Manitou Research and Development (MRD) spent nearly two entire World Cup season’s testing and refining the perfect xc solution underneath elite athletes, with the R8 fork hiding in plain sight thanks to its prototype camouflage. From the first iteration the R8 fork has been securing podiums on the world stage. In other words, what started off as a successful initial test gave way to an elite feedback loop that produced the most complete XC racing suspension package available. Only through such thorough and complete actions could a rigid, reactive, and reliable fork with its performance characteristics tip the scales at an amazingly low 1480 grams.