Kaggel

Part of the appeal of the Gen1 was home serviceability. I got it when Covid started and parts supply in our country was badly affected. It is easier to work on than the Rockshox or Fox forks I've had during that time and keep coming back to this workhorse design. There are many small features which make it easy to work on and rebuild at home if you are a competent home mechanic. And the special tools are not really special per se, just make the job easier.

Manitou has chosen to keep the same method for setting the negative chamber pressure when pumping up the fork. basically when the schrader valve is opened you're setting the main and negative chambers at the same time. This allows the fork to adjust travel the way it does. But! As you remove your shock pump, you first close the main chamber and then the negative chamber. So it's very sensitive to a clean disconnect. And "ttsssst" of a sloppy disconnect and the two chambers aren't balanced right. So you can then just screw on your shock pump slightly to open just the negative chamber and make sure it's balanced. This could be a key setup step to making sure the fork isn't topping out and for older Gen1 forks, that you have sensitive off-the-top feel. Looking forward to hopefully affording this Gen2 fork - I love my Gen1 and have been running it for almost 7 yrs now.

The team at 9point8 need to put down the bong

So like Scott had on their previous generation Spark...

@kage17: Looking at the Stumpy Evo Alloy Elite build which is slightly lighter than the quoted weight of the new Bronson.

16kg for a 150mm carbon bike with a reasonable build. Thanks I'll take a lighter, cheaper Stumpjumper Evo Alloy

So I understand this is testing the top spec fork for each, but I would like to see some downmarket comparisons... Like the 38 Per-Elite is cheaper and has the same features/functions. So why not even just mention that as a value comparison? Or even more interesting, the Marzocchi Super Z and a Zeb Select+ as comparisons to Zeb Ult

@onawalk: I am seeing about about double that usually. Usual temp range is about a 30F increase in temp through a ride. And about a 15-20% rise in pressure Quite sensitive. LIke a river crossing and I'll see a 1-2psi drop as well. And then recover as the tyre returns to temp.

I've been using Tyrewiz on all my carbon mtb wheels across multiple bikes. I like softer pressures so being sure of the safety margin is great. I haven't broken rims or had any pinch flats since using Tyrewiz and display on my Garmin. It's more than just checking pressure at the start of a ride. I am surprised at how much pressure changes during a ride! Temperature in particular has a measurable effect. Starting a ride in a cold valley and riding into a hot day will rise the tyre pressure by 15-20% which is something you will feel. Or if you have your bike in the sun driving to the ride in the back of your truck canopy and then ride into cooler forest shade and river crossings. NOticeable pressure drop before you drop into the trail. I think it's a great geek-out tool that's easy to get the best reliability and repeatable feel out of your tyres.

Thanks for this. I feel this has been a more insightful and honest review than many full-blown articles on the individual components. Always so interesting to see what works and what doesn't.