Manitou QR air shocks - only $39.95?

[ChilliConCarnage]

Somebody on eBay has 24 Manitou QR Air shocks they are selling at $39.95 each.  They are 7.875 I2I with a 2 inch stroke.

This seems like a killer deal as a backup lightweight shock.  I'm thinking of getting one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=42317&item=7155525231&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW&tc=photo

Any thoughts?

[kiwi]

buy one,then with a MULA and a MSA(machined strut adapter) you can have a backup for both ends!

[Colin]

Just too expensive for Customs Duty free into the UK.
$39.95 = £22 ish, allowance is £18.
Plus they charge VAT on the Postage as well! = $20 ish
which would make the VAT about  £5.80  total
But the real killer is that the postal company over here will charge £9 or more to fill out the paperwork and collect the VAT.
So this shock would cost about £47 for Europeans!

Still not too bad I suppose....?

Our shocks on 4000/5000 4500/5500 are 209mm (8 1/4") aren't they?

[shovelon]

209 mm is correct.

Terry

[Simon]

Seems a great deal to me,
Colin I've bought and shipped components from the states and have only had to pay duty on items that exceeded $50 and never had to pay VAT,
as long as the item is marked cycle spares and insured for $50 plus there is no paperwork indicating the item is valued much higher then you will not pay any duty,
I learnt this from getting stung on an Oz frame I had shipped over,
since then any item's I've had imported are marked cycle spares and insured for $50,the only problem is if the item is of greater value and goes missing,thats the chance you take but so far no problems.
Simon.

[ChilliConCarnage]

Do any of the engineering-minded people here want to take a stab at making some custom 9mm extensions so these shocks would fit the 4000/5000/Evo frames?  If so, I could pick up 10 or so of these and keep them available at that price for any current and future upgrades people on this board want to make.

[Frankd3000]

Now that I finally picked up my 5000 frame, sure. I was going to do this anyways.

Would a few of you guys mind taking a quick measurement for me? Measure the width of the lower shock mount on the swingarm, please. Also, I don't know if it would be different for aluminum or carbon s/arm's but list which material you have, just in case. Same goes for the upper shock mount location, too.

PATIA!

Figures, nice weekend coming up and i'm getting sick! [smiley=disbelief.gif]

[kiwi]

Figures, nice weekend coming up and i'm getting sick!

its that ^%$#@! murphy again...

[Frankd3000]

BUWHAHWHWHAHAHAHAHAH!!! Oh geez, THANKS Kiwi, I needed that! Yeah, it's ALL HIS fault! I think he's having an affair with Mother Nature. [smiley=nod.gif]

[ChilliConCarnage]

Argh! Wiated too long and now they're all gone!

[will]

Chili,

Chilly Willy here... (an actual nickname )

I just bought &  installed one of those Manitou QR's on my 856. It was a little bit of a hachet job, but I made no serious mods to the bike, so I can always revert to the ODS & spring combo.

This morning she got a test ride on 12 miles of singletrack and here are some impressions:
- Rebound control is very nice.
- Springs are much more plush than air shocks.
- It took 125 psi to get down to 1 cm of sag. That seems like an awful lot of air pressure.
- Pedal bobbing wasn't any worse than the spring/ODS, maybe even a little better.
- The new set up took about a pound off the bike. [smiley=nod.gif]

If it wasn't so much work, and the shock didn't look so good, I'd put my spring back on.
I'll post pix if anyone is interested.

Cheers for beers - it's Saturday night.
Will

[shovelon]

Yes, post pictures.

My airshock to some time to break in. But in general I agree air shocks are a bit stickier.

Considering losing a pound, nice.

Terry

[will]

Chili,

I've got those pics in the gallery (and will attempt to put one here...)


All I did was swap the bushings from one end to the other and install the shock upside down.

With no bushings on the valve end, I was able to grind the stub into a cone and set it into the strut.

I filled all the gaps with JB Weld then drilled and treaded the original screw up into the end of the shock.

All this cured for 18 hours and withstood a 36" drop with all 214# on board this morning! Wahoo!