Submitted by
Matt Schisler
a Downhiller
from London Ontario Canada Date Reviewed: November 18, 2009
Favorite Trail:
waterfall, shotglass, squeker, slezy b
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$600.00
Purchased At:
beyond bikes
Strengths:
looks amazing... this beast can be set up just like a 888 or a boxxer and weighs alot less. you can fine tune this fork to suit any ride condish. an amazing fork to race on
Weaknesses:
had an issue with creeking... but sent it back to marzo and got it sorted out... (total down tine was about 1.5 weeks)
Similar Products Used:
2007 marzo 888 ata, rcv 2008 marzo 888 ata wc, rcv,rv 66 rcv, rc3, ata, 40's 2010 boxxer wc
Bike Setup:
07 bighit, 07 avid codes, 08 zocchi 66rc-3, 09 fox dhx 5.0, axiom road gap 2 peddles
Bottom Line:
if you want a great fork that doesn't weigh a ton, butter out of the box ( - creeking) smooth feel, low matenence, (depending on where you go) cheep
then this fork is 4 u
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
kirrussia
a Downhiller
from Moscow, Russia Date Reviewed: September 14, 2009
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$1100.00
Strengths:
Veeery plush, really adjustable, RC3 is perfect!
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
none
Bottom Line:
Really good fork, very adjustable, much better than RCV...
Very light, working as good as 888 RC3!
Working on my GT Sanction 3.0 perfectly!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
GearTech
a Downhiller
from Maumee, Ohio, USA Date Reviewed: June 30, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Missing Link & Raging Bull @ Snowshoe MTB Park
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Adjustments that do something, Laterally Stiff, Plush, Easy to service, Looks great.
Weaknesses:
Well after one day of riding the Crown/Steerer interface is creaking. The axle works but isn't the best available. Why did companies move away from pinch bolts?
Similar Products Used:
Domain, Totem, Older 66s
Bike Setup:
Corsair Maelstrom
Bottom Line:
We'll see how Marzocchi USA handles this creaking crown issue. It's the only complaint that I have right now, otherwise the fork performs flawlessly.
I'll update the review after Marz fixes the creaking...
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Joyrider_66
a Downhiller
from Switzerland Date Reviewed: April 6, 2009
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$850.00
Purchased At:
CC
Strengths:
The way it works out of the box, 38mm stanchions, adjustability: compression, rebound and preload: all what you need. Smoothness!
Weaknesses:
Made in Taiwan: Lots of bushing slop (even new), crown assembly creaks (reblaced under warranty), axle can be difficult to tighten enough.
Similar Products Used:
Z150, 06' 66, Fox 40, RS Psylo
Bike Setup:
Turner Highline with Fox DHX 5
Bottom Line:
This forks has some reliability issues but still works great on the trail. Maybe there's simply no other better choice... I wouldn't know which other fork to recommend instead.
The world of 180mm single crown forks is missing one smooth, reliable and bulletproof member... hope it'll come out soon.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
panzer07
a Weekend Warrior
from Fremont Date Reviewed: February 26, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Toads
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$550.00
Purchased At:
Jenson
Strengths:
Butter smooth on all bumps from small to large. Great steering precision, beefy construction, killer looks and inspires confidents on any downhill. Like the quick release lever and huge 38mm stantions. Great price on 08 models at Jenson.
Weaknesses:
Weighs as much as my Nomad frame! Heavy,Heavy,Heavy. Noticable slop in bushings right out of the box. Instruction manual has to be the worst in the industry.
Similar Products Used:
Marzocci All Mountain SL, Fox Vanilla 140 RLC, Fox 36 Van and many Rockshox.
Bike Setup:
SC Nomad, XTR drivetrain, King hubs and headset, Stans Flow rims, Easton monkey bars and seatpost. Freeride/allmountain setup.
Bottom Line:
This fork is very heavy and has a lot of bushing slop right out of the box but all of that is forgotten on the first downhill. Smoothest, plushest fork I have ever tried. Will make you a better decender instantly! Take a little time to fiddle with the settings and you will be rewarded with the best freeride fork out there. Set the sag with air valve on top of left leg - mine is perfect with about 15 pumps - reads less than 1 pound so must be a large volume, I weigh about 195 LBS. Enjoy!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
bullcrew
a Downhiller
from So Cal Date Reviewed: February 14, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Tunnel, Knapps, CS, Webb +more
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$980.00
Purchased At:
online
Strengths:
Looks, design, strength, function, stiffness, overall ability to trust it!
