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2006 Manitou Minute: 04 review

I haven’t seen too many reviews of forks that manufacturers are slotting into the burgeoning ‘trail’ market. I recall reading a recent review in one of the major mountain bike publications but, other than that, there doesn’t seem to be too much print about forks like the Rock Shox Revelation, the Marzocchi Marathon SL, the Fox TALAS 130, and the subject of this review — the Manitou Minute: 04.

My initial impressions of this fork were generally positive; I was impressed by the Minute: 04’s adjustability, its stiffness, the cushiness of the fork when the SPV Evolve damping wasn’t in its platform stage, and its all-black good looks. I was less impressed by the fork’s limited range of rebound damping and the fact that it was a little less sensitive in the small-bump compliance department.

I’ve had another full month on the fork since my first writeup and I’ve got some more things to write about it, so read on…

Product specifications:

The Minute: 04 is tagged by Manitou as a ‘Trail / Enduro’ fork which, to me, means that the fork is most at home on long runs down buff doubletrack and singletrack descents but can hold its own when the going gets rougher (ie. technical singletrack). Of course, I may be wrong but since these terms aren’t that well defined, those were the criteria I used when choosing the fork and evaluating its performance on the trail.

The fork features 130mm of adjustable air-sprung travel and external rebound controls. It uses a standard 1 1/8″ steer tube, is only available with disc-only lowers, and requires wheels that use 9mm standard axles.

The Minute is equipped with SPV Evolve valving, which firms up under certain riding conditions and creates a stable platform. The platform stays in place until enough pressure is exerted on the fork to ‘break’ it, at which time the fork cycles through its travel normally. You can adjust the sensitivity of the SPV by playing with air pressure in the damper.

Compression damping is controlled by altering the air volume in the SPV damper, something that influences the progressiveness of the fork’s stroke as it approaches the end of its travel.

MSRP: $1100 cad | US pricing to come

Manufacturer’s website: Answer Products

The good

Silky smooth travel. I love the way the Minute: 04 cycles through its travel when its stable platform isn’t engaged. The linear spring rate gives the fork a bottomless feel, something that’s enhanced by the Minute’s practical-yet-simple compression adjustment.

Easy to adjust. All of the major adjustments on the Minute: 04 are external and can be fiddled with by the rider. This means that you can change the air pressure in the fork’s main air spring and its SPV Evolve damper, adjust its rebound damping, change its travel setting, and control the fork’s compression damping without tearing the thing apart.

While the number of adjustments on the Minute: 04 could be overwhelming for a newcomer, I think the options are justified since they create an infinitely-adjustable fork that can meet the needs of a wide range of riders. If you’re having problems setting up your fork, take it into the shop that you bought it from for some pointers or check out Ashwin’s tips and tricks for Manitou forks.

Fairly stiff (for a standard axle fork). The Minute: 04 doesn’t flex too much and it tracks well enough, although it certainly doesn’t have the stiffness of some of the longer travel, thru-axle options out there (like the Manitou Nixon, the Rock Shox Pike, and the Fox 36). There was some noticeable flex on certain sections of certain trails (steep, rocky sections and a couple of small jump sections) but it wasn’t something that bothered me too much for the duration of the test.

Stellar in the right conditions. The Minute used in this review was most at home on trails that allowed the SPV to perform as intended, creating a firm pedalling platform in the flats and moving through the fork’s range of travel when the track gets steeper or rougher. In fact, the best ride I had with this fork featured an extended rip down a 10km access road; the SPV set up perfectly when it was needed and then disengaged at just the right time when moving into chatter and some baby heads. I was gassed at the end of the run but was totally impressed by the way the fork worked.

The not so good

Incorrect product specs. The claimed weight for the Minute: 04 is 4lbs (1818 grams). However, when measured using my trusty Alpine digital scale, the fork came in at a rather porky 4.4lbs (2000 grams). I’m not saying here that weight played a key role in my initial purchasing decision but it was a factor, and the difference between claimed and measured weights is 10%.

Clunky SPV transition. Manitou made some changes to its SPV valving system in 2005, introducing SPV Evolve damping to its entire product line. The ‘Evolve’ part of the Minute’s SPV valving is meant to lessen what before 2005 was a relatively clunky, or sudden, transition between SPV’s firm setting and the fork’s active travel.

After experimenting with a tonne of different pressure settings for over a month, I was never able to find a ’sweet spot’ in the Minute’s SPV range. Depending on the air pressure in the SPV damper, the fork either stayed in its firm setting a moment too long or mushed through the platform far too easily.

