Plowing through stairs like flat road, plush, SPV adjustment helps with bobbing. Rebound adjustment.

SPV pressure is hard to adjust to precise value.

Got a brand new one for less than $100. Best deal ever. Ride is very plush, absorbs curbs and rocks well.

Cheap replacement SPV shock. Bought a new 2008 in 2011 for $80. My Swinger 4-way had failed. This cost $40 more than a rebuild kit! Seems to be working fine so far. Easy to setup with just the two air chambers, and a rebound damping knob.

A little stiction sometimes? Hopefully it'll break in a bit.

Good shock so far. It was a cheap replacement for my shock with a leaky main air chamber. We'll see how it holds up over time. So far, so good. I weigh 165lbs, and it works great for me. It heats up a bit on continuous downhill action. On Hide and Seek trail at Sandy Ridge I found it was pretty hot. Not sure how that'll be over long periods of sustained downhilling. Then again, it's not really made for that, and I don't really ride like that all the time.

Similar Products Used:

Manitou Swinger 4-way SPV

PLUSH, ADJUSTABLE, EFFICIENT + LOCKOUT and PRO PEDAL

None

Manitou has had some trouble over the years but I have noticed a huge improvement in there products and this shock is no exception. It is extremely efficient and plush. I would recommend this shock to anyone who likes to climb to the top and bomb downhill.

Similar Products Used:

DHX, FLOAT RP3

Virtually no pedal bob, light weight, smooth travel.

Slightly stiff when sag is set properly, but that's spv.

This shock helps my 5" travel bike climb like a hardtail, but performs comfortably over rough terrain. Slight hop occurs when climbing in a standing position. I weigh in at 155 lbs. Positive chamber set at 150psi and spv chamber set at 130. I suppose climbing could be enhanced by a higher spv pressure, but I like the shock to come off the platform pretty quick due to rough, rocky terrain in my area. I did not pay for my shock, but the retail seems to be pretty high for this item. However, it does help my four bar link perform it's best.

Similar Products Used:

Rock Shox SID, RS coils, SR Epicon.

It came with the bike.

It loses air before finally blowing...

I bought this bike used so I expected some gremlins. So when the shock gave up last summer, I wasn't too surprised. Then this year (2008) when the shock did the same thing after roughly the same number of km (only about 600) I realized how bad this thing really is. Manitou 'service' if it stays true to last year's benchmark should have the shock back to me in about 8 - 9 weeks - therefore season is over. Guess I'll try the RP23 now...

Similar Products Used:

Fox

Light, High volume oil flow when needed.

SPV not as stable as avertised.

This was a definite upgrade from the cheaper platform plus that came on the Prophet. The main difference besides the small weight savings is the amount of oil that can flow with the SPV design. I can sit on the seat and hit bumps that I could not before. This is by far the biggest advantage over what came before it.
Surprisingly though, the platform is not any better at all over the cheap platform plus shock. This could be somewhat cause by the fact that the Prophet's swingarm has a decreasing leverage as the shock goes through its travel.
The reason this shock is lighter is because the shaft does not have a steel liner(as is with all the other light shocks such as Fox or Progressive). I do not recommend these type of shocks if it is not protected by a seattube or something as they are proned to stratching from grit. If your bike has an interupted seattube design, I would get the swinger 3way instead which is one of the few steel lined shocks made. It is also a great shock.

Similar Products Used:

Manitou swinger 3 way, platform plus(came on bike I put this shock on). Many other rear shocks over the years.

Killer ride and it knocked 2.35 pounds off my Ellsworth. The SPV is so sweet!!!

none

"All In" is the best bet

Similar Products Used:

Romic D

SPV works really well
Lightweight
High quality

SPV valve tough to get to in my frame

I decided to try a stable platform shock to rid my Salsa of the large amount of bobbing that the stock SID shock had. I expected a 4 bar link design to bob less - my Gary Fisher Sugar didn't bob nearly as much.

This upgrade made a huge difference. I weigh 195 lbs., and ran 150 psi in the SPV chamber with 150 psi in the positive air chamber last Saturday at Oleta. Nothing short of an amazing difference. No bob on the quick uphills and out of the saddle cranking hard resulted in an imperceptible amount of bob. Bump absorption was awesome. My rear end was sore with the SID after 10 miles - even had some sit-bone bruising occasionally. With this shock, same seat and setup, no soreness, no brusining. Amazing. Even though it feels quite a bit stiffer in terms of initial ride quality. Cornering actually improved in the technical stuff as the bike rides higher in the stroke resulting in better steering precision. I was faster and more confident immediately.

I was skeptical about how much difference a new shock could make on this frame. The S -Type Manitou has made me a believer in SPV technology.

Very well worth the money. All shims needed I got via the web at Universal Cycles. Shock was bought new on eBay from someone who had ordered the wrong size. I'd recommend this shock for anyone who is a cross-country rider looking for great performance with low weight. Lockout isn't needed!

Similar Products Used:

RockShox SID, Cane Creek AD-5

Light, easy to set up, nice platform.

Platform can be overcome fairly easily out of the saddle.

I was afraid of an air shocks because I'm a heavy (220) aggressive trail rider (no big jumps but very hard hits on fast descents that I like to take seated) because I’ve head plenty of horror stories about limping home on a fully compressed shock.

After about six months of abuse (I don’t pamper my equipment, just replace the broken bits) the shock’s just fine. Better than fine, in fact. It’s way lighter than my old Romic coil over (I can run a higher cog on every accent) and the platform really works (except out of the saddle). Other than that, the action is plush, comparable to the coil (except for the weight).

And the price was right. Cheep at twice the price.

I’d highly recommend.

Similar Products Used:

None, used to use a coil-over (had an old air shock without any platform).

Light weight, solid construction, adjustment range , set and forget SPV, hot looks

New to the market,

Once I got the sag set up and figured out how to fine tune the SPV this shock has helped me go go go. My bike now accelarates like a hard tail but floats over roots and bumps...plush. No more lever to fool with. Solid handling. The shock never feels like it bottoms. Great upgrade. Forget about a new bike for now , my riding buddies think I'm on steroids. Totally F-1.

Similar Products Used:

Fox Float RL , Romic Twin Tube