I have rode alot of forks and sold a ton of them as well, the one that stays in my arsenal is the 66 RC3, I had Ronnie at Marzocchi put white lowers on it with the nicle stanchions from the ata version and has worked flawless. I have dropped several times to flat theres a jump at the boise bike park a step up. Jump is 7' high run in is fast, landing is 5' up and 18' out! Im hitting it and going over the top of the landing by another 5' and skying 16' past the landing making it 9' up and 35' out. Im 235lbs and done this several times and the little B@stard keeps taking it and never gives me a single issue. Adjustments work great I have raced this fork DH and rode it from SOcal to N idaho and washington and plenty of gaps, jumps, drops, races, ladders, resorts and more. This fork will stay no matter what other forks I try because it will work and I dont have to question it or maintain it!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
konastinky07
a Downhiller
from holsworthy Date Reviewed: January 31, 2009
Favorite Trail:
tavi woods
Duration Product Used:
Tested or demo'ed only
Price Paid:
$80.00
Purchased At:
dartmoor cycals
Strengths:
Amasinly pluss, loads of adjustments, light for marzocchi's open bath oil damping system extreamy strong.
Weaknesses:
Somtimes, it's nice riding down your fave downhill strip without thinking about the adjustments!
kona stinky 07 with 08 66 rc3 (nukes 2 pairs of dropoff tripples)
Bottom Line:
Awsomeness! you can buy then from the internet for like 450 pounds.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
06Rockhopper
a Downhiller
from SB, CA, USA Date Reviewed: December 25, 2008
Favorite Trail:
knapps
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$900.00
Purchased At:
internet
Strengths:
strong, beefy, looks sick, performs great
Weaknesses:
a little heavy maybe but thats just how Marzocchi works: you get a no hassle, no breaking parts product that weights a little more
Similar Products Used:
Marz 888
Bike Setup:
07 Kona Stinky
Marz 66 RC3
Fox DHX 5.0 Air
Bottom Line:
If you want a bomb-proof, well performing fork with long travel and triple crown performance, this is your fork. I got the 66's when my old 888's broke and I have been increadibly happy. This fork just looks like its strong and will never break. The adjustments are great too. While it might now absorb the little chatter as well as my 888's did, it still does an awesome job. I ride fast, rocky trails and I love this fork. It feels plush and smooth through the whole travel. This is a great fork.
Bottom Bottom line: if you arent a weight weenie and you want to ride technical hard hitting trails with a single crown, this is your fork.
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Submitted by
fernanjs
a Weekend Warrior
from Yonkers, New York Date Reviewed: December 9, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Blue Mountain
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$500.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
Super burly and stiff with tons of plushy travel and all the adjustments you'll ever need. THE PERFECT FREERIDE FORK!
Weaknesses:
It can be expensive depending on where you buy it, but way worth it. No complaints with the through axle but it seems to be a common problem. If you do have any problems just send it back. Marzocchi has the best customer service out of any fork company out there.
Similar Products Used:
Jr. T, 55R, Psylo, sherman.
Bike Setup:
66 RC-3 on an Older SC Bullit, Laserdisc DH wheels, Saint m810 levers and calipers, Raceface prodigy cranks, azonic pedals
Bottom Line:
All that I ever wanted in a fork and more! This fork outperforms dual crowns that I have tried, and still keeps relatively light. Furthermore all the controls have a real function so it can be setup perfectly for anyone. Take it off some big drops and see what this thing can do!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
gpschutt
a Downhiller
from Hood River, Oregon Date Reviewed: December 2, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Post Canyon
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$600.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
Burly, stiff, good pop, bottomless feel.
Weaknesses:
Heavy. Compression knob knocked off easily. Adjustments fairly worthlesss.
Similar Products Used:
Fox 36, 888.
Bike Setup:
Transition Dirtbag, freeride setup
Bottom Line:
Fork performs very well overall and shines on big hits. Still, the adjustability is suspect - anything more than about 1 psi in the the air chamber makes the fork totally stiff. I'm not sure if the mechanical preload does anything. Fox has a more intuitive and wider range of adjustability. Recommend it as an all-around freeriding fork - fast enough for jump lines, big enough for drops.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
garrett h
a Weekend Warrior
from San Diego, CA, USA Date Reviewed: August 15, 2008
Favorite Trail:
anything with jumps
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$575.00
Purchased At:
Jenson USA
Strengths:
Very adjustable, very plush 180mm of travel, looks awsome!
