|   Mars Elite Question | Marty
Jun 5, 2002 12:13 PM | | I'm considering purchasing a Manitou Mars Elite fork (2001 I think) and was wondering what a reasonable price is. I've seen it selling anywhere from $300-$650 CAD brand new. I've never owned or a Manitou, so I don't really know what to expect price wise. I'm assuming, based on reviews, that the quality of the fork is very high.
TIA |
| In the US... | AZ-X
Jun 5, 2002 7:45 PM | | The '01 Mars Elites have been selling for less than $200.00 from many online closeout dealers like Supergo and on Ebay.
The fork is excellent, however, be prepared to purchase a heavy spring kit if you weigh about 165lbs or more. Go ahead and try out the stock form first, then make your decision as to whether or not you need to upgrade it.
There isn't a real difference in actual performance between this year's and last year's Mars forks. |
| price, a cautionary tale, Mars tips...Dougal, pls check this out | singleminded
Jun 6, 2002 7:51 AM | | About 6 months ago they were often selling for about $175 (U.S. Dollars) at online retailers like JensonUSA. However, I have not noticed any for sale in a while.
You may be interested in my experience with a 2001 Mars Elite.
Mine came OEM on a Specialized I got in June 2001. I was very, very impressed by its performance. The fact that it was really light was a bonus. At that time it was easily the best all-around fork I ever had. However, it did make an annoying clanging noise that seemed to happen at top-out. Various adjustments helped but never eliminated it.
After a few months it developed bushing play, so I sent it back to Manitou for warranty repair. The new bushings were good but they did not stop the clanging noise(though I didn't really expect them to). Somehwere around this time I noticed that the fork would push my wheel to the left under compression. I think it had always done so a little, but now it seemed more pronounced. This made the handling weird.
Soon after getting it back the air spring started to leak on every ride. I sent it back to Manitou and asked them to just convert the fork to a 2002 Mars Comp Coil. I didn't want to trust the air spring again. When I got it back it looked like Manitou replaced everything accept the lowers -- basically putting Comp Coil uppers on my Elite lowers. I hoped that all of the past problems would be solved.
The action was awesome. All of the damping, responsiveness, plushness that I liked with the Elite were there but better. It felt as light as the Elite, or at least close. It was great. I would have been thrilled except that the clanging still happened from time to time and the problem of the fork pushing the wheel to the left during compression was just as bad as before, if not worse.
I tore the whole fork down, inspected, lubed, experimented with other springs and elastomers that I had around, and also with oil level. Nothing stopped the sound or the fork from moving the wheel sideways.
Examining the TPC damping assembly, though, I had a hunch about the source of the sound: The TPC cartridge has two rods -- one on top and one on the bottom -- that move toward each other at a certain point during travel. An animated illustration of this is on the Manitou website.
I guessed that the ends of the rods were hitting each other inside the oil-filled chamber. So, I took a small rubber bumper from an old Manitou spring kit and pressed it on to the end of one of the rods, then put the fork back together. Guess what?!?!?! No more clanging sound. Ever. An no change in fork feel or performance, at least that I could notice.
The weird flexing remains, however, which is a major drag. It's the only thing about this fork that is less than awesome. But I don't know if I have the patience to send it back to Manitou yet again. |
| Did you get the full 80mm travel out of the comp coil?? (nm) | Re-Pete
Jun 6, 2002 9:30 PM | | |
| Yes, after several hours of break-in. -nm | singleminded
Jun 7, 2002 7:40 AM | | |
| Wow, I've never heard or seen either problem in the mars... | AZ-X
Jun 6, 2002 10:01 PM | | and I've had two of them. I had a mid-2000 release Mars-1 and currently own a 2001 Mars Elite and I get neither the clanking nor the flex. Neither of the forks were OEM though...
That top out clanging type noise is why I ditched my 2000 SID XC for the Mars-1 in the first place. My SID had bushing play and the clanging almost since the day I got it--not to mention the flex. I've had no such problems with either of the Mars forks, and no leaking either. Have you actually seen or heard of this strange clanking in other Mars forks? I wonder if they replaced the TPC cratridge when they did the conversion for you and, if not, why?
Let us know how it turns out... |
| Wow, I've never heard or seen either problem in the mars... | singleminded
Jun 7, 2002 7:49 AM | | My Mars is the only one I've ever tried. I've heard others complain about both air leakage and some type of noise, but I don't know if it was the same noise I had. I haven't heard anyone say anthing about the kind of flex I'm getting. I'm not sure what Manitou replaced, beyond the crown and steerer.
Here's the crazy hypothesis I'm working on:
1.One of the rods in the TPC cartridge is longer than it's supposed to be, the result of some manufacturing glitch or something.
2. The extra length causes two problems: First, it makes the rods bump into each other inside the cartridge, making the noise. Second, it prevents the left side of the fork from compressing as far as the right side of the fork. When the right side compresses more than the left, the wheel gets pushed to the left.
Anyway, that's the best I can figure. |
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