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ELITE XC EXCELLENCE: WITHOUT COMPROMISE
Lightweight, stiff, versatile, unparalleled tunability and reliable, the newest fork from the #scienceofsmooth experts excels in all areas that are crucial to a better, dependable, and race-winning performance. An elite XC fork, built to be ridden harder and perform better than anything else in its class, the R8 addresses each and every need of even the most demanding xc athlete.
LIGHTWEIGHT, STIFF, VERSATILE, TUNEABLE, RELIABLE: PICK FIVE
R8
Winning is everything and R8 is built to win. Nothing you don't need, Everything you do.
With the single focus of creating the perfect tool for XC competition, capable of representing a tangible competitive edge for athletes, required the perfect balance of eliminating the superfluous while adding performance and reliability. No flashing lights, no chasing weight savings for the sake of shaving grams at the expense of performance or structural integrity…the R8 is the physical manifestation of that perfect recipe that leaves the discerning rider with everything necessary to win and nothing that isn’t.
Manitou set its sights on developing the most competitive and complete cross-country fork available. Creating the world’s best XC racing suspension could only be done with feedback from the world’s most severe testing ground.
Manitou Research and Development (MRD) spent nearly two entire World Cup season’s testing and refining the perfect xc solution underneath elite athletes, with the fork hiding in plain sight thanks to its prototype camouflage. From the first iteration the fork has been securing podiums on the world stage, further proof that being RIDDEN, NOT HIDDEN produces results.
In other words, what started off as a successful initial test gave way to an elite feedback loop that produced the most complete XC racing suspension package available. Little did curious minds know that beneath the intriguing covering lied a killer, of compromise: the MANITOU R8
An elite XC fork, built to be ridden harder and perform better than anything else in its class, the R8 addresses each and every need of even the most demanding xc athlete.
Cy Whitling
I loved this fork right out the gate. It had a really eager and spritely personality when clambering up roots or reaching for that first bit of loft over features but also felt plush and supportive in the mid-stroke through repeated hits. The front end was capable enough that I found myself committing to technical moves at speed that the fork ate up. The R8 elevated the (Specialized) Chisel to excellence.”
Pinkbike
In many cases, XC forks are extra-pared down versions of a company’s trail and enduro offerings, and niceties like the ability to fine tune the amount of low-speed compression get left behind in the name of weight savings. The R8 goes against that trend.”
Pinkbike
When it comes to overall feel – its manners are closer to what you’d expect from longer travel trail fork, but in a short travel package that’s light enough for top level XC racing.”
MTB-NEWS.DE
Anyone who wants to find the perfect chassis for themselves and wants to get the absolute maximum out of their fork should definitely take a close look at the R8. The fork is one of the big players on the market and, in our opinion, has returned to the Champions League!”
VELOVERT
This fork provides excellent steering precision, without being intolerant. Its weight/rigidity ratio is at a very high level and the management of the hydraulics seemed excellent to us.”
bikeboard.at
You don’t have to roll around with the Manitou R8 for long to predict that the new platform could shake up the cross-country market. You can only be amazed at how efficiently, controlled and harmoniously the 120 mm of travel works. In most situations, the fork actually feels as if it has more travel to offer.”
RIGID/STIFF
Built for competition at the highest level the R8 was designed around a 34mm chassis to ensure the highest degree of stiffness possible for XC application. The larger diameter of the legs in addition to the Manitou signature “rear facing for better racing” arch design (which confers an added degree of stiffness thanks to its shorter pathway between the two lower legs) makes for perhaps the stiffest fork in its segment. The geometry and layout of the machining of the rear side of the arch was done in a way to ensure maximum rigidity was maintained while eliminating excess material and thus weight.
LIGHTWEIGHT BUILD, WITHOUT COMPROMISE
No area of the fork was left untouched to ensure that every single gram that could be removed was, while not affecting rigidity or reliability in the least. The resulting 34mm HYPERLITE chassis plays a major role in the fork’s featherlike weight. The featherweight crown benefits from deep hollow boring to remove excess material from the inside as external machining does the same outside in a manner that strikes the perfect balance between stiffness and weight. The rear-facing arch and its shorter pathway from leg to leg requires less material and thus represents not only an increase in stiffness but a significant area of weight savings. By using stress analysis software and countless hours in the testing lab, Manitou engineers were able to eliminate excess material from both the rear portion of the arch, the dropouts and other areas thus shaving additional grams from the overall casting weight. The development of 7000 series straight thin wall legs adds yet another area of weight savings. Further reductions in weight come from material optimization in the production of Manitou’s lightest axle ever produced, the Hexlock SL-R, a R8 specific axle weighing a mere 25 grams.
