto or some sort of strange, inverted thing that may or may not work. "

Is it soooo hard to find a pinkbike editor who ACTUALLY fat bikes and knows the existing market/products to write about new fat bike products ?

By inverted "thing" i presume he's meaning the WREN forks and the other branded ones that come from that same factory which have been hit and miss for quality control... but there is also the DNM inverted fork which works quite well although its heavier, cannondale produces a lefty for fat bikes, RST has had their Renegade fork which is stiffer than the Bluto for over a year now, and there is another asian fork maker called TopGun with fat bike forks at the lower price points that function acceptably well for their price if you buy the correct models.

It would have been nice had this write up about Manitou's fat offering if they'd included some better technical details like what the steerer tube options will be, what the offset is, what's the stanchion tube diameter, and if it will be only in 150mm dropout spacing or 135mm as well, and what the maximum tire width rating actually is...because the current "biggest", the Vee Rubber Snowshoe 2XL does NOT fit the Rockshox Bluto.
  • 2 0
 Check this table imgur.com/a/Hjzlq
Offset 51mm, stanchions 34mm, Hexlock SL 15x150 as an axle, and XXL
  • 1 0
 I bought a Carver inverted Fat fork (Wren) and it was a heavy and it twisted so bad I sold it...

All upright forks need to have shock boots or stantion gaurds to keep the mud from getting thrown directly into seals...
A easy way to save the bushings!
  • 1 0
 Agreed, there's actually quite a few good fat bike suspension fork options:

1. Rock Shox Bluto
2. RST Renegade
3. Lauf Carbonara
4. Wren Inverted
5. Cannondale Lefty Olaf
6. And now...Manitou Mastodon
  • 7 0
 This is some of the best news I've read. My bluto isn't great but it's still better than nothing. Hopefully this will sell well and drive fox to make a fat 34 or sram a fat pike that doesn't suck.
  • 1 1
 The Fox guys in sunny California could car less about fat bikes unfortunately, so don't hold your breath.
  • 1 0
 @Bigernmcracken:

Obviously, and I'm not.
  • 1 0
 @Bigernmcracken: My thoughts exactly. If they make a fat bike fork its gonna need to be strong, then it'll need reworked to make it light, then the internals' will need to be reworked to make then work as they should. Basically what I'm getting at is that by the time fox have a fork suitable for the fat bike market it will be one of their most expensive suspension forks, it wouldn't surprise me if it tipped the pricing point at the same level as a 40. End of the day the final fox product would price itself out of the market.
  • 1 0
 @HaggishunteR:

All fox need to do is widen a 34/36 and throw a grip dampner in there.

Rockshox coukd widen a pike.

Both options are better than a bluto
  • 8 3
 That "strange inverted thing" that is the Wren fork actually works pretty well. The Bluto is a piece of cheap garbage made for denstists with 7000$ fat bikes so they can say they have suspension. It's made to struggle across snow pack at 1.5 mph not actually ride.

Looking forward to something that might make SRAM up their game and make a Bluto that doesn't have the internals explode as soon as it hits dirt.
  • 6 1
 All of the Wrens I've laid hands on have had an incredible amount of play in the key ways straight out of the box, For such an expensive fork that's not acceptable. While the bluto is very flexy it at least doesn't rattle and clatter about. I'll happily keep the bluto that came on my $2500 Fatback over a Wren any day.
  • 7 1
 sounds like i should just hang on to the rigid fork then.
  • 8 0
 Hope it has at least 34mm stanchions, the Bluto is too flexy even at 100mm travel.
  • 7 2
 Great name, is there even any question what the soundtrack of a possible lunch edit will be? For a sport supposedly created by a bunch of stoners there is sadly not much stoner music in edit these days or ever..
  • 3 0
 SPLIT YOUR LUNGS WITH BLOOD AND THUNDER
  • 7 2
 "you can currently choose either a RockShox Bluto or some sort of strange, inverted thing that may or may not work"

