I'm always... 'perusing' online sites and I sometime see Manitou Travis 203mm forks (non-ti) going for cheap, sometimes for $500usd brand new. I thought they were fairly new to the market?!
Manitou Travis forks...why so cheap?!
- Thread starter ChrisRobin
- Start date
Well...
Some riders didn't like Manitou's decision to move away from the old damping system... can't really speculate any further than that.
Some riders didn't like Manitou's decision to move away from the old damping system... can't really speculate any further than that.
most of the internals are plastic. cheaper for 2 reasons:
A) Material is cheaper
B) injection molding is cheaper than cnc'ing/ machining
A) Material is cheaper
B) injection molding is cheaper than cnc'ing/ machining
You get what you pay for....
Yeah, in general people do not seem to be satisfied with Manitou...the only Manitou I have ever tried that rode acceptable was the Dorado...
over the years i've heard both great and horrible things about their forks. they seem kinda hit or miss, either they work or they don't. which would most likely mean their manufacturing processes aren't quite precise enough to produce consistent high quality product.
Ah, I see... well I guess I'll just hold onto my 05 Boxxer Team for an extra year. I'll try to find newer internals if I'm really itching to upgrade something. Plus you can't beat the low front end it can give you: flat crown, sic integrated stem and low-rise easton bar.
will, you also weigh like 80 pounds. :biggrin:
i cant beleive more people are snatching up those forks.
I ran one all season and it felt amazing out of the box and remained that way without even touching it the whole season.
I ran one all season and it felt amazing out of the box and remained that way without even touching it the whole season.
I had a day on one this fall and I'm amped to get my 07 180 mm TPC.
Yup, I rode the 180mm Intrinisic all season on the Kumicho, havent touched it yet after tons of runs down snowshoe.
You are incorrect.
The Travis internals are not plastic or injection molded. Have you even opened one up and looked at it?
I have and I have even gotten inside the Intrinsic cartridge and they are NOT plastic parts.
nope, and i have no intentions to.
granola bars? bones? wood? bueller? bueller?
i really don't care. that statement was based on the fact that manitou is notorious for utilizing plastic internals.
fight fight fight....
Manitou has a bed reputation, especially when it comes to DH forks. Thus, while they may be spec'd as OEM on some bikes, aftermarket buyers are reluctant to buy them. Therefore, retailers and distributors have to keep lowering the point until consumers say, "hey, for that price, who cares if it's rigid, it's a steal!" At that point, when they can sell them, they have reached the equilibrium price.
It seems to me that, aside from a few opinions, most people really like the newer Travis forks. I think they are lower cost because of lower MSRP and lower demand due to some previous issues. I wouldn't have a problem buying a Travis, even though I haven't been thrilled with my previous Manitou forks. Their shocks have been fine for me, though.
Right, so you just go typing **** on the net about something you don't even know about?
I had xvert carbons, dorados and blacks. All internals were alloy. TPC+ kicked ass.
If i wasn't so happy with the new boxxers i would be running the travis.
yeah the new travis's are actually very nice, 180mm. i have one with TCP+ and a steel spring. the TCP+ that they are using is actually a new cartirage that is tuned for DH like the dorado was. i have had it for about a month now and it seen to be a solid fork. i have not had time to get it out on the dirt yet though. thus far is seems to be very supply and it was like that from day 1. i guess the only complaint i would have is that is has a tall axle to crown. you can seen pics of it on here it you do a search for "sluggo" and then ind my name
to the other guy. have you ever looked into a rockshox fork before?? because they are just filled with plastic. also i have seen many plastic parts in marzocchi as well. the only one that i have think of that is pretty much plastic free is fox but they cant make a lower that will not crack
to the other guy. have you ever looked into a rockshox fork before?? because they are just filled with plastic. also i have seen many plastic parts in marzocchi as well. the only one that i have think of that is pretty much plastic free is fox but they cant make a lower that will not crack
Maybe it's fear that the whole product line will be discontinued by 2008/no replacement small parts?
Could also be all the Manitou riders from Vancouver/GVRD are dumping them over fears about servicing -- we go from OGC where the service tech does a great job on the fork, feels better than brand new, and turns it around in a day or two -- over to a new service company and a day or two after the contract was announced we see a job posting for a part time mechanic ;-)
No idea why the forks are so cheap, I'm tempted to pick up one from one of the US online stores... shipping would probably be brutal though
Could also be all the Manitou riders from Vancouver/GVRD are dumping them over fears about servicing -- we go from OGC where the service tech does a great job on the fork, feels better than brand new, and turns it around in a day or two -- over to a new service company and a day or two after the contract was announced we see a job posting for a part time mechanic ;-)
No idea why the forks are so cheap, I'm tempted to pick up one from one of the US online stores... shipping would probably be brutal though
Dont the 06 boxxers have all metal internals, isent that one of the selling points.....
