Submitted by
Rich
a Cross Country Rider
from Redmond, Wa, USA
Date Reviewed: July 8, 2003
Strengths: A full 4 inches of travel, little bob up hills, strong, lightweight, and high quality construction.
Weaknesses: None.
Bottom Line:
It has been a great fork from right out of the box. I am going to have the oil, seals changed, and whatnot this week, but only because it has not been done before. Doesn't need maintenance other than adjusting the airpressure. Didn't really like the price at the time, but feel it was worth it now. This is a 2000 model, not 2001. I love the 4 inches of travel!
Bike Setup: '91 Giant 770, XTR/XT/DX, Chris King, Grip Shift/SRAM, LP, Salsa, Kore, Rhyno Lite/SL, Panaracer Pro XC K (no tubes)
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Submitted by
JON
from CHESHIRE UK
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2002
Strengths: Marzocchi quality internals, very light for a four inch travel fork, good value if discounted
Weaknesses: Very poor out of the box performance, a bit flexy compared to newer forks(but they are 3.5lb), where have the exploded diagrams of the forks gone that used to be in the older manuals?
Bottom Line:
As the posting by 40 Acres says these forks need to tuned to make them work well, this totally transforms the fork. If you don't have a preload adjustable top cap from a sprung fork, or dont want to buy one, just make an aluminuim spacer with a hole down the centre so it fits inside the top cap and over the air valve, the spacer must be a snug fit (outside diameter) to stop it moving about and damaging the valve(2001 fork). I also put a bit of innertube from a road bike round the top, centre and bottom of the fork spring to keep it running quiet. The forks have taken some very very heavy riding and have stood up well for such a light fork, If you can tune it, it's a good fork, it would make a good second hand buy from someone who can't get on with it because they can't tune it.
Similar Products Used: RS DHO(ARRG!) Z2, Z4, Z1 Mk1
Bike Setup: 2003 Enduro Pro(2002 Model cracked on shock mount)Fox Float shock.
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Submitted by
Myron F. Baker Jr
a Racer
from Accord NY USA
Date Reviewed: April 15, 2002
Strengths: Stiff and steers straight. Good choice for a steel hardtail.
Weaknesses: Little sticky at the top of the stroke. Needs to be oiled with shock oil on legs before rides.
Bottom Line:
This fork works great for agressive cross country riding. If you like technical trails ,but don't like full suspension bikes. Put this fork on your hardtail and have a blast. Some small drops of 4ft or less is within this fork , but anymore and its not what this fork was built for.
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox Sid XC, Fox FLOAT RL, Manitou Black Elite air, and Marzocchi SUPER FLY.
Bike Setup: IF Deluxe XTR XT mix Thomson stem adn seat post, Mvic 517 XT hubs IRC tires .
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Submitted by
Matt
a Weekend Warrior
from Charlotte, NC
Date Reviewed: March 18, 2002
Strengths: 4" and light. Great combo.
Weaknesses: took some breaking in. not perfectly smooth.
Bottom Line:
I wanted 4" and loved my previous marzocchi but was riding a SID and didn't want too big a bump up in weight. This fit the bill perfectly. Really like it.
Submitted by
Jake S
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto
Date Reviewed: January 10, 2002
Strengths: Plush for an air fork, stiff
Weaknesses: Cryofit steerer tube creaks
Bottom Line:
This is for the 2001 model
When I got it all I had to do was give it air and set it up to the right amount of sag I wanted and after a few rides it worked great. Till it started to creak after a few weeks really bad too.
After asking marz about it they said send it back and they replaced it witha newer steerer tube assembly and ever since then its been quiet!
3 for the value since it costs alot of coin ( after I got it I seen it on sale at supergo for 400 or so *sucks for me*)
Bike Setup: I have a full suspension that is completely pimped out for freeride, I like to do big drops like normal size is about 6 feet so I need strong things that aren't unnecessarily large.
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Submitted by
40 Acres
a Weekend Warrior
from Mountain View, CA
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2001
Strengths: Good compromise b/w low weight and high rigidity; components can be swapped with other Bombers; traditional open bath design.
