Aluminum Manitou Dorado on the horizon

Manitou hinted some time back about wanting to offer a second less expensive version of their premium downhill fork; the Manitou MRD Dorado.  The idea behind the aluminum version would be to provide consumers (and OEM’s) an avenue to get one of the best forks on the market where they should be, spec’d on your bike.

The aluminum version is slated to have the same internals (in a slightly heavier package most likely) but at a more cost effective price.  The same 2 year service plan / support will also be included as well which lets the user send the fork back to Manitou for service (as well as race support).  With the use of aluminum, we think it is quite possible that Manitou could bring the weight of the aluminum version at, or very close to the weight of the current carbon model and easily reduce the price of the aluminum Dorado to the likes of the Boxxer WC and the FOX 40 RC2.  A sub $2000 MSRP aluminum Dorado in our opinion is certainly attainable.  Achieving a similar feel with the aluminum version will be a hurdle to overcome.

Manitou is working on the details as we speak but look to see the fork at Crankworx this year and sample it for yourself at the 2009 outdoor demo at Interbike.

Offering a less expensive aluminum version is a good idea in our book as consumers often can’t afford such high priced items and often have to resort to riding less advanced parts as a result.  It will be interesting to see how the fork rides in comparison but using the same damping and bottom out circuit as the current Dorado gets a thumbs up in our book.

If you missed the details of the Dorado, be sure to check out our preview on the Dorado where we have listed a lot of information on the fork as well as a 20minute video tech talk with one of their lead engineers.  If you’ve got the funds to buy the current Dorado, it’s a worthy investment if you’re looking for one of the best performing forks on the market.  Stay tuned to Sicklines.com and we’ll let you know when we know more about the aluminum MRD Dorado.