The Dorado MRD was a huge success – for Manitou and for the world – class athletes who got to ride one. This year, we are happy to introduce the Dorado Pro – an exact replica of the Dorado MRD, but with aluminium legs instead of the Dorado MRD’s carbon fiber legs. Everything else is the same – the dual-chamber air spring, the TPC+ damper, the hydraulic top-out and bottom-out circuits, and the unsurpassed performance.

Features:
• Travel: 180 and 203mm
• Chassis: Aluminium legs and crowns
• Spring: Dual-chamber air
• Hub interface: 20mm HexLock™
• Damper: TPC+
• Colour: All black Ano
• Weight: 6.55lbs

Yesterday I was lucky enough to build up the Banshee Legend MKII Show Bike. I will not waste a bunch of time with words. Here are some pictures …

The build includes wheels from Crank Brothers, Tires from WTB, parts from Straitline, Suspension from Cane Creek and Manitou, Brakes from Hayes, Bar from FUNN, Cranks from Race Face … Probably the most expensive bike that I have ever had to build, and I did not even get to test ride it.

“First introduced in 2006, the Shocker is Cove’s fresh-from-the-factory DH bike. Designed and built for major speed and amplitude, the Shocker features our new Dual Link suspension platform, delivering a mega 8.75 watts of rear travel. A SRAM Maxle rear axle and Easton RAD tubing bring it for a super stiff ride that takes corners and rails them. Tested and proven by Canadian National DH Champ Tyler Morland, the Shocker is love Cove Tribe style.”

Its been quite a couple of weeks!

Unfortunately most of my time has been taken up with work and I havent had much time to post.
That said, lots has been going on with the steeds…

My Tango Nomad has been upgraded. After a couple of weeks deliberating and talking to Tim Flooks and others at TFT (note, Tim is no scribe! I highly recommend a phone conversation rather than exchanging one liners over email – as he him self suggests on their site) I finally decided to bite the bullet and buy ’09 Lyrik Solo Air’s – TFTuned of course!

WOW. That is the only word I can use to descibe how good these forks seem to be on initial impression. They (as you might expect) blow the Domain 318′s out of the water. I also upgraded my rear shock spring to a Manitou 750 (there is a great spring rate calculator on TFTuned’s site HERE) which can handle my general riding and pretty big drops without bottoming out. The Manitou fits my Fox DHX 5.0 in a 2.5 where the fox spring is a 2.8 (FYI).

So far the forks seem to have come setup spot on with about 30% sag at rest. somewhere between freeride and downhill, as I requested. There was a great personalised setup instruction sheet for me in the box and some stickers too. The steerer was cut to my specified length and star nut installed. All I had to do was swap the crown race over.

TFT threw the spring in free even though the price of the shocks seemed initially high compared to others, they came straight off the line at RockShox and were immediately stripped and rebuilt flawlessly by TFT. The work to cut the steerer and install the star nut would have been at least  £10 at a shop and hassle. You get the first years service free (worth £130 on these forks) and postage etc included. Once you add it all up the £150 difference between a large online retailers stock and TFT’s price starts to seem reasonable – even good value!

Anyway, more to come as I experiment. But needless to say I CAN RECOMMEND TFTUNED HIGHLY!!

Other goings on, my wife’s Orange EVO2 has required some pretty major maintenance. I have fitted new shifters and serviced the whole drive chain. I have shortened the chain by a link, installed a Hussefelt double + bash crankset (24/36) attached to a Howitzer XR BB (51mm chainline), added a Charge Ladle saddle (which she HIGHLY recommends), some DMR V8 pedals (thanks to my MBUK subs!) and put a shorter, lighter stem on there for her. Big thanks to Cycle Works in Guildford (Burpham) who managed to free the ruined bottom bracket from the EVO2 with no charge! The right tools, or should I say, the BEST tools clearly make life MUCH easier!

I ALSO had my first snake bite flat on my Orange P7 Pro riding badly up some old rocky scree piles I probably shouldn’t have been. It was instant and put a large hole in my sidewall. A complete blowout! It was a long walk home… no, I didn’t take a spare innertube – I did have a pump

Busy and expensive times!! I look forward to giving the Lyriks a good pasting over the summer. I will post pics soon.

Ant

Check out the new Dorado packaging…

Included with the fork

- Both tall and short crowns
- 2 free services within the first two years of ownership
- Deluxe carry case
- Shock pump
- Detailed instructions on DVD for fork setup and tuning tips

When we set out to design the all-new Snyper 140, we knew we wanted to accomplish three major things:
1) Provide a high degree of lateral rigidity for precise steering
2) create a suspension system that would allow for both excellent pedaling efficiency and bump absorption, and
3) have the bike be light enough to be capable on ascents and flickable on descents.

The Snyper 140 is all of these things combined: a do-it-all bike that is stiff, light and breathes high performance.

The Snyper 140 is a do-it-all bike designed for rough climbing and descending.

The Tomac DH legacy continues with the Primer 220, a full blown DH bike designed to make mincemeat of the competition. The Primer 220 is the work of Mountain Bike Hall of Famer and Manitou-suspension fork founder Doug Bradbury, who’s experience during Johnny T’s pro racing days led him to design another bike of World Cup heritage. Featuring 220mm of luscious travel, the Primer has enough CNC-machined aircraft-grade 6061 T-6 aluminum to launch a space program.

Check out their website: http://www.tomac.com/

From ‘Sick Lines’ >

2009 marks the return of the Manitou Dorado.  On the surface it looks similar to previous Dorado’s but its essentially new inside and out.  The Hayes Bicycle Group bought Manitou in 2006 and have carefully addressed the design and functionality of the new Dorado.  The Dorado is assembled in the USA.

See all the details and a video inside detailing the new Dorado.

Don’t get too excited though, they are rumoured to be retailing in the UK for around £2500!
Can a fork really EVER be worth that much? I doubt it.

Unless you are sponsored, buy some FOX 40′s and save a grand.

Ant