MENJA - REVIEWS IN THE PRESS

The Menja is light and controlled enough stroke make it our top-value winner in the XC/Trail category. The DAD (Double Arch Design)  lower legs use two braces - one front and one at the rear - to create one of the stiffest QR-axled fork structures on the market. In fact, steering and line-holding precision feels closer to that of 20 mm forks when you get the Menja on the trail, and static torque tests we've done have backed up that stiff feel.  The Menja has dropped a noticeable mount of weight for 2008, making it the second lightest fork on the test here despite its strength.

 

WMB verdict

XC: 8/10

Mountain: 8/10

Life: 8/10

Value: 9/10

Light, impressively stiff and really well made. Top-value trail fork.

Overall: 8/10

German hydraulic specialists MAGURA have been building forks for a while, but this is definitely their best year ever.

For a start the Menja is smooth and impressively controlled over all bump sizes straight from the box. 85, 100 (tested) and 130mm travel versions mean there's one to suit most XC bikes and impact appetites too. Damping is wide ranging and consistent to match whatever pressure you run. The DLO (Dynamic Lockout) leaves enough sag to keep steering traction on steep climbs.

The unique double arch design means impressive tracking stiffness that's really noticeable across roots and off-camber sections and it's rated for up to 210mm discs for big brakes. All the sets we've ridden have been equally smooth with no hint of leaks or other problems, and metal top caps and ajdusters all round are a quality touch. Long term love is boosted by stainless steel dropout and IS brake mount plates. Separate disc hose guide and FIRM-tech direct mounts for MAGURA HS 33 hydraulic rim brakes are standard, while a remote DLO lever is an optional upgrade. You can also order custom colours.

Considering the toughness and fixture list it's a reasonable weight, and it's certainly well priced at 315 pounds.

WMB verdict:

Race:        7/10
Trail:         8/10
Life:          9/10
Value:       8/10

Impressively smooth, controlled and stiff mid-price trail fork.

Overall:    8

Magura describes its Menja as an All Mountain/XC fork, and as such it sits somewhere in the middle of the company's brand new range of four forks. Magura forks have built a good reputation for value and reliability, but as yet this hasn't translated to huge UK sales. With their new range, this is hopefully set to change.
The Menja is available in three different travel options - 85, 100 or 130mm. They're different forks, so you'll need to decide how much travel you want before you buy. Other options include a choice of lower legs with either disc brake and V-brake mounts or disc brake and Magura's own Firm-Tech mounts specifically for its hydraulic rim brakes. If you're only planning to use discs, the Firm-Tech models will give you a cleaner look - the rim brake mounts are low profile and behind the legs. Standard colour is black, but Magura's Customize Program gives you the choice of white, yellow, orange, pink, red, olive, turquoise, dark blue or silver.
Uniquely, Magura's whole fork range uses its Dual Arch Design, with brake arches at front and rear. It's not the first manufacturer to do this - Pace forks had twin arches years ago - but it's the only one doing it now and the only one to be doing it with one-piece magnesium lowers. It's quite a clever bit of manufacturing, and certainly looks distinctive.
32mm stanchions are bonded into a cold-forged 6082-T6 aluminium crown, which carries an integrated cable stop for a retrofittable remote lockout lever. On the subject of integrated bits and bobs, there's a built-in hose guide on the lower leg but it turned out to be too small to fit a Hope hose through. The dropouts are angled forwards at 45° to eliminate the possibility of brake-assisted axle wander, and stainless steel corrosion protectors are fitted to the dropout faces and IS brake mounts. All forks in Magura's range are warrantied for up to 210mm rotors, so if you fancy running 8in rotors on an 85mm fork you know where to go.
Moving inside, the Menja is air sprung and oil damped. You won't find yourself bewildered by controls and adjustments - you've got an air valve on the top of the left leg and a rebound damping adjuster at the bottom of the right. At the top of the right leg is a lockout lever, but it's not just any old lockout. Magura's Dynamic Lockout System locks the forks at the sag point rather than fully extended, giving you a more agreeable weight distribution for tackling steep climbs. It's a little like a less extreme version of Marzocchi's ETA system. A remote handlebar lever for the lockout is available, if you want it easier to reach.
We strapped the Menja to the front of our Pipedream, and just through the first few sections of singletrack the extra stiffness provided from the Dual Arch Design became apparent. Combined with 32mm stanchions, steering is very precise and direct, and there's no hint of flutter under braking. Previous generations of Magura forks have generally featured quite a stiff action out of the box and even after a lot of running in haven't matched some of the competition for plushness. But the Menja is super plush from the first moment you hit a root and there's certainly no bedding in period needed. The travel is pleasingly linear, with all 100mm being easily accessible. There's no harsh bottoming out, though, and the damping does an excellent job of keeping the front wheel in check.
Setup is a doddle - the shock pump even has recommend pressure settings printed on the barrel to get you started. The downside of simple controls and setup is, of course, that the scope for fiddling to get things just how you want them is somewhat reduced. If you're a tinkerer you may wish to look for something with more knobs and dials on it. If you just want to ride, check out the Menja.

VERDICT

The Menja is one of the nicest short travel forks we've used in a while. It's solidly made, super smooth and controlled, with a lockout that works in a way we can get our heads around. At a claimed weight of 3.7lb, they're not superlight for a 100mm fork, but then the 130mm variant isn't much heavier. If you have your own ideas about how you want your fork to behave you'll want something with more adjustability, but if you don't want to think too hard about setup (and let's be honest, most people don't have a clue), take a good look at one of these.

RATINGS

Performance 4/5

Value            5/5

Overall          5/5

Click here to read the article on bikemagic.com

You don't often see a fork company completely change its entire fork range, but then MAGURA have always liked to play things a little differently. The fact that they've continued to produce everything that bears their name in Germany, rather than flocked to the Far East like so many others, says it all really.

They call themselves the "Passion People", it sounds a bit cheesy, I know, but it's clear that they have a firm belief that they can build anything as well as anybody else can, actually no, change to "better than anyone else". Whether they are right or wrong, maybe only time will truly tell, but what I can tell you for now is that I don't think Billy (one of our testers) ever want to give these Menja's back. One feature that all of the new forks have is the "Double Arch Design". It produces a very stiff fork. The Menja's are the second cheapest in the range (the cheapest "Odur" being only available up to 100mm travel) buth they've got everything you need if you're not too much of a tinkerer. The air spring take care of preload, and then you've simply got a rebound  adjuster and a lockout. The latter is more extreme compression damping than lockout, but it stops any bobbing as well as allowing the fork to sag naturally, and should you want to mount yet another cable to your bike, you can with the remote lever option.

If you're still left wanting more to play with then the Laurin model is basically the same fork but with all sorts of platform stuff to you amused. Both forks are available with eitehr 85, 100 or 130mm of fixed travel, but if your're looking for even more then the 160mm Wotan with clamp-thru axle should suffice, we can't wait to get our hands on some those.

It's worth noting that all of MAGURA's forks are designed to be able to withstand disc rotors up to 210mm. I'll just end by saying that it's not everyone who goes to the lengths of fitting both the dropout (which is needless to say at the optimum angel for disc brake forces) and disc brake mount with with stainless steel anti-corrosion insert.

They are typically German, and that doesn't seem to be a bad thing when it comes to bikes.