People who have never ridden them often claim that they are too slippery and unrideable. This is wrong, although our laboratory test rig did indeed measure an extremely low torsional rigidity. Off-road, the Manitou (with a 75-kilo rider) is nevertheless - or precisely because of this - a blast! No other bike offers such excellent traction and such creamy response behaviour. The front wheel sticks to the ground, the characteristic curve is linear, it never dips too low thanks to perfect compression damping, but doesn't harden up even on high-speed hits. The low stiffness is noticeable when riding thanks to extremely smooth running and an enormous feeling of safety.
Admittedly: It's very special, but we thought it was great. Somehow everything behind a "Dorado" doesn't feel as bad as with the competition. Not even the downhill in Bad Wildbad.
You can find more double bridge forks tested in 2014 here.
This test was published in FREERIDE issue 1/2014.
Buy edition here!