Weaknesses: Compression damping can only be adjusted by changing oil weight; weak "out-of-the-box" low speed/small bump performance.
Bottom Line:
This can be a great fork IF you're willing to break it down and make some adjustments. Initially, I ran the shock at about 25lbs. Small bump performance was O.K., but it sagged too deeply into its travel and the rebound was very slow. Then I tried running it at 37lbs. Better rebound, but little if any movement on stutter bumps, and the spring ramped up so quickly that the travel was effectively limited to 2.5 - 3.0 inches. At any pressure I had to run with the rebound adjuster wide open. I decided to experiment with procedures recommended by a couple of earlier posters in an effort to reduce stiction, increase small bump performance, and recapture some useful range on my rebound adjuster. First, I replaced the oil with 5 weight (Marzocchi uses 7.5), packed the dust seal with silicone grease, and waxed the stanchions. Great advice; thanks to Brian from Spring, TX. Then I tossed a 100mm spring down the left leg (thanks to Charles Coker from hammerheadbikes.com for the suggestion). Can you do that? Yes. All single crown Bombers are airtight, and the internals for all forks of a given travel appear to be identical. After studying exploded diagrams on Marzocchi's website, the only difference that I can discern b/w Marzocchi's coil and air forks are the end caps: air forks get a valve, coil forks get a rebound adjuster. The performance gain was impressive. No stiction to speak of, and the lighter oil really improved the useful range of adjustments to rebound damping. The coil is fantastic. Huge gains in small bump performance and much more linear rebound force as the lowers travel to full extension. I can increase preload with air in either or both chambers, so the fork is very tunable. Since I'm running at lower pressures on average, the ramp up in spring rate isn't severe . . . But, the spring rate is still more progressive than a coil only fork, and much less likely to bottom out harshly. The sticker price of $600 is insane, but the fork seems to be widely available at bargain prices these days (probably to make way for the new '02 Marathons). At $340, I rate it a 5 for value. Out of the box the fork rates a 3 overall, as tweaked a 5, so I'll split the difference and give it four steaming monkey turds.
the perfect fork for my bike. I weigh 185 lbs. and find most forks too flexy in rocky downhills, hence I started buying Marzocchi forks. My zip tie indicates 93 mm travel at my current air pressure (32 psi, although for some trails I run 35 psi). I was the first customer on west coast to get the 2000 Z1 X fly, apparently, and with thousands of hard miles on it I've had ZERO maintenance issues. I change the oil every 6 months, using Golden Spectro 7.5 wt. from a motorcycle shop. In terms of stiction it feels very similar to my plush coil Z2 on my hardtail, i.e. pretty good for an air fork. When I dissassemble it to clean out the dust seals, I find no dirt at all in the dust seal...I ride in dry conditions mostly. The crown to axle height is less than what I measured on other 4 inch forx, so people's comments about 'upsetting the geometry' are misleading.
Similar Products Used: psylo, SIDs, coil bombers, etc.
Bike Setup: ellsworth truth, pimped out XC/Freeride stylie
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Submitted by
Bob the Techno-Slut
a Cross Country Rider
from Colorado
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2001
Strengths: One of the only good long-travel air forks out there,and WORLDS better than the Judy SL that came with my Tracer.Stiffer than a viagra overdose,VERY plush and well-balanced ride once you take the time to dial it in.Great seals too!! (Bonus chilies for damn good looks)
Weaknesses: Out of the box it had a lot of stiction.I took it apart and lubed the sliders up with Judy Butter,and the performance drastically improved.I haven't needed to do this since the fork has been broken in. VERY,VERY hard to tune!Even 4 psi of difference causes the fork to behave very differently.It took me 2 hours to setup the fork the way I wanted it,but it rides like an absolute dream now.User's manual is not very good.
Bottom Line:
A beautiful fork that works GREAT!!More than worth the money.Yeah,it's a b%tch to tune the first time,but once you get it you may never have to do it again(I hear the '01s are better in this regard--the manual sure as hell didn't help).The fork is SOOO smooth and stiff it's unreal.The only air fork that lets you handle rock gardens,downhills,and other hard stuff with total confidence.I paid full price,but nowadays online retailers are selling them for $340 or less.So scrape up some money and GET ONE NOW before they sell out these masterpieces!!
