Manitou R7 MRD Forks 2010
Reviews / Forks
18,491
At a Glance
Weight: 1527g
Buy Forks on
The R7 MRD from Manitou is a weight watchers dream fork. It isn’t cheap, but then it is packed with some of Manitou’s top technology. Everything about the fork has been designed to save on weight whilst maintaining as much strength as possible. The crown is a deep bore hollow affair, the stanchions are 30mm as opposed to the more standard 32mm, they come available in either 80mm or the 100mm version we have here. The R7 features the Absolute+ Damper which allows the fork to be rigid if you choose to set it to that, should you then hit a rock or bump it will then blow open and work as intended. Adjusting the fork and getting the set up right is fairly simple to do and once it is set up for your weight and riding style you should be able to just leave it and enjoy the ride.
On the Trail
The Absolute+ damping works well, with the fork in its active mode you can really feel it responding to the slightest of impacts. Once you have the compression and the rebound dialled you can really start to push the fork. It feels very plush in it’s travel and is very responsive in terms of its return rate. Throughout the travel the fork feels smooth and buttery. Lock the fork out for some uphill abuse and it is very rigid indeed, no noticeable play in the travel at all. Being fairly lightweight in its construction we did find it isn’t the stiffest of forks out there, especially with the 9mm QR axle. But when you pay off the weight saving over similar priced forks it is easy to see why these have proved a little more popular this year. £384.99 gets you some serious performance at a very reasonable XC weight…
Overall
If you don’t want to go with the crowds on Rock Shox and Fox then the Manitou is well worth a look, more than that it stands on it’s own two legs as a good value lightweight performance XC fork.
RRP £384.99
Buy Forks on
This review was in Issue 7 of IMB.
For more information visit ManitouRelated
By Rou Chater
Rou Chater is the Publishing Editor of IMB Magazine; he’s a jack-of-all-trades and master of none, but his passion for bikes knows no bounds. His first mountain bike was a Trek 820, which he bought in 1990. It didn’t take him long to earn himself a trip to the hospital on it, and he’s never looked back since. These days he’s keeping it rubber side down, riding locally and overseas as much as possible.
