Creating not so much a passing interest as a shrug of indifference from most of the English speaking free world (unless you are a Mountain Biker), Bike Biz are reporting that Shimano’s UK distributors Madison have decided to end their distribution agreement with for Manitou forks, saying that although they believe Manitou will ‘regain the market position that it has previously enjoyed’, for now the ‘original vision for the partnership has now changed’.

Weasely words. I’m guessing the current aims for moving the Manitou brand upmarket (and hence selling fewer units) is the reason behind this move. Or put simply, Manitou have arguably not been competing with the Rock Shox, Marzocchi and Fox’s of this world for a while now which would not be to Madison’s liking.

So, bye bye Manitou, relegated to the subs bench by Madison.

Speculation of course, and plenty of opportunity to disagree with me. I wonder if Madison have plans to announce an arrangement with one of the other big brands to fill the hole in their portfolio, or indeed who will distribute Manitou now?

About the author

Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.

Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.

An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.

If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.