|   Answer Black Elite 100mm-120mm Fork | Vladamir
Oct 16, 2003 1:31 PM | | I have recently purchased what was advertised as a 2003 Black Elite 100mm-120mm fork. The fork is great so far and I only paid 250 for the thing but all of the pictures I have seen of this fork are a kind of nickle black rather than a gloss black like mine, it is said to have TPC+ dampening and mine is just TPC. Also, Answers web site doesnt mention it having a lock out instead it has some other adjustment. Does anyone know if mine is perhaps a 2002 or maybe just an early 03? Also, I've heard rumor that you can upgrade to TPC+ for around $70, anyone know? I would like to find out because I will probably never shop at the store I bought this from if they lied to me in order to dump off some new old stock. My forks specs are as follows: Gloss black paint, 100mm-120mm adjustable, TPC, Rebound adjustment, Lockout, Evil Genius Seals, Reverse Arch. Travel and lockout are found on top of fork while rebound adjustment is on the bottom. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks |
| You have an 03 Elite.... | Squash
Oct 17, 2003 5:02 AM | | There were two models of the Elite available in 03. One with lockout which came in black and one without which came in "candy chrome" which is the silver/nickle color you are refering to. You have an 03 Elite with lockout, or at least it sounds like it. The way to check for sure is to try and engage the lock out. I don't remember which way to turn the lever to lock the fork out, it's either all the way left or right. I seem to remember something about Manitou's lock out being ass backwards, so try both ways. Make the adjustment and try to compress the fork. If you can't compress the fork with the lever turned all the way one way or the other, you have the lock out model. If not then all I can say is you have the regular 03 Elite in black, unusual but nothing to worry about. As far as the damping goes the Elite with lockout uses what Manitou calls TPC Quick Range w/lockout. It's basically the TPC+ Quick Range with a different compression damping valve that allows the fork to be locked out. If you have worries or concerns or are still not convinced call Manitou. The Black Elite with lock out was a last minute marketing decission. The Elite Air was the only Black model originally scheduled for release with lockout in 03. The Elite w/lock was added at the last minute in response to customer demand. It was easy to do, just change the color of the fork to make a distinction between Elite and Elite w/lock and put the lockout valve in top of the damper instead of the regular TPC+ vlave. Give em a call.
Good Dirt |
| You have an 03 Elite.... | Vladamir
Oct 17, 2003 6:36 AM | | Right on, thanks! I appreciate you passing that along. |
| Frankenfork | SDizzle
Oct 17, 2003 7:58 AM | | You bought that fork from Supergo, right? I bought one of those as well, and it eventually blew up on me, so I called Manitou, who was really helpful. Manitou made a bunch of those as oem forks for various manufacturers (say, you could get an Enduro with a Black Elite w/Lockout--which the normal Elite doesnt typically include), and the manufacturer in turnsold their overflow to Supergo. They were loosely badged as 'Black Elite's, probably because they were significantly better than the Comp or comparable models, but internally were not Elites. Like you said, they didn't include TPC+, which I was quite shocked at, and certainly dismayed.
When mine worked, it worked great. Eventually, however, the travel adjust quit working (which i could live with, though not happily)...then the compression went ga-ga. The lock out quit working, which I had grown to like, and with the lockout went the damping, so the fork felt like an expensive sponge regardless of the position of the compression adjut/lockout. This pissed me off, so I called Manitou, on the grounds that folks on this board told me they were very helpful. They were, and had never heard of the configuration my fork featured. After calling his oem department, the Manitou rep still couldnt figure out what kind of fork I had, but knew it had to come back (but it had to go through Supergo). So I sent it back, and Supergo replaced it a few days later (their service was less than stellar, but that's another story entirely).
I exchanged my replacement for a Z1SL, which they had on sale at the time, and haven't had any problems since. I was thoroughly impressed with the Black, and would probably have kept it if my replacement was in fact a Black Elite with TPC+, which I've been told deosnt make that much of a difference, but alas.... I like the Zoke's damping more than the TPC, so I'm pretty happy with how things worked out, despite having to ship a funky fork around the country several times. Manitou's people are the best in the business, so give them a call; I'm sure they can answer any questions we haven't!
Oh, and you can buy TPC+ aftermarket; Dougal, who frequents this board, can explain its benefits, though I've heard they're few considering the cost of the upgrade. A good upgrade, if you're sick of the mini-boots, is some Enduro seals. They're $20, and I found they kept the oil/grease in and the super-fine Colorado dirt out better than the stock ones. On that note, the Black is about the easiest fork to dismantle I've ever come across. |
| Frankenfork | vladamir
Oct 17, 2003 9:22 AM | | I bought it from GreenFish Sports. |
| Hmmm...ignore my dissertation, I guess! (nm) | SDizzle
Oct 17, 2003 10:01 AM | | |
| Hmmm...ignore my dissertation, I guess! (nm) | vladamir
Oct 17, 2003 1:03 PM | | Nope, kept the rest of your message as useful advice and product history. Sorry if it came off as though I read the first line and didn't go any farther. It would be kind of funny though. O..Nope..eee... Not applicable...bought it from a different source...move on.. |
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