Rock Shox Duke vs. Manitou Black

HI

Which one of these forks is the best one?:

Rock Shox Duke XC 2004 U-Turn vs. Manitou Black Elite RTWD
2004

The Duke is on this one: http://www.bike-
discount.de/www/navfram.asp?uin=1056298573&nav=Mehrinfo&Art-
ikelID=7112&Kategorie2=49&Hersteller=52&Kategorie1=1

And the Manitou is on this one: http://www.bike-
discount.de/www/navfram.asp?uin=1056298573&nav=Mehrinfo&Art-
ikelID=6985&Kategorie2=49&Hersteller=52&Kategorie1=1

Sincerely Anders

 

What are you looking for in a fork? Lighter weight? Stiffness? Adjustability? Great Customer Service? Color? Price? What type of riding will you do?

The "best one" will vary depending what you're looking for out of the fork.


Ken

 

> > HI
> > Which one of these forks is the best one?:
> > Rock Shox Duke XC 2004 U-Turn vs. Manitou Black Elite RTWD 2004
> > The Duke is on this one: http://www.bike-/http://www.bike-
discount.de/www/navfram.asp?uin=1056298573&nav=Mehrinfo&Art-
> > ikelID=7112&Kategorie2=49&Hersteller=52&Kategorie1=1
> > And the Manitou is on this one: http://www.bike-/http://www.bike-
discount.de/www/navfram.asp?uin=1056298573&nav=Mehrinfo&Art-
> > ikelID=6985&Kategorie2=49&Hersteller=52&Kategorie1=1
> > Sincerely Anders
>
>
>
> What are you looking for in a fork? Lighter weight?
> Stiffness? Adjustability? Great Customer Service? Color?
> Price? What type of riding will you do?
>
> The "best one" will vary depending what you're looking for
> out of the fork.
>

Hi

I am looking for a good quality fork that doesn't break
after ½ year, a fork that can withstand rough driving in the
forrest. A fork that is easy to service. But the main thing
is that the fork is a quality fork!

/Anders

 

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 21:47:12 +0100, Anders wrote:

> I am looking for a good quality fork that doesn't break
> after ½ year, a fork that can withstand rough driving in
> the forrest. A fork that is easy to service. But the main
> thing is that the fork is a quality fork!

Hmm, maybe look elsewhere (?)

The Duke is an ok fork, but not great by any stretch of the
imagination. And the Black is probably worse.

At that price point, go for a Marzocchi.

 

OK, based on your criteria, I offer the following comments based on my personal experience:

Manitou: Not very durable with horrible customer service. My fork broke, they basically told me tough **** and have a nice day. My friends fork broke (exactly the same model, broke in exactly the same place) and they replaced his within a couple of days.

The difference? My friend crashed and broke ribs as a result of his failure, while I did not. I guess if you have a potential legal claim against them, you get an upgraded fork.

Rock Shox: I've had good luck with them, but their products are extremely flexy for me. I've heard horror stories about them as well, but I've never had a problem with their products (other than the flex).

I second Bomba's reccomendation for Marzocchi. I've ridden two of their forks. The first was a Z1. There were some problems with it, but Marzocchi fixed them without question and without running me through the wringer.

The second is a Marathon SL (Air fork) that I'm currently riding. I've only had it for 3 months, but it seems stiff, durable and is easy to adjust.

Hope this helps.

Ken

 

Anders wrote: <snip>
>
> I am looking for a good quality fork that doesn't break
> after ½ year, a fork that can withstand rough driving in
> the forrest. A fork that is easy to service. But the main
> thing is that the fork is a quality fork!
>
> /Anders

I have a 2001 Black Elite Air 80 mm and I love it. Stiff,
smooth, and plush. Never had a problem and I don't know
about servicing because I've only had to squirt a little
microlube in it and that's all the service I've done.

Never had a Duke, but I think I heard they were crap from
someone here. You might want to search for it.

Matt

 

"Anders" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> HI
>
> Which one of these forks is the best one?:
>
> Rock Shox Duke XC 2004 U-Turn vs. Manitou Black Elite
> RTWD 2004
>
> Sincerely Anders
>

I've had both, more or less - an '03 Duke SL 80mm, and an
'03 Black Elite
80/100. The RockShox was crap start to finish: flexy,
sticky, etc. I didn't keep it around long enough to
vouch for its long-term health, but I haven't heard
any good things.

The Black has been perfect. Hundreds of offroad miles, no
real maintenance, and no problems. I'd buy it again.

