Strengths: Indestructible(I've hit a side of a ditch at 80km/h and I only needed a small adjustment to make it correct) Very good for the price, Works good if you do some small tuning
Weaknesses: HEAVY! Works not so good if you do no tuning. Not too much adjustment possibilities, the adjustment knobs can fall off
Bottom Line:
Very good fork for that price especialy if you know what to do(firstly change the god damn oil in it cuz the stock is crap). If you have low budget and want something that can take a punch yet is not that heavy as the monster take it
Strengths: Inverted, 7inches travel, durable. Can take 15 ft. drops easily.
Weaknesses: Quite Heavy but no complaints, no stanchion guards, and of course a very touchy rebound.
Bottom Line:
This fork is very cheap and reliable has lots of travel great for downhill racing. Undergo lots of punishment over the years but still coming out strong!!! maintenace and conditioning is a must to any fork to get the bet of it.
Strengths: Lots of travel and stiff as hell 8 ft+ drops very easily with the weight i am 145lbs. awsome forks for the price
Weaknesses: VERY sensitive rebound. 1/8 of a turn. inverted bottom part needs covers as soon as you get them. If dug or marked hard it will rip out seal
Bottom Line:
Very good shocks for the money still riding them and plan to uintil they die
Strengths: these forks are pretty trong for the price. they are made real well.
Weaknesses: they dont come with fork guards. otherwise they rock
Bottom Line:
THese forks are awesome for the price. If you get these forks worked on they will work like dorado's and shiver or w/e the best fork is. These things all out rock
Bike Setup: 2002 norco drop,24 doublewide back mavic 321(onyx) 26' at the front,dnm usd 180,hayes comp 8',hussfelt,snafu,crowbar hadlebar and raceface system dh stem.deore xt
Strengths: SUPER STRONG NICE AND SMOOTH ,SOAKS UP ALMOST ANY DROP
Weaknesses: THE WEAKNESSES OF THIS FORK DOES NO OVER WAY THE BENIFIES .THE PRELOAD IS A LITTLE SENSITIVE TO AJUST AND THE FORK BOTTOMS OUT ON REALLY LARGE DROPS.BUT IF I WASN'T 225 LBS IT PROBABLY WOULDNT.
Bottom Line:
THIS FORK IS UNTOUCHABLE.NOT ONLY IS THE PRICE UNBELIEVIBLE,BUT THE PERFORMANCE IS INCREDIBLE.I PUNISH THIS FORK AND IT JUST KEEPS GOING.SOME ONE SAID THEY WERE CONCERENED ABOUT THE WEIGHT,LOOK AT THE WEIGHT AND COMPARE TO OTHER FORKS IN THIS TRAVEL RANGE .IT IS A WEAK COMPLAINT.ANYONE LOOKING FOR A NEW DC FORK I HIGHLY RECOMEND THIS FORK.LOOK OUT MARZ YOUR IN TROUBLE!!
Bike Setup: 2004 A-LINE,AZONIC 454 34T,3.0 F&R 24"R,8" HAYES F&R,AZONIC SHORTY STEM WITH 31.8 PWD BARS,DOUBLEWIDE RIMS.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Scott
a Weekend Warrior
from Richmond
Date Reviewed: November 6, 2004
Strengths: This is a review update-see below. I was just looking at the reciept for the fork. $318 with taxes and freight!!!! I can't believe how well this fork has worked considering it cost so little. Beefy, reliable, plush and fuss free. Even multiple rounds of west coast winter weather and Whistler decender fests failed to faze this fork.
Weaknesses: ?
Bottom Line:
Move over Italy, China has figured out the DH Fork
Bike Setup: Bullit, Hope, Shimano, Nokian lalalala
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Matt Arrigo
a Weekend Warrior
from Oregon
Date Reviewed: October 21, 2004
Strengths: Looks great, very beefy, nice travel and very plush, Price
Bottom Line:
For the price they can't be beat. I put some lizard skins on em and now I only lube em about once a month. Haven't had a problem yet. Soaks up 5 foot drops very easily.
Strengths: STRONG, way over built, excellent build quality, next to no flex, sensitive, tracks great, can keep the front wheel glued to the ground in any situation, would be great for dh racing, highly effective rebound and preload adjustments. again, beefy, confidence inspiring. smooth. if you maintain it by repacking the seals with grease (easy, fast) every couple rides, this fork will be as plush as any marz.
Weaknesses: weight, air compression adjustment is effective, bottom doesn't do enough to combat bottoming. the best solution to make the travel more progressive to eat big hits would be to get rid of the MCUs as they make the travel linear. billy@ridersdirect.com told me that a more progressive replacement air spring will be available soon, to appeal to freeriders and those wanting to lighten this fork.
Bottom Line:
no regrets, great fork. retails for about new 950 at bikeroom.com, excellent support from them too. easy too maintain, i already changed the oil once. just make sure you always keep at least 120 PSI in the air catridge or the oil could leak into the air chamber. max 200 PSI. would be perfect but compression dampening needs to be better- and i know how to ride. peace out
Similar Products Used: i had 2003 Marzocchi Dirt Jumper.
Bike Setup: Norco Sasquatch frame, Race Face North Shore Cranks, 8" Hayes Mags, DoubleTrack 26" rims, XTR/XT drivetrain, badass tire and other stuff
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ben Landry
a Downhiller
from Gatineau, Québec, Canada
Date Reviewed: March 1, 2004
Strengths: Amazing value for money, smooth plush travel, front wheel stays glued to the ground when you want it to, excellent finish, fat and THICK upper tubes (+-42mm), nice smooth fat anodized 35mm lowers, big burly CNCd crowns, will clear any tire, wide rebound range, steertube can be changed without changing lower crown, compression adjuster on bottom of right leg is spring-loaded (on air pressure) so it won't break if it gets hit, very hard to bottom out. actual travel on mine is 187mm. did I mention it was smooth?
Weaknesses: No stanchion guards included, too much preload even at lowest setting results in top-out when rebound is set low, thin paint coat wears easily(use clear plastic film to protect the upper legs), rebound is a bit harder to dial in than on most forks due to the 1/8 turn sensitivity, lower crown apparently has a fixed spot and shouldn't be moved up or down (even though it does have bolts and can be removed/changed), few sevice centers and unknown reliability, tall upper tubes can get in the way of bars with short stems. MCU stack hardens a bit in the cold, reducing your travel by 2-3 inches or so. weighs 8.5 pounds, may be a bit heavy for competitive DH.
Bottom Line:
For those who have had their fork seize: the lower bushings are EASY to sube up. Just unscrew the caps (by hand) that hold the dust seals and pack the grease in. do it every ride and you'll never have that problem again. I got this sucker used, but it had only one or two rides. I'm very impressed with its performance after a few urban rides. It's responsive and smooth over bumpy terrain, and it sucks up the flat landings without a fuss, smooth and confident, just like my friend's dorado. Pretty stiff side to side; I didn't notice any flex while riding (never mind the tire-between-the-legs, blah blah). I have yet to see how it performs in an actual DH situation, but so far so good. A great fork for big hit riding at least, one look at it and you'll be convinced. It has a lot of small cons, but I've been able to work around all of them and overall it's an amazing product that deserves all of its 5 chilies. just make sure you peel off the horrible stickers!
Strengths: very tough, good design, never hits bottom,
Weaknesses: not sensitive in gravel, short rebound adjuster
Bottom Line:
it's actually good fork for price. you can't get any good fork than this in this price. this fork let me feel 6ft drop like 2ft!! you'd better buy this one since you wanna downhill bike in cheap price!!