Weaknesses:
A little heavy
Similar Products Used:
Drop Off III
Bike Setup:
2006 Iron Horse 7.3 stock exept fork and Lezard Skin Peaty lock on grips.
Bottom Line:
This fork is great so far. It eats up small/large bumps like nothing and feels great. Its easy to adjust from super stiff to super plush. If you like to freeride and downhill this is the fork for you. I will right a follow up review in a couple of weeks after i go to Mammoth.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
William42
a Downhiller
from Davis, CA USA Date Reviewed: July 30, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Tunnel
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$700.00
Purchased At:
my shop
Strengths:
Its simple as hell. You get a compression knob, a rebound knob, and preload. You don't even have to bother opening up the fork to adjust oil levels like you used to with marzocchi.
Weaknesses:
Lacking in QC.
Similar Products Used:
lots of downhill forks. Blahblahblah. Been riding for awhile now, I've ridden my share of other forks, single and dual crown.
Bike Setup:
Giant glory 0, nothing is stock except the frame, the fork, and the headset.
Bottom Line:
This was one of the original batch of these forks to come out. Tom (one of the marzocchi techs) wrote up a nice piece on the boards here about the various QC issues that marz has had this year, and what they're doing about them.
Mine had the two associated with the 66 series.
First, the lowers had faulty casting. Nothing "unsafe" per se, but it allowed for the new QR axle to come loose on a pretty regular basis. It actually wouldn't really keep the wheel from having slight play in it. I actually thought it was the hub, but thats not the case. Anyway, it was safe, but it made the front end feel a little squirrly on the trail.
Second, I had loose bushings, the tolerance wasn't as good as it should have been, and so I could actually pinch my finger pretty hard by putting it between the arch and the stantion tube. Again, on the trail I didn't notice this too much, especially once I was in the travel, just gave the front end a bit of a squirrly feel. Neither really effected my riding, and I got to send the fork back on my own time (I broke my wrist and sent it back then - down time was 2 weeks total from the day I sent it out to the day I got it back. monday-monday).
Now that its all working as it should, I can't be more pumped about this fork. I like to tune my compression a bit more then this fork allows, but its pretty sweet - it never feels harsh no matter how you screw with the comp damping, either in high or low speeds, and its fairly stable. Its also easy to adjust bottom out. If it bottoms to easily, add some air, if its too hard, run no air, and lose a little bit of oil if necessary. Very controlled feeling fork.
No complaints with the dampers function, its been flawless and felt great the whole time, my only complaint with the forks tuning options is that in order to get a point of lsc where its not diving in the slightest (I like tons of LSC) I need to run compression in the rest of the range higher then I would prefer, but lets be honest, me being pedantic about my suspension isn't gonna make me any faster down the hill.
All and all, if you get one of the newer ones (anything sold after about may) you should be ready to rock and roll with the traditional marzocchi reliability. There is alot of negative press about them this year though, so i'd research and decide for yourself. I'm pretty happy with the fork (even though I had to send it back) and i'm going to be keeping it on the bike instead of buying a different one (and I'm the type of guy who switches components all the time for no better reason then "i want to").
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
mtbkid15
a Downhiller
from Arizona Date Reviewed: July 1, 2008
Favorite Trail:
anything with jumps and drops
Price Paid:
$800.00
Strengths:
very plush, bottomless(if setup right), very tough stanchions, Uses air chamber for bottom-out resistance
Weaknesses:
Lowers creak
Similar Products Used:
Drop-off III
Bike Setup:
'06 Iron Horse 7point3, '08 66RC3, '08 Rocco WC, King iso hubs
Bottom Line:
This fork is for anyone whos wants a beefy 7" travel fork with the mind of a dual crown. I have droped this thing about 12 feet to flat on dirt and it didn't bottom. It is a very plush, bottomless fork with huge, very tough stanchions(38mm). When I was riding urban I fell and rode for about 10 feet with the stanchions rubbing a concrete ledge and had no scratches.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
kech88
a Downhiller
from toronto ontario canada Date Reviewed: June 21, 2008
Favorite Trail:
blue mountain
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$850.00
Strengths:
Amazing fork, absorbs everything I throw at it.
Weaknesses:
none so far
Similar Products Used:
66 SL, super T Pro, shermans
Bike Setup:
Brodie Demon, swinger 6 way
Bottom Line:
Great Fork, worth the price. A single crown 888. very happy with it.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
E-ROck
a Weekend Warrior
from Dirty Jerzey Date Reviewed: March 24, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Hartshorne & DIABLO
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$700.00
Purchased At:
online
Strengths:
Solid. Tracks str8 and true. Can take big hits for bigger riders. Feels solid under heavy breaking. Better than the 2007 66 RC2X. Looks sick.
Weaknesses:
Yeah, it's expensive... but what the heck- you get what you pay for. Takes a while to break-in, but then its buttery smooth.
