Manitou Dorado Pro - 29er?

different! but cool!

Hmm.. if this takes off we might be seeing more 29er forks haha =D
good for us tall people

a 29er downhill bike???

29'er downhill fork? Am I the only one having a WTF moment here?

well with a 29 front / 26 rear you would be running a slack ride, something like the big hits of old

too unstable

what a dumb idea. 29" wheels plow over everything better, but are so much harder to maneuver. not to mention that 29" wheels will taco like nobody's business. unless they're making a 29er deemax or something, i see this not working out so well.

do they even make 29" rims that would withstand DH use? Or a DH frame that would take a 29" rear wheel?

im still a little scepticle on the rigidity of the dorados. this makes me feel like it would make it a lot worse no?

Massive.

that would be good except theres a little problem. there arnt any downhill or freeride 29er bikes out yet. but other then that it looks pretty good

I wouldn't feel comfortable on wheels that big for full on gnar DH, I can't even imagining hitting a steep lip with wheels that big..

Well you could just test a 29er on those forks and if you don't like it just switch it back the forks have no bit going between eachleg so it doesn't matter what size you run on it and undercoverfreak has a good point nobody thatim aware of makes a 29" DH tire or tube

I really can't see downhill bikes needing 29" wheels. More rotating mass, either flexier or heavier wheels, taller front end, restricted chainstay space on the frame(its hard enough for some designs to have short chainstays with 26 inch wheels). Whats the advantage of a 29 on a dh bike? ability to roll over bigger stuff? why not run 10" front and rear?

Rater forks with out stickers, but red one`s cool

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. PLEASE NO 29er . XC only for 29er, PLEASE!!

if manitou makes a sweet 29'er fork, and somebody else makes a 29'er frame, tire and rim manufacture's will jump on the band wagon pretty quick. but nobodys going to make a 29" DH tire, if theres nobody to buy it.

and its Not like wheels will fold and taco and all this and that so easily. its a few inches bigger, not a big deal. im sure somebody can figure out a way to make a 29" rim as strong as a 26" rim. its not rocket science.

anyways i dont care if they offer a 29" version, whats retail on the 26", and when do we see it in stores?

29"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im excited to see where this goes

half of the people who have commented so far are so stupid. It says in the article that 29" DH frames are being made in partnership with Manitou. I don't think Manitou is so stupid as to not make sure someone else will make wheels and tires for 29 too.

OMG are you freakin kidding me! This is the most stupid idea in mountainbiking since Gripshift, but worse! The day Greg Minaar rides a 29er V10 to a World Championship victory is the day I will...er, I don't know... I'll eat my shorts or something, cause we all know that is never going to happen. What a stupid idea from Manitou! It seems their new owners are just as stupid as the last. In the same way that World Cup XC riders are not riding 29ers (and lets not forget that the 29er has been around long enough), 29inch wheels are not going to take off in downhilling either. In fact 29 inch wheels are even lest suited to DH than they are to XC. There are a myriad of reason why this is a stupid idea. Can you imagine how much a DH 29inch wheel would weigh? There is far more leverage on such a big wheel. If it wasn't built like a brick 'poo'house, it would fold in half at the first sight of a rock. I can't write any more, it's making me angry. I really wish bike manufacturers would stop trying to reinvent the wheel (literally in this case) and work on the many many more obvious problems with mountain bike design. Aaaargh!

This may be an 8in fork for a 26er, but for a 29er it's going to be a 6in fork, 6.5, tops. It may be a DH 26er fork, but it will be an all mountain or trail or whatever you want to call it 29er fork. As such, it's not a bad idea.

_MK

P.S. In order to make an inverted 26er fork work with 29er wheels you have to end the stroke sooner so the tire doesn't bottom out on the crown.

29er DH wheels already exist and have for years now. Kris Holm makes them, so does Salsa, and of course more will come. As far as pros riding them... I think they will eventually. Dirt magazine did an interview with leading bike designers about 2 years ago and specifically asked about 29er DH bikes and most of them were fairly positive about the idea. Jeff Steber (Intense) being the most positive if I remember correctly. We don't need to be afraid of change or new things. If it works then it works.

guys, easy up a bit.. look, we all know that 29er wheels are well, for lack of a better word.... RETARDED. but! hey, if they make a frame, and wheels, and tubes.. and everything, even though it may be heavy as f*ck, compatible and in good working condition like the hundreds of 26ers out on the market today, maybe we'll have a DH bike for giants? i mean look at Peaty, hes dwarfs the v-10 he rides, maybe hed benifit from a 29er? who knows...

