Our friends at Broken Spoke took some time to get some info out about the New Manitou Mastodon Fork.

It’s been a long time coming for another big contender to come out with a suspension fat bike fork that can compete with the Bluto. While the Bluto was a good introduction, it is still pretty low end on the Rockshox scale of forks. With the sport getting bigger and bikes getting more developed, it is time that a new fork comes out to go along with them.

Manitou just released the Mastodon a couple of weeks ago at Sea Otter Classic. The Mastodon is designed with 34mm stanchions for a stiffer fork, cold weather seals that are rated down to 0 degrees F, and a clean thru bolt axle for easy install. Manitou has two choices for the Mastodon: a Pro and Comp version of the fork. The Pro model comes with the Dorado Air Spring with a MC2 Compression Damping, which is on most of the Manitou high-end forks. The Comp Version of the Mastodon comes with an ISO Air Spring along with an Absolute+ compression damping. Both forks have adjustable rebound damping on the bottom of the fork. We will focus more on the difference of these two options in the next blog.

The other main option Manitou is offering on the Mastodon is tire clearance. They make a standard and extended version of the fork. The standard version is for 26×4”, 27.5×3.8″ or 27.5×3” tire clearance. The extended version of the fork clears the bigger rubber. The extended will clear 26×5” tires, 27.5×4.8″, 29+ all the way up to the Snowshoe XXL tire. If you go with the extended version you are able to run any tire /rim combination and can keep the same fork. The chart below helps determine the tire clearance.

Manitou offers the Mastodon in two different travel lengths as well. They are offered in 100 or 120mm of travel. However, the 100mm version can be converted down to 80mm and the 120mm can be extended to 140mm. That amount of travel pretty much covers what anyone would need on a fat bike build.

The Pro version retails for $850 and weighs in at 2,210 grams. The Comp version retails for $650 and weighs in at 2,430 grams. We are now testing a few comp extended versions. Initial thought reviews will be coming soon.

6 thoughts on “Manitou Mastodon Fork”

      1. I’m also interested about the comparison between Comp and Pro. Any news when you could write the summary? From my point of view it would be most interesting to read if Pro is worth of paying extra for suspension newbie. I’m buying my first suspension fork and I really don’t know if Pro has anything to offer me since I ride relatively slow speed (around 10-15 km/h) in trails with lots of roots and around football sized rocks. My bike has 4,8″ Surly Bud in front. Virtually every review is only about Pro model, so it’s really hard to find relevant information. At the Manitou web page marketing terms like “Dorato Air” vs. “Iso Air” doesn’t really tell anything if one doesn’t already know them from somewhere.

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    1. Hey Dmitry,
      There is a difference. The Comp you set you air pressure in the fork and then there is knob on top that has about 6 clicks from fully open to medium to fully locked out. The Pro fork does have Dorado Air, which you set your air pressure on the bottom of the fork like the comp, but there is a top air chamber as well that you can adjust pressure to affect top end of stiffness of the fork. Much like adding tokens to rockshox or fox forks. Then from there the Pro has firm, medium and fully open settings. For the price the comp is a great fork! The pro you just get to dial in a bit more.

      Hope that helps!

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