Fat camp

[redneckp3ngu1n]

Back when i got my reign it was going to be my only bike. I was going to use it for everything. And i did. I jumped on it, i rode street with it, i raced dh on it, I road almost every trail in the dc metro area, I rode skinnys and ladders on it but now that i have my stp my reign isnt being used as aggressivly any more. I really only use it for xc and am now which makes me realize my bike is a bit hefty. 34lbs is overly heavy for a bike that is going to be used for xc and am. I desided i am going to kill two birds with one stone by upgrading my reigns fork. By getting a lighter fork on my reign i can improove its weight issue and i can put my sherman on my stp for a more plush, slightly lighter ride. I have narrowed it down to two forks, the manitou minute 1 ($200) and the marzocchi all mountain sl ($350). If i get the marzo i will have to put off getting a camera for filming for a while but i might get a more plush and tunable fork. They both weigh in at about 4 lbs so neither has a weight advantage but the marzo has tst while the manitou has spv. The manitou can be tuned between 100mm and 130mm of travel while riding where as the marzocchi can be set between 110mm and 130mm of travel but i have to set it before the ride. The marzocchi is a better fork but costs significantly more. Will the advantage be worth the extra money?

[Brizn]

Keep the Manitou on the Reign (since it's designed around that travel) and invest money in a better fork for the bike you're riding more- the stp. Just options.

[jabberwocky]

I don't really care for the Minute forks (or any Manitou, really). I have a Black Platinum, which is basically a Minute 1 without SPV, and it has never been all that reliable. I would double check your weights, too, because I believe that the Minute 1 is the coil version, and the Minute 2 is the air (and therefore lighter) model. I could be wrong though.

I don't have much experience with the All-Mountain line. I think there have been some reliability issues with them, but mainly with the All Mountain 1, which may be a different fork.

I would question whether a fork change is really gonna change the bike. You will lose maybe a pound or two of non-rotating mass from the front of the bike (which doesn't make a huge difference). The shorter fork will steepen the head angle a bit, but the Reign is super slack anyway, so it probably won't make a huge difference (and you may not like the decreased travel). I'm sure the bike is designed around a longer travel fork (it was specced with a Nixon stock, right?) so the shorter fork may do strange things to the handling and BB height.

I think in terms of bang for your buck, a set of lightweight XC wheels and tires would make a much bigger difference than a different fork. Or just save the cash and invest in a dedicated XC rig later on. The reign is a nice bike, but its geometry just isn't well suited to pure XC, and no component change is really going to alter that.

[bacalhau]

I don't really care for the Minute forks (or any Manitou, really). I have a Black Platinum, which is basically a Minute 1 without SPV, and it has never been all that reliable. I would double check your weights, too, because I believe that the Minute 1 is the coil version, and the Minute 2 is the air (and therefore lighter) model. I could be wrong though.

I don't have much experience with the All-Mountain line. I think there have been some reliability issues with them, but mainly with the All Mountain 1, which may be a different fork.

I would question whether a fork change is really gonna change the bike. You will lose maybe a pound or two of non-rotating mass from the front of the bike (which doesn't make a huge difference). The shorter fork will steepen the head angle a bit, but the Reign is super slack anyway, so it probably won't make a huge difference (and you may not like the decreased travel). I'm sure the bike is designed around a longer travel fork (it was specced with a Nixon stock, right?) so the shorter fork may do strange things to the handling and BB height.

I think in terms of bang for your buck, a set of lightweight XC wheels and tires would make a much bigger difference than a different fork. Or just save the cash and invest in a dedicated XC rig later on. The reign is a nice bike, but its geometry just isn't well suited to pure XC, and no component change is really going to alter that.

I do agree with Jabberwocky completly. The two main components that out-of-box that will make your bike feel light right away, are wheels and fork - I did experienced that on my HT
I replaced my manitou for a Marzochi Bomber comp pro ETA 130 mm and it really made a difference as far as handling on my specialized FSR. However, it was heavier than the manitou, but, I started from a 24.5 lb bike when dressed with kendas klimax 1.95s.
As far as pure XC, I still have my custom built hardtail (with some parts swap, tops around 22.5 lbs or so), and sure, my older and abused bones now do feel the difference of riding a smoother FSv from a bucking HT, but as far as climbing abilities and speed the HT is ahead.
Upgrade for a better all-terrain fork if you can, and look for a good and light HT. For the same money, you can get a better and lighter HT than a FS.
just my two cents :)

[redneckp3ngu1n]

Keep the Manitou on the Reign (since it's designed around that travel) and invest money in a better fork for the bike you're riding more- the stp. Just options.

Actually its designed around a 140mm-130mm fork so at the moment my reign is pretty slacked out. I had a 5 inch travel fork on the front (splice) and it was great geometry for xc and am but was using it for other stuff.

I would double check your weights, too,
I don't have much experience with the All-Mountain line. I think there have been some reliability issues with them, but mainly with the All Mountain 1, which may be a different fork.


The minute 1 is 4lbs and minute 2 is 3.5 according to that weight weenie site so it is the heavyer model. The all mountain 1 is different than the all mountain sl.

As for a dedicated xc hardtail. I still want to have plush travel but not freeride plush. Im trying to turn this back into an all mountain bike instead of a slopestyle build. Maby an 06 fox vanilla 32 r would be better suited for this bike. Ive seen some people with them on theirs and they have liked them alot.

[saxman]

I did the fork and wheel upgrades to my Trek Fuel. There was a major weight savings as the Axel Comp is a 6.2 pound fork and the Skareb Super is around 3.1 IIRC...that was three pounds right off the top. I switched from the original Bontrager Mavericks to Race Discs and put Panaracer Fire XC Pros on in place of the original Bontrager ACXs. The net effect? I went from a 33.5 pound bike to a 29 pound bike. Still a little bit hefty, but I can live with it now. However, the perceived weight loss is much greater, and the bike is as much better bike because of the upgrades. It is definitely more agile and surefooted and there is no comparison between the effectiveness of the shock.

[redneckp3ngu1n]

Ive also replaced my front tire and saved another 40 grams and just swapped the pedals out for the stock ones unless im going to a tech place which is saving another 1/2 lb. The marzo fork is 4.5 actual weight which will still save alittle more than a pound and is suppose to be super tuneable so i think im going to head for that option. The other option is a fox vanilla r but the lack of climbing aids is sort of defeating one of the purposes of getting a new fork. The rlc is too expensive for my buget so im going to have to stick to the marzo.