That's a funny statement when the Wren inverted fork out performs the Bluto in every metric...
  • 5 1
 My Wren is awesome and far superior to the two Blutos I had before they crapped out.... at 150mm it is fully capable to make east coast DH runs... the Bluto was not...
  • 6 0
 I think they might have been referring to the Chinese "forks of many names" that were around before Wren. Somehow I don't believe Pinkbike is in the loop when it comes to Wren. Which is a shame since their new forks easily outperforms SRAM's Bluto.
  • 6 0
 This looks promising, finally a real fat bike fork. Hopefully soon I can ditch my noodley bluto, and its crap Reba damper. Yay manitou
  • 1 0
 In all fairness, you can retrofit a rct3 dampener. Fork is still a noodle tho.
  • 8 1
 Come on Fox. What is your problem? Make a 36 in 140mm travel fat bike fork.
  • 1 0
 Better get saving, or take out a bank loan to afford one because it'll cost a f'king fortune.
  • 4 0
 The Bluto got the ball rolling, thumbs up to SRAM, but sadly they just sat on their thumbs for two years and took in the cash.

The Bluto was never anything more than a super wide Reba, so now it'll be relegated to entry level fat biking, which is where it belongs.

Thank you Manitou for spending the $$ to bring this fork to life. So, when can I buy two?
  • 2 0
 This is perfect, this is literally what I have been waiting for. The bluto was an awesome option in the RL, pretty much all you need for the clown bike, But than distributors stopped carrying that shit, and now you gotta fork out an extra 200 CAD to get the Bluto RCT3 (which I am sure is an awesome upgrade over the RL) but for myself, hard to justify for a fat bike. This fork will likely smoke the RL but have similar price range... Excellent!
  • 1 0
 I got a magnum 29 from crc. Damper has rebound,hi, lo and bottom out. For me it has a light spring rate with a lot of support. It is as stiff as my pike. The axle has a bit of built in perplexity. There is a widget for tokens in the spring. I haven't needed more ramp up. Seems like it shares the load with the big tire.
  • 1 0
 Rockshox had their fatty fork out years ago. The TOTEM! haha, get that re-released with lighter lowers and crown, give the legs a bit more space and bang you got a 40mm legged fork that's ripe for ripping!
  • 3 0
 At first...i thought the picture is stretched
  • 2 0
 some sort of strange, inverted thing that may or may not work. This made my day
  • 6 3
 I'd call it the Mother of five...
  • 3 1
 Extinct for around 11000 years. Hairy. Small ears. Flat back. Curved tusks. Forest dwellers. Big and slow. Extinct.
  • 3 0
 Really? Talking trash on the Wren? Its an amazing fork.
  • 1 2
 What's the problem with making a good suspension fatfork at a price everyone can afford that doesn't fall apart a month into a ride,,dooshbags getting rich off poor people should be castrated
  • 2 0
 production costs my friend. have any idea how much a mold for a crown costs?
  • 2 0
 Given that you don't know how much it costs, how well it performs or how reliable it is, I'd withhold criticism until you know anything about this fork. No one is forcing you to buy bikes or bike parts. Manufacturers make products and sell them to customers at a profit. If this is an issue for you, I suggest you never go outside.
  • 2 0
 @codfather1234: I bet this guy has no clue what goes into designing a fork and the the cost of producing one. Vital mtb has a great podcast with DVO founder Bryson Martin and he talks at length about how much at cost to build a new fork from scratch.
  • 2 0
 Made in China or Taiwan, its a one time charge and it doesn't cost that much! I dare any Bike company to release their data and I'm betting it's pennies on the dollar! That's why they manufacture in Asia, low cost, high profit!!
  • 1 0
 @drivereight: New production requires new molds which cost over 6 figures. If you listen to the podcast I just sited you will find that out. DVO for example doesn't produce there own forks they have Suntour make them but for them to change a mold for there parts ain't penny's on the dollar.
  • 1 0
 A "reserve"arch??? Yes, this pig is big enough for 2 arches... i can see it
  • 2 0
 Nice name for a fork
  • 3 1
 Great name!!!
  • 1 0
 I want to see a bar spin with one of these forks lol
  • 1 0
 someome please make a dh fat tire
  • 2 0
 What a garbage article.
  • 1 0
 how is this toilet working ?
  • 4 2
 Not wide enough...
  • 1 0
 rather ugly, but the name is pure gold!
  • 1 0
 Is it just me or does it look like 32mm Stanchion Tubes like the Bluto?
  • 2 0
 34mm actually
  • 1 0
 @cydwarf: That is good to hear...
  • 2 1
 Finally some other option than Bluto! Smile
  • 1 0
 Does anyone here have reliable info on the WREN fork?
  • 1 1
 Naming products after extinct animals... BRILLIANT!
  • 1 0
 Will it work at -25C?
  • 1 1
 They claim "Performance down to −18°C", so yup, no problem.
  • 5 0
 @cydwarf: do you know how numbers work?
  • 1 0
 @JoseBravo: I do.
I also know that there's no difference between −18° and −25°, both bloody cold to ride.
  • 2 1
 Awesome name, for sure.
  • 1 1
 I'll wait until the Yosemite Sam model is available...
  • 1 4
 You need suspension on a fat bike? Them fat tires not enough? What happened to running low PSI and all those claims of tires being the suspension? Is the low PSI on fat bikes being a DRAG?
  • 3 0
 Those claims are shit! Those fat 5'' tires are correct in perfect snow but for spring et fall rides, you need a real suspension if you wanna ride real mtn bike trails with rocks and roots!
  • 5 1
 Yes...because most trail areas where folks fatbike also as a consequence of humans being largely idiots only concerned with themselves...will have folks who walk on the snow trails without snowshoes or skis if the weather is nice and the sun is out shining bright with blue skies...leaving post holes as we call them...which then freeze into stutter bump city once the temperature dips again.