Limited rebound adjustment. The range of rebound damping on the Minute: 04 isn’t good enough to make it well-suited for steep, technical trail riding. On more than a few occasions the Minute packed up on descents, losing more and more usable travel after every small bump on the way down. Since the rebound damping couldn’t perform any faster without internal modifications (ie. drilling larger holes in the rebound damper), I was limited in what I could ride because of my equipment’s performance.

Leaky rebound damper. A few days after I wrote up my initial review, oil started seeping out of the rebound-side of the fork. After a few inquiries, I was told that this was a common issue with Manitou forks and it had to do with a pinched o-ring and some lost lubrication from the rebound damper. It turned out to be a minor issue, but it’s still kind of a headache, especially since my ‘03 Firefly did the same thing on a number occasions.

No extras. With all of the air pressure-based adjustments on the Minute, it would’ve been nice if a shock pump was included with the fork. I’d also like to see more manufacturers include a star-fangled nut with their forks so consumers don’t get needled after dropping a bunch of cash on one of their products.

Scoring

First impressions: 7 / 10. The Manitou Minute: 04 looks great out of the box. The all black styling looks really tight and stealthy, ready for mounting on a nice trail bike. The Minute loses points for not coming with any of the things you need to get the fork on your bike and tuned properly, namely a shock pump and a star-fangled nut.

Performance: 28/40. Under the right conditions and with the right rider the Minute: 04 performs beautifully; it sucks up bumps really well and the SPV Evolve damping firms up the front end of your bike for a solid pedalling platform. When you take it outside of its ‘comfort trail’, the Minute suffers a bit; overly slow rebound damping causes the fork to pack up and a clunky transition between the stable platform and the regular travel cycle can be a headache if you ride in rough, rooty terrain.

Durability: 14/20. The Minute lasted fewer than a handful of rides before I had leak issue. Granted it was a small problem, but it’s frustrating to see nonetheless. The fitting on the top left leg of the fork that accepts the IT adjust is made of a soft alloy, and mine developed a serious scuff mark after being in contact with a low slung brake line.

Pricing: 14/20. Canadian retail pricing on this fork is average, although Manitou stuff seems to be much cheaper in the States — I’ll update this post when I get legitimate retail pricing from Stateside.

Wild Card: 6/10. The infinite range of adjustments allowed me to get the fork tuned to my own riding style; I can’t stress how useful that was in getting what I could from the fork. The manual could have been more detailed. The discrepancy between claimed and measured weights was 10%.

Overall: 69/100. Average.

Summary

When I first mounted the Manitou Minute: 04 on my bike, I was expecting a solid performing trail fork that was great for climbing yet reasonably plush on descents. What I got was a fork that had too little small bump compliance for the rough climbs that are characteristic of my local riding spots; in fact, the SPV caused the fork to bounce off rocks instead of allowing it to roll over them, something that took away from the enjoyment of my ride.

When the going got steep and technical, the fork managed but it didn’t excel. I found myself choosing bad lines simply because I wasn’t fully confident in the Minute’s ability to deal with the terrain. Whether it was rebound damping that was too slow or a clunky transition between the firm platform and the fork’s travel, my mind was always on a fork-related issue.

The Minute: 04 isn’t a terrible fork, heck, it’s not even a bad one. When used in the right circumstances — groomed singletrack, epic doubletrack, and even moderately technical descents — the Minute is on par with the its competitors. The problem is that there’s nothing that really sets the Minute apart from the rest of the pack. Proprietary technologies aside, there’s nothing in this fork that really makes you say, ‘I need this thing.’

The Manitou Minute: 04 is for you if:

• You ride lots of epic trail, with long climbs and big ring descents.
• You want a high-performing, smooth travel fork at a reasonable price.
• You like tinkering with adjustments to make your fork feel just right.

The Manitou Minute:04 isn’t for you if:

• You’re looking for an all mountain fork. The Minute can deal with smaller hits but, if you want something a burly fork that can be run at 130mm, check out the 36 TALAS, the RockShox Pike, or the Marzocchi AM series. They might be heavier, but you’ll appreciate the extra confidence the gear gives you.
• You don’t want platform valving on your fork. You can remove this feature by taking your fork apart but, honestly, why should you do that?
• You don’t like spending time fiddling with dials, adjustments, and variable travel. Like most of the high-end, air sprung forks out there, the Minute: 04 requires some patience to get ‘dialled in’. If you’re not prepared for that, you might want to look at another option.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 22nd, 2006 at 12:05 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.