Submitted by
Cam Reynolds
a Downhiller
from Milford, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2008
Strengths: Super plush, I've dropped these things off a 12 footer and didn't come close to bottoming them out. One word describes these forks best: indestructable
Weaknesses: hard to adjust
Bottom Line:
A great fork that can handle anything, even after taking years of abuse. I'd definitly recommend this fork to anyone looking to get into downhilling or freeride.
Submitted by
Tom Housman
a Downhiller
from Oswestry,Shropshire,UK
Date Reviewed: May 26, 2007
Strengths: super smooth,ajustable perload and rebound(the newer jr t's don't have rebound ajust)7" travle,cheap on ebay,great for downhill AND freeride,cool gold stantions!
Weaknesses: the lower crown doesen't move,but thats ok cause they fit most bikes anyway.
Bottom Line:
this fork is awsome,for both dh and freeride,it's super smooth,doesen't bottom out(the largest drop i've done was 7.5 ft to flat and the were fine!) all in all,one of the best forks you can buy for the money!!!
Similar Products Used: marzocchi 06 dj 3,04 dj 3,rockshox judy 4(they bend when you brake!)lots of cheep forks.
Bike Setup: 03 big hit comp,manitou 6 way,03 jr t,hfx 9,sram x9,too much to list
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
dor bloch
a Downhiller
from vermont
Date Reviewed: August 21, 2006
Strengths: strong, good for down hill reliabel
Weaknesses: doesnt suck big hits very well,sucks ok,but still good.
Bottom Line:
buyyyyy ittttttttttttt strongggg relibelllllllll, iven if dosent soke very well big jumps... it wel never brake! and it works amazing on downhill! but if you jump off 40 feet clifs dont buy it... under that youl be happy with it:-)
Similar Products Used: marzocchi super t,junior t 2004,mrzochi shiver,manitou stance,marzochi 888,marzochi dirt jumper 3,rock shocks boxxer,marzocchi monster t,marzochi drop off triple,manitou sherman,fox vanila.
Similar Products Used: Drop off triple, hanebrink dh,monster t, 66r, 888
Bike Setup: 2001 norco shore, 2003 junior ts, deore shifters, other crazy nonsense
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
nobody242424
a Downhiller
from santa barbara, ca
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2005
Weaknesses: cant think of one besides i dont really like the gold stanctions and polished crowns.
Bottom Line:
i love this fork. works really really well. got it uber cheap and it takes all the stuff i can dish out and begs for more. have had no probs ever. not to soft and not stiff. i use on the rockiest downhills, to doing all day dirt jump sessions on it. dosent even flinch on 20 foot drops. love, love, love this fork.
Bike Setup: haro x1, mrp guide, juicy 5, other cool stuffs.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
nobody242424
a Downhiller
from santa barbara, ca
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2005
Weaknesses: cant think of one besides i dont really like the gold stanctions and polished crowns.
Bottom Line:
i love this fork. works really really well. got it uber cheap and it takes all the stuff i can dish out and begs for more. have had no probs ever. not to soft and not stiff. i use on the rockiest downhills, to doing all day dirt jump sessions on it. dosent even flinch on 20 foot drops. love, love, love this fork.
Bike Setup: haro x1, mrp guide, juicy 5, other cool stuffs.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Greg
a Downhiller
from Winter Park, Florida, USA
Date Reviewed: May 31, 2005
Strengths: rides awesome, stiff enough for freeride, but can be adjusted to be plush enough for DH. Some people are complaining about the oil weight, but I've had no problems.
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
But it. The fork rocks guys! I freeride, downhill, urban, dirt jumping, and even the big hits and this fork handles them all like a champ.
