Manitou Keeps the Slow Tease for New Trail Forks

Sail? WTF? Someone make that song die!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that ad was about as good as their forks have been.

They need to lose the reversed arch. Add that to decent dampening and maybe they’d get a second look.

Interesting video. I’m not aware of what things are like in other markets, but where I ride/shop (planet Earth) there doesn’t seem to be many riders who’ve been waiting for new Manitou products. They’ve mostly written them off and moved on to companies whose owners actually care about maintaining the brand quality.

…And FWIW, I have Manitou Minute with TPC+, and the damping isn’t bad, but it’s not as good as the (2009?) Tora 318 I have on my “spare” bike.

Manitou is too small to compete with the big boys these days. If they want to be a serious player again, they need to trim their product line and focus on one or two sub-markets until they can build up their technical chops and credibility.

Frank: “they need to trim their product line and focus on one or two sub-markets until they can build up their technical chops and credibility.”

Isn’t that sort of what they’ve been doing? The Dorado DH fork has gotten consistently good reviews for a while now. Too small to compete with the big boys is correct, but maybe they can carve a niche like BOS or DVO.

nobby nic:

reverse arch is kind of aesthetic you might like or you might not. it helps to keep the seals cleanish tho. As for the dampening? TPC+ damper is the most adjustable dampening system still.

Frank:

Ever since being purchased by Hayes group Manitou has been doing precisely what you describe. They trimmed the line to XC/Light trail forks. With the notable exception of Dorado their burliest fork was a 140mm Minute.

Anyhow. I am one of the few who were axiously waiting for the 160-180mm fork from Manitou. I have been so impressed by my minute ( with having over 20 other forks to compare ) that i am going to get whatever they are going to release if it fits the format of my bike ( banshee Rune V2 26″ ). I’m such a fanboy now.

Man, I have a 2008 Nixon with TPC and a 20mm through axle that runs circles around the Fox fork it replaced. No comparison in the plushness, the stiffness or the big hit capability. The bonus? Not having to change your oil bath every month. The extra bonus? Not having to change your stanchion every 2 years from wear.

Manitou, bring it. I love my Nixon but would love to see an updated version that had a better QR 20mm system. Keep the weight low, the stiffness high and everything else the same as my old Nixon and you will have a winner. But make sure you price it at a minimum of $1000, otherwise the vast majority of MTBers will think it is sht and not buy it. Really. We are sheep. Stupid sheep.