[yojimborace]

Uhh, my friend's Manitou Stance Kingpins aren't looking too good. Today we were freeriding a little, and he hit a tiny drop, about 4ft and we heard a loud pop noise. We look at his forks and his seal is about 4 inches up the stancion. We pushed it down and it happened a few more times throughout the ride. Is there any way to fix this?? He just got the bike about 2-3 weeks ago.

 

[vwmtnbiker]

take the bike back to where he got it. the first batch or two of those forks had bum seals which would do exactly what you described. out of curiousity how much psi was your friend running in the fork? you are not supposed to run more than 40 in the chamber. at any rate manitou should be able to get you taken care of (the one thing i can say for them is they seem to have GREAT customer service so far)

 

[sanjuro]

This happened to a Kingpin which came on a 2005 Big Hit. Pumped the air assist to 45psi, blew the seals in the shop. Manitou sent us seals with no questions like they were expecting a problem, we installed them, and the same problem happened again.

Lets see how QC is on the Kingpin.

 

[punkassean]

You know some corners have to be cut when a fork that's that good on paper cost as little as the kingpin does.

Bummer, great potential for the first affordable bullet-proof DH/Fr fork. I still think they might be worth owning, Manitou just needs a little more time to refine the Stance line...

 

[yojimborace]

Yeah, I dunno what Psi he was running, but I'm sure it wasn't very high, cause they didn't feel stiff at all and he weighs very little. It did come on the new Bighit. I told him the stance line might not be that sturdy, but we figured since he weighed 120 he couldn't mess them up. Oh well

 

[binary visions]

Yeah, I dunno what Psi he was running, but I'm sure it wasn't very high, cause they didn't feel stiff at all and he weighs very little. It did come on the new Bighit. I told him the stance line might not be that sturdy, but we figured since he weighed 120 he couldn't mess them up. Oh well

Don't give up on it; Manitou admitted that there was a bad batch of seals, and they will replace it for free. Try it after the seal replacement and give us an updated report in a few weeks!

 

[sanjuro]

Don't give up on it; Manitou admitted that there was a bad batch of seals, and they will replace it for free. Try it after the seal replacement and give us an updated report in a few weeks!

I am considering bringing in another Big Hit to shore up our FR line, so I have to soften my Mammy-Poo attitude.

Considering the price is similiar to the Junior T (which was stocked on the 2004 Big Hit), I would have to say you might get better valving on the Kingpin (TPC+ vs. SSV), but I am not worried about QC on Marzocchi products.

I read on NSMB on a review of the Slider how became locked-up after a few rides. The reviewer did not consider this dramatic, but I bet he had planned a big vacation and his fork locked up, he would be crying a different tune.

 

[yojimborace]

Originally Posted by binary visions
Don't give up on it; Manitou admitted that there was a bad batch of seals, and they will replace it for free. Try it after the seal replacement and give us an updated report in a few weeks!

Will do.

 

[binary visions]

I am not worried about QC on Marzocchi products.

I'm sure the dozens of people who owned the forks with cracked crowns would disagree with you.

I'm not trying to turn this into a Marz-vs.-Manitou argument, but Marz has had plenty of structural problems with their forks in the past few years. The fiasco with those horrible bonded M-arches, which was resolved when they went to 1-piece lowers, that would barely clear a 2.5" tire, which was compounded by the issue with stress risers on their crowns causing cracks.

Just something to keep in mind. Marz makes great forks but Manitou's Sherman lineup has been top notch as well. I have no alliegence to either side, I'll simply buy what suits my needs better.

 

[yojimborace]

I would much rather use Marizzochi parts than Manitou. Manitou have proved to be weaker in the past. I didn't see Marizzochi recalling all of their forks . BTW, I think my friend is taking his forks in today.

 

[binary visions]

I didn't see Marizzochi recalling all of their forks .

Nope, instead they left them in the field to fail on their own and replace them on a case by case basis, instead of telling the owners: "Hey, we have an issue. We know what it is, and how to fix it. Sorry that some of you had problems, but we'll fix it now instead of waiting for the rest of them to fail."

Whoop dee doo.

 

[yojimborace]

Haha, yeah. But I'm just saying that in the past, Marizzochi has proved to be more reliable than Manitou. I wouldn't mind some Shermans though.