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Submitted by
aybarssurucu
a Cross Country Rider
from Izmir-Turkiye
Date Reviewed: August 19, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Datca-Goat's Cave | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$175.00 | | Purchased At: | From a Friend | | Strengths: | Stiff, after 6 years no leakage, no dirt inside; even in muddy winter rides. | | Weaknesses: | With air spring system, it's deaf to small bumps. But I changed the right leg's parts with the coil and pre-load adjuster of my old Z-2, played a little bit with the rebound adjustment. Now because of SPV system pre-load adjuster works like a rebound adjuster ;) | | Similar Products Used: | I cannot count :)
Since 1996 nearly all RockShox models
Many of Marzocchi's
From the start most of Fox's | | Bike Setup: | Mosso XC prototype non-series hardtail frame
XT M765 Group
| | Bottom Line: | Nothing to say more; 6 years and at least 20.000kms on this fork. I'm riding XC courses and long XC marathon courses. I'm a mountain bike guide, so no chance for me to use a part that cause a fail... | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Weekend Warrior
from Chandler, AZ
Date Reviewed: April 14, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | any | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$320.00 | | Purchased At: | Rage Cycles | | Strengths: | Well built, plush, stiff, very durable | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | none this good | | Bike Setup: | This fork has been on three different bikes | | Bottom Line: | This fork has been the single best upgrade I have ever made. I have had it on my Klein Mantra, my GