Not to be confused with The Rock's famous The People's Eyebrow, Manitou's brand-new Mattoc fork is designed to appeal to those who don't stray into enduro and downhill territory with the brand dubbing it as 'the people's fork'. Built to be a true jack of all trades, Manitou reckons this is a solid fork for everything from XC right up to light enduro, coming with a range of features seen on the Mezzer enduro fork.

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The Mattoc benefits from a wide range of travel as the fork offers 110mm of squish up to 150mm that can be adjusted in 10mm increments, without the need for additional componentry. Not only does this give the fork some serious versatility but it also helps retailers as they can stock one fork to suit a range of needs.

2023 manitou mattoc pro logo.jpeg, by Liam Mercer

It also gets 34mm stanchions and is 30% stiffer than the previous Mattoc. The Pro model fork is estimated to weigh 1,750 grams, meaning that it should be light and stiff enough for XC racing, while burly enough to handle some enduro scenarios.

What's cool is that all of Mattoc's internals are interchangeable - from the lowest-end Comp model to the Pro. This also means that there should be an abundance of spares available.

MattocPro2022-5612.jpg, by Liam Mercer

Furthering the 'people's fork' philosophy, the Mattoc is available in a 29-inch version with a 4mm offset or a 650b (27.5in) build with a 37, or 44mm offset. Not only does this offer a fork for adult 650b wheel lovers, but it means that the fork can also suit younger riders who'll typically ride the smaller wheel.

Coming in three models, the top-end Pro built gets Manitou's most advanced tech, so it benefits from the Dorado air spring that's found on the downhill fork. This air spring uses a balancing valve that self-equalises the negative and positive chambers.

2023 manitou mattoc pro IRT.jpeg, by Liam Mercer

It also gets the very cool IRT (Infinite Rate Tune), which acts as a second positive air chamber and allows the user to adjust mid-stroke support and bottom-out resistance using a shock pump while improving small bump sensitivity. This is offered as an aftermarket upgrade to the mid-level Expert build and the base Comp fork.

As for the damper, the Mattoc Pro boasts the MC2 sealed damper that uses a bladder system to compensate for heat built up, as well as a relief valve. It also uses Manitou's own hydraulic bottom out (or HBO) that controls the final 30mm of the travel which is said to ensure that the rider will never have to deal with hard bottom outs.

The Expert fork gets an Open Cartridge damper and the Comp, an Inleg adjustable TPC.

Each fork rocks a 1.5in tapered head tube, a forged aluminium hollow bore crown, and 7000-series butted wall aluminium stanchions.

Prices start at 720 euros and go up to 1,260 euros.

• hayesbicycle.com

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