Mountain Biking - Manitou Black Elite or Marzocchi MX Comp ETA??

I've decided that I can't stand the flex and overall mushiness of my RS Pilot XC anymore, so I'm buying a new fork. I'm a clyde at 6'2" and 240# and dropping. I ride fire roads and singletrack with my biggest drop being 2'.

I've narrowed it down to 2 different forks: a 2003 Manitou Black Elite (80/100mm) without lockout for $200 + shipping on Ebay from Greenfish Sports.

Or... a 2004 Marzocchi MX Comp with ETA (105mm). I think the ETA sounds cool. Anyone own one that can comment? I'm gonna try to get Nashbar to price match ($270 is the lowest I've found so far) + a 20% coupon which would bring me in at about $216 + shipping. That is if Nashbar will pm AND let me use the coupon. Anyone know if Nashbar still does this?

I've read reviews on both forks and both forks rate highly. I'm looking for comments on both forks from those of you that have ridden either or both of these forks. I'd like to avoid buying heavier springs for either fork if I can get away with it. I'm not looking for other recommendations, just opinions on these 2 forks. I look forward to your recommendations! Thanks

If you want to avoid putting heavier springs in then you can forget the Blacks. I'm 150 lbs and I can bottom the stock springs just by jumping up and down on the bike at a standstill! I personally don't trust Manitou products before 2004, especially the Black's. They are notorious for blowing seals, peeling rubber decals (not a big deal but come on...if you can't engineer a shock that doesn't have its decals peel off in 2 days what does that tell you about the quality overall?), and the placement of the travel adjustment is not very well thought out. Hit one tree, rock, stump...whatever and that cheap piece of plastic is a goner. It is a nice riding fork if you have the proper springs however but it just doesn't give me confidence when riding it because I'm afraid something will break. I don't have experience with that particular marz fork so I cannot comment on it. I can say that I've ridden an atom 80 for 4 years now and it hasn't bottomed once or given me any trouble at all.

I ride a Black Elite and have no problems with it. I also ride Marzocchi and have no problems there either. My wife has a MX Pro with ETA and it rides very nice. I am a 205 lb rider although I switched the spring in the Black it rides very nice and although the decals may peel off I could really care less about that. I normally pull them off anyway. Most fork manufacturers will tell you that you need to be able to bottom a fork out in certain instances.
I rode a Judy DH for a couple of years, a Mag 21, have serviced numerous other RS forks and would not own another one. However that being said, I have no complaints to register on the Black, it is stiffer than the Judy DH is plush enough for me, and has handled everything I have thrown at it. I live in a area of Tx that has some nice steep hills and very rocky in places. So far after 300 miles on it, lots of big hits taken on it, there has been no problems with it at all. Of course I do not jump anymore, but like I said for what I do it handles everything just fine.

You WILL need to change your springs regardless of which fork you end up with. Most manuf. equip their forks with a Medium Rate spring which is good for riders up to about 180 lbs.

Another fork to consider due to your Clydesdale classification is something a bit beefier fork like the Marz. DJIII. It's a dirtjump designed fork, but it's built with a bit more heft that a rider of your (and my) stature requires.

I would also highly recommend a QR20 thru axle as riders like us put a lot more lateral stress and a thru axle stiffens up the front of the bike considerably. This means a bit more $$$ and probably a rebuild of your front wheel (or new wheel), but it makes a HUGE difference in performance.

L8R

Ok, since u last seen me, i started putting on abit more weight, about 1/2 a stone i nthe last few months, and i want to loose a bit more, and i havent had enough time to ride recently due to Exams :(...

Anyway, i finally got a decent amount of work, and i have about £200 to spend, that puts me in the region of a Marz DJ3, a Manitou Black comp w Lockout, or a Marz MX Comp.

I have a 2004 SPecialized Hardrock Sport Disc, and atm it has an RST Gila on it, which isnt really man enough for what i need becuase it flexes quite a bit.

You guys think you could point me in the right direction for a fork, that will be taking very Aggro XC, with 2-3 foot Drop offs. I really want something over 100mm travel because of this, but the DJ3 is 110mm, if i have that, will it mess up my geometry?

Because i hear 100mm is nearing the edge of what a hardrock will take, is 10mm really going to make that much difference?

Ok, since u last seen me, i started putting on abit more weight, about 1/2 a stone i nthe last few months, and i want to loose a bit more, and i havent had enough time to ride recently due to Exams :(...

Anyway, i finally got a decent amount of work, and i have about £200 to spend, that puts me in the region of a Marz DJ3, a Manitou Black comp w Lockout, or a Marz MX Comp.

I have a 2004 SPecialized Hardrock Sport Disc, and atm it has an RST Gila on it, which isnt really man enough for what i need because it flexes quite a bit.

You guys think you could point me in the right direction for a fork, that will be taking very Aggro XC, with 2-3 foot Drop offs. I really want something over 100mm travel because of this, but the DJ3 is 110mm, if i have that, will it mess up my geometry?

Because i hear 100mm is nearing the edge of what a hardrock will take, is 10mm really going to make that much difference?

Sorry for stealing your Thread :)

I'm 6'3" and 220 lbs (on a bad day)...when I went looking for forks, I narrowed it down to the same two forks...after talking to different riders, shop guys (one of the owners was 250), and browsing the net...I decided to get the Manitou Black Elite (MAN, you can get em' cheap now!!!)...

Outta the box, IT IS TOO SOFT!!! Changing the spring is a definite and takes $30 and 10 minutes...No freaky tools...

After changing the spring, it's great!! I rarely use the lockout, but I'm constantly adjusting the height for climbing...The rebound adjustment is great if you tend to have bad/good days...you can dial it in to your speed...

One thing...I had to get my spring from a LBS...I got a helluva price from SuperGo, but they don't offer anything after that inital buy...Luckily, the LBS was still willing to deal with me...It doesn't hurt to throw some bucks their way even if it does cost more...