Carbon X-vert help.

[j-ro]

Hey guys
Ive been running a set of manitou Carbon X-vert DC (2001) for a fair while now and recently the boots have just thrown in the towel and they dont stay down anymore. Ive tried zip-ties and pushing them on real hard but ive given up.

Does anybody know if they can be run bootless?

[CHEWY]

yep they sure can.... but i dont know if theyd have any type of dust sealing then, u might be able to fit something off another fork

[S.]

yeah, just get something like a super soft bristled paintbrush, and wipe away any excess dust you see on the seals/staunchions at the end of a ride.

[Turley]

Also, check out lizard skin or amourdillo as they sell aftermarket protectors.

[frank-oi]

ring some shop see if they some or something like that. or ring the importer and ask them.worth a shot.

[fastrider gus]

a couple of my mates run the same forks and they had to go bootless too... the forks didnt look too healthy after a while! i'd look into some of those lizard skins..

[mtbdh_girl]

ive got '99xvert carbons on and took the boots off when i got them... they have run fine. after a dusty ride just run grease around above the line then compress the forks and the dust all comes out wipe it of do over...

[j-ro]

Thanks a lot guys. I think im just gonna upgrade hey. New bike new sponsor new season. You know how it is (shame i can never get a factory sponsor)

[bushrider]

I run the mini boots from the blacks on my 01 xvert carbon DC.

For you Info:

You should prep-M the forks with a grease gun after every ride to keep them in top shape (5 squirts in each leg, cycle the forks and wipe the excess off the stanctions).
Xvert carbons are the sweetest forks way smoother than a boxxer and a fair bit lighter.
They do require a fair bit of maintiance though (pull off the lowers, clean the insides of the lowers with rags and regrease with slick honey every 3 months).

It helps to understand whats going on inside:
In the right leg on the 01 model is a sealed plastic TPC+ cartridge.
The top of the right leg has a compression adjuster the bottom of the leg has a rebound adjuster.
The left leg contains only a 2 spring stack with an MCU (preload adjustment on the top of the leg).

Its not an open bath fork so it relys on the prep-M grease to lubricate the bushings (if it runs out the bushings will wear quickly and the fork will feel like rubbish).
It has no oil seals, in fact no seals at all becuase the oil is in a sealed cartridge and cant leak out (so you dont have to worry about the oil rings on the stantions they are normal with this fork).
It has wipers right under the boots but they are not very good at keeping dirt and water out so you should use the mini boots at least.
The best way to look after it is to use the grease gun after every ride this pushes most of the dirty grease out of the fork through the wipers and keeps the insides clean.
If you havent been using the grease gun you probably need to send you fork to manitou australia and have the bushings and wipers replaced.
When it comes back it will be the smoothest and lightest 180mm travel travel fork in existance (xvert carbons rock!!!).
A mate of mine is fitting enduro wipers to his xvert carbons which should do a much better job of keeping dirt out than the stock wipers (http://www.realworldcycling.com/new1754.html).
PM me in a month or two if you want to know how the enduro wipers are working out.