2010 Manitou Minute 29″er Fork: First Impressions
November 18th, 2009 by Guitar TedThe 2010 Manitou Minute fork has been mounted on the Salsa Cycles Big Mama for testing and I have a few rides under my belt. Here are some of my impressions of this fork so far.
The 2010 Manitou Minute with 20mm through axle on the Salsa Cycles Big Mama.
First of all, I must clear up something that had me baffled for a bit. In the introductory post, I mentioned that this fork was a 100mm travel model. well, I couldn’t get over how long it was. It seemed like much more than 100mm travel fork. So, being the red blooded American male that I am, I dug out the owners manual and had a look, after I had it installed! Turns out that by measuring the distance from the seal at the top of the lowers along the outside of the stanchion to the crown interface yeilded a measurement that Manitou indicated was a 120mm travel fork. Oh! Okay! Now it all makes sense!
I had thought I ordered the 100mm fork, but as it turns out, this will be a good comparison to the 120mm Reba Team fork I just finished testing. The Manitou also features a 20mm through axle that they dub “Hex-Lock”. The lowers have the distinctive Reverse Arch that Manitou has used for several years now and revised graphics for 2010. I am not as fond of the big, blocky letters down the side as I am of last years more subtle look, but hey, that’s me. I also know that white forks are wearing thin on people, but I don’t mind the color myself. To each his own, as they say. One thing is certain, Manitou sure gets a high polish on their fork crowns! Finally, the Absolute + Damper is on board, promising no funky clicking noises and a better range of adjustment than before.
Absolute + Damper lever on top of the right fork stanchion.
The adjustments are the air spring, the rebound on the lower right side, and the Absolute + Damper lever on top of the right fork stanchion. Turning the Absolute + damper knob fully clockwise approximates a platform for pedaling efficiency. This can be adjusted internally by way of shims. Otherwise, set your air spring, compression, and rebound and go for a ride. Simple.
The Hex-Lock is a very secure looking axle attachment system, but it has five fasteners you have to deal with and you’ll need two Allen wrenches to do it. Makes me really appreciate the Maxle Lite from the Reba! That said, my Hope hub fit perfectly. I wish I could have said the same for my Quad Dime XC brake though. That will need some shims to set the rotor outwards a hair so my caliper won’t drag. In the meantime, I employed an Avid Juicy 3 front brake so I could get to riding. (Thanks CPS!) Other than that little pitfall, things went well with installation and set up. Manitou’s owner’s manual had clearly written set up instructions and charts for setting up the air spring according to rider weight.
I’m not quite as fond of the graphics as I was 2009 product, but the performance more than made up for that.
Ride Impressions: So now that I was all set to go, I took the fork out for a couple of shake down rides. The fork was very smooth right out of the box. Maybe a hint of stiction, but that should disappear after it breaks in. The fork steered precisely. Manitou should be using a 46mm offset here, but I will have to confirm that as neither the website nor the owners manual indicates this measurement. That aside, I liked the way the bike was handling. Very similar in that regard to how it handled with the Rock Shox. I set the compression damping two clicks from full counterclockwise and this seemed to be fine.
Then it was time to hit up some more serious trail. The fork was again very impressive for its smoothness. Very linear feeling travel compared to the Rock Shox, and the Reba Team is no slouch in that regard. Stiffness was a notch better than a Reba Team. The rebound was spot on for me, and a good thing it was, as it was next to impossible to turn the control knob with a gloved hand. The knob feels a bit too stiff, but as I said, it was no matter for now, since I was happy with that aspect of the performance. I’ll have to look into this though. Further on into the ride, I was really starting to notice how much better the Manitou matched up with the Fox rear shock on the Big Mama. The linear travel feel on the front end matched up very nicely with the active Salsa suspension. I was ripping some single track and felt the bike was really working the trail on both ends to the point that I thought the trail must have been buffed out. Nope! One look down at the fork and I could see it working like crazy. Small branches and some frozen tractor tire marks in the dirt didn’t faze the shock at all. Small drops were sucked up with no drama and the Minute had great rebound action.
At the end of the ride I measured a full 110mm of travel used. Pretty good for the first hard ride. The fork worked great, and I am pretty impressed with the performance so far. The downers are the fidgety front axle attachment, the graphics, and that rebound control knob. And oh yeah…….did I mention the fork was dead quiet the entire time? No clicks. Not even a whoosh or any untoward noise. Just smoove travel! So far, so good.
Stay tuned for a Mid-Term Update coming in a month or so.
Note:This product was purchased to review on Twenty Nine Inches. I am not being paid or bribed for this review. I will give my honest opinion or thoughts through out.
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What size tires are you running and whats the clearance like?