As a 6'5" guy let me comment here a bit. I totally agree that 29ers aren't ideal for everything. I would never buy one for a park/DH bike.

But for a 6" enduro-type shore XC bike for a taller rider? For sure I would consider it. Average-sized people don't know how hard it can be to get a bike to fit correctly and still ride as it should. For certain applications the 29er is a good solution. Just as it's ok for 24" wheels for smaller riders I think 29" wheels are a viable option for certain bigger riders.

Until now, for 6" bikes the biggest 29er fork going is the Fox F29. Nice XC fork but woefully inadequate for a 200lb+ rider in Vancouver (Yeah there's Maverick, White Bros or shaving down a Fox 36 arch but seriously?).

I could see reducing the travel in the Dorado down to 6" to great effect. You'd increase the overlap by 2" which would stiffen it up and give it a bit more torsional beef. This would be a great solution for the Niner WFO or RIP.

April Fools!! Haha! You guys got us! Oh, wait, it's September...

Why all the hate for 29ers? They have some advantages, and besides no one is going to force you to sell your current bike and get a 29er! It just means more options, so people can choose what they want!

Despite the wheels being weaker, I think the larger traction area and the fact that the wheels roll better over rough stuff could be good for DH. But good luck to the engineers who have to make frames that will actually have 8” of travel and enough tire clearance!

The 29'er version is old news... and it has been discussed, in length (on this site if I'm not mistaken). Glad it will see production, though... pity to see so many WFO's having to go out with Marzocchi shit strapped to the front end!

someone should put the 29er dorrado on a big hit with a 24 wheel on the back.... just for shits and giggles.

This should be pretty interesting. I love the 29" idea on a commuter but not so much on DH.
I am more worried about trying to corner that bike. I already notice a difference between a light foldable tire and a dh tire with 26" rims...
Either way it will be interesting to see where this falls. Maybe the future is running 2 different size rims like the old bighit/all dirtbikes. who knows...

All I know is that I will stick with my Boxxer.

i sense this is all a hoax... wasn't gary fisher spewing noise about testing wagon wheels on the shore a few years ago?

It will be flexy. And longer Spokes, 29" DH-rims, 29" DH tires (!), 29" DH or Freeride tubes. That must be very heavy.
If you look to CC-Bikes, you can see for Example a wheelset of a Specialized Stumpjumper 29" is 600 gramm heavier (complete with tires) than on the 26" Version. So if you compare the weight of CC and DH Wheelset, and assign it on a 29" DH wheelset, it have to weight around 1kg more than the 26" dh wheelset. Who wants that?
It is no CC riding, we need a good manoeuvrability.

Am I the only one thinking "free publicity" here? This fork (despite being a good or bad idea) will have loads of people talking about manitou yet again.

I'm thinking, marketing...

I use 24" wheelset in my FR bike, and 28" in a commuter... but 29" DH machine? I don't think so

29'rs have their good and their bad. yes they have a larger traction area, and less they roll better. however i OWN each of them. i feel the 29" wheel has a place for single speeds for sure. as it climbs extremely well, does not want to roll over the back, rolls well over any chatter. and makes that 80mm fork feel like more. however a 29'r isn't as snappy or nimble when cornering. a taller wheel leaned at the same degree will have a significantly larger turning radius. my personal opinion is that 29'rs have their place. some people will love them and swear by them, some will see the advantages and dis advantages and be less biased, and others will be haters (as usual). as far as 29'rs being a scene in DH? idk.... its really hard to say.

PS i have had a little bit of time on trek's 69'r and a previous fully from another company. the 69r feels a little awkward, like it is two separate bikes. the front end rolls over stuff very easily, and then a split second later BAM their is a sudden jolt through the rear wheel.....

Probably the price will be the same as always, when it comes to Dorado... to high!

forks are nice...
29" = another way to sucker people in to buying more stuff...
if its not broke don't fix it !

There was an article on the use of 29" wheels I read somewhere on the net that had feedback from several big frame mfr's out there, the main points given as downsides were:
the increased gyroscopic force from a larger diameter & heavier wheel will reduce the 'flickability' of the bike, the ride height would be too high, there are currently no dh worthy 29" tyres on the market, rims & tyres would weigh far more in order to be as strong as 26" wheels, its extremely hard to give adequate tyre clearance on a long travel bike using 29" wheels which would give a very long wheelbase; there was also, until now no 29" dh fork on the market...

