Manitou Jack Seatpost

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Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply.
Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply.
First Ride: Manitou Jack Dropper Post
Predictably awesome performance from this rebadged BikeYoke Revive.
Rating:
Vital Review
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If you’ve followed our dropper post coverage for some time, you’ll know that BikeYoke’s Revive is sitting pretty atop the leaderboard of our big shootout feature, and with good reason: the Revive is smooth, solid and extremely reliable, which are all desirable yet not always common attributes in a dropper. Add to that the innovative Revive feature, an external bleed valve that allows you to reset the hydraulics if any air should manage to work itself into the system, and you’re looking at the gold standard. Why are we talking about the BikeYoke post in this Manitou article? Because the Manitou Jack is nothing more than a rebadged version of the Revive. Read on to learn more!

Strengths

Weaknesses

  • Super smooth
  • Very reliable
  • Revive feature allows for external hydraulic bleed
  • Compact dimensions
  • High quality finish
  • Unwieldy shape of the Manitou lever
  • Lack of SRAM/Shimano lever integration options

Manitou Jack Highlights

  • Travel: 80mm, 160mm, or 185mm
  • Post Diameter: 30.9mm and 31.6mm
  • Remote: Manitou Underbar, peacemaker compatible
  • Length (without actuator): 485mm (160,185mm) 320mm (80mm)
  • Max Insertion: 227mm (160,185mm), 197mm (80mm)
  • Min Insertion: 130mm (160,185mm), 80mm (80mm)
  • Clamp Style: 2 bolt
  • Saddle Bolt Material: Steel
  • Saddle Clamp Material: Aluminum
  • Actuator: 360 degree toolless rotation 32mm length
  • Cartridge Bleed: Auto-reset function
  • Weight: 525g (30.9) 565g (31.6) for 185 and 160mm, 365g (30.9) 380g (31.6) for 80mm
  • Max Rider Weight: 250lbs
  • MSRP: $399.99 USD (80/160mm) / $434.99 USD (185mm)

Initial Impressions

The Manitou Jack is produced in the BikeYoke factory in Germany, it is not a licensed design made in another factory – and that’s a good thing. The design is quietly understated while exuding an unmistakable air of quality. A couple of tubes and some bolts is not necessarily the most exciting product in the world, but at BikeYoke they sweat the details and it shows. Little things like the cable cutting guide printed on the base of the post make life easier and point to a company where somebody thought long and hard about how to make the user experience the best possible.

The Jack also scores points with its dimensions. With a post collar that is approx. 10mm shorter than many others, the 160mm travel Jack post is not any longer externally than most of its 150mm competitors. In other words, if you can currently fit a 150mm dropper, you can fit the 160mm Jack. Manitou has chosen to offer the Jack in travel lengths of 80, 160, and 185 millimeters (BikeYoke itself also has a 213mm version should you need that much drop). The weight of the Jack is equally competitive, coming in at or around the lowest weights currently on the market. The most serious competition for the Jack is probably the OneUp dropper, which is even more compact in its dimensions and also features adjustable travel. The OneUp dropper exists in travel versions ranging from 90 to 240 millimeters. In terms of pricing, the clear advantage goes to the OneUp, while the Revive valve sways the serviceability score in favor of the Jack. Operating the valve requires a ¼ turn of a 4mm allen key and takes all of five seconds – which is a whole lot better than sending your post in for service every time it starts going saggy on you or replacing a spongy cartridge.

Manitou supplies its own dropper lever with the Jack. It's an angular affair that is directly compatible with Hayes "Peacemaker" single clamp system (but not with SRAM or Shimano). The lever pivots on a bearing and pinches the cable at the lever end (the other side of the dropper is held by a small cylindrical bolt, unless you use the specific cable supplied by Manitou which features a head designed for the dropper actuator).

