Strengths: soaks up anything you throw at it; nice and stiff w/ the qr 20 axle.
Weaknesses: heavy, i guess. but for 130 mm of travel, what do you expect?
Bottom Line:
fantastic suspension fork. typical marzocchi: bulletproof, beat the heck out of it for years and it still works like a champ, impossible to bottom out (well, not impossible, but i'm 205 and have yet to bottom it!).
Similar Products Used: z2 atom 80 (also sweet), various rock shox (terrible)
Bike Setup: 01 giant ac1
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Submitted by
r r
from finland
Date Reviewed: June 15, 2003
Strengths: if it is marzocchi...it can't be bad
Weaknesses: marzocchi is always perfect
Bottom Line:
they are so good and strong.you don't need better if you aren't bender.they are cheap at these times and you can count on marzocchi.you can always find better but...
Bike Setup: Snipes frame, '00 Marzocchi Drop Offs, Blackspire rock guard, Planet x stem, Rokko tires, Rhynolite rims, HTI pedals, Brodie seat, Oury grips.
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Submitted by
General Chaos
a Weekend Warrior
from St. Paul,Minnesota
Date Reviewed: September 9, 2001
Strengths: First time I rode it,I said "Holy sh$t!What a kickass shock!"And that's BEFORE it was broken in! Pimpin' Italian styling,so plush 'n' smooth just like butter,so adjustable,the dog's balls in every conceivable way!
Weaknesses: On the 5-in setting it makes my Surly Instigator handle wacky.I set it to the 4-in setting instead.The front end is a little taller,but you get used to it.
Bottom Line:
A KICKASS FORK!!Basically a smaller,lighter Super-T!!Bombproof,stiffer than my woody,and PLLUUUSHHHHH!!!Can take abuse that forces lesser forks into the recycling bin.Get one and go smash curbs!!
Bike Setup: Custom Voodoo. Completely outfitted with Shimano Deore XTR
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Submitted by
Jack
a Weekend Warrior
from Canada
Date Reviewed: May 14, 2001
Strengths: Stiff, plush, green, adjustable travel, its weight.
Weaknesses: Damn. I get a kick out of these guys. The product isn't going to have a weakness if you like it.
Bottom Line:
This fork is pretty sweet. It cost me less than a Psylo XC in Canada (round $450). It's stiff, smooth and plush. It sucks up the small stuff but doesn't bottom on the big stuff, most of the time. Unless there is about 6' worth of air between the me/bike and the ground. I can't notice any differnce between the Drop Off and the QR20. I guess weighing less than 160lbs won't matter that much on either fork. All in all, the fork is worth every penny. Keep riding, love every minute of hating uphill, cause the sweet downhill is right after.
Similar Products Used: Rock Shocks Psylo XC, Judy XC, Race, SL, Manitou X-Vert, X-Vert DC, Marzocchi Jr.T, Z.3, Z.1 QR20
Bike Setup: Devinci Hucker, Z.1 DO (of course), Deore/LX/XT, Magura Julies, Rhino Lites, Maxxis High Rollers, Truvativ Hussefelt ISIS, Titec Bar, Stem, Seat and Post.
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Submitted by
Chris Hosking
a Weekend Warrior
from Jersey City, NJ, USA.
Date Reviewed: October 13, 2000
Strengths: Marvelous at soaking up big obstacles, splendid to look at.
Weaknesses: There's sooooo much clearance I had to get new cables and my bike initially felt like a chopper....unfair to call a weakness. Quite boingy if you're stood up doing cross country type of stuff.
Bottom Line:
I used forks in England before I moved out here probably overkill for the rides I was doing. Then I used them last weekend in Vernon, NJ on some real terrain (ski-resort during the winter with the lifts available to bikers out of the winter season), I frightened the crap out of myself many many time over the whole day but didn't at any point actually notice the bumps from the front end......or maybe I was too paranoid about the bears, I met a little one...then wondered that evening....where was Mummy bear ?! Anyhoooo, great forks, I checked how much they had traveled that day (from the dust/seal marks) I probably moved them 4 inches of their 5.1 (I think) travel....if you intend on hitting big objects go buy some, superb.
Similar Products Used: I had some cheapy Rockshox before with that elastomer rubbery stuff inside, what a difference !
