These are my initial impressions of the new Maverick Fork after 2 days of riding.
There are a few things I have wondered about this fork since seeing some of the early prototypes. Do we need 6 inches of travel in an XC application? Will the fork be too tall for a regular trail bike? Too heavy? Will all that travel and extra fork height interfere on climbs?
I have been riding a 4 inch travel Psylo Race for the last year. I have liked the suspension characteristics of the Psylo, but the reliability has been terrible and it can be quite flexy in tight trail conditions. I was eager to find out how the Maverick compared on my usual trail rides.
I would have to sum up my experience with the Maverick fork like this: The Maverick fork unmercifully slaughters the Psylo in EVERY category. It is lighter, a lot stiffer, and has 2 inches more travel.
I took the Fork to the Hall Ranch trail, a local favorite. This trail has a very long section in the middle that is nothing but windy, extremely technical rock gardens. The section is unforgiving and once it starts, you get no relief until you have cleared the last rock almost a half mile later. This is the perfect place to test out some new suspension goodies.
Climbing through the rocks was standard procedure on the Maverick. With a quarter turn of a knob on top of the fork leg, the suspension partially locked out at about 4 inches. This made the height of the fork almost identical to the Psylo. I didnt feel the fork negatively affected my climbing ability at all and why should it since its no taller than what Im used to running, and at about 3.25 pounds its lighter too. Even in 6 inch mode, the fork didnt bob any more than the Psylo during seated climbing.
At full extension the fork is about 1.5 inches taller than my Psylo. While at first I was worried this would slacken the steering of a trail bike too much, what I found on the ride was completely different. I really couldnt tell that the fork had slackened the steering at all. Why? Because this fork is so much stiffer than the Psylo, it just steers quicker. I honestly couldnt feel any difference in the steering even with the fork in 6 inch mode.
The advantages of a super-stiff long travel fork became very clear once I started descending through the rock garden. Lines I used to give a second thought to before choosing were absolutely no problem on the Maverick. Two inches of extra travel makes a big difference in technical terrain! There is one corner on the trail that is a 90 degree turn with an 18 inch step-down on the corner. This turn would twist my Psylo so badly that I had to wrestle the bike around the corner every time. The Maverick was so stiff on that corner that it turned what used to be the toughest part for me to clear, into no problem at all. I found the fork to be as plush as the best air forks that I have tried in the past.
I like to do some XC racing but Im not the type to ride something like a SID. Since Im already racing a 4 inch fork, I honestly dont see any reason why I couldnt use the Maverick in the same application. For technical 24 hour courses like those at Northstar and Moab this fork would be ideal. And if I had my way and XC racing was made a lot more technically demanding well you get the picture.
Of course, this fork isnt going to replace every single crown fork out there. Its still an air fork so durability and reliability arent going to match a coil fork. I cant comment on the long term reliability of the Maverick but after two days of riding there was no oil leakage which is 2 rides better than my Psylo does, even after a factory rebuild. Some people might be deterred by the fact that the fork uses a proprietary hub with a 24mm axle but that stiffness has to come from somewhere.
For those looking for the perfect trail riding fork for those long, technical, epic rides I think this might be it.
On another note this was also my first ride on the Maverick ML7. This frame pedals like a Hardtail yet has 4 inches of effective suspension. Very nice!
<center><table><tr><td colspan="4" align="center"><b>Click an image for larger view</b></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="bottom"> <a href="/media/maverick/photo_detail.php?photo=mav2.jpg" target=new><img src="/media/maverick/mav2_sm.jpg"></a> <br><font size="1">Big fork!</font></td><td valign="bottom"> <a href="/media/maverick/photo_detail.php?photo=mav3.jpg" target=new><img src="/media/maverick/mav3_sm.jpg"></a> <br><font size="1">Sweet bike </font></td><td valign="bottom"> <a href="/media/maverick/photo_detail.php?photo=hub2.jpg" target=new><img src="/media/maverick/hub_sm.jpg"></a> <br><font size="1">Maverick hub</font></td><td valign="bottom"> <a href="/media/maverick/photo_detail.php?photo=stem.jpg" target=new><img src="/media/maverick/stem_sm.jpg"></a> <br><font size="1">Integrated stem</font></td>
</tr></table></center>
There are a few things I have wondered about this fork since seeing some of the early prototypes. Do we need 6 inches of travel in an XC application? Will the fork be too tall for a regular trail bike? Too heavy? Will all that travel and extra fork height interfere on climbs?