Chris

 

MattB wrote:
> Anders wrote: <snip>
>
>>I am looking for a good quality fork that doesn't break
>>after ½ year, a fork that can withstand rough driving in
>>the forrest. A fork that is easy to service. But the main
>>thing is that the fork is a quality fork!
>>
>>/Anders
>
>
> I have a 2001 Black Elite Air 80 mm and I love it. Stiff,
> smooth, and plush. Never had a problem and I don't know
> about servicing because I've only had to squirt a little
> microlube in it and that's all the service I've done.
>
> Never had a Duke, but I think I heard they were crap from
> someone here. You might want to search for it.
>
> Matt
>
>

Wouldn't have heard it from me. I had two Duke Race forks
(two bikes) and nothing but happy times with them. They were
the first year (2002) of the Duke line. I put plenty of time
in on those forks, and liked them quite a bit. They tracked
as well as my Marzocchi X-Fly, but had better, more
adjustable suspension and weighed half a pound less.

Miles

 

> Manitou: Not very durable with horrible customer service.
> My fork broke, they basically told me tough **** and have
> a nice day. My friends fork broke (exactly the same model,
> broke in exactly the same place) and they replaced his
> within a couple of days.

These wouldn't happen to be a failure of the fork lowers
right where the arch connects to the lower leg? 2003 reverse-
arch models all had this problem because in shipping, when
the fork/stem were flipped around to fit in the box, the
reverse arch was the ONLY stressed part of the bike. The
arch wasn't designed to take those stresses of shipping, and
thus, the cracks formed very early on in the fork's life.
Fortunately, I was able to get a new set of lowers and
switch them out myself.

Granted, I just broke my rebound damping about a week
ago, but that doesn't really matter for the riding I do
on that bike.

Phil

 

> Wouldn't have heard it from me. I had two Duke Race forks
> (two bikes) and nothing but happy times with them. They
> were the first year (2002) of the Duke line. I put plenty
> of time in on those forks, and liked them quite a bit.
> They tracked as well as my Marzocchi X-Fly, but had
> better, more adjustable suspension and weighed half a
> pound less.

I had a Duke C 2002 for a year and never had any problems
with it either. Held air fine, relatively low stiction, and
pretty durable.

Phil

 

"Anders" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> HI
>
> Which one of these forks is the best one?:
>
> Rock Shox Duke XC 2004 U-Turn vs. Manitou Black Elite
> RTWD 2004

avoid anything with the words "Rock" and "Shox"
printed on it.

cheers

g

 

"Anders" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > > HI Which one of these forks is the best one?: Rock
> > > Shox Duke XC 2004 U-Turn vs. Manitou Black Elite
> > > RTWD 2004 The Duke is on this one: http://www.bike-/http://www.bike-
> scount.de/www/navfram.asp?uin=1056298573&nav=Mehrinfo&Art-
> > > ikelID=7112&Kategorie2=49&Hersteller=52&Kategorie1=1
> > > And the Manitou is on this one: http://www.bike-/http://www.bike-
> scount.de/www/navfram.asp?uin=1056298573&nav=Mehrinfo&Art-
> > > ikelID=6985&Kategorie2=49&Hersteller=52&Kategorie1=1
> > > Sincerely Anders
> >
> >
> >
> > What are you looking for in a fork? Lighter weight?
> > Stiffness? Adjustability? Great Customer Service? Color?
> > Price? What type of riding will you do?
> >
> > The "best one" will vary depending what you're looking
> > for out of the fork.
> >
>
> Hi
>
> I am looking for a good quality fork that doesn't break
> after ½ year, a
fork
> that can withstand rough driving in the forrest. A fork
> that is easy to service. But the main thing is that the
> fork is a quality fork!
>
> /Anders
>
>

See Marzocchi

 

"Anders" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> HI
>
> Which one of these forks is the best one?:
>
> Rock Shox Duke XC 2004 U-Turn vs. Manitou Black Elite
> RTWD 2004
>
> The Duke is on this one: http://www.bike-
> discount.de/www/navfram.asp?uin=1056298573&nav=Mehrinfo&A-
> rtikelID=7112&Kategorie2=49&Hersteller=52&Kategorie1=1
>
> And the Manitou is on this one: http://www.bike-
> discount.de/www/navfram.asp?uin=1056298573&nav=Mehrinfo&A-
> rtikelID=6985&Kategorie2=49&Hersteller=52&Kategorie1=1
>
>
> Sincerely Anders

Dook = daily constitutional

You should see the pile of broken manitudes at OTE in
Fruita. I think there are about eight waiting for warranty
replacement from breaking on the arch.

Get a Bomber or a Fox.

JD