Tested: Manitou Mezzer Pro Fork

Manitou’s Mezzer Pro delivers an excellent combination of tunability and performance that makes it a strong contender for a wide variety of bikes and riders.

In a Nutshell

• Travel: 140-180 mm internally adjustable
• Configuration tested: 29” 44 mm offset, 160, 170, and 180 mm travel
• Weight: 2008 g (Uncut steerer tube)
• Available now for $660

Intro

Manitou’s Mezzer Pro is not a new fork. It’s been around for a while, and it’s developed a bit of a cult following online, with dedicated acolytes singing its praises to anyone who will listen. But when it debuted, the Mezzer Pro was on the cutting edge of the “bigger forks for bigger bikes” wave that included the RockShox Zeb and Fox 38. And while I’ve spent a bunch of time on both of those forks, and really enjoyed them in appropriate applications, I hadn’t ever gotten time on the Mezzer. So when the opportunity came, I jumped on it.

While I really enjoyed my time on the Mattoc (and am headed out to ride my Mattoc-equipped hardtail as soon as I finish this review), I was a little tentative before I started riding the Mezzer. Front suspension options can often feel like a duopoly: choose the correct diameter Fox or RockShox option, slap it on your bike, and party on. Why challenge that status quo? And I’m more picky with longer travel forks. Weaknesses in a fork’s spring or damper can often display themselves more aggressively when the fork is doing more, when there’s more travel to screw up or get right.

So I pulled the RockShox Lyrik Ultimate off my personal REEB STEEZL and bolted on the Mezzer, fully ready to spend enough time riding and experimenting to build some thoughtful impressions and write a review, before swapping it back off again. Instead I find myself, months later, with no real desire to switch back. So let’s get into why I got along with the Mezzer so well, and what kind of riders I think will benefit from this fork.

Spring

The Mezzer Pro’s spring and damper are very similar to the Mattoc I already reviewed, so I won’t rehash too much of that here. The Mezzer uses the same Dorado IRT air spring system, with its two separately tunable positive air chambers. I still think this YouTube video is helpful in visualizing how this works, and I highly recommend watching it before you start messing around with a shock pump.

Just like on the Mattoc, this air spring setup means that you can go to greater lengths adjusting the combination of support and suppleness that the Mezzer delivers, without resorting to pulling volume spacers. That makes on-trail bracketing a simple affair, but does also add a step to initial setup.

Finally, just like the Mattoc, the Mezzer’s air spring is travel-adjustable without buying a new spring. I’ve run it at 160, 170, and 180 mm, and each swap takes about 15 minutes with the right tools (you’ll need an open backed cassette tool like the Abbey Crombie, or Manitou’s own tool). You can also run it down as low as 140 mm, which bigger riders on smaller bikes might appreciate.

Damper

The Mezzer’s sealed MC² damper is the same story: it’s shared across their “Pro” fork models. It has adjustable high and low speed compression, a single rebound adjustment, and internal hydraulic bottom out support. I’ve found it pretty easy to get into a good ballpark setup with this damper in the driveway and then dial things in from there.

Chassis details

The Mezzer, with its 37 mm stanchions, was the first modern mainstream single crown fork to enter the 36 mm+ girth club. The lowers are aligned with Manitou’s signature reverse arch, and tied together at the bottom with their hexagonal axle.

The Mezzer’s bolt-on fender provides great coverage, but is a little soft and floppy. That’s a double-edged sword–some folks find it too floppy, but I appreciate that you can still tighten wheel-clamping racks over it. You’ve got two options for routing the brake line, and it comes set up for a 180 mm rotor, although I adapted that up to 200 mm.

