Gear Shots #51

The Dorado is Back

Date: 2009-02-13

2009 Manitou Dorado
Words and photos by Cam McRae

I'm not sure what it is about fork manufacturers but for some reason our industry doesn't seem able to support three healthy players at once.  In recent times Rock Shox went down and were purchased by SRAM, then it was Manitou who got into hot water and were scooped up by the Hayes Group and more recently Marzocchi had some cash flow issues and were purchased by Tenneco - an auto parts producer.  Fox, newer to the fork game than the other three, has managed to sail along smoothly thus far.


Can't wait to get this beautiful fork mounted up and on the trail.

Manitou's big signal they are serious about getting back in the game is the resurrection of the much-loved Dorado.  The original Dorado was the first fork I ever saw sporting carbon outer legs.  It was light, plush and it worked incredibly well - if you looked after it.  I was lucky enough to ride a Dorado in 2003 and I shed a tear when it found a new home.


Mmmm carbon. Manitou chose carbon because of the ability to control and tune flex.

Like the previous Dorado the new version is an inverted design with carbon outer legs.  The first thing I did after removing the bubble wrap was hang it off my scale.  Manitou says the Dorado will weigh 6.4 lbs but they lied...our was 6.3 or 2860 grams with axle installed and an uncut steerer.  The only thing missing from the weigh in was the disc brake adapter.

Manitou fans will be glad to see a TPC + adjustment on the lower legs allowing both speed and position sensitive damping. This is an air fork with two chambers.  Air goes in the top of the left leg and if you want to remove some it comes out the bottom as a result of a two chamber design.  Once you add air it gets distributed between the top out circuit and the air spring automatically so they remain balanced.


The inverted moto-style design means stanchion guards are mandatory. The axle incorporates Manitou's Hex system.

Most of our trails are still under a substantial amount of snow so it may be a little while before we get this rolling, but once we do we'll give you some first impressions and then follow that with a full write up.

2009 Manitou Dorado Features and Specs:

• Direct Mount Stem (not included)
• TPC + Damping
• Carbon legs (tunable stiffness)
• Air sprung (two chamber - air goes in the top and out the bottom)  Self regulating so the top out matches the spring rate.
• 180 or 203 mm travel
• Price: US $2775
• Hydraulic bottom out circuit in last 55mm of travel
• 565mm axle to crown
• 6.3 lbs/2860 grams as tested.
• 36mm stanchions

Adjustments: High and low speed compression damping, rebound damping.

Price: US$2,775

First, it was 9mm quick release wheels. That standard lasted for decades. Then it was 20mm thru axles, for riders who wanted to go bigger and were asking more of their forks. 20mm forks were the only fork out there that offered stiffness, strength and reliability for big-hit riders. But they weren't for everyone. They were too heavy for some riders, the people who thought 30lb. bikes were portly.

Seeing an demand for stiff but light forks, Fox Racing Shox teamed up with Shimano to develop a new type of fork that combined the benefits of a thru axle with the light weight of a standard QR fork. The offspring of this blessed union was the new 15mm thru axle.  

According to Mark Fitzsimmons, Mountain Bike Race Manager at Fox, the process of coming up with a new standard was all about working together. According to Fitzsimmons, the 15mm idea "was a collaborative effort. Shimano knew we were interested in changing our current design and they met with us with some ideas and we worked together to come up with the 15QR." That partnership came to fruition in several 15mm forks for the 2009 model year, including the 32 TALAS RLC 150 that I'm testing.

The Fox 32 TALAS RLC 150 in all its glory - thru axle goodness on a lighter chassis.

Technical specs of the fork are as follows: 150mm of air spring travel that's adjustable in 20mm increments from 110mmm to 130mm to 150mm; 32mm stanchions; a 1 1/8" steerer tube; rebound adjustment, lock-out and low-speed compression adjustment (the RLC part of the name); and Fox's TALAS (Travel Adjust Linear Air Spring) damping system. You can also adjust the lock-out force for the shock with a knob on the bottom of the right leg, effectively setting the blow-off point for the suspension to engage. Weight for the fork, with an uncut steerer, was 4.16lbs. on the official nsmb digital scale.

So, does the mountain bike industry really need another "standard"? Yes - depending on who you talk to. Fox believes (and rider feedback tells them) that 9mm axles aren't quite stiff enough for serious all-mountain riding, while 20mm axles are just a little bit too heavy for that crowd. 15mm addresses both of those issues.

The 15mm axle is simple to operate - put the lever in the "open" position, turn 5 - 6 times and close. The dropouts are different than other Fox forks, with the axle sliding through a solid extension of the fork legs.

According to Fox, the new 15mm system offers a 15% increase in torsional stiffness over 9mm systems and a 25% increase in transverse shear stiffness (the vertical independent movement of the fork legs) - with a weight penalty of approximately 0.2 to 0.3lbs. over an open drop-out fork, while increasing the amount of available travel. Riders used to hauling around heavier bikes may not have a problem with the weight of a 20mm thru axle fork, but the reality is that most other riders out there are looking to keep the weight of their sleds down. 15mm forks make that possible, saving approximately a pound over Fox's own 20mm forks while only giving up 10mm of travel.

