First Ride: Manitou Launches new R8 Cross Country Fork

It should come as no surprise that Manitou has a new XC race fork with bigger stanchions and a new damper system to replace their R7. It’s 2024 after all. XC racing is more technical than ever, and it’s an Olympic year, so the world’s best are all preparing to put it all on the line in Paris. XC geometry is getting more capable, and travel numbers are rising to keep up.

Keen eyed readers may have initially spotted this fork under some of the many Manitou-sponsored XC teams, and now it’s officially available. No, it’s not just a re-worked R7, Manitou’s previous XC race fork. Instead it’s got a new chassis with 34 mm stanchions and of course, a few clever Manitou-specific features.

Manitou R8 in a Nutshell

• Stanchion Diameter: 34 mm
• Travel: 80, 90, 100, 110, 120 mm
• Offset: 44 mm
• Measured weight: 1483 g (120 mm)
• Price: $999 (without remote)

What’s new?

The most obvious change from the R7 is the stanchion diameter. The R8 bumps up to 34 mm stanchions from the R7’s 32 mm. Manitou says that this change, coupled with their signature reverse arch allowed them to make the R8 stiffer, while also getting lighter. In fact, Manitou says the old R7 weighed 1648 g, while our test fork weighs 1483 grams (with the steerer tube cut).

That puts it right in line with the latest crop of long-travel XC race forks like the Rockshox SID (claimed weight of 1476 g) and the Fox 34 Step-Cast (1422 g). Otherwise, the travel range (80-120 mm) and other details are generally right in line with the R7.

Chassis

Manitou’s signature reverse arch makes even more sense in an XC context. By routing the arch over the backside of the wheel, they can use less material, to create a shorter arch that has the same effect on stiffness. There’s a reason Fox’s latest 32 has a similar (if wilder-looking) design.

I’ve spent a lot of time on Manitou’s Mattock and Mezzer forks, and I really like how Manitou uses a few different features, including that arch to stiffen up their forks without just resorting to bigger stanchions.

Another part of that equation is Manitou’s 25 gram Hexlock SL-R axle system. Similar to the axles on their bigger forks, this system pulls the axle into keyed dropouts to more securely lock the fork legs together. It takes a second to get use to the process of swapping a wheel, and isn’t quite as quick to swap a wheel mid-race as other systems, but is otherwise absolutely inoffensive.

Mounted to that arch is Manitou’s optional fender. The first generation of these bolt-on fenders caught a bunch of flack for being too soft, and flexing into the tire. I haven’t had any issue with the current generation fenders on the Mezzer, Mattock, or now the R8. It delivers nice coverage, and is easy to install.

Manitou offers two cable routing options, bolt on to the front of the fork, or zip-tied to the back. I’ve used both, and prefer the bolt-on option. Both are excellent though.

Finally, the R8 comes with sensible-for-XC 160 mm brake posts. That makes for a lighter fork on paper, but does mean that you have to add the weight of a 20 mm adaptor to compete with the SID which comes with a 180 mm mount as standard. Not a big deal, but Julia is running the R8 with 180 mm rotors, and I’ll be adapting it up to 203 mm.

Damper

The R7, and now the R8 use Manitou’s VTT PRO-X three position damper. This damper delivers three different compression settings, with two different circuits. The lockout is a true, hard lockout with its own dedicated circuit. The mid and open positions share a circuit, that’s got an independent tooled adjustment for low speed compression in the fully open mode.

Then, in the middle mode, both high and low speed compression gets firmed up. Manitou says this will give the R8 a smoother, more controlled ride, without any harshness or spiking. It’s also possible to reshim this damper to customize it for specific rider preferences.

Air Spring

The R8 uses the XC version of Manitou’s Dorado Air spring. This uses a special valve to fill both the positive and negative chambers of the fork simultaneously, without an equalizing dimple. In classic Manitou fashion, it’s relatively easy to clip travel adjust spacers onto the air spring to change your travel, without buying any new parts.

At the top of the air spring is Manitou’s Incremental Volume Adjust system (IVA) which allows riders to quickly adjust air spring volume to tune the fork to their liking. Unlike some other forks where the volume spacers literally take up volume, the R8’s spacers determine the position of a seal head that then determines overall volume.

Remote

Manitou developed a new Deuce lockout system that complements their Ace dropper remote. This two-lever, three position lockout can control both a fork and shock simultaneously. Manitou says that they’ve designed the lockout and dropper levers so that the end user can decide what combination and order of stacking makes the most sense for them. We’ve got a Deuce lockout in hand, and it feels well made, with a nice crispy action. We haven’t installed it yet, for reasons we’re about to get into.

Ride Impressions

Julia Tellman is Bike’s resident XC maven—she actually enjoys start lines and podiums and all the riding that lies between them. So she’s gotten a few rides on the R8 mounted to the Specialized Chisel FS . Here are her initial impressions:

"I loved this fork right out the gate. After a spell on silent RockShox forks I quickly learned to ignore the trademark Manitou squelching noise, because I got along so well with everything else about the R8. 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 RockShox SID that came on the Chisel was workmanlike but a little sluggish, even with the rebound on the fast side. I initially wasn’t sure if the lack of oomph was coming from the bike’s geometry and cockpoint choices, but the R8 elevated the Chisel to excellence.

The front end was capable enough that I found myself committing to technical moves at speed that the fork ate up. And as a side note, I’ve done enough muddy XC races to appreciate the bolt-on fender, which is still an uncommon sight on short travel forks."

While Julia is certainly the R8’s target audience, I’ll be mounting the R8 to an as-yet-unannounced test rig, and giving my impressions as a much bigger, much less refined rider. A cursory parking lot bounce and squish is super promising. This feels like a much more “real” fork than some of the more XC-focused forks I’ve been on, and I’m optimistic about how much fun it will be mounted to the front of a very lightweight trail bike, so stay tuned for a followup.

Mara Pro IL Gen 2

While the R8 gets all the hype, Manitou also updated their Mara Pro IL shock. The “PRO XC” version we’ve got in hand has a specially tuned shim stack for a stiffer lockout, along with new detents in the rebound dial, and a lighter weight air can. The 190 x 40 mm shock we’ve got in hand weighs a scant 284 g, and that lockout is certainly very firm!

For Now

While the new R8 hits all the familiar notes - lighter, stiffer, more betterer, it does so in typical Manitou fashion, with unique design features and details that help set it apart. So far we’ve gotten along really well with this fork, and we can’t wait to truly put it through the wringer and report back.