Fox 34 or Mattoc Expert

greeek32

greeek32

Active Member
Changing the fork on my 5010. Trying to decide between a 2014 fox 34 factory and a manitou mattoc expert. Because of the pike, 34's are pretty cheap right now for a new take-off on pinkbike (between $400-$500). The mattoc is ~$600 for the expert version new (read: it comes in a box with a warentee). The only difference between the expert and pro that i can see is pretty much some grams.

Anyway, stuck on the fence about this although i'm leaning towards the mattoc as i'm pretty dissatisfied with my current fox fork and i'd rather not pay for another even though i've been told there's a huge difference between the evolution and the factory. Also pushing me toward the mattoc is that i'd be buying it from a LBS and not some shop in california trying to empty their store room after swaping out 34's for pikes all season. Lastly i used to own a sherman a while back and that fork ruled. really the only thing stopping me is that it's new and it seems as though no one knows how reliable they'll be.

Oh, i'd be limiting the travel of whatever i buy to 140-150 mm. if that makes a difference in anyone's advice.
 
I heard the 2014 foxes are so cheap cause of the major improvements on the 2015. Nobody wants the 2014s....
 
is that why they are all on sale at jenson? All the 2014 are on sale for at least 35% off MSRP.
 
I've been eyeballing a Mattoc Expert. The difference between the Pro and Expert is a cartridge damper vs in-leg damper. I prefer the in-leg, it has more oil but weights more. My Minute & Nixon forks have been awesome. I just don't need the 160mm yet and my Minute is a 140.
 
mattoc can be lowered all the way down to like 120 or something if you ask for the parts from manitou. definitely 140 straight out of the box.
 
and the 36 is a huge improvement for 2015, 2014 was the year the 34 got it's remake so the 2013's are the one's you don't want. from what i hear that is...
 
greeek32 said:
Ordered a mattoc pro today. Mike at town cycle quoted me a price I couldn't resist.
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I had good luck in the past with Manitou, have a Fox now, have been eye balling the Mattoc pro. I have a 13 Fox that was way under damped. I sent it back to fox and for $100 they transformed it, rides much better now, so their customer service is pretty good. They basically put a 2014 damper in it with a revalve.

What did you get quoted on the Pro, send me an IM if it's cool.
 
I've only ridden it at Windham for the ESC DH race, but I've been happy with my Mattoc Pro so far.
 
Bringin up an old thread here, any more mattoc reviews? Considering replacing my 13 fox 34 float since the mattoc is on sale for 530 right now in the expert flavor
 
I ended up buying the mattoc pro and I'm extremely happy with it. I lowered it to 150mm (160mm would have been too much for my SC Solo) which was really easy.

Right out of the box it rides pretty nice but doesn't really ride to its full potential until around 50 or so miles.

Here's my review of it: the mattoc is a superior fork in every way to my fox 32 (I don't know about the 34, never owned one). The dampening is incredible and the HBO literally makes it feel bottomless and is easily adjustable. The HBO is so good that if you like to ride lower in the travel or run low air you can and not bottom out hard ever.

I rode my friends pike on his commencial and I do have to say that the low speed compression dampening is better on that as it has a better pedaling platform. The thing is that it isn't better by much. Only if I'm pounding the pedals out of the saddle is it evident and I only notice it if I'm actually looking at the fork.

Now I was thinking that I might be imagining faster speeds and I generally don't believe that new parts make you faster. It definitely made the bike more stable, especially at higher speeds. Which I expected. What I didn't expect was to improve my time everywhere, climbing and descending. PR's every time I went out for a while.

Anyway, I love this fork and if I had the money for a full priced pike I would buy the mattoc again and spend the rest on a set of Stans flows. No one is gonna beat you out because they have a pike and you have a mattoc.

There's a recent (like yesterday) video on pinkbike of a guy thrashing a mattoc in Czech. Its pretty awesome.
 
Oh. Forgot this part. The smallest front rotor you can run with the mattoc is ~200mm which wasn't an issue for me but know that if you're buying one.
 
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Wow thanks for the awesome reply! For the price I don't think I can say no. The fox 34 feels solid but the performance seems hit or miss, the ctd blows and travel is rarely more than 75% used. I plan on setting the mattoc at 140 for my trance, but I have read in a few placed min rotor size is 180mm. Again thanks for the good info much appreciated!
 
evo456 said:
Bringin up an old thread here, any more mattoc reviews? Considering replacing my 13 fox 34 float since the mattoc is on sale for 530 right now in the expert flavor
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Why don't you send your fork back to Fox and have them upgrade it with a 2015 damper? I did this, it cost me $120, and it was like a new fork. They know the 2013's are shit, so they should hook you up. Worst case, if you don't like it, you should be able to sell it for a little more with the newer damper.

And if your getting the Mattoc, go with the Pro model.
 
I've read the expert is actually better cause it has the more oil around the cartridge to keep it cooler. Either way for 530 the expert seems like a killer deal. Just gotta pick black or white now. Oh and I did call fox, they said $220 just for parts to upgrade to the newest fit damper. After I sell my fox the mattoc wont coat much more than that and is fully adjustable
 
greeek32 said:
Oh. Forgot this part. The smallest front rotor you can run with the mattoc is ~200mm which wasn't an issue for me but know that if you're buying one.
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I don't think this is correct. I'm running a 180mm rotor with my Mattoc using a direct mounted caliper. To be honest, looking at the picture of your bike, that looks like a 180mm rotor.

I have a good number of rides on my Carbine/Mattoc now and otherwise I agree it's a good fork. I'm still running mine at 160mm which seems to work well with the Carbine (150mm travel). It helps I'm used to a more relaxed geometry when riding FS bikes. After ~3 years, I never really got used to the "XC-ish" geometry of the '09 Niner Jet-9 it replaced. This bike is much closer to how my Lawwill DH-6 rode.

There may be something to the "oil amount" comment. Mine is starting to feel a bit sticky so I have a feeling I'll be changing the oil over the Winter.
 
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