The '09 32 series of forks also boasts other refinements: a lighter casting for the lower legs, additional machining on the insides of the legs for reduced friction and a new crown and steerer design that are supposed to weigh less and increase fork strength - in addition to the transverse and torsional stiffness increases.

The axle nut on the right leg allows you to adjust tension on the axle. Undo the screw at the top of the nut and rotate the nut itself clockwise or counter-clockwise. The blue knob behind the nut adjusts lock-out force.

The other big change for '09 was the introduction of the third generation of the TALAS system. The TALAS travel adjust system was already my favourite travel adjust option for forks, but it's been revamped to make it even better.

Changes include a more ergonomically-friendly way of adjusting travel (the entire top cap on the left leg rotates, rather than having to move a lever), as well as better protection from trail crap to minimize contamination. The air cap is also sealed to keep out dirt and water. The final change to TALAS is revamped spring curves to improve the way the fork feels in the middle of the stroke, in each of the three travel settings.

TALAS all the way extended to 150mm (left) and then dialled down to 110mm (right). The centre cap is removed to adjust air volume in the fork.

Fox bills the new 32 series of forks with 15mm axles as XC / AM forks. I know what XC is, but I've always wondered what the hell is AM? I suspect it's different here in B.C. than it is in California, so I asked Mark what Fox sees as AM. Here's what he had to say: "Our forks have to pass a standard that does not pigeon hole its usage ... [The 32 series are] not as stiff as a 36 but the million dollar question is, how stiff does a fork really have to be? Especially when there are so many other factors that are directly related to chassis stiffness/control. The direct answer is, we consider all mountain usage to be a bike that is equally used for pedalling uphill as it is downhill. If a person can only afford one bike, they should not be told they can’t jump the bike or XC race it."

The logical question at this point is, will Fox be doing away with the 9mm open dropout standard that had been the staple of mountain bike suspension forks since they were introduced almost two decades ago? The short answer is no. "We would like to but it is a similar situation to when the industry made the switch to disc brakes," says Fitzsimmons. "And in some parts of Europe they still run v-brakes! Essentially it has taken almost ten years for the conversion. We will push to move forward the development to make it lighter in an effort that cross country riders will embrace the technology."

Stay tuned for a full report on the fork as I attempt to beat the 32 TALAS 150 into submission over the months ahead. The fork has found a home on the Chromag TRL I'm testing, and the two are a great combination together. As soon as the freakin' snow's gone, I'm going hit the dirt with a vengeance.

MSRP for the 32 TALAS RLC 150 is US$850 / CDN$1,145.

WTB LaserDisc Trail 15mm wheel / wheelset
Words and photos by Stuart Kernaghan

I never used to be a big fan of pre-built wheelsets. I always picked the spokes, the nipples, the hubs, the rims and then had someone build the wheels. That usually took anywhere from a few days to a week. Things changed when I got my hands on my first pre-built wheelset.

Since then, I've been fortunate enough to ride several different wheelsets. Some have been good, others so-so and some downright disappointing. The ones I've had the best luck with so far have been WTB's LaserDisc Trail wheelsets. I've been using a set on my AM bike for over a year now and have had no issues with them at all, so I was happy to hear that WTB was rolling out its own 15mm hub to go with the new thru axle standard.

WTB was an early adopter of the 15mm standard and as a result, has a wheelset for this new fork ready to go before other manufacturers (other than Shimano) are going to be unveiling their own offerings. 

The complete WTB LaserDisc Trail wheel with 15mm hub. Throw a IRC Mythos 2.1" tire on this wheel and you've got a pretty light package.

The new 15mm hub, with machined flanges to save weight.

When I talked to Dain Zaffke, marketing manager at WTB, he told me that all of their hubs have been upgraded to stainless steel bearings and the seals have been improved. Zaffke believes the changes will lead to a noticeable difference in hub durability for those of us in B.C. who ride during the winter months. The final change on the LaserDisc Trail wheels are the alloy nipples that drop rotational weight.

And the 20mm WTB Super Duty hub, for comparison...

I'm using the LaserDisc Trail rear wheel with the new 15mm front wheel, and they're a great combination for an all mountain bike. The 12-point engagement system on the rear hub uses six double-sided pawls, so you get quick engagement when you crank on the pedals. Total weight for the LaserDisc Trail wheelset with the 15mm front hub is 1913g, or 4.2lbs. I'm looking forward to putting some miles on these wheels in the months ahead, and I'm confident that they'll be up to whatever challenge I throw at them.

North American MSRP for the LaserDisc Trail 15QR front wheel is $280, and $340 for the LaserDisc Trail rear wheel.

Anything to say about these products?  Questions?  Right this way...

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