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Yo Kpicha, how's the fork?

4K views 14 replies 4 participants last post by  tscheezy 
#1 · (Edited)
I think you were going to bump the Manitou up to 120 a while back. Did the parts come in? Did your shop install the stuff and did you get a chance to ride it?

We are getting shut down for riding right now due to snow. The backcountry snowboarding has been good, the ice skating is great, and we have done some skate skiing too. Not like we are running out of activities, but I do like to ride my bike. I guess pedaling for a total of an hour around town on my commute counts... gotta keep our butts in shape (literally) for our road trip this winter.

Anyway, give us the poop on the fork.

tscheezy

Oh, and what would a Turner post be without a little PORN!
 

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#2 ·
Hey Tscheezy, thanks for asking!
This is the scoop so far.

Week before Thanksgiving, I place the order and they say it'll be in Thurs. Well, Thursday is Thanksgiving so I give them an extra week and call the Thurs. after Thanksgiving and it turns out "they were in a sales meeting all day so UPS couldn't deliver the part so it should be here tomorow". I call Friday and "oops, Manitou sent the wrong part". Well, okay, considering they didn't really know what they were ordering, I'm really thinking they ordered the wrong part or they got the right part but didn't realize it was the correct one. So, that was what, three weeks ago now and they still don't have the part.

I called Manitou myself and they said they really prefer having a dealer do the ordering so, I've let the issue go for the time being. Geepers, creepers, how hard does this have to be? The part is free except for the S&H!

I'll re-visit the issue with them after new years when everything settles down or else this is all a sign that I should just let things be :)

I did lower stem and that seemed to have helped negate the "too fast" feeling I was getting.

Anyway, sounds like you two are having fun despite the lack of riding! :) Snowboarding in the backcountry- wow, you guys are brave!

By the way, I visited your website - breathtaking scenery you're priviledged to work in :)

Cheers,
Kristina
 
#4 ·
Sounds like you need to light a fire under their butts

I don't know if you are missing any riding because of it, but that sort of sucks that they lag that hard. I went riding tonight for the first time in a few days. It was pretty good. Night riding with lights, sub 20ºF, breezy, light snow falling. The roads are packed snow and ice and the trails, being mostly in the forest, were relatively snow-free and easy to negotiate. Aside from ice skating and running, there is not much I would do other than ride after dark, so the other activities are more for weekends.

See ya,
tscheezy
 
#5 ·
Yeah, this isn't the first time they've "forgotten" to order something. They're the closest shop around but i think I'm going to have to travel a little farther to get better service.

I am still riding so the waiting isn't holding me up and doing lots of night riding, too :)

Have a great Christmas and happy New Year!
Kristina
 
#8 ·
I figgered this is where I'd find you. Bet you're getting anxious for the trip, eh? Hope it's a dandy.

We're just starting to look at travel dates; Hfly just lives a couple blocks from us and I'm in touch with him when we're in town. If I can figure out how to e mail you I'll zap you some phone numbers.

Ken
 
#9 ·
Ok, back on topic-lol

I went to another bike shop farther away and I should be able to pick up my bike this afternoon. Soooo, barring super muddy conditions this weekend, I'll be able to test it out.

Oddly enough, Manitou's owner's manual says that the upgrade kit is free but when the shop called to order it, Manitou said that its only free if you buy the fork separate from the whole bike otherwise, the kit costs $21.99 since it "came with the bike". No big deal but apparently they were kind of rude when the shop said I had a Turner and that I had to have bought the fork separately.

Well, at least I'm headed in the right direction finally-and much sooner than June ;)
 
#10 ·
What a steaming pile-o-crap. There is no such thing as a "prebuilt" Turner. They ship naked frames, period. By their argument any shop which hangs a component on a boutique frame is in exactly the same category as the volume purchase discount offered on OEM parts to the bike mega-companies.

Just goes to show, you should never volunteer information (especially that Supergo built your bike).

Hope you like the results considering what is going into the process. ;)

tscheezy
 
#11 ·
Ha, yeah well, I didn't tell them that until after they already called me to say that the part was on its way. The shop told them that it was impossible to come pre-built on a Turner b/c they only sell frames. Besides, I only bought the frame from Supergo (no one else had a 15" frame at the time). The first shop that I was dealing with built it up from the parts that I got off of the Hollowpoint so, in that respect, they were right in saying that the fork came off of a pre-built bike. I don't know how in the world Manitou knew that in the first place though,b/c the shop never took down the SN. weird! I'm not sure what to think of the whole situation. Sounds like there's a missing link somewhere for Manitou to have thought, straight off the bat, that my fork was OEM. Oh well, no big deal. If it was more money, I'd be pretty upset and I'd definitely push the issue but as it is, they aren't going to charge for the servicing, so I can't complain.
 
#12 ·
Woo hoo! Finally got to ride with the new travel adjustment on the fork!

I rode for a couple of hours today and I really, really, like how it feels in the 120 setting. The bb height is perfect now for me - I can actually continue pedalling over log ramps instead of just relying on momentum to get over annnnnd I'm not banging my pedals on the logs either or have to worry about timing my pedal strokes to avoid the little bumps.

I didn't notice any difference in climbing performance, steering in tight situations required that I scoot back a hair to keep the front wheel from being floppy but best of all was that I didn't get that "I'm about to endo" feel when going over taller logs. My front brake wasn't working properly so I didn't get to test the brake dive but I suspect that its going to be more pronounced in the longer travel. So, i guess the solution to that is....... Don't brake :)

All in all, I was really worried that the bb height would turn out to be too high and I would feel too tall on the bike or that it would feel tipsy at slow speed but I surprised that it feels right at home in that setting. I can't find our tape measure right now (the kids probably "hid" it) b/c I was wanting to measure the bb height just to see where its at now.

The only thing that worries me is that the fork "clunks" now whenever the rebound is quick. It never did this before so I'll have to bring it back and see what's going on. Any ideas?

So, I'm glad I didn't have wait until June for this! ;)

Cheers,
Kristina
 
#13 ·
First off, I am very pleased you are enjoying the change. I like doing occasional tweaks to my rides too in order to keep it fresh and try new things out. It is surprising sometimes how something small can end up feeling like a big improvement.

kpicha said:
The only thing that worries me is that the fork "clunks" now whenever the rebound is quick. It never did this before so I'll have to bring it back and see what's going on. Any ideas?
Can you describe the clunk a little more specifically? Does it top out hard? In other words, does the fork extend all the way and hit it's full length with a whack? My Z1 SL does that if I don't put enough negative pressure in. I can't remember which Manitou Black you have, not that I know anything at all about Manitous anyway. Explain the behavior a little more precisely and I'm sure Dougal or some Manito-phile can diagnose it.

tscheezy
 
#14 ·
Thanks! Yeah, its almost like riding a new bike again :)

The "clunk" happens right when it springs or rebounds back into full travel after I've compressed the fork (its a Super Air ) in order to pre-load for lifting to get over a log or wheelie type thing. The clunk is harder when I have the fork at faster rebound than with slower rebound. I think I'll post this over on the shocks board later, too to get a little more exposure. I hope I'm not damaging the fork.
 
#15 ·
Most shocks have a rubber or spring bumper which cushions the fork from topping out harshly. If you don't have a way to add negative pressure or reduce preload on the main spring, either they forgot to reinstall the negative spring/bumper, or that is just the way the fork is designed and you have to slow the rebound down enough to dampen it out, or live with it. I really doubt you could damage the fork that way. The shocks board is a good place to start.

tscheezy
 
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