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888 v. Dorado X-works

auntesther

Monkey
Oct 15, 2001
293
0
Boston, MA
greenreese said:
Has anyone ridden them enough to compare the 03 or 180 04 Dorado to the Slider +? The slider weighs less, has spv and costs less than half the price of the Dorado. What would be the upside of getting the Dorado?


-dAn
ask Nik P ( minipeaty on BS). he rode a Dorado last year and has a slider + this year...he told me the other day he likes the Dorado alot better.
 

Threepointtwo

Monkey
Jun 21, 2002
632
0
SLC, UT
greenreese said:
Has anyone ridden them enough to compare the 03 or 180 04 Dorado to the Slider +? The slider weighs less, has spv and costs less than half the price of the Dorado. What would be the upside of getting the Dorado?


-dAn
I rode the old Dorado up until I switched this year to the Slider+. I loved my Dorado and was going to switch to the X Works but due to availability, I went for the Slider. The Dorado of old was more plush. I don't notice the weight difference between the two. The SPV absolutely rules when it is time to get up and sprint. The Slider won't bottom with the SPV whereas I would bottom the Dorado. I noticed slightly less brakes dive (not that it was a problem) with the Slider thatn the Dorado. Pointed down the trail, you don't really notice the SPV - its just feels like a nice fork though not a plush as the Dorado. Overall, I am pleased with the Slider +.
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,659
1,130
NORCAL is the hizzle
Sweet, thanks everyone, I think I'm going with the 888. It's not cheap but it's a lot less dough than the Dorado and I don't want to wait for them to fix the issues they've been having (thanks for the tip Scott). I've considered the others and since this is pretty much a dedicated dh/big hit/freeride rig the plushness of the 888 is really what I need. The Fox DH sounds great but I don't want to wait or be a first-run guinea pig. Thanks again.
 

seismic

Turbo Monkey
Dec 22, 2003
3,254
0
South East Asia
What about the 888`s lack of compression dampning ? Is that a problem. The 888 seems nice but when comparing to the Dorado I think the Dorado feels better when it comes to middle size hits on the track. Somehow the 888 feels kind of long too, but of course it depends on the the frame.
 

acair422

Monkey
Aug 20, 2003
552
2
what about a manitou slider plus with spv, or waiting till next season and getting the fox DH fork, i've heard ****ty things about the dorado, if you love SPV the dorado kicks the 888's ass, if you want a plush do everything fork, get the 888 that simple, **** WB let them prove themselves again
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,659
1,130
NORCAL is the hizzle
Yeah I thought about a slider but want a 200mm fork so my choices are kind of limited this year, and I don't want to wait for a fox, especially not one of the first production ones since fox seems to always have early production issues. SPV would be nice, that's pretty much the reason I was thinking about a dorado, but I don't do a lot of pedaling on the bike and would probably not use the spv much because I'll want small bump sensitivity. I'm glad the debate continues but I'm pretty sure I've got a good deal lined up on a 888.

Now I just to go re-read that Go-ride tuning article...and get ready to send the fork to someone for service/tuning 'cuz I probably won't want to mess with it myself...
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
OGRipper said:
Now I just to go re-read that Go-ride tuning article...and get ready to send the fork to someone for service/tuning 'cuz I probably won't want to mess with it myself...
Remember that go-ride is a business. Ride it first and figure out if you need it or not. I know one person who has it and is drilling on it at the moment.
 
B

bighitfsr

Guest
I'd just like to point out that stokes/intergrated stems are a really bad idea particularly on a non inverted fork.
I was mentioned that the dorado has a better intergrated stem.
I would have agreed with this a month ago.
Since then my housemate discovered a crack in the carbon uppers of his 03 dorado between the upper and lower crowns.
He feels and I agree that the crack is a direct result of clipping the handlebars at speed in a crash.
Because an intergrated stem wont twist around the steerer in a crash you'll end up with broken forks.
This is a bigger problem with non inverted designs as you'll likely twist the fork lowers which is an extreemly expensive thing to get fixed.

I would never consider running an intergrated stem after what happened to my housemate (cave dweller on this forum).

FYI the 05 888R is supposed to come stock with new crowns that give it a lower ride height and the part that go-ride posted about. I'm in the same boat as you guys, currently making a decsion about my next DH fork (Fox DH, DHFti, 888R, Dorado 180/200, Slider plus). I'm currently thinking I'll wait for the 05 888R, Fox DH and if niether of those look like winners I should have saved enough for the Avy forks.