Bike Setup: GT Zaskar, spinergies blah blah blah
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Submitted by
Derrick
a Weekend Warrior
from NY
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2000
Strengths: Everything except its rigity. This fork is as close to industructable as you can get. The only other long travel single crown fork in marzocchi's line up that outdoes it is the QR 20.
Weaknesses: ------------ZIP
Bottom Line:
This fork performs! If you are the kind of person who bombs down hill going off of everything you can see this will be one more part you won't have to worry about breaking. The biggest thing I have gone off so far is a garage roof with a height of about 10 feet, no problme there. If you want a high performance long travel fork without the weight of a double crown than this is the fork for you, your only other option is the QR 20 which also kicks but is a little more expensive.
Similar Products Used: Marzocchi Flylight Air, Marzocchi QR 20, Marzocchi z4
Bike Setup: I currently own a GT LTS DH with pro DH setup including Magura HS 33s, Rhynolite Rims, And 5" in the back
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Submitted by
Jukka Forsgren
a Weekend Warrior
from Helsinki, Finland
Date Reviewed: May 2, 2000
Strengths: The fork seems to be very strong. I like jumping off walls, stairs etc and the Drop Off takes everything without a problem. The long travel is also very nice. I feel like that I got a lot more confidence when I bought this fork. Now I'm thinking if my 16" aluminum frame can take the increased abuse..
Weaknesses: Not as strong and "solid" as a double crown fork would be. No color choices except the default green (which is nice anyway)..
Bottom Line:
If you are into extreme/downhill stuff and don't want a double crown fork, then the Drop Off is for you. The price is also very reasonable, almost cheap! It takes all the abuse you give it like a real motorbike fork!
Bike Setup: Kona Kula 16", Mavic D521, DMR V12, Answer Alumilite2, XT/XTR
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Submitted by
Alan
a Cross Country Rider
from S.Wales
Date Reviewed: March 31, 2000
Strengths: Plush Plush Plush Smooth Smooth Solid.This fork soaks up the big hits just as easy as the small ones giving an unbeatable ride .Gives confidence to do bigger DO's jumps & any other mad thing that you've previously chickened out of
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox bluh blah RST's all nasty now that I found my true love Mz's Z1 DO's
Bike Setup: SCOTT FX 4 MAGURRAS HS33's & MZ Z1's
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Submitted by
James Buckle
a Weekend Warrior
from Wigan, UK
Date Reviewed: March 10, 2000
Strengths: Plush - beyond belief It's just the best shock I have ever ridden. Easy to service Not too heavy Loverly Colour
Weaknesses: Poor production line control leads to poor oil level control as new.
Bottom Line:
This fork is bliss. It is so much better than any other fork (maybe as good as the Jr T's but lighter) I have tried. It gives so much control but does not sacrifice anything except a bit of weight. They are easy to service, and that brings me on to the only bad things I have to say: When I first got my forks they travelled far too easily through their travel. I went to adjust the speed sensitive valving adjusters, and found they were jammed. I phoned the shop before I did any harm, and they said they had never altered any so I should contact the importer (UK). I did so and they said that if I broke them they would just replace them as they were faulty from new. Great! I went home, and checked the oil level, for some strange reason, and found that one leg had only 60mm in it and the other had 55mm. The recommended level is 45, mine had come with too little oil in them! I tried the adjusters with an allen key and managed to turn them. When I tried to move the stantions I found one was locked at full dampiong, the other at none, and no amount of turning would alter the damping level. I returned them to the shop who replaced them. I checked the oil level on the new ones and found it exactly the same - obviously a produciton line fault! Have not tried adjustng the SSV yet, dont want to break em again! Also, the manual contradict each other. Go and download the general tech manual and the one for the '00 Z1 DO. Go on, try it! You'll see that the one specifically for the fork says it has rebound adjustment only and says nothing about adjusting the SSV - as does the UK importer who was going off this manual. The general manual says the '00 Z1 DO has 4 valve adjustable SSV compression and rebound damping. Complete contradiction. Which is right!? If the first one is right them plenty of people are being tricked into buying forks which do not have the facilities the adverts claim. I ave been waiting for an answer from the US tech support people for 3 weeks and I am getting a bit annoyed now! They should really get a low overall rating cos of this last set of problems but the fork is just so good a performer I'll only knowck it down 1 flaming chill overall. I'll give it one back when I get the problem sorted!