Similar Products Used:
2007 RC2X, Fox 36 VAN RC2, 2006 & 2007 Marz 888 RC2X.
Bike Setup:
Transition Blindside and Dirtbag. X9. Hooked-up. I don't play games with my rides.
Bottom Line:
Worth the money. Probably the best fork you'll ride for flowy fast freeride trails with big hits and drops. FIVE stankin' flamin' turds for this BEAST.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Morris Elliott
a Weekend Warrior
from Shelby Date Reviewed: January 28, 2008
Favorite Trail:
PeeWee's
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$730.00
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
Handle of heavy weight rider. Plenty of adjustments. Beafy construction.
Bottom line is, this is a JAM UP fork. I have ridden it at least 4 times in less than two weeks and it keeps getting better. It was a little rough at first, but I can already tell we are on our way to perfection. My friends all ride Marzocchi Forks and say that it will break in for about 20 to 40 miles of use. I am over 215 lbs. geared out and it handles me with less than the required air. I jump 10 feet gaps and up to 6 foot drops and it handles it asking for more. I rode a Fox Vanilla R that came on the bike and was very dissapointed. This fork is a GREAT improvement. I am not a professional rider, but have been riding long enough to know this fork will last and perform as good if not better than most.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Taylor
a Downhiller
from Colorado Date Reviewed: January 7, 2008
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$750.00
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
Big Stiff, Plush plenty of adjustments
Weaknesses:
none so far
Similar Products Used:
manitou sherman, fox 36
Bottom Line:
Overall this seems to be a great fork. There have been rumors floating around that there are major problems with the axel loosing but I have only heard of one true problem with this. Most of them have been from people who have not tightened the axel until it clicks like a gas cap on a car. I do wish that they just would have stuck with the pinch bolt setup that they were using before as I have not found a time where I am in such a hurry that I wouldnt have had time to put on the wheel with the old style of pinch bolt axel. Even though I would prefer the pinch bolt axel, their quick release system seems to be working just fine for me and not loosening up on me at all.
I am about 160 to 170 pounds fully geared and I can set it up from anywhere to being pure butter and being way too soft to being rediculously hard to compress. If I remember correctly I am running about 10 clicks of mechanical pre-load, about 5 clicks of compression depending on what I am riding and the rebound is set to where I went to the edge of where I could start to really notice that it was starting to get slow and then went back accouple clicks to where it is nice and fast yet not bucking me off.
I will definetly write up a follow up review once I have put some more miles on this fork. So far so good though. Feel free to pm me on the forums with any questions you have(my name is madman133 on there)
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dave
a Downhiller
from oregon Date Reviewed: December 1, 2007
Favorite Trail:
the ones that go down, not up
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Big, burly, stiff
Weaknesses:
Flat paint sucks, out of the box it was pretty plush feeling with no real stiction, unlike the 06 66rc2x I had. Spring is too heavy for a change. This fork feels freaking tall, but might just be the bike set up (actual axle to crown is 575mm)
Similar Products Used:
05 888rc, 06 66rc2x, 06 888vf
Bike Setup:
08 Stinky dee, box stock
Bottom Line:
I had high hopes for this fork. But on the trail it just didnt perform well. I am 200 lbs with gear and this fork with no air preload was really harsh and stiff felling on the bigger hits and it really didnt soak up the chatter anywhere near what the 05 888rc does. Maybe it just needs to break in more, but I kinda doubt it. Called marzocchi and they told me that this is the only spring weight that they are bringing in. Its kinda nice that they aren't setting up their forks for 110 lb girls anymore, but I think they got a little ahead of themselves on this one. Maybe they are using it to sell their Air forks, I dont know. All I know is that I am definitely not terribly impressed. Going to mess with a lighter oil weight and see if that helps, so far dropping the oil height helped a bit, but not as much as I would have liked.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
martin
a Weekend Warrior
from london, uk Date Reviewed: November 29, 2007
Favorite Trail:
wild thing
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$1200.00
Strengths:
have riden once on the way to work, approx 8 miles total. feels plush straight outta the box. feels fairly light compared with my 02 monster ts. not yet as plush as the monsters but then not many forks will be. same axel to crown as monsters so bike feels similar albeit without the weight
Weaknesses:
the red preload knob bangs on the down tube gusset on my frame. have taken it off and it seems fine. bit bummed that i have to take a file or hacksaw to it already.
Similar Products Used:
2002 monster ts, 2000 z1s,
Bike Setup:
keewee cromo 8
Bottom Line:
seems good so far, lets see how they go at cwm carn. im rating them on previous marzocchi performance so dont read too much into the chilli ratings.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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