Upsides of 29" dh bikes would be: they role over bumps quicker, they need less travel (e.g. 6" should be enough)...

that's considerably few up-sides to counter all those downsides!

having tried 29ers for awhile, they have certain situations they do a little better on but I have never felt they offer any advantages over 26 when the trail starts pointing down, getting faster and more tech. I don't ride DH (just a few times) mostly all-mtn kinda stuff. 29ers to me are like monster-trucks vs. an off-road (baja...paris-dakar) truck. Sure it'll roll over stuff but the big wheels slow the response time for rider and vehicle. As far as sizing, it makes sense proportionately for a much taller rider perhaps. It's got it's place, like, lite beer and fat-free ice cream. haha. I sold mine and got back on my 26 dblbanger.

besides, GEOMETRY IS EVERYTHING. haven't been on a 29 that is as "flickable" as a 26. keepin the fur flyin1

i've been waiting to see who'd make a 29 dh fork...

with a USD fork in order to fit a 29" wheel all that's needed is to limit the travel a little bit so the wheel doesn't bottom into the lower crown. 29ers don't need as much travel anyway since the bigger wheels roll over terrain better so it works out really well. I'm sure the only difference in the 26 and 29 Dorado is a travel reducer spacer in each leg, just like the Maverick fork. I highly doubt they'd invest a lot of R&D into a segment as niche as 29'er DH. Cool to have options none-the-less.

I say lets follow the logic here and go straight to 29.5" wheels or even 35ers..

NINER is working on a dh frame,this is just a way to get all those 29 inch fanatics to buy this useless fork,all magazines have said that 26 inch its better. Its just about money.

the 29er is for giants

why make that fork for 29 !!, they should have found a 29 dh frame then a 29 wheel that can take the abuse this fork is ment for

i find it a dumb idea to make a 29er for dh ul fall way quiker and handel like shit in the corners

So what are all you haters going to do when Intense makes a 29er DH bike? If they don't show one at Interbike I bet Jeff will have a prototype in 6 months. I will go on record with that prediction. Oh and BTW if it is faster than a 26 (even if only on specific courses) you better believe the pros will ride them. They are paid to win. Period.

so anyway, did anyone notice the fork the actual article was about?
no you didn't, you're such a pile of nerds you went absolutely nuts about 29 inch wheels!!!
that was the most amazing example of internet bike nerds being as rad as they've EVER been.

Sure the 29 inch wheel will roll over bigger junk.
How about this disadvantage- the extra weight at the rim will add to the gyro effect making the wheel slower to change direction at speed. Combine that with the extra flex and you have a recipe for poor high speed handling IMHO. If you are too lazy to pick up the front end and need a 29 inch wheel to compensate, sure help yourself to a handicap. Knock yourself out. I'll stick with the two six.

all i have to say is "watch out" 29er's comming and theres nothing you can do to stop it!!!

holy shit this is quite a argument, either way, i think if they can make it work dispite all the negative shit. itll be cool.. get to work Intense..

a 29er dh bike will weigh more than 23 kg!!!!!!!!

I'm intrigued, but my interest doesn't go much beyond that..... IMO, seems to me its another example of somebody taking something that works great in one area (xc) and trying to make it the norm for all areas. I can't see how the loss in maneuverability can be ignored just so you can roll of a couple more things. I'm curious as to how they will get a decent amount of travel crammed into a 29'er frame that won't weigh a ton. The courses that might warrant a 29'er set-up would also be the courses that would typically warrant a lighter bike so you sacrifice one advantage for another. I'm all for progression though so who knows maybe something cool will come out of this....whatever happened to the 650B fad? heard a bunch about that a year or so ago....was said to be the do-all size that could still work with alot of existing 26" geometry?

I love the inverted forks personally. Riding dirt bikes has proven to me over the years that they work. I still think that the 26 rim would be my only choice even with being tall. Either way I would consider them for a fork for my next DH bike.

I still would choose a 26 over a 29 even if it became a staple in the mountainbike industry. I see it belonging in XC. Its basically gonna create a bigger bike. I think its to important to corner on a DH bike and a 26 does it great. A 29 may cover some ground faster but its a big wheel to corner.

i would try 29ers with 200mm befor i can say it´s dumb
it´s a new inovation and something different
will look strange
but something new