Manitou Mezzer Pro £899.99

Adjustment HSC, LSC, LSR, air-spring pressure, ramp-up Travel 140 180mm, internally adjustable Offset 37/44 mm (650b), 44/51 mm (29in) Weight 2,066g (29in, 170mm)

Manitou say the Mezzer’s 37mm stanchions and reverse-facing arch offer the best balance of stiffness and lightness. At 2,066g, weight is impressive, and we’ve no complaints about stiffness. The reverse arch somewhat ties you in to the included mudguard, which could be longer and stiffer.

Instead of volume spacers, the air spring features a separate air chamber at the top of the fork to control the end-stroke progression, with the main air spring’s valve at the bottom. The set-up chart provided a good starting point. At 85kg, we settled on 61psi in the main spring and 85psi in the ramp-up chamber.

With plenty of mid-stroke support, the Mezzer is controlled and predictable when riding slow, steep and technical trails. However, when clattering through rough terrain at speed, particularly high-frequency chatter or bumps in bombholes, it can become harsh. Setting the compression damping fully open helped, while dropping air pressure made the problem worse. The main issue is that the rebound is too slow (even fully open), so it can’t cope with high-frequency or mid-compression hits without packing down. Two of MBUK’s testers have Mezzers and both are set fully open on rebound, despite running above-average spring pressures.

The firm damping works for slow technical trails with big features and soaks up big hits brilliantly, but it bogs down and becomes uncomfortable on fast, rough sections. We suspect the slow rebound may have more to do with friction than the damper itself, as the Mezzer takes a bit more force than other forks to start moving in either direction. Either way, it’ll be even more of a problem for lighter riders. http://hayesperformance.com