Similar Products Used: '96 RockShox Indy SL,'99 Judy SL,'00 SID(demo)
Bike Setup: '99 Intense Tracer,XTR,Crossride etc.
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Submitted by
TheWeb
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2001
Strengths: Adds a new dimension to your bike, smooth travel, easy to set up and adjust, looks awesome and supposedly low maintenance.
Weaknesses: Cost if you paid full retail, will be harder and harder to get.
Bottom Line:
FYI : I am a 220+ lb (on a good day) intermediate level (self assesment) rider who is reasonably hard on gear. I use this bike as an all rounder, commuting the 20 Km each way to work 4 days a week and hitting the trails most weekends.
I got these forks as a replacement for the crappy junk that came with the bike which were trashed after some idiot claimed he did not see me and pulled out in front of me, I nailed him. Luckily ended up with only minor scraps but bike was in bad way. I managed to get around $300 US from the guy and decided that I would take the opportunity to invest in some real forks as well as get the bike back on the road (two new rims, front hub, saddle all needed to be replaced).
I tested a whole heap of forks and spent hours trawling through this site and others, talking to LBS and finally settled on 2000 Z1 X-Fly as best, most affordable, reliable option avaliable. Admittedly they are slightly older technlogy now and I am sure the 2001 and 2002 models are an improvement over these but as I have yet to find a fault this is not an issue, and when compared to other brands and even other Bomers they are still very advanced.
I have only had these on the bike for a few weeks. When researching for a replacement I was really sceptical about people proclaiming how this fork or that fork transformed their bike. But I can honestly say these have changed the way I can ride, I feel that the skys the limit now and I have no more excuses. WOW !!
All of a sudden sections I used to ride tentatively disappear behind. Bumps, ruts, rocks, logs etc that I steered around or even got of to negotiate hardly bother me. Cornering has gone from feeling like I would washout all the time to being confident at all times. This is the best and most significant upgrade I have made to alter the handling and feel of my bike.
It has changed the geometry marginally, raising the front end and slackening the head angle but I have found this to be an easier and more efficient riding position. I was previously considering getting a shorter stem to get my weight further back, now I do not have to.
I can not say enough good things about these shocks.
If you are looking for a great all round performer that will allow you to do just about anything you want on the one bike with confidence then at the run out prices you can get on these from the net you can not go wrong with the Z1 X-Fly.
I will post again after having ridden these seriously for a couple of months and have put them throught their paces but I have to give them 5 chillis for both value ( buy them now and save $100) and overall, 5 Chilli's.
Similar Products Used: Tested Sid 100, Pyslo, some Manitous.
Bike Setup: Trek 6500 with Deore Lx level gear, time atac blah blah. Very little original equipment now left on it.
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Submitted by
Darius Teter
a Weekend Warrior
from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Date Reviewed: July 15, 2001
Strengths: Light
Weaknesses: not plush, especially on small stuff, flexy, weak
Bottom Line:
This is a follow-up to my previous review. I;ve now put this fork through about 8 months of fairly gruelling treatment including multiple downhill runs and probably somewhere on the order of 20 major endo crashes. It can't take the punishment. I started noticing a wretched creaking noise about one month ago. Stripped it down and cleaned everything, reoiled it, added slick honey, the works. Still creaking. I can duplicate the sound by flipping my bike over and holding the handlebars firmly in place while twisting the wheel back and forth slightly. This forces the fork legs to flex (one goes forward the other back. Horrible creaky noise, which I have now identified as coming from the so called "cryofit" uppers where they enter the crown. Well I am crying fits because there is no fix for this. They are just getting flexier and noisier every day. I can no longer recommend this fork for heavy duty use, and it is not plush enough to justify using it for cross0country since it doesn;t do much for you on small bumps anyway.
Bike Setup: Isis, XTR, Easton, Chris King, Race Fcae, etc.
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Submitted by
Brian
a Weekend Warrior
from Spring, TX
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2001
Strengths: Flex Free!,Cool looks, plush, tuneable, Did I say cool looks?