Does anyone know the difference between the Absolute (’09) and the Absolute+(’10) damper? I have a kit from Manitou that includes a plastic plunger and a new shim to quiet down my ‘09 Minutes 29 and improve the range on the compression damping (haven’t installed it yet)- is this what makes it an Absolute+ in 2010 (other than graphics and marketing material)?
I’ll say other than the noise I’m happy w/ my ‘09 (100mm hex lock) Minute 29. I only dislike the hex lock when I have to put the bike on top of the car – since standard fork mount racks won’t work. It’s a very stiff setup and always tracks accurately.
The absolute + gets rid of the clunk on compression and has a much larger usable range. With the old damper, 3 clicks in you were at rock hard lockout and at 2 90% of the way there. With the new one there is more adjustment, no clunking, and the blowoff is very seamless ala rockshox motion control but easier to adjust on the fly. I am so impressed with it I think it is better than motion control which I thought would be really hard to beat.
I second GT’s review in every respect. I have had the exact same experience with the fork for the last 2 years.
@ChiefRock: Those tires are the WTB Kodiak 2.5″ers and clear the Manitou just fine with Gordo rims.
@bandwagon: There was a “fix” for the ‘09 forks and there is a 2010 damper upgrade kit. Sounds to me like you have the “fix”, as it is my understanding that the entire damper cartridge needs to be swapped for the 2010 Absolute + damper.
Just curious, any reason it is called the “Minute”? Since it is 120mm shouldn’t it be called the “2 Minute”??
(Sad attempt at humor – I’ve had too much sugar today)
Will the new damper allow locking out the fork firmly when you’re on asphalt or super-hardpack?
So I picked up one of these for my myself. For the first time, I am letting go of the rigid. This is my first suspension fork. I have to admit, thought, as a noob to suspension, I’m not entirely sure, other than the Absolute+Damper lever, what to do for initial adjustment. That is, briefly, how do I set the “air spring, compression, and rebound and go for a ride.” I’m sure I could figure it out by tinkering with the levers, but I want to be sure from the get go. Manitou’s website doesn’t offer much in this direction.
@Joseph_K: Manitou doesn’t give you air pressure ranges, rather they give you fork sag recommendations, so you will have to place a zip tie around one of your stanchions and measure the forks travel, or “sag” with your body weight as you sit calmly on the saddle.
Your fork should have a Mars air spring type which has a max psi of 300.
Here are the sag settings from their service manual.
FORK TRAVEL SAG
80 mm 12 – 16 mm
100 mm 15 – 20 mm
120 mm 18 – 30 mm
Hope that helps there.
On the compression adjustment, I like my lever about two clicks from full counter-clockwise. YMMV
Rebound on mine is set on the slower side, but experimentation is good. Start with something in the slower range and play around with that during a ride to fine tune to your preferences. generally too slow will result in a fork “packing up” on repetitive hits and too fast will result in a “bucking” sensation when hitting sharper, bigger hits.
Thanks a million, Ted. I know was a pedestrian question, but your answer clarified a lot. I really have no experience with suspension forks. Cheers!
Nice review Ted. Unfortunately I have not had much chance to ride my Paradox with 120mm. Minute 29 but i generally agree with you. I think I’m really going to be happy with it. I’ve had a 2006 Manitou Nixon Super on my long travel 26″ bike for years and it has been flawless. I must say that I like the industrial styling of the Hex axle. I don’t remove my wheel too often (even for transport) and all the tools I need are in my Camelbak on my mini tool.
There is one bit of information I would like to share. The MARS air spring in fact has a small coil spring in series with the air spring. At first I set up the sag with air pressure and it was not as supple as I would have liked. I spoke to Manitou Tech. and they recommended for my 210lbs. I should fit a firm spring. (The fork is delivered with a medium spring.) After fitting the firm, the fork became a lot more linear, without the ramp up towards the end of it’s travel. The spring change was a very easy job.
Ronnie.
Can you shorten the travel from 120mm to 100mm by adding spacers like the Rebas?
@rob: I believe it is internally convertible to shorter travel, but I have not done this with the one I have tested. So, I do not know what mechanism Manitou uses to achieve shorter travel. Best to shoot them an e-mail.
I suppose it would be possible to engineer something to limit the travel to 100mm. but be advised that Manitou list three different crown and steerer assemblies with different part numbers for 80, 100 and 120mm. versions so I don’t think there is an intention to make the forks adjustable.
Ronnie.
@rob, @Ronnie: Ronnie, you are correct. I just got the official word from Manitou, the 120mm forks are not internally convertible. The only 29″er forks from Manitou that are internally convertible are the Drake 80 and 100mm models. Again- no 120mm fork can be converted.