Hey guys, bought some new Manitou Minutes second hand (no manual) and they feel very odd, they move fine through the first 1" travel, then become very hard to compress, all my weight jumping on them will only compres them about 2.5". initially i thought there was too much air in the preload cartridge but there is literally none in there now and its still very hard. Could they be hydrolocked?

Anyone had this problem? Cheers.

What spring are they using? maybe use a lighter spring? and/or bit less oil volume?

I'm not 100% sure, as they are second hand. I think it may have something to do with excess oil volume/oil weight as they don't just feel like they have a hard spring in em, they feel wrong.

I'm a suspension newbie, so may have someone take a look at them for me.

I would suggest excess oil if they're spiking part way through the travel. The only way for sure is to disassemble. It could be that the oil is contaminated and they simply need a service.

Ok thanks for the reply. I have downloaded the manual and dissassembly seems fairly straightforward. However, are there any particular companies (TF Tuned/Stendec etc) that its worth sending them to? Would rather not spend a fortune.

If you are not totally all thumbs you should be able to dissamble and reassemble etc yourself. Just need manual, the right size socket wrenches etc and a container to keep all bits in so you dont lose em! oh and fresh oil.

Sounds good… I've been riding/fixing bikes for 12 years now, but most of them have been on rigid trials bikes, so suspension is a bit of a mystery.. Will take a better look at the manual and make sure I have all the bits.

Cheers!