Just came back from a week in Palma de Mallorca and by gum these forks saved me having many a face plants! They really do suck up and spit out all rocks and stuff even ones you miss, then still allows you to drop off 6ft (I know not high but high enuff for me) safely to the planet! When doing a hill climb pop the lock out and ease on up that baby... Liked em a lot and there so old! What an amazing difference they made to my ride. For all round XC there fab!
Similar Products Used: RST Gila T6 (who???) yep they done gone in the trash
Bike Setup: Hardrock... Marz Bombers/nothing flash
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Submitted by
Terence
a Downhiller
from Sydney, NSW, Australia
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2005
Strengths: I used the air version. No need for special shock pumps, you can just pump it up with a schraeder valve tyre pump!Air preload is fully adjustable, run it low psi for dh, run it high for hucks and since it doesn't require a shock pump, you can do it on the trail whenever you want. Nice, stiff, little short travel fork. I liked it a lot, but....
Weaknesses: it didn't react to sudden heavy forces directed to the front end, as though it was like a rigid fork, examples of this was when going back down on a wheelie, it just goes "booosh". I'm assuming air forks dont perform as well as coil. This was accually quite mysterious because it took drops and jumps pretty well. Also, it was a bit too linear for my liking but that can be changed by fiddling with the size of the air chamber thingy..
Bottom Line:
Apart from the little 'non-reacting-rigid-fork-like-feel' jiggle, its near perfect. I dont know about value rating cuz i didn't buy this, but i think they retail for like $600? If so, i give it 4.
Bike Setup: XC Cr-Mo Ritchey frame mounted with diferent components
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Submitted by
Justin
a Weekend Warrior
from dunedin NZ
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2004
Strengths: nice to ride, doesnt need too much attention, plush
Weaknesses: after two years i killed them, cracked the right stantion up by the crown. bottomed them out a few times, and top out :(
Bottom Line:
overall there a pretty good fork but once you start to use as jump/free ride forks they get weakend (expecially when doin 180's) did bottom them out a few times and occaisional top out. good forks for money
Similar Products Used: now have DJ3 insynic (came with bike)
Bike Setup: 02 GT chucker, 03 DJ3, alex DM24s,single speeded hussfelts soon to have hope 6ti
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Submitted by
kai
from boston
Date Reviewed: September 24, 2003
Strengths: Great fork at an even great price
Weaknesses: probably not the lightest
Bottom Line:
I actually got this fork after a failed attempt with a marathon sl. Marzocchi makes some quality products but really sh** the bed with the marahon sl. Either way, i got this plus a few hundred dollars back (good customer service) and got back to riding. At 165 im not the world lightest rider, and i can and have bottomed this fork out (i run 50 lbs of pressure). I wish it were a little harder suspension, but life cant be perfect. if i could i would give the fork 6 chilis for value cause there is nothing even remotely close to this type of performace at this price. As for overall, there are better forks out there, so i cant give the perfect 5...4 it is
Similar Products Used: marzocchi exr (like a pogo stick), duke (nowhere near mxc), marzocchi marathon sl
Bike Setup: steel GT single speed
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Submitted by
cRock
a Cross Country Rider
from Atlanta, GA
Date Reviewed: July 14, 2003
Strengths: This fork just works and you don't have to think about it. Isn't that the best you can hope for?
Weaknesses: It could be lighter. A little harsh over studder bumps.
Bottom Line:
The Marz fork rides nice and is very sturdy. You hear horror stories about the other forks in this price range, not so with the MXC. I've been riding it hard for about 9 months now through wretched clay mud it just keeps begging for more. The only flaw is that it does not take the sting out of small, quick bumps. On the positive side, it's smooth, predictable travel will save you in hairy descents and has never bottomed on me. If you're a bit of a "purist" looking for a fork you can just ride and forget, the MXC is what you've been looking for.
Strengths: seemingly cheap xc fork can handle fierce abuse. out of box spring rate stiff yet fork is plush
Weaknesses: none so far. i will repost if i can kill this fork.
Bottom Line:
well so far this fork has not broke!! i have hucked it off an 8 footer and cased the bike 10+ times at the jump parks and other spots, mostly on tall rhythms with 15-20 foot gaps. i have destroyed a rear wheel, tweaked the bb/pedals a little, crashed after a manual landing and dinged the front wheel pretty well, and pounded down a killer rocky singletrack. the fork is tough. i overcleared a double and landed flat in the well of the next double (about 9-10 ft to semi flat landing) and the fork did not bottom (my 01 monster t did on the same jump but probably needs a stiffer spring) or hit harshly metal to metal. i was impressed. steering is pretty good; a little sketchy on 20 footers, but its an xcish fork so the sucker is pretty stiff. if you are an xc rider who finds one of these for 150 bucks or less jump on it. it impersonates a z1 rather nicely.
Similar Products Used: z1, psylo, dj1, dj3, atom 80, judy
Bike Setup: 03 specialized hardrock with cheap jumper parts
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Submitted by
Whitey
a Cross Country Rider
from Malibu Canyon
Date Reviewed: June 22, 2003
Strengths: This fork came on my new Kona Bear. It was awesome from the first ride. Soaks up big and small hits and I never feel it bottom out. Super smooth.
Weaknesses: None so far. I may go for the model with ETA to help on hills.