FEATHERWEIGHT INTERNALS
The weight savings even went as far as optimizing functional internal parts. The incorporation of our lightest air spring, the XC tune Dorado Air, a light weight XC version of the IVA volume adjustment and application specific shaft lengths and materials ensure smooth performance at a lower weight. The newly developed, XC-specific VTT Pro-X sealed damper further reduces weight Only through such thorough and complete actions could a rigid, reactive, and reliable fork with its performance characteristics tip the scales at an amazingly low 1480gr.
UNPARALLELED TUNABILITY
DORADO AIR with SPECIFIC XC TUNE
The XC tune Dorado Air was developed in World Cup competition to provide the ultimate compliance while maintaining support. The Dorado Air Spring system contains a unique balancing valve that equalizes the positive and negative air chambers during the air fill process. This gives the spring rate a consistent feel without any flat or dead spots in the stroke, along with giving riders of different weights the same initial stroke feel.
VTT PRO-X 3 - NO COMPROMISE SUSPENSION PERFORMANCE
The R8 incorporates VTT PRO-X 3, a triple piston VTT arrangement that gives riders a firm lockout (position 3) that is controlled by a separate piston from those used in position 1 and 2 (adjusted by a single VTT knob). An externally adjustable low speed compression (position 1) confers the most compliance for long and rough descents where control and rider comfort must be balanced. Position 2 adds both Low and High-Speed damping for improved support during aggressive riding.
In other words, the Manitou patented technology creates three separate circuits that allow for a mid-position that will not be harsh or spike like many other dampers that only adjust low speed compression. While most dampers use a single piston or damping circuit, obligating the user to accept either firmer lockout with less compliance or vice-versa, the Manitou system eliminates this need for this compromise.
The 18-click rebound adjustment, located on the bottom of the fork provides the possibility of even further custom performance to an extremely wide range of rider sizes, styles and preferences. Amazing suspension performance, custom to each individual rider, through all portions of travel: Compromise, killed.
VERSATILE – Dedicated Elite XC Performance, Easily Adaptable to Wide Range of Travel
While it might seem that the travel of XC forks is headed in a certain direction yet another benefit that the R8 brings to the table is that it represents 5 forks in one with no additional components to purchase. Excelling in so many areas would leave most to think that the versatility of one fork to cover 80 to 120mm of travel yet the R8 stays true to Manitou’s philosophy of adding flexibility for the rider and an overlap of travel between platforms. Dorado Air allows for internal travel adjustments with no added parts. New travel spacers account for negative air volume change, so the 80mm fork has the same initial stroke feel as the 120mm. Easily adjustable at home in 10mm increments, every component needed to modify the travel of the fork is included with the product.
RELIABILITY – Ride After Ride, Season after Season: Performance You Can Count On
Creating a fork as advanced and competitive as the R8 was to be an arduous task however, ensuring that the final product was not only one that performed but did so continuously over time, just like the first ride was perhaps the biggest accomplishment of the Manitou engineering staff. Firstly, making only improvements for weight and stiffness that could be done without affecting the structural integrity or reliability of the overall product was paramount in creating such a dependable product. Internally, incorporating longer lasting materials and components where possible in addition to finding technical solutions that ensure increased longevity of the product make this fork more of an investment in your time in the saddle than an expense for your hobby. The sealed damper with a bladder system and TSR (Trail Side Relief) casting bleed screws (generally seen more commonly on higher travel solutions) make for a fork with not only better performance but a longer service life than what most are accustomed to in addition to guaranteeing a better overall fork feel and small bump compliance.
FIND THE SUSPENSION YOU NEED
Manitou offers a full range of suspension options to ensure the perfect ride, uprgrade, or weekend trail thrash.
| family | activity | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 -120mm | 80 -140mm | 80 - 160mm | 100 -160mm | 110 - 150mm | 140 - 180mm | 180 - 203mm | |
| Markhor | |||||||
| Circus | |||||||
| Machete | |||||||
| R7 | |||||||
| R8 | |||||||
| Mattoc | |||||||
| Mezzer | |||||||
| Dorado | |||||||
| Mastodon | |||||||
| Junit | |||||||
R8 Versions
R8 Pro
The Perfect XC Weapon
Developed on the World Cup circuit with winning athletes
• Dorado Air with IVA tuned for XC
• Variable Terrain Tune Pro Sealed Cartridge
• All New Hyperlite Chassis with external machining for less weight
• Remote Lockout
• Hexlock SLR Axle
R7 Pro
Down-for-Whatever
Light enough to please the weight weenies, stiff enough to smash the jump lines, and reliable enough to do it every day of the week. The all new R7 Pro is down for whatever.
R7 Expert
Rebirth of an Icon
The R7 has a vast history of combining a lightweight chassis with performance and reliability. And this latest incarnation of the icon is no different. The new R7 expert pairs superior damping thanks to our 3-position dual piston VTT damper with a lightweight and stiff 32mm chassis.
Pair Your Experience