Back on the subject of Mojo Boxxers my opinion is that its only worth it if you allready have a boxxer. Overall I think an 888R is a much better choice than a brand new boxxer with a mojo upgrade.
 

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
The 888 is a bloody riot, i love mine. My problem with the integrated stem isn't worrying about stiffness and whatnot, its the fact that my bars slip, especially on harder hits. Real nice, lemme tell ya. No grease in there, bolts are tighter then an honest Nun, bu still the bars turn.

Have you thought about the White Bros 2.0? They are putting a hell of a lot of work into those things, definately somebody to consider.
 

Hrelp

Chimp
Feb 23, 2004
93
0
The Dorado's from my experience have come from the factory like it was built by 8 year olds on crack. The bushings have excessive play clearances are terrible and there is tons of air in the cartridge. I've owned 2 and seen MANY more out there and they all feel like GARBAGE from the factory. You must get it setup properly by a Manitou tech before they work the way they are supposed to. Most shops dont know how to rebuild these properly. I trust the manitou distributors in vancouver and have complete faith in them. They make the fork feel AMAZING.
 

Orvan

....................
Mar 5, 2002
1,492
2
Califor-N.I.A.
Hrelp said:
The Dorado's from my experience have come from the factory like it was built by 8 year olds on crack.
yup they suck... so pls sell it to me. or I'll trade you a boxxer plus tubes plus $20 for it.. dorados are sticky and require maintenance (like breakdown) every 20 mins of riding. sell it before it depreciates!
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
19,103
9,760
AK
well...dorados may be cracking with integrated stems, but I've NEVER heard of shivers or super Ts doing it. I run the integrated stem and I like it a lot.

Just because one guy cracked his dorado does not mean this is a problem or that it's widespread (obviously).
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Acadian said:
who would that be?
Go-ride. Think about it. :D

Correction though, he ended up not drilling it. He was playing with it some more this afternoon trying the one or two options (holes covered) he hadn't used yet. We'll be experimenting with it tomorrow.

On the 888 integrated stem vs the dorado. There are two rather thin bolts holding it in place in the crown on the 888. I guess in theory smacking the bars hard enough would sheer these things and still allow the stem to twist. Maybe that's why it's different than most moto style ones?

I still like the adjustability of the manitous vs the road bike stem that comes with the 888.
 

Fury

Monkey
Oct 9, 2002
739
0
Toronto, Canada
I too have heard that the 2004 X-Works Dorado's spike erratically.

I've seen a lot of 888's looking... boxerish (external oil bath). That said, people that have them seem to really like them.

I have a 2003 Dorado and I love the plushness. Also, Go-Ride has a brand new 2003 Dorado advertised for $999 on their website.
 

snowskilz

xblue attacked piggy won
May 15, 2004
612
0
rado
888 from go ride with the lower crowns and youd be set. I have one and i weigh 220 with gear and LOVE IT. 3 of my buds have dorados and i can feel the flex. No flex at all with the 888. We were at mtn creek last week my buddy took a pretty light crash on the one rock garden and twisted the fvck out of his dorado. Now thats scary if ya ask me.

id also look into the 888 works bc it comes custom tuned.
 

profro

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2002
5,617
314
Walden Ridge
snowskilz said:
888 from go ride with the lower crowns and youd be set. I have one and i weigh 220 with gear and LOVE IT. 3 of my buds have dorados and i can feel the flex. No flex at all with the 888. We were at mtn creek last week my buddy took a pretty light crash on the one rock garden and twisted the fvck out of his dorado. Now thats scary if ya ask me.

id also look into the 888 works bc it comes custom tuned.
The energy from crashing is transfered into twisting the fork legs. Yes, it does suck having to get up and straighten them out again, but think where all that energy might go in a conventional fork? In addition, having the fork legs properly torqued keeps this to a minimum.
 

Acadian

Born Again Newbie
Sep 5, 2001
714
2
Blah Blah and Blah
kidwoo said:
I'm not sure if it's a different size, buy olympic has either that one or one that looks like it. None of the diameters were the right size. It's ok though. It's now assembled by someone without an ape's touch.
hummm... oh well.

so what exactly did he do to his fork? or was it you working on yours?
 

- seb

Turbo Monkey
Apr 10, 2002
2,924
1
UK
Bugger, just called Mojo and they wont have any carts for the Boxxer for 2-4 weeks, and I go to Morzine in 2 weeks :(