Manitou Mattoc Pro

greeek32

Active Member
Ok, so I've had my Manitou Mattoc Pro for about 100 miles or so now and I feel I can write a decent, objective review.

The price: I got it from Town Cycle as I am a member of Team Town Cycle and Mike cut me a great deal. I won't say exactly what I paid because I don't feel that is a good look. The fact is this though, at retail it is substantially cheaper than both the Fox 36 and and Rockshox Pike.

The Good:
  • When this fork is pointed down it performs amazingly. I like it's downhill prowess more than my friend's RS Pike. I haven't ridden a 36 so I can't compare. It obviously beats my old Fox 32 all day.
  • The high speed dampening is spot on and easy to adjust.
  • The huge air chamber makes the fork feel really linear; almost like a coil sprung fork. It's dope.
  • It has the best bottom-out protection from any fork I have ever ridden...I would dare say it is probably the best bottom out protection available.

The Bad:
  • Over 100 miles I have rebuilt the thing 4 times. In my opinion, that is 3 too many. I am not rebuilding it because it is just time for service. I am rebuilding it because the travel draws down. At one point it had drawn down over an inch. I called Manitou and they informed me that the amount of oil in one of the chambers which was specified in the service manual was incorrect (they acknowledged that they specified the wrong amount). So I rebuilt it with that amount of oil. It still draws down. From what I have been able to tell, the problem lies in the poppet valve for the positive and negative air chambers. I have been able to come up with a trail-side quick-fix but in my opinion, I shouldn't have to - this is a top-tier fork.
  • The low-speed compression dampening is completely useless. It literally does not function. Manitou told me "oh, you gotta turn up the high speed to make the low speed work." Bullshit. My response of "then the fork will ride like shit with the high speed dampening jacked up" was met with no response. So if you want a fork that locks out or climbs really well, look elsewhere.
  • To rebuild the fork you need a "Thin-walled 8mm socket." I tried to buy one from Manitou. They told me to grind one. I did. The point at which you need to grind so it works basically makes the socket fall apart. I get around having to use it, but it's a pain in the ass.
Final Review : At this point, I wouldn't recommend this fork. When it's functioning properly it rides great - in some ways on point or better than forks costing a lot more. But it regularly doesn't function properly. I'm going to call Manitou this week and see if I can send it to them to have it warrenteed - rebuilt with a working LS compression dampener and the draw-down fixed.

I'll keep this updated periodically if anything else comes of this.
 

trajan

New Member
RSabarese,

I moved from a Nixon to a Mattoc and could not be happier. I ran both a Nixon 160 IT and a Nixon Elite with the Mars Spring. Both had TPC+ dampers and both had 20mm axles. In every way, the mattoc is better. The biggest difference is the control - the Mattoc just stays in complete control in the really nasty stuff. All the stupid cliches are true- it levels the trails, makes obstacles disappear, etc. All stupid but all true. This is fork truly feels bottomless - which is the best thing about this fork.

As for the issues that OP had, the travel down , it is fixable with the one adjustment that you found. An easy test to make sure the system is working is to attach your pump and push up and down on the fork - you should fee the air transferring from the chambers and the fork will suck down. Pull up on the handlebars to set the fork height. If the fork does not do this when the pump is attached, you have a problem.

Also, the LSC and HSC are dependent upon each other. Think of LSC being from 1-4 with the HSC off and from 5-9 with the HSC from 1-5.

You can purchase the manitou tool kit from Chain reaction cycles for $50. Expensive but worth it. Honestly, they should include that in the fork - especially since they include the kit to change the travel - which you can't do unless you have their kit!

I have not ridden a pike but I demoed a bike with a 36 float - not the newest but the upgraded one everybody raved about. Not even close to the Mattoc. That Fox felt dead - with too much compression dampening that gives a feeling of running out of travel without actually running out of travel if you know what I mean.

Also, Manitou offers 40% off a new fork if you have an old Manitou to trade it. That will get you a Mattoc Pro for $510. As a tip, my bike shop told me to keep the old fork as well.
 
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Aresab310

formerly RSabarese
I did buy a Mattoc Pro, just put it on last night so no riding time yet, parking lot test feels great. I got a few weeks go, there was a 20% off memorial day sale. Today was going to be the inaugural ride but it's still 90 out and I decided to pass. I dropped the lowers to check on the oil, all was good though from Manitou.
 

greeek32

Active Member
If you need to rebuild it and don't have the "thin walled socket" you can put a 4mm (i think) allen wrench in the center of the air valve instead. it is definitely a little bit of a pain because you're fighting the poppet valve spring the whole time but it works if you need it to.
 

trajan

New Member
If you need to rebuild it and don't have the "thin walled socket" you can put a 4mm (i think) allen wrench in the center of the air valve instead. it is definitely a little bit of a pain because you're fighting the poppet valve spring the whole time but it works if you need it to.

I don't like this as the poppet spring is what controls the air flow between the negative and positive air spring. If the poppet gets improperly positions, it will lead to the suck down issue others have reported.
 

Aresab310

formerly RSabarese
I had my maiden voyage on the Mattoc Pro this morning, I'm really impressed. I had a Manitou Nixon 145MM an awesome fork that can use 27.5 wheels, but the bike begged for something bigger. So far so good, but I always favored Manitou.

BTW, I grabbed a deep 8mm socket at Autozone last week and used my bench grinder to make it pretty thin. It only took 10 minutes. After that, the lowers came off really easily.
 

trajan

New Member
I had my maiden voyage on the Mattoc Pro this morning, I'm really impressed. I had a Manitou Nixon 145MM an awesome fork that can use 27.5 wheels, but the bike begged for something bigger. So far so good, but I always favored Manitou.

BTW, I grabbed a deep 8mm socket at Autozone last week and used my bench grinder to make it pretty thin. It only took 10 minutes. After that, the lowers came off really easily.

Nice! It takes about 25-30 hours of good hard riding to break in so it is actually going to get better. One other tip, when adding air, completely deflate the fork and extend the fork fully. Then add air and make sure the fork is still fully extended before removing the pump.
 

Aresab310

formerly RSabarese
Thanks for the tip! Looking forward to riding it more. Was at Lewis Morris yesterday morning, not terribly aggressive but it did absorb the roots nicely.
 
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