Manitou forks

[Di.R.T.]

Has anyone who's ridden the noleen/girvin crosslink tried a manitou skareb or other light-weight reverse arch manitou XC fork?  

I'm interested in saving some weight but hate to lose the stiffness I'm used to from the crosslink.  

For example, to me a rockshox SID is very light, but a complete noodle and not worth the trade, IMHO.

[Di.R.T.]

Surely OP, Red5 or other long time Xlink riders have used both...

[Carbon_Angus]

not that specific fork, the RA Manitous are very stiff, but then anything is compared to a SID

you might not find anything to compare to the stiffness of an x~link, but then that was an under three inch, non disc tabbed, not very plush fork, great for ripping and climbing.

personally, i think x~link is a great fork, capable for what it was designed to do, but the forks you mention will put a smile on your face!

[Redshift]

I still think the 2001 Mega Air is the best Crosslink replacement.  ediscountbike.com just sold out in the past 24 hours unfortunately.  I was going to post this to you yesterday but couldn't get logged in and I didn't have an hour to wait for the site to reload...

Keep an eye on ebay, new ones come up now and then.  If you plan on being in Spartan side of the state anytime soon, let me know and you can take a spin on a 957 with a Mega Air.  It'll be a bit small for you, but you'll still get the feel of it.  In fact, I'm hosting a DNR guy this Friday at 5:30ish at Burchfield.  Drop by if you make it.

I use the Black Super Air on my freerider and even at 120mm it's plenty stiff and handles A2DH.   You'll be happy with the RA forks.  

[Di.R.T.]

I still think the 2001 Mega Air is the best Crosslink replacement.  

Harv,

I did consider the ediscount mega-airs.  Problem is, I need a 250mm steerer.  The longest he had was a 215mm.  He still has the 2000 mega. What is the main difference between the 01 and 00?  (Thinking of a backup lightweight fork for a smaller frame.)

Thanks for the offer on Burchfield.  I doubt I can make it Friday, but I'll check with the boss to be sure.

[Redshift]

There is a good difference between the '00 and '01 Noleens.  Grease ports,  better seals and far better internal configuration on the '01 forks.  I wouldn't even consider an '00 model.  

Just as another option, have you looked at the Psylos?  Everyone that I've ridden with that owns one loves it, plus James at TWT does great work tuning them and last I knew he was very impressed with them.  I rode a Razorback with a Duke on  the Grinder last year and I way under impressed with that.  

Finally, do you know Green Giant?  He's a west side rider these days and always rides a Titus (usually a custom black RacerX).  He's swearing by the new Fox air forks and he knows his stuff.  

[Dan Irby]

The RST "aerosa" is similar to the Mega-Air. In fact, RST manufactured the Mega-Air. It can still be had.

[Di.R.T.]

Finally, do you know Green Giant?  He's a west side rider these days and always rides a Titus (usually a custom black RacerX).  He's swearing by the new Fox air forks and he knows his stuff.  

No, Harv, haven't met him.  Will look out for him.

I got my manitou skareb.  Compared to previous coil forks or the noleen xlinks, it's a boinger.  I am still tuning.  thanks to all for the comments.

[sammydog]

I just had my first ride today on my new Marzocchi MX Comps. At this point I am more than happy with the forks. I didn't have any problems with them and they felt really niceon everythin from small bumps to jumps. I got the Comp airs but they also come with coil instead of air.

My riding buddy uses a manitou Skareb and he has had no problems with the fork and is very happy with the performance. My only worry looking at the fork is the plastic rebound adjustment on the bottom of the fork. It looks like one hit would take it off the fork.

[Redshift]

Are you using the RST?  If so, how's it holding up and are you satified with it?

[Dave Cepp]

A friend of mine just bought a 2003 Jamis Dakar XC Pro after coming off a 97 Proflex 957 with a carbon crosslink. He loves the plushness and the lockout. Solid as a rock and let me tell you, he is now flying on the downhills (disc brakes probably have a lot to do with that). I rode a Crosslink for 2 years then switched to a Razorback with the 2001 MegaAir. It took a few rides to get used to but 2 years now and I love it. I have not done a bit of maintenance on the bike except lube and cleaning the stanchions once a month by taking apart. No new seals or wipers. I do need to get going on it though, after 800 miles, I think I should overhaul.

-Dave