On The Trail

Installing the Jack is simple and straightforward. Once you have routed the housing and cut it to length, the rest of the process is pretty easy. The Jack is not very sensitive to cable tension, and the barrel adjuster on Manitou’s lever offers more than enough range to easily take up any slack in the cable. However, the design of the lever left a little something on the table in our opinion. First of all, it is compatible with Hayes’ Peacemaker brake clamps, for single-clamp installation. This does mean that the lever is NOT SRAM MatchMaker or Shimano I-Spec compatible, which arguably makes the Manitou lever a bit more of a niche product. We also think the lever features edges that are too sharp and could cause issues should you bang your knee on your handlebar in the wrong area, and the bulky overall profile meant that we struggled a bit to find the perfect position for the lever when paired with Hope brakes for example. We definitely prefer BikeYoke’s own lever in this case, although it’s nice to see Manitou include their lever in the price of the post itself (many companies will charge extra for the lever).

The action of the Jack is as smooth and controlled as they come. The lever does not require a lot of pressure, and the post itself is easy to compress. It comes back up with good speed and an audible “thwack” when it tops out, letting you know your seat is back up and ready for action. It is equally easy to stop the post at any point in its travel. It is completely free of any sagginess, and side to side play out of the box was minimal. The shape of the lever is ergonomically correct, and operation of the post soon became entirely second-nature. The action both at the lever and when compressing the post is light yet very accurate, in our opinion it's all perfectly weighted and just how a dropper should behave. We’ve not had to resort to using the Revive feature on the Jack yet, but previous experience with BikeYoke’s posts have taught us that this feature is also super easy and convenient to use, and that after each Revival, the post is as good as new.

Things That Could Be Improved

As mentioned above, the Manitou lever is less than perfect. Hayes Peacemaker compatibility and a bulky overall shape makes it less suited for integration with SRAM or Shimano brakes, and the relatively sharp edges of the lever could potentially cause issues in case of a crash. As for the post itself, it is pretty much flawless. The price stings a little when you compare it to a OneUp or a PNW post, but the quality is second to none and the reliability is well worth the money.

Long Term Durability

We've had BikeYoke Revives running on different bikes over a period of several years by now. We did notice a very slight increase in side-to-side play after all that time, but it was still well within the norm and certainly not worse than most competitors. The lack of an Internal Floating Piston and the corresponding reduction in the number of seals is good news for longevity in general (in addition to making for the super smooth and light action that sets the Jack/Revive apart from many others). Thanks to the unique Revive feature, it should never have to be necessary to service this post just because it starts to sag (a common ailment with many other offerings), which will contribute to keeping you out of the workshop and on the trails instead. The seat post head is a classic two-bolt design, with smooth hardware that is a pleasure to work with, and which remained creak-free for the duration of the test.

What’s The Bottom Line?

Instead of trying to engineer a product that never fails (impossible), BikeYoke took a unique approach to solving the most common dropper post reliability problem, by creating an external bleed feature for the internal hydraulics. This means that instead of worrying about how to fix your saggy post, you are now free to enjoy the excellent ergonomics, low weight, and overall sober appearance of the Manitou Jack (a rebadged BikeYoke Revive). It all adds up to one awesome product and definitely one you should consider for your next dropper.

More information at: www.hayesbicycle.com.


About The Reviewer

Johan Hjord - Age: 49 // Years Riding MTB: 17 // Weight: 190-pounds (87-kg) // Height: 6'0" (1.84m)

Johan loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.

Photos by Johan Hjord

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Specifications

Product
Manitou Jack Seatpost
Riding Type
Enduro / All-Mountain
Freeride / Bike Park
Trail
Seatpost Type
Dropper
Interface
Railed
Remote Adjustable
Yes
Diameter
30.9mm or 31.6mm
Travel
Option 1: 80mm
Option 2: 160mm
Option 3: 185mm
Length
80mm drop, without actuator: 320mm
160/185mm drop, without actuator: 485mm
Tilt
Yes
Materials
Alloy
Colors
Black
Weight
1 lb 3.9 oz (565 g)
Miscellaneous
Weight: 525g (30.9) 565g (31.6) for 185 and 160mm, 365g (30.9) 380g (31.6) for 80mm.
Price
$399.99
More Info
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Where To Buy
Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply.
Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply.
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