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VITAL MTB’s MEZZER PRO LONG TERM REVIEW
Jul 17, 2025
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Early to the party of contemporary thick-stanchioned enduro forks, Manitou's Mezzer Pro has remained largely unchanged since its release nearly six years ago.
A relatively low cost alongside end-user tunability and serviceability have earned it a cult-like following in that time. Despite such a following, unconventional aesthetics, rare OE spec and minimal representation under top racers have likely kept the Mezzer Pro from the list of must-have forks for most riders. To get to the bottom of all the fables and lore, I joined the cult of the Mezzer for a few months to find out if I’m a true believer or a heretic.
Highlights
Travel: 140-180mm, internally adjustable with included 10mm spacers (160mm tested)
37mm Stanchions
27.5-inch // 29-inch wheel sizes
Offset: 37mm and 44mm (27.5″) // 44mm and 51mm (29″)
MC2 Cartridge Damper: Low Speed Compression, High Speed Compression, Hydraulic Bottom Out (HBO)
Seal Cartridge TCP: Low Speed Rebound
Dorado air spring with Infinite Rate Tune (IRT)
Weight: 2032g (Claimed), 2037g (Actual, 29″, 7.75″ steerer tube)
MSRP: $1099.99 (currently $879.99 directly from Hayes as of July 15, 2025)
Strengths
Large range of air spring tunability
Hydraulic Bottom Out
Exceptional support without harshness
Reasonably lightweight
Cheaper than a new FOX 38 or RockShox Zeb
Weaknesses
Very sensitive to subtle air spring pressure changes
Additional air spring can be confusing to non-puzzlers
Dust wiper seals are not the most sealed
Less damping available than the latest offerings from FOX and RockShox
Product Overview
Originally launched in May of 2019, the Mezzer Pro was intended to be on the cutting edge of enduro forks, and at the time, its 37mm stanchions made it so. Now, nearly every fork manufacturer is selling a large-stanchioned enduro fork. But after more than half a decade, the Mezzer Pro still has a few features, such as Infinite Rate Tune and Hydraulic Bottom Out, that help it stand out from the crowd.
Out of the box, the Mezzer Pro is noticeably light in the hands. At a respectable 2,037g (measured, 7.75″ steerer), it comes in only 117g heavier than the 2026 FOX 36 that just launched earlier this year. We clocked RockShox’s Zeb at 2,380g and FOX’s 38 at 2,446g when we tested enduro forks last year.
There are a few things about the Mezzer that, at first glance, are counterintuitive. Curiously, the rebound knob is blue, and both compression knobs are red, the opposite color scheme used by most brands. Furthermore, the primary air spring pressure is set via the bottom of the fork leg, and the IRT pressure is set at the top. Finally, as any onlooker will eagerly point out, the arch is reversed.
The Mezzer Pro features Manitou’s Dorado Air Spring with IRT. The air spring utilizes auto-equalizing positive and negative chambers that connect when the Schrader valve is depressed. Compared to a more traditional design, where a small dimple allows air to fill the negative chamber when the seal head slides past, the Dorado Air spring should, in theory, be smoother and more consistent.
The IRT is a secondary positive air spring that essentially allows the end user to decide where in the travel the mid-stroke becomes supportive, depending on how the two chambers are balanced. As the primary air spring compresses, the primary pressure rises until it meets the pressure of the secondary chamber—this initial ramp up is what translates to mid-stroke support on the trail. Then, the two chambers act in series, functioning as a single high-volume air spring. This allows for mid-stroke support that would typically be attainable by stuffing a fork full of volume spacers. However, the Mezzer does so without sacrificing the last half of usable travel to excessive air pressure.
The Mezzer also features a hydraulic bottom out—a secondary, non-adjustable, compression damper that engages in the last few millimeters of travel. Since the Mezzer Pro won’t experience a dramatic rise in pressure at the end of the travel due to the absence of volume spacers, the HBO serves to compensate by dissipating the energy from heavy landings and big compressions, without closing the normal compression damping circuit, a solution frequently employed on aftermarket coil spring upgrade kits. HBOs have become more widely adopted in rear shocks in recent years, but have not yet made their way into many forks.
The travel can be internally adjusted and is an easy job, even for an average home mechanic. A 14mm socket, a cassette tool, and the included 10mm spacers can take you from 180mm (stock) down to 140mm in 10mm increments. I set the Mezzer to 160mm to pair nicely with the Rocky Mountain Instinct Powerplay SL I was also testing.
The fork comes with a molded soft plastic fender. However, I feel it’s a ‘don’t bother’ item due to its flimsy structure that tends to rub and make noise, even when riding in dry conditions with a 2.4″ tire. Just use a classic zip tie fender if you need one.