I have been riding a 4 inch travel Psylo Race for the last year. I have liked the suspension characteristics of the Psylo, but the reliability has been terrible and it can be quite flexy in tight trail conditions. I was eager to find out how the Maverick compared on my usual trail rides.
I would have to sum up my experience with the Maverick fork like this: The Maverick fork unmercifully slaughters the Psylo in EVERY category. It is lighter, a lot stiffer, and has 2 inches more travel.
I took the Fork to the Hall Ranch trail, a local favorite. This trail has a very long section in the middle that is nothing but windy, extremely technical rock gardens. The section is unforgiving and once it starts, you get no relief until you have cleared the last rock almost a half mile later. This is the perfect place to test out some new suspension goodies.
Climbing through the rocks was standard procedure on the Maverick. With a quarter turn of a knob on top of the fork leg, the suspension partially locked out at about 4 inches. This made the height of the fork almost identical to the Psylo. I didnt feel the fork negatively affected my climbing ability at all and why should it since its no taller than what Im used to running, and at about 3.25 pounds its lighter too. Even in 6 inch mode, the fork didnt bob any more than the Psylo during seated climbing.
At full extension the fork is about 1.5 inches taller than my Psylo. While at first I was worried this would slacken the steering of a trail bike too much, what I found on the ride was completely different. I really couldnt tell that the fork had slackened the steering at all. Why? Because this fork is so much stiffer than the Psylo, it just steers quicker. I honestly couldnt feel any difference in the steering even with the fork in 6 inch mode.
The advantages of a super-stiff long travel fork became very clear once I started descending through the rock garden. Lines I used to give a second thought to before choosing were absolutely no problem on the Maverick. Two inches of extra travel makes a big difference in technical terrain! There is one corner on the trail that is a 90 degree turn with an 18 inch step-down on the corner. This turn would twist my Psylo so badly that I had to wrestle the bike around the corner every time. The Maverick was so stiff on that corner that it turned what used to be the toughest part for me to clear, into no problem at all. I found the fork to be as plush as the best air forks that I have tried in the past.
I like to do some XC racing but Im not the type to ride something like a SID. Since Im already racing a 4 inch fork, I honestly dont see any reason why I couldnt use the Maverick in the same application. For technical 24 hour courses like those at Northstar and Moab this fork would be ideal. And if I had my way and XC racing was made a lot more technically demanding well you get the picture.
Of course, this fork isnt going to replace every single crown fork out there. Its still an air fork so durability and reliability arent going to match a coil fork. I cant comment on the long term reliability of the Maverick but after two days of riding there was no oil leakage which is 2 rides better than my Psylo does, even after a factory rebuild. Some people might be deterred by the fact that the fork uses a proprietary hub with a 24mm axle but that stiffness has to come from somewhere.
For those looking for the perfect trail riding fork for those long, technical, epic rides I think this might be it.
On another note this was also my first ride on the Maverick ML7. This frame pedals like a Hardtail yet has 4 inches of effective suspension. Very nice!
<center><table><tr><td colspan="4" align="center"><b>Click an image for larger view</b></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="bottom"> <a href="/media/maverick/photo_detail.php?photo=mav2.jpg" target=new><img src="/media/maverick/mav2_sm.jpg"></a> <br><font size="1">Big fork!</font></td><td valign="bottom"> <a href="/media/maverick/photo_detail.php?photo=mav3.jpg" target=new><img src="/media/maverick/mav3_sm.jpg"></a> <br><font size="1">Sweet bike </font></td><td valign="bottom"> <a href="/media/maverick/photo_detail.php?photo=hub2.jpg" target=new><img src="/media/maverick/hub_sm.jpg"></a> <br><font size="1">Maverick hub</font></td><td valign="bottom"> <a href="/media/maverick/photo_detail.php?photo=stem.jpg" target=new><img src="/media/maverick/stem_sm.jpg"></a> <br><font size="1">Integrated stem</font></td>
</tr></table></center>
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