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Manitou Marvel Pro/Expert 2015

39K views 120 replies 26 participants last post by  Dougal 
#1 ·
Greetings, I was wondering if there's someone in this forum who can give me feedback about this fork, is it good?, any potential problem that I should consider?, etc.

Plus, how is this fork compared to a RS Reba, should I save more money to get the Reba?

Thanks for your support.
 
#2 ·
I just installed a Marvel Comp onto my 29er hardtail and love it. It is the 120mm QR model. It feel much lighter than the crappy dart 3 I had before. It is a very laterally stiff fork, but still nice and plush. The rebound and compression dampening is good with nice firm detents on the compression knob. The rebound adjustments are very noticeable too. So far it is great! I've been running the similar Minute Expert on my 26in Specialized Enduro for about 3 years with zero problems (or service for that matter). I have not used a Reba but Manitous are much better than the old Recon 351 on my wife's old bike. Hope this helps a bit.
 
#3 ·
Yes. I have some Manitou Tower Pros and a 2015 Manitou Minute.

Excellent forks. My riding buddy runs a Reba and while its close, we both prefer the manitou, mostly for the ridiculous amount of adjustments and SMOOTH feel. They are a little heavier but performance is better imo. No problems in 1800 miles of riding between them..... I've torn them apart a few times.

I have another friend on a 2015 manitou expert. The fork feels great. It doesn't have the tunability of the Pros and runs a different system(MARS vs. ACT) still a very good fork. You can get into a lot more detail regarding tunability, etc, but suffice to say I'd choose a Manitou Pro over a Reba or Manitou Expert though all are great forks and you wont go wrong with any of them.
 
#9 ·
Offset is tied to the crown. There are some 1 1/8" steerer options available, but they all run 41mm offset. 51mm is available in 1.5 tapered only.

The Marvel Comp, expert and pro are available with 1 1/8" steerers with 26/27 and 29" wheels but are only listed with 9mm QR dropouts. Manitou can swap to QR15 lowers on order apparently but there is a small price increase.

How's the ISO Air spring on the Expert/Pro compared to TS Air on the Comp? I don't care about the weight difference, more about actual performance and comfort(small bump compliance).
ISO air and TS air are closely related.
 
#5 ·
Don't think they do straight steerer anymore as that is really not the standard, at least not with Thru-axle. You might be better off trying to find a used Tower with that. Contact Manitou directly as they are great about getting back to you quickly (or at lease have been for me) and they may be able to hook you up with a specific part number for the straight steerer, 120mm 15TA.
 
#6 ·
The Marvel I bought was with a straight steerer, but not thru-axel, old style 9mm QR. I almost got the tapered steerer as my frame can accommodate it with one of those conversion headsets. If your frame has a 44mm headtube, this might be an option. I decided against it as it would push my head angle back even further. I believe the offset is 48mm, so not quite 52, but more than normal.
 
#14 ·
Same. I'm 150. My Marvel Pro 29er is a nice fork in many ways, but small bump plushness is not it's strength. I think I'd not mind a small weight penalty for a little better plushness.

But it is a nitpick. At the end of a ride, it's done it's job well- taking the harshness out of the trail hits.
 
#15 ·
TS Air and ISO air are both systems with positive air and negative coil springs. Found in the R7, Marvel Comp, some Minute Expert, Marvel Pro etc.

MARS is the system with positive air and short coil springs in series. It is found in Minute Pro and previously in many other minute/tower/drake forks.

ACT is the system with positive air and full length coil springs in parallel. It is found in the Marvel Ltd, some Minute Expert, Circus Comp forks etc.

The Marvel Pro has a cartridge rebound damper which reduces oil volume and weight a lot over the full stanchion used in the Comp and Expert. The Minute Pro and Mattoc Pro do too.
 
#18 ·
Just received my 16 Marvel Pro 120mm fork in the mail. It looks great and comes with a ton of stickers from Manitou.... the green actually matches my frame real close. First thing I did was measure the reverse arch for clearance. Its only about 2.6 (or 66mm) between them, but should be ok with a hight volume 2.4 in there. Anyone running a bigger 29er tire, if so which one? I also weighed the fork, uncut at 1725 g and the thru axle at 92 g. Just need to tune it and will probably open it up after a few rides to see how it goes. Need to find out if any special tools are needed to wrench on it too. Thumbs up out of the box!
 
#20 ·
I run bigger tires on 30mm rims no problem. 2.4 will be no issue.

As for specialty tools, not really. Wrench's, Allen wrenches. Something to accurately measure oil.

Loose the platform shims if you want plush and small bump compliance.



Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk
 
#21 ·
#25 ·
The marvel goes 120mm NO PROBLEM.

They only ship in 80 and 100mm settings, pull the lowers off, take apart the air side (from the bottom of the lowers) and remove white spacers.

Done, you have 120mm. I know cause my 29er is running that way right now [emoji14]

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk
 
#27 ·
I'm running one RIGHT NOW. Been riding it for 2 years.
I may be wrong with the 80mm version, I know the 100mm version that can go up or down 20mm.

I just know exactly what I've been riding since the 2015 version came out that I bought new and I bought it as 100mm, goes to 120mm no problem. Came with 2 spacers installed and 2 in a baggy if I wanted to drop to 80mm.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk
 
#30 ·
Ah OEM model, can make a difference. I paid full price at LBS to make sure I got 2015 version after talking with manitou directly. Being they arent terribly far from me (few hours north) they ride a lot of the same types of trails I do, so they helped alot in the choice and setting up my fork for my weight (275 lbs).

If you notice on the parts list all travel settings have different part numbers, but look at the service manual.

Your going to have to contact manitou to find out if OEM unit is different or not. Their quick to get back to you so shouldn't be an issue.

But a word of warning. Marvel is an XC designed fork, so 120mm in OEM format may be really hard to find because everyone is going 120mm these days (I ride XC trails and prefer 120) so they may not want to give them up. Being stuck as 100mm may be the reason your finding it so cheap. I paid over $500(after tax) for mine and my lbs gives me discounts on anything over $100.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk
 
#31 ·
Manitou Marvel Travel Adjust

I have a 27.5 Marvel Comp 120mm. Planning to lower it to 100mm. My question is:
- Are the travel spacers supplied inside the compression rod? Just have to rearrange to lower the travel.

In the event that the answer is no, what can I put to replace the travel spacers? The fork was bought without a box or kit. Hope someone can answer me. Thanks.
 
#33 ·
Yeah looking at what type of riding you will be doing you may want to go with the Minute over the Marvel. This will give you the 120mm option standard and it is shimmed to be more trail oriented for the damper. The great thing about most of the ABS+ dampers is that they are completely tuneable via the shim stack for whatever type of riding you are doing. I have played with my old Tower Pro 100mm a bit and have the FIRM spring along with some slight shim stack tuning. However, that bike is now a dedicated commuter so I am getting rid of the fork in Lou of a rigid fork.
 
#36 ·
Hi,

I've got the same aftermarket marvel expert 2015 with 100mm. While working great in rock passages, with small bumps like cobblestones my setup produces an annoying clacking sound. I've checked correct oil height already but it didn't help. The headset was checked for a gap or wear by a Tech. Wrote to Manitou support twice but no reply.

Does anybody have this issue and is there a way to smooth this out? I'm at 90 kg.

Thanks
 
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