Search “Mezzer Pro Setup” online and you’ll be inundated with thousands of forum posts debating how to get the best performance out of the fork. From shim stacks and alternate oils to brazed bushings and removing axle paint. As fun as that all sounds, the modern mountain bike fork is pretty good out of the box these days, so I started by following Manitou’s Setup Guide for my weight and riding intentions and went from there.
On The Trail
Tunability, Support & Stability
With the Mezzer Pro, I found that every PSI makes a tangible difference to how the fork feels. There’s also a considerable overlap in the effects of changing the main and IRT spring pressures, leading me to chase my own tail during setup. Due to the fact that there are essentially infinite combinations of main and IRT pressures that can be combined to achieve a desired dynamic ride height, I imagine most riders will have to spend several rides getting the balance perfect to get the most out of the fork.
Manitou’s setup guide suggests somewhere around 64 PSI in the main chamber and 94 PSI in the IRT chamber for my 190-pound weight. After a couple of shakedown rides, I found those settings to be excessive, with the fork riding tall and giving quite a bit of feedback through the hands, even with minimal damping. I initially reduced the main chamber to 55 PSI to address the ride height, and then eventually got the IRT down to 90 PSI to handle harshness. Once I tuned the harshness out with the IRT, I got the sensation that I was sitting slightly too deep into the travel, especially as I continued to get up to speed on the fork. I gradually brought the main chamber back up to 62 PSI, which is where I stayed for the duration of the test.
When descending with these settings, the fork was usable with a wide range of compression damping. Even with compression damping open (Manitou calls this ‘Trail Tuning’), the Mezzer does an exceptional job of riding high in its travel and offering support in corners, leading to a light and playful sensation, largely thanks to the IRT. In spite of this, there is also no risk of harsh bottom out thanks to the HBO.
With the compression wound in (Manitou calls this ‘Downhill Tuning’), the feel turns to that of a race fork, but without becoming overly harsh. There’s a note in the setup guide that the low and high-speed compression are interdependent ofone another. Adding a few clicks of LSC does not make a huge change without adding some of HSC as well. While the MC2 damper offers meaningful adjustments, I feel that it does not have quite as much compression damping available as a Grip X2 damper. That’s not a gripe against the Mezzer though, as the IRT assured there would be support in corners, and HBO prevented any uncomfortable teeth rattling bottom outs. Comfort & Traction
I would describe the Mezzer as either deceptively stiff or shockingly comfortable. The spring and damper do such a good job at muting high-frequency trail feedback that I initially expected the fork to be a compliant noodle. Instead, I was impressed at how well it would hold a line through steep corners and nasty tech. As someone that has never struggled with arm pump, but has always struggled with hand cramps, the Mezzer’s ability to dissipate trail chatter without sacrificing control lets me hold on for longer before my fingers start turning into T-rex claws.
At the time of its release, Manitou boasted that the Mezzer was 28% torsionally stiffer than its competitors. That’s probably a dated claim, but I did find it was less prone to deflection on angled square edge hits than a 2025 FOX 36. It’s lagging a bit behind the 38 in terms of fore and aft stiffness, but with nearly a 300g weight savings, I feel the tradeoff is acceptable. With that being said, FOX has made a similar claim regarding the increase in torsional stiffness of the 2026 36 compared to its predecessor, so my claim could be dated as well.
Highlights
Strengths
Weaknesses
Product Overview
Originally launched in May of 2019, the Mezzer Pro was intended to be on the cutting edge of enduro forks, and at the time, its 37mm stanchions made it so. Now, nearly every fork manufacturer is selling a large-stanchioned enduro fork. But after more than half a decade, the Mezzer Pro still has a few features, such as Infinite Rate Tune and Hydraulic Bottom Out, that help it stand out from the crowd.
Out of the box, the Mezzer Pro is noticeably light in the hands. At a respectable 2,037g (measured, 7.75″ steerer), it comes in only 117g heavier than the 2026 FOX 36 that just launched earlier this year. We clocked RockShox’s Zeb at 2,380g and FOX’s 38 at 2,446g when we tested enduro forks last year.
There are a few things about the Mezzer that, at first glance, are counterintuitive. Curiously, the rebound knob is blue, and both compression knobs are red, the opposite color scheme used by most brands. Furthermore, the primary air spring pressure is set via the bottom of the fork leg, and the IRT pressure is set at the top. Finally, as any onlooker will eagerly point out, the arch is reversed.
The Mezzer Pro features Manitou’s Dorado Air Spring with IRT. The air spring utilizes auto-equalizing positive and negative chambers that connect when the Schrader valve is depressed. Compared to a more traditional design, where a small dimple allows air to fill the negative chamber when the seal head slides past, the Dorado Air spring should, in theory, be smoother and more consistent.
