Anyone recommend some of the Manitou forks from a few years back? Minute? Travis? Nixon? I'm looking around (mostly on fleabay) for some used Manitou forks (mostly because i've found them straight forward to service). 100-120mm travel etc. Or if you can, recommend any other forks that can be usually picked up cheap 2nd hand (sub £160).

Wouldnt touch Minutes with a barge pole. Mine were awful! 2006 I think. Go for some bombers fair simpler usually and better quality.

what was wrong with your Minutes Soma? tech problems? or just lousy? or both 🙂

Cough there's some Blacks on Ebay at the moment! 120mm Travel with TPC.

Coil sprung so no issues.

That's bad salesmanship – that cough totally put me off 2nd hand Manitous 🙄

Sorry, but I like them, I prefer them to my Magura Menjas but I'm having a clear out to pay for my car repairs, (cam belt went whilst on holiday)

to be honest buddy i wouldn't touch the ones from a few years back! The newer 08 onwards forks are great.

With that budget i would look for a pair of the older style rebas, they are very easy to service and very durable. Most will be 100mm but this can be adjusted and raised to 115mm by removing a spacer internally.

Hugh

i've got a Manitou Minute 2 130mm QR, 2004 i think, never had a issue with them – very reliable

serviced twice by TFTuned in the first two years of ownership – give me an offer if you are interested

I used to have Minute 1s from 2004 and they were a really excellent fork. So impressed that I got Nixons recently from 2005, again excellent but I've opted for Pikes as they are stiffer.

I'd thoroughly recommend them.

Got some Shermans coming up for sale in the next week or so 130mm bolt through

Tracey

hmm i fancy Shermans or Nixons. Tracey i may well get in touch. Do you have pics?

I've got 145mm Nixons on my '06 Remedy, and they're faultless. Dirt magazine loved them, but there were real issues with the IT Platinum models. I've got a pair of 160mm '07/8 Nixons on my Inbred which I got from classifieds for £170 and they're pretty good, just need a good service from TFTuned, as the bushes are a little worn. Can't see any problems with them, the QR 20mm axle on the 145's is very neat and easy to use. A very underrated fork.

Shermans are good, tough and simple. I've got 2 pairs. Z1s from around 2004 are about my favourites though.

I really didnt realise how bad either pair of my Shermans were until i got lyriks, yeah they are easy to service but they need to be; during a month in the alps mine must have been apart at least 10 times. I had two pairs with me an SPV evolve pair (truly awful, slowest damping ever) and a pair of £70ers off ebay that were a conventional shim stack which i removed two shims from to speed em up (slightly better).

Oh also if you buy a pair which still have working lockdown this is likely to break and spoil your day; mine did it on a day when we stayed local to Morzine but riding home down the worlds largest set of steps (pleney) with 20mm and horrendous banging was awful. The best thing to do with the lockdown is remove it (mine was well shagged by the time i got back to the apartment so i cut the ears of the mechanism off with a hacksaw).

My 2005 Manitou Minute 3s are better than my 2005 Fox Talas forks – both going strong unlike the experience of many it seems….