Bought a new Farley 7 back in the winter (right as the snow melted – ha!). Set sag for my weight, converted tubeless, but otherwise stock.
First ride out, headset loosened up after a rocky descent. Tightened it up but loosened up after next ride. Figuring the tech might have mistorqued things and the race was now out of round, I took it back to Trek. They tightened it and sent me on my way. Of course, same result.
During the same ride, noticed that the compression adjust didn’t tighten things up like it used to. Full stiff is what I needed to control the front end and stop the chatter. So I brought it back in and they kept it for a few weeks while they worked with Trek and Manitou. Replaced the headset, which appears to be holding up after another ride.
Still no word back from Manitou, but now I have a leaky left fork seal. Mind you, I might have 50-60 miles. No mud, salt, or winter cold.
Anyone else have issues with their Farley? I’m disappointed since I specifically bought this mod for its bombproof rep and local support.
by 1-3-2-4
5 Comments
What you’re describing sounds like two different issues, on a pretty new bike.
Headset and Suspension.
You may have better results contacting Manitou directly about the fork and warranty issues keeping Trek as the middleman. They may send you a rebuild kit to fix the seals.
I see dust on your stanchion….. This wouldn’t register on my radar for being concerning.
Check your steerer height. Your stem cap may be bottoming out on the steerer tube. I always cut my stem flush now and put a 2.5-5mm spacer on top. I’ve seen this on a lot of bikes. First preload feels good, but after a few miles it loosens up a bit.
If your steerer is below the top of the stem you also can get less clamp force on the steerer depending how low it is.
I’ll never buy another Manitou again. New, right out of the box the rebound dampening did not work at all. Tech support blamed it all on user setup. Finally said they’d take a look at it if shipped to them for $50 with a turn around time backed up for 2 months.
I’ve had zero issues with my Farley 5. I did a tubeless conversion but otherwise it was just put the contact points in the right spots and go.