I've had a 160mm Expert mounted on a Commencal Meta TR for the last few months, and I've been thoroughly impressed by its performance, especially considering its price.Īfter a few rides I settled on running 58 psi, with the IVA (Incremental Volume Adjuster) in the fourth position, one more than stock. The good news is that it's a different story with the Mezzer Expert, so all the Manitou superfans out there can put those pitchforks away. The fork I had developed premature bushing play, and despite multiple rounds of testing I was never able to get its performance to match that of a Fox 36 or a RockShox Lyrik. It's no secret that I wasn't blown away by the Mezzer Pro fork I reviewed a couple years ago. Each end of the axle has a hexagonal shape, eliminating any chance of it rotating. Instead of having the axle thread into the lowers, a captive bolt on the left side threads into the axle to secure it in place. The bolt-on axle design is slightly different from what you'd find on a Fox or RockShox fork. Like I mentioned in my Mezzer Pro review, it'd be nice to see that constructed from a slightly less flexible plastic, but it does a decent job of keeping mud at bay. The lowers have Manitou's signature arch, and a bolt on fender is included that attaches to the backside of that arch. When the Mezzer first came out those 37mm aluminum stanchions were said to put it ahead of the other single crown forks on the market when it comes to stiffness, but in the months since the Fox 38 and RockShox Zeb have been released, both with 38mm stanchions. The further down the puck is positioned the more ramp up there will be, and vice versa. The amount of end-stroke ramp up is adjusted by removing the air spring side top cap with a 24mm wrench, and then choosing from one of five position for the plastic puck. It's possible to upgrade the Expert with the air spring or damper from the Pro model, since they both share the same chassis. Unlike the IRT air spring found on the Pro model, which has a secondary positive air spring that can be used to adjust the amount of mid-stroke support, on the Expert there's only one air valve, and the positive and negative air chambers self equalize. The Expert uses Manitou's Expert IVA air spring, which is inflated from the bottom of the left leg. Moving the position of the C-shaped plastic tokens affects the amount of end-stroke ramp up.
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