Bottom Line:
I love these forks. I ride a variety of fire roads, single track and rocky stream beds. This fork never even lets you know it is there. I mean that it soaks up everything so well that I never give it a second thought. Great company, great fork. Buy it. Any questions? Five flamin' balloons across the board.
Similar Products Used: Manitou magnum, Rockshox Duke sl
Bike Setup: 2002 Kona Bear, shimano hydros, wtb speed v seat, XT cranks and rear derailler, panaracer fire xc pros, shimano m24 pedals.
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Submitted by
Ben Wichterman
a Cross Country Rider
from St. Cloud MN USA
Date Reviewed: May 25, 2003
Strengths: Strength, weight, cost
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
I had no idea what suspension forks were until I had this one installed on my bike. My Marlin came stock with a Judy II which was more like a rigid fork than a suspension fork. I have a friend who has a Duke and a Fox on his two bikes, both of which I rode on the trails several times, before concluding that neither was for me. So, I did some research and came up with the MXC as the fork that was right for me. This fork is amazing! It chews up all the rocks and roots that used to throw me and Judy II all over the trails. This fork stands up and takes 4 foot drops like a champ. (I weigh only 145lbs...) I love this fork. I really liked the Fox too but the reviews on it weren't as convincing as the MXC's reviews. That and my friend's fork as been to Fox 3 times in two seasons. Marzocchi has a proven track record and you will not be disappointed with this fork. This fork was designed for serious XC riding and won't break the bank!
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox Duke XC & Judy II, Fox Forx Vanilla 2002
Bike Setup: 2002 Gary Fisher Marlin
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Submitted by
Jeff Gaudet
a Cross Country Rider
from Dieppe,New-Brunswick,Canada
Date Reviewed: May 6, 2003
Strengths: Great rebound while in singletracks. Absorbs everything in its path. Good weight and very solid.
Weaknesses: It came with an air preshure valve jammed, so the air pressure got to 0psi pretty quick but the shop fixed it up because the pump was WAY to expensif.
Bottom Line:
If your big or small this fork is made for you.It works great and is very reliable. I LIKE THE DAMN SHOCK!!!
Similar Products Used: bomber Z.5. Rock Shox duke xc,sid race
Bike Setup: Rocky mountain Elevtion, stock
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Submitted by
Theodore Jump
a Cross Country Rider
from Austin, TX
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2003
Strengths: Reliability ( when serviced after 6 months of use the oil was clean and all seals and wipers were in tip-top shape ), rigidity, low maintenance, adaptability ( air spring )
Weaknesses: Dropouts failed, dang-it, after 10 months and ~2000 miles of hard riding. Not sure if this is a weakness but it certainly leaves me unhappy.
Bottom Line:
For the aftermarket cost and inclusion with the bike, and the overall performance for the ten months I have had this fork I give it the 5-flamers for value, minus one for the dropouts failing.
For the ease of maintenance, overall performance, adaptability, reliability, and the many miles I have put on it w/o a problem I give it 5-flamers, minus one again for the dropouts failing.
If you don't ride really hard and rough technical rock trails, 2-3ft steps up and down, fast descents like Porcupine Rim in Moab, OR you weight less than my solid 230# then you probably would never have seen the fork failure that I have.
For the rest of us, this is still a great fork, particularly for the money. I've gotten just over 2000 miles logged on this fork since June 1st 2002, on my Specialized Enduro. Most of these miles have been logged on the rocky and technical trails in and around Austin, Texas - with a huge percentage of them at Emma Long Metro Park Moto Trails which are definitely not "easy" trails either for you or your equipment.
I just got back from my now-annual vacation trip to Moab Utah where we did a solid week(+) of riding ( over 180 miles of trail riding in 10 days ) covering everything from Slickrock to sand-pits in Jackson Hole and the fork did wonderful there once I figured out the sage information of setting the air spring presure to accomodate how the terrain and temps would cause it to rise about an hour into my rides.
About My Cracked Dropouts
On my last ride in Moab, and my first ride back in Austin, I was noticing a creaking sound under certain conditions coming from the front of my bike, whether in the saddle or out. An hour spent in paranoid riding, stopping frequently to check things, cleaning and checking bolts and so forth, finally brought the failure to light. On both of the dropouts, on the metal that sits behind the wheel axle and below the fork legs, cracks had started from the inner-point ( near contact with the axle ) and heading towards the back at a slightly upward angle. I thank the gods that they did not snap off on me, while crusing down Porcupine Rim or any other of the trails in Moab.
At this point, my fork is on its way to Marzocchi, which I hope they will find a manu defect and replace the fork. We shall see.
Bike Setup: Avanti hotdog,De max rims, Hayes hydro, Hussefelts
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Submitted by
Charlie Toms
a Weekend Warrior
from Eng, Leighton Buzzard
Date Reviewed: January 24, 2003
Strengths: 100 ml travel/very light, plush.
Weaknesses: none as yet.
Bottom Line:
Great value!!perfect for small jump specific frame!!!light weight and strong enough for the big stuff!!aslong as it not josh bender styly!!!still feels and looks like new!great seals!!hard wearing!small bedding in time!Rad for jumping with the right psi set up, as for downhill, and dual!!i weekly do 10ft doubles with no troubles!!!