Also...MANY fat bike users don't just ride on snow and sand...and if you're riding on rock/roots you need more pressure to prevent pinch flats if using tubes and bead burping if ridden tubeless.
  • 1 0
 They are actually not that slow, would i coose mu farley over my top fuel for summer? No! But ive road it when my skinny bikes in the shop and its no slouch, very exhausting after a while climbing but luckily you can granny gear any hill with the loads of traction.

Winter riding suspension fork? The snow smooths out the trail very well. Would be nice to not rock my teeth out doing drops, jumps and riding down stairs tho and then make a 29+ wheel set for it as a sick trail HT.
  • 3 1
 I rode a fatbike on snow. Super Cool. I rode a fatbike in super shitty deep mud - makes no trail feel cool, so cool. Rode fatbike with suspension fork in normal terrain - not cool. Rode fatbike with rigid fork in normal terrain. Fkng daft.

Rode plus bike in super shitty deep mud - makes no trail feel relatively ok. Rode plus bike in normal terrain - very cool.

Rode normal bike in snow - dumb. Rode normal bike in super shitty deep mud - impossibru,

Verdict: keep fatbikes on snow. Plus bikes covers you for most of sht anyways
  • 1 0
 @WAKIdesigns: You're right but since I still have those obsolete 2.35'', I'll take my new fatbike this spring and fall until we can ride our summer bikes without damaging the trails! If I switch for 27.5+, I'll keep my fat only for winter like you said, though.
  • 1 1
 NEED Moar WIderrrrrrrer! (Sorry, that's all I could think of!)
  • 1 0
 oh a nice ManRP
  • 7 8
 make a 29er Mattoc, not a f+++ing Fat Bike Fork...
  • 7 0
 There's already a magnum 27.5+ and 29+ and it is the same damper as the mattoc, and both will fit 29" wheels. Besides there is a pile of 29er forks to choose from out there.
  • 2 5
 Manitou needs to come up with a new dh fork n shock n stop f..cking around with this shit man
  • 3 6
 I thought fatbikes were dead?!
  • 5 0
 My mondraker panzer is. It snapped last week!
  • 1 0
 not if it snows a few feet 6 months a year in your city
  • 1 0
 The opposite, there's more and more people using them. Don't be a hater though, they are absolutely awesome fun.
  • 1 0
 @HaggishunteR: Not a hater at all. It just seems, that at least the media coverage on fat bikes is lower. for me it's an indicator for the industry to not promote fatbikes that much, as they used to in the past. maybe that was just a strategy to get things going.
  • 2 5
 Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!
  • 2 5
 No
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