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Manitou Firefly?

keen

Monkey
Mar 30, 2003
355
0
I currently have a Fox Vanilla 125R and am considering an 03" Manitou Firefly. Any thoughts about the Firefly? Thanx
 
Feb 29, 2004
87
0
England
They're both good forks, the Vanilla is meant to be plusher than the Firefly, but with all those adjustments...
If you switch riding styles alot, ie. street and then freeride, the Firefly would be good because you could change the travel to suit the riding conditions. Tough call that one.
 

keen

Monkey
Mar 30, 2003
355
0
Ya thats where I was looking @ the fork. I just wonder if the Firefly would be overkill for aggressive XC riding? My Vanilla is noisey & the spring rates are either too soft or too stiff.
 

dv8cam

Monkey
Dec 8, 2003
103
0
If you can afford it, you may want to get the 2004 Firefly with SPV. It will work better with your XC riding. Got one, love it! Call Chad at Red Barn Bicycles and he will hook you up a great deal!
 

fonseca

Monkey
May 2, 2002
292
0
Virginia
I'm using a Firefly for XC, and loving it. I only have 50 miles on it, but it's the nicest-feeling fork I have ridden. It might not be fully be broken in yet. I'm not yet getting the full 130mm travel.

Only problems are that the stock spring is just a bit too soft compared to what I am used to, and the fork is a little tall. 10mm taller than my Psylo SL. If you run spacers under your stem with the Vanilla, expect to eliminate them to get yours bars down a bit.

I also prefer minimal rebound damping, and the adjustment range is pretty narrow. However, with the shimmed damper setup it's easy to fine-tune. I'll hold off on that until I have a few months on it though.