No. Most of the motion control assembly is plastic, the damping rods have always been aluminum (in manitou as well...). The spacers and piston assembly in the solo air is also plastic. The rebound base valve is aluminum though. Besides oxidizing , plastic is a fine alternative to non stress parts in forks because its light, strong enough and easy to mass produce. The basevalves for boxxer 04+ onwards have all been aluminum, as they are a high stress part and the 03 plastic ones had a tendency of exploding. There is just as much plastic in the numerous boxxer's ive owned 03/04-06 as there has been in the TPC+ shermans Ive owned or taken apart.Dont the 06 boxxers have all metal internals, isent that one of the selling points.....
yeah, it just seems like the travis was pitched as a race fork but came out too tall for most racer bois.
No news that they will stop production, especially of the Travis. There were so many things that were supposed to go on the 07 Travis damper and finish but thanks to the acquisition and exile, it's in the backset.
The 08 graphics look subtle and cool (to me)..
Kinda sucks they're moving to WI.
Nah...maybe they'll actually design a fork that doesn't suck in water like a sponge since they'll actually be somewhere water exists...
I've seen so many of those things seize on the East coast.
We ought to do an "east coast vs west coast" poll on Manitou products.
i'm on the east coast. all the manitous i have had in the past has done fine. most people with that problem i feel do not perfrom proper maintaince. like replacing seals every once and a while
and there you have it.
FYI Mr. Furious Trident used to be the 5th Element distributor (before they seem to have dropped of the map) so they do have some previous experience with shocks anyways which will hopefully mean half decent service. Most of the guys there have been with the company for a long time and know what they're doing.
Ford trucks rock!! Chevy sucks!
I had a Sherman Jumper. Everything about that fork sucked bad enough that I will never give Answer another penny.
I suppose it comes down to what your definition is for once and a while.
FOr me, thats 3 months. For Answer, that could be 3 rides.
I don't think the forks are terrible, but there are many better on the market. Credit where its due though, the Travis is priced accordingly, and is a great deal.
If you're going to slag a company, at the very least put some thought and effort into your posts so you have a convincing argument. Manitou's manufacturing processes are just fine, having visited inside a few of their shocks and TPC+ forks. And plastic doesn't autmatically make a fork bad, there are plenty of legitimate uses for it where it is lighter and superior to metal (see rockshox motion control). Just thought i'd let you know that you sound like a 12yo girl... "i don't care, i do wat i want!!!111"
Manitou's problem (when it comes to DH forks) lies in experimenting with new damping technologies which often suck - and never seem to match their original TPC+ damper. Without learning their lesson from greatly reduced sales (SPV) they continue to try and market new dampers (Intrinsic) that while better than SPV, still don't match the benchmark they set earlier.. not to mention I have heard of a fair few failing.
The TPC+ damper was a fairly simple shimmed sealed cartridge, with a rebound and LS compression adjuster that both worked and had plenty of range (unlike say, fox). In short it was great.
Now i'm fairly sure you can get these in the travis now. I'm not a huge fan of the chassis given the reverse arch and the slightly higher ride height it gives, but at the very least it's a step in the right direction. Good old damper and a new chassis (to replace the dorado which was both heavier and flexier).
I find it funny people almost don't seem to know what to do when they see a top of the line DH fork at that price so they just go ahead and criticize it.
Manitou was able to produce a great fork at what was already a cheaper price (at full retail) compared to other companies. Now you can get them even cheaper, why would you complain about that?
Propers to them I say.
Manitou was able to produce a great fork at what was already a cheaper price (at full retail) compared to other companies. Now you can get them even cheaper, why would you complain about that?
Propers to them I say.
Lots of people slag Manitou, for whatever reason they want to. In my experience they require more maintenance than some other forks, but they can be really, really good as well. TPC is an excellent damping system. SPV was a great idea for a trail fork - not so much for DH. My Breakout + had some work done on it by the OGC guys in Vancouver and it is a whole new animal. It feels fantastic now. In fact, it feels better than a lot of other forks I've ridden from other companies. The Travis had some issues in '06, but they seem to have been fixed for '07 (new internals are available for those with '06 models), and everybody I have spoken to who actually rides a Travis loves it. You just have to avoid the set and forget mentality.
yup. sounds good. In 3 years, I've had 2 888's and a DH40. Maintenance...nah...they work. See...that's what people in DH don't get about suspension that moto guys do. The reason you take a fork apart is to change oil heights or springs....not to clean crap out of them.
bizutch i think that you forget the oil degrades with time and needs to be replaced occasionally (like every year or so). the same goes for brakes and most any product that requires oil to work properly.