Favorite Trail: anything dangerous enough to do something stupid on
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At: ridemonkey.com
Similar Products Used: the sucka** 2002 Jr T, 2004 Super T
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Tom
a Weekend Warrior
from Westchester
Date Reviewed: April 16, 2005
Strengths: Hasn't broken, they're available at a pretty low price
Weaknesses: lack of adjustability (especially rebound)
Bottom Line:
This thing is like two pogo sticks bolted to the front of your bike. I don't believe there is an internal rebound adjustment, and I would like to be able to get the thing dialed in without taking it apart. I weigh about 185 lbs. The fork feels OK with the pre-load cranked up all of the way, but that shouldn't be necessary all of the time. This fork is definitely the worst piece on an otherwise pretty nice bike. I hope to replace it soon. I may try messing with heavier oil and springs first, but I don't really expect this to keep me from having to buy a new fork. I can't recommend this fork to anyone.
Strengths: Extremely consistant fork, superbly maintenance free, rivals the top pro forks, re-assuring weight,travel and not too heavy at all. the best build quality ive seen.
Weaknesses: comes with not enough oil, the stock stuff may be a little too thin for some. springs may be too soft for anyone over 11 stone. none of these are real problems though and can be easily rectified.
Bottom Line:
These are by far the best downhill/free-ride forks at the price and they beat many of the newer, higher priced models from other brands and more recent marzocchis, including the new junior t themselves. the 2003s were marzocchis hay-day and they havnt been able to improve on them yet, incredible stiffness (even with the QR version), amazing damping on all terrain, seriously, i cant find any flaws with these. They arrived with just under the right ammount of oil in them which doesnt cause any serious problems, i still havnt changed or added any oil and ive had them for nearly two years, thats how much of a small issue it is. Theres also room for upgrading the internals to "super t" specs. To be compleatly honest, i dont see why some pros dont use these in big events, they are more than capable and it seems strange how boxxers ended up being the standard for racing, boxxers are NOT as plush and ive bottomed out boxxers very easily in the past. the juniors however- not once have they bottomed in the two years of ownership. This kind of infinate plushness and progression have have only been felt (on this scale) with manitou's dorado fork.
Similar Products Used: the entire boxxer range, monster ts, shivers, fox forx 40s, dorados, everything really...
Bike Setup: kona stinky '03, almost as stock but with EA70s and three piece cranks.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rob
a Weekend Warrior
from Monument, Colorado usa
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2005
Strengths: -somewhat light -strong and durable, thats marzocchi for ya -nice and smooth stroke throughout the travel
Weaknesses: a little to soft with stock oil, have to have the preload as stiff as it will go to not bottom out on a twelve foot drop with good transition.(i weigh 135lbs)change the oil and it will work flawlessly.just a minor complaint, nothing that hurts it performance wise, but the lower crown is cryofitted in so you can't adjust that.
Bottom Line:
Same old Marrzocchi quality and durability. With the 170 mm of nice, smooth travel this thing makes big drops on my hard tail alot more forgiving. As I said it is a little to soft but with the preload as high as it will go I did a 30 foot gap with a 12 foot drop without bottoming out. It had a nice transition, but when the going gets rough it might bottom out on the big stuff. I havent been able to go trail riding with it yet, but I think it will be a big change from my old Z.1. I have a northshore track in my backyard, and it is awesome for the drops, but I miss not being able to turn as tight as you can with a single crown. Great Fork and for $350 brand new you can't beat that!
Similar Products Used: tested a 888, and Shiver. owned marzocchi 2001 Z.1, 04 EXR pro, and MX pro
Bike Setup: Haro escape 8.2 2004(beefy hardtail can take anything) with truvativ 36 tooth chainring and truvativ boxguide chainguide, marzocchi 03 junior T, mavic rims and thru axel.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Michael Degaust
a Weekend Warrior
from Edmonton
Date Reviewed: February 23, 2005
Strengths: Very durable, unlike anything Rock Shox related
Weaknesses: Needs new oil, right off the shelf.
Bottom Line:
this is a great fork for anyone, doesn't matter if you are just getting into the sport, or if you are a seasoned pro. This fork can handle pretty much anything you throw at it.