Setup and performance

While there was a little bit of a learning curve to setting up the Mattoc Pro, my takeaways from that experience set me up for a quicker experience with the Mezzer. The air pressure chart printed on the fork is a great starting place, and I’ve found that I prefer just a touch more pressure in both the IRT and main chamber, and a couple more PSI in the IRT than the base ratio. That’s because I like a supportive mid-stroke, and the trails I’m most often riding the Mezzer on reward a more firm, supportive, pumpable fork. But when I’ve traveled to ride other trail systems, it’s easy to skew that ratio of pressures to use a little more of the fork’s travel, create a little more traction, and generally make things more forgiving for blind riding.

I really, really appreciate the ability to play with those pressures independently. It’s not a make-or-break feature for me, but it sure is nice to have. And that’s even more obvious on a longer travel fork like the Mezzer than on the Mattoc. I think that’s because much of my desire for more mid-stroke support comes from the changes to geometry that happen as the fork goes deeper into its travel.

Those changes are much more apparent on a 170 mm fork than a 130 mm one. Back in 2021 I was running the original Zeb Ultimate with the Charger 2.1 Damper and DebonAir spring. I struggled to find a good balance of mid stroke support and off-the-top compliance with that fork, and in retrospect I wish I’d been on Mezzer instead.

The current RockShox options deliver, in my opinion, a level of small bump, off the top suppleness that’s hard to beat. The Mezzer doesn’t have that same “move through its travel for every pebble in the parking lot” feeling, but on the trail I’ve gotten along with it well.

Beyond the air spring, the chassis performance of the Mezzer positions it in a pretty interesting way. At its full 180 mm extension, I think the RockShox Zeb feels a little stiffer, a little more planted, a little more burly (and also has slightly better small bump compliance and feel). But the Mezzer is noticeably stiffer than a Lyrik, and feels more confident, easier to drive through chunder under my hands. I’ve been running the 180 mm Zeb as a “no excuses” fork on a bike that ultimately, I’d like to run a dual crown fork on, and the Mezzer doesn’t have quite the same “the wheel will point the direction you want it to, no matter what is happening” feeling. But it’s way closer than I expected it to be. And it manages to do that at a weight much closer to a Lyrik than a Zeb. That’s really cool.

What sort of bikes (and riders) does the Mattoc make the most sense for?

The REEB STEEZL is a perfect bike for my 200 lbs of barely-coordinated man meat to experience that option-splitting stiffness. The 180 mm Zeb felt like overkill on the STEEZL. It was more fork, more stiffness than the bike needed. And, while I get along really well with the 160 mm Lyrik on that bike, I was surprised at how much more chargey the STEEZL felt with the Mezzer set to 160 or 170 mm. Especially in the long-shocked mullet configuration, the STEEZL and the 170 Mezzer feel like a perfect match.

I am, ostensibly at least, trying to keep the STEEZL biased towards the trail end of the spectrum. I have a tendency to bulk up whatever bike I happen to be riding, pushing the weight, and capability as far toward the descending end of the spectrum as I can. But the Mezzer lets me have my cake and eat it too. It feels like “more” fork than the Lyrik, in a good way, but doesn’t make me suffer the weight penalty that jumping up to a Zeb would.

The Mezzer is a reminder that the current perceived RockShox/Fox duopoly and nearly identical travel and capability lineups has its holes. The Mezzer gives heavier riders the option to get more support and performance on their shorter travel bikes. If you’re a big person looking for a big-feeling 140 mm fork, you’re squarely in Pike/34 territory, absent the Mezzer, which fits the bill nicely. And similarly, if you’re a smaller person looking for a long travel fork that doesn’t shift the bike/body weight bias as significantly as a Zeb or 38, the Mezzer could be the fork for you.

Mountain bike suspension is absurdly good right now, especially if your body and your riding falls within the bell curve of “average.” But products like the Mezzer are cool because they open up the realm of possibility a little to use cases that fall on the edges of that spectrum.

In Conclusion

While the Mezzer might not be the hottest new fork on the market, it’s still a great option for folks looking for something in that “more than trail” category. And given the deals that can be had on one right now, it’s a compelling choice for a whole swath of bikes and riders.