Weaknesses: Misinformation about setup, exposed stanchion tubes
Bottom Line:
This is the first upgrade for any bike I buy. The reason why so many suffer from stiction is the excellent Marzocchi front seals. When I first get the fork, I take them apart and fill the cavities between the seals with grease. Then I use car wax on the stanchion tubes. When I replace the oil, I use a good grade motorcycle oil such as BelRay. The result is a buttery smooth ride that has almost none of the famous stiction everyone talks about.
Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Los Gatos, CA
Date Reviewed: June 19, 2001
Strengths: Very Stiff, very smooth once the fork is broken in. Doesn't leak air. Good looks.
Weaknesses: Takes a while to break in. There is a lot of stiction for the first 50-70 miles of riding. No lock-out. Have to add spacers to the brake boss to arch supreme breaks will clear the arch.
Bottom Line:
This is a review for the 2001 x-fly. I have had it for almost 2 months and the right side seal is leaking air. Marzocchi is sending me the parts for the easy fix. I chose the 80mm since that is what my frame is designed for. The handling is spot on, very accurate. The smoothness if this fork is awesome, like butter. Only downside is weight, I wish I could have the weight of the sid sl, with the performance of the x-fly. Until that fork comes out I'll take the extra pound any day.
Bike Setup: Santa Cruz SL, 9.0sl, xtr, sweet wings, arch supremes, race lite wheelset w/Kings. 24 with x-fly.
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Submitted by
Juny Binamira
a Cross Country Rider
from Tagbilaran, Bohol, Philippines
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2001
Strengths: Quite Flex-free (I only weigh 147 lbs.) Cool-looking initially - eventually the chrome finish looks ratty. Long travel, but I don't think I ever really got 100mm
Weaknesses: Doesn't react to small hits & stutter bumps - too much initial stiction. It's a very tall fork - definitely slackens head tube angle, slowing steering response. Heavy for an air fork at 3.64 lbs.
Bottom Line:
I decided on the X-fly when building up my Santa Cruz thinking the 100mm (4") of travel would balance out nicely with the bike's 4" rear travel. Turning response seemed a bit lacking - due to the slacker head angle (Santa Cruz designed the SL frame with an 80mm travel fork in mind). I had also heard about the Marzocchi reputation for bomb-proofness, and it certainly felt like a very strong fork - no noticeable flex, but the extreme stiction at the beginning of the fork's travel was not welcome - I thought 'zokes were supposed to be plush? Also did not appreciate having to fiddle with an allen wrench to adjust rebound damping. Anyway, I ended up buying a SID SL to replace the X-fly and it was amazing how the character of the bike so completely changed! Now here was the quick-handling Santa Cruz I had heard about! Sure, the SID is a flexier fork, but it doesn't seem to reduce the precise feel of the bike. Finally, the bike now weighs 23.5 lbs. Sorry guys, but I like the SID better.
Bike Setup: Santa Cruz SL, xt cranks, bb, & front derailleur, 9.0sl shifters & rear derailleur, XTR v-brakes & cogset, XTR chain, King headset, Ritchey WCS stem, CT2 flat bars & seatpost, Selle SLR carbon saddle, King/X618/DT wheelset, Python Airlites, Greenlite tubes, Frog pedals, Kooka brake levers.
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Submitted by
Nick Donnison
a Weekend Warrior
from Hartlepool England
Date Reviewed: May 23, 2001
Strengths: Travel is v.good, enough for general riding. V.smooth and progressive out of the box. Make the front of your bike all nice n shiny.
Weaknesses: Nothing really, its v.stiff for such longish travel single crown fork. However,i'm 6ft6 n 15 stone and they're a bit soft, don't half zoom thru the travel, but stiffen up nicely towards the end of the travel. Thus i haven't noiticably bottomed them out,well harshly at laest
Bottom Line:
Very nice pair of forks a welcome upgrade to the Quadras I had on before them. They are so much better taking out all mannerof hits from the largest to the smallest,although not as sensitive as my Dad's 99 Z1 Bams on the smaller hits. Once they are on the bike you then have the 'Kudos' of the 'Bomber'. Beware of the shine though as the general public stop and stare.
