Mountain Biking - 'Another fork dilemma' woes

I'm looking around for a nice mid-price fork, 100mm-ish, £250-ish, 4lb max, with some kind of travel adjustment. I've had Z4s and MX Comps and love them, but I've heard RS have got their act together.

Marzocchi MX Pro ETA
Rockshox Reba SL U-Turn
or a Manitou Black

(I'm a 170lb, XC-ing, no jumping, day rider who doesn't mind a bit of fettling.)

Any help appreciated!

RockShox

MX PRO is where its at, I have one and LOVE it.

Well, its definately out of the Reba or MX Comp, i own a set of Marz forks and love them, and so do many other people, but I have also heard very good things about Rockshox and would give them a go just out of Curiousity :)

RS reba sl looks nice. It has U-turn travel adjust, rebound, compression, internal floodgate, poploc option, 3.53 lbs Motion control damping.
$480 at jenson

http://www.sram.com/en/rockshox/mountainforks/reba/sl.php
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product.aspx?i=FK605A51

I have a SID myself, im sold on ROckShox since the first day i rode with it :)

I have a SID myself, im sold on ROckShox since the first day i rode with it :)


I agree with you about the Rock shox fork, but have youtried any of the other big brands like Manitou or Marzocchi?

just curious really :), i cant really comment on Rockshox as I havent tried them, but I like My Marz fork, but Im so eager to try a Pike!

have not ridden a Marzocchi but a manipoo yes, and a fox. I cant tell you what model of the fox, but it had 130mm of travel. Im an XC guy so thats huge compared to my dinky 80mm. The manipoo just did not have a certain feel i like in my SID. I have so much adjustability with it i didnt feel like the manipoo had. But i rode them biased from the start so i wouldnt take what i say to heart,

Isn't the Reba a lot more than the MX Pro? But if it isn't, your choices should definitely be out of the Reba and MX Pro.

The Reba no contest... motion control vs. nothing on either of the other forks.

The Reba no contest... motion control vs. nothing on either of the other forks.
Seely, you got the Reba? I recall you made a "which is better" post not long ago.

Seely, you got the Reba? I recall you made a "which is better" post not long ago.

Nah probably going to go with a Black SPV, mostly because the Reba has no brake boss option, and for me to go disc is huge money (I have v-brake Dual Controls).

ah, yea its not always worth going disc brake. Im surprised they dont have V brake bosses

have not ridden a Marzocchi but a manipoo yes, and a fox. I cant tell you what model of the fox, but it had 130mm of travel. Im an XC guy so thats huge compared to my dinky 80mm. The manipoo just did not have a certain feel i like in my SID. I have so much adjustability with it i didnt feel like the manipoo had. But i rode them biased from the start so i wouldnt take what i say to heart,

manipoo:lol:

no its manpoo

Actually he stole it from me and it's manipoo

yes i did. I give exclusive right to Raiyn, so i say its manipoo.

My first suspension fork was a Rock Shox and I was dissapointed. Since then, I've owned 5 or 6 Rock Shox forks and each time I'm dissapointed. Haven't tried any of this years' new stuff though. The Pike looks promising.

I'm a Marzocchi fan, but seriously considering one of the new Manitou's (or Manipoos).

I dont get why people diss Manitou so much. Out of the three, the Black is most likely going to be the smoothest, but have the least amount of adjustability. That being said, I havent ridden a newer black with SPV....or really tried to adjust the Elite I had. Im also willing to bet that the Black is going to last longer than the MXpro. Dude, if you really want to know, go try them each out. Im sure that your LBS has bikes with them, can you really go with the opinions of some people on a bike forum with very biased judgement? I sure as hell wouldnt.

Historically Manitou has had problems with quality. Many times their adjustment knobs break after just a couple uses and just spin w/o any adjusting. But again RS is known to be great forks ....for a year. Then the bushings wear out and they get sloppy.

It also depends on the owner and how well they maintain their gear.

I think you really can't go wrong with any of the big players in the suspension market, Fox, Marzocchi, Manitou and Rock Shox all make good stuff. They also all make junk. Their bottom of the line OEM stuff isn't any better than generic brands.

Actually he stole it from me and it's manipoo


you are not the first person to come up with manipoo