The IRT is a secondary positive air spring that essentially allows the end user to decide where in the travel the mid-stroke becomes supportive, depending on how the two chambers are balanced. As the primary air spring compresses, the primary pressure rises until it meets the pressure of the secondary chamber—this initial ramp up is what translates to mid-stroke support on the trail. Then, the two chambers act in series, functioning as a single high-volume air spring. This allows for mid-stroke support that would typically be attainable by stuffing a fork full of volume spacers. However, the Mezzer does so without sacrificing the last half of usable travel to excessive air pressure.
The Mezzer also features a hydraulic bottom out—a secondary, non-adjustable, compression damper that engages in the last few millimeters of travel. Since the Mezzer Pro won’t experience a dramatic rise in pressure at the end of the travel due to the absence of volume spacers, the HBO serves to compensate by dissipating the energy from heavy landings and big compressions, without closing the normal compression damping circuit, a solution frequently employed on aftermarket coil spring upgrade kits. HBOs have become more widely adopted in rear shocks in recent years, but have not yet made their way into many forks.
The travel can be internally adjusted and is an easy job, even for an average home mechanic. A 14mm socket, a cassette tool, and the included 10mm spacers can take you from 180mm (stock) down to 140mm in 10mm increments. I set the Mezzer to 160mm to pair nicely with the Rocky Mountain Instinct Powerplay SL I was also testing.
The fork comes with a molded soft plastic fender. However, I feel it’s a ‘don’t bother’ item due to its flimsy structure that tends to rub and make noise, even when riding in dry conditions with a 2.4″ tire. Just use a classic zip tie fender if you need one.
Search “Mezzer Pro Setup” online and you’ll be inundated with thousands of forum posts debating how to get the best performance out of the fork. From shim stacks and alternate oils to brazed bushings and removing axle paint. As fun as that all sounds, the modern mountain bike fork is pretty good out of the box these days, so I started by following Manitou’s Setup Guide for my weight and riding intentions and went from there.
On The Trail
Tunability, Support & Stability
With the Mezzer Pro, I found that every PSI makes a tangible difference to how the fork feels. There’s also a considerable overlap in the effects of changing the main and IRT spring pressures, leading me to chase my own tail during setup. Due to the fact that there are essentially infinite combinations of main and IRT pressures that can be combined to achieve a desired dynamic ride height, I imagine most riders will have to spend several rides getting the balance perfect to get the most out of the fork.
Manitou’s setup guide suggests somewhere around 64 PSI in the main chamber and 94 PSI in the IRT chamber for my 190-pound weight. After a couple of shakedown rides, I found those settings to be excessive, with the fork riding tall and giving quite a bit of feedback through the hands, even with minimal damping. I initially reduced the main chamber to 55 PSI to address the ride height, and then eventually got the IRT down to 90 PSI to handle harshness. Once I tuned the harshness out with the IRT, I got the sensation that I was sitting slightly too deep into the travel, especially as I continued to get up to speed on the fork. I gradually brought the main chamber back up to 62 PSI, which is where I stayed for the duration of the test.
When descending with these settings, the fork was usable with a wide range of compression damping. Even with compression damping open (Manitou calls this ‘Trail Tuning’), the Mezzer does an exceptional job of riding high in its travel and offering support in corners, leading to a light and playful sensation, largely thanks to the IRT. In spite of this, there is also no risk of harsh bottom out thanks to the HBO.
With the compression wound in (Manitou calls this ‘Downhill Tuning’), the feel turns to that of a race fork, but without becoming overly harsh. There’s a note in the setup guide that the low and high-speed compression are interdependent ofone another. Adding a few clicks of LSC does not make a huge change without adding some of HSC as well. While the MC2 damper offers meaningful adjustments, I feel that it does not have quite as much compression damping available as a Grip X2 damper. That’s not a gripe against the Mezzer though, as the IRT assured there would be support in corners, and HBO prevented any uncomfortable teeth rattling bottom outs. Comfort & Traction
I would describe the Mezzer as either deceptively stiff or shockingly comfortable. The spring and damper do such a good job at muting high-frequency trail feedback that I initially expected the fork to be a compliant noodle. Instead, I was impressed at how well it would hold a line through steep corners and nasty tech. As someone that has never struggled with arm pump, but has always struggled with hand cramps, the Mezzer’s ability to dissipate trail chatter without sacrificing control lets me hold on for longer before my fingers start turning into T-rex claws.
At the time of its release, Manitou boasted that the Mezzer was 28% torsionally stiffer than its competitors. That’s probably a dated claim, but I did find it was less prone to deflection on angled square edge hits than a 2025 FOX 36. It’s lagging a bit behind the 38 in terms of fore and aft stiffness, but with nearly a 300g weight savings, I feel the tradeoff is acceptable. With that being said, FOX has made a similar claim regarding the increase in torsional stiffness of the 2026 36 compared to its predecessor, so my claim could be dated as well.
Value
At an MSRP of $1,099.99, the Mezzer Pro is less expensive, albeit not significantly, than its FOX and RockShox counterparts—a Factory 38 goes for $1,249, and a Zeb Ultimate goes for $1,279. However, considering the Mezzer’s features, its value goes up significantly. The next most affordable enduro fork with a three chamber air spring is Ohlins’ RXF38 at $1,395, followed by the EXT ERA at $1,650. Both of which are nearly a half pound heavier, and neither feature a secondary bottom out control.
When I first installed the fork, I made note of a subtle gap between the dust wiper seals and the stanchions that looked quite inviting for dirt. After a few weeks of testing, I began to notice some friction developing that was noticeable when I gave the fork a squish in the parking lot. I opened up the fork to confirm my suspicions, and found a thin layer of dust collecting on the inside of the seals. I cleaned up the seals, put the fork back together, and sensitivity returned to normal. This was not much of an issue in San Diego’s dry climate, but I would be slightly concerned about the Mezzer’s ability to keep mud and rain out of the lowers in wetter climates. Still, this isn’t overwhelming and can easily be addressed by staying on top of your lowers service intervals.
What’s The Bottom Line?
Manitou has packed a lot of features and adjustability into the Mezzer Pro that would normally fetch a much higher price tag. Despite the savings, the Mezzer’s IRT and MC2 Cartridge Damper work in harmony to provide a comfortable, supportive, and stable ride. If you’re a rider that is thoughtful in your suspension setup, and you feel you’re making compromises on your 38 or Zeb, but aren’t ready to shell out the cash for something Italian or Swedish, the Mezzer Pro is an awesome alternative.
Vital Rating: 4.6/5
Tunability: 4.5
Support & Stability: 5
Comfort: 4.5
Traction: 4.5
Weight: 4.5
Value: 4.5
About The Reviewer
Blake Motley – Age: 26 // Years Riding MTB: 16 // Height: 6’2 (1.88m) // Weight: 190-pounds (86.2kg)
Coming from a long tradition of Socal never-was downhill racers, Blake has spent the better part of the last decade complaining about the bike industry. A full-time engineer during the day and part-time van bum on the weekends, he usually spends his free time riding E-bikes and telling forum users their bars are too low.
At an MSRP of $1,099.99, the Mezzer Pro is less expensive, albeit not significantly, than its FOX and RockShox counterparts—a Factory 38 goes for $1,249, and a Zeb Ultimate goes for $1,279. However, considering the Mezzer’s features, its value goes up significantly. The next most affordable enduro fork with a three chamber air spring is Ohlins’ RXF38 at $1,395, followed by the EXT ERA at $1,650. Both of which are nearly a half pound heavier, and neither feature a secondary bottom out control.
When I first installed the fork, I made note of a subtle gap between the dust wiper seals and the stanchions that looked quite inviting for dirt. After a few weeks of testing, I began to notice some friction developing that was noticeable when I gave the fork a squish in the parking lot. I opened up the fork to confirm my suspicions, and found a thin layer of dust collecting on the inside of the seals. I cleaned up the seals, put the fork back together, and sensitivity returned to normal. This was not much of an issue in San Diego’s dry climate, but I would be slightly concerned about the Mezzer’s ability to keep mud and rain out of the lowers in wetter climates. Still, this isn’t overwhelming and can easily be addressed by staying on top of your lowers service intervals.
What’s The Bottom Line?
Manitou has packed a lot of features and adjustability into the Mezzer Pro that would normally fetch a much higher price tag. Despite the savings, the Mezzer’s IRT and MC2 Cartridge Damper work in harmony to provide a comfortable, supportive, and stable ride. If you’re a rider that is thoughtful in your suspension setup, and you feel you’re making compromises on your 38 or Zeb, but aren’t ready to shell out the cash for something Italian or Swedish, the Mezzer Pro is an awesome alternative.
Vital Rating: 4.6/5
About The Reviewer
Blake Motley – Age: 26 // Years Riding MTB: 16 // Height: 6’2 (1.88m) // Weight: 190-pounds (86.2kg)
Coming from a long tradition of Socal never-was downhill racers, Blake has spent the better part of the last decade complaining about the bike industry. A full-time engineer during the day and part-time van bum on the weekends, he usually spends his free time riding E-bikes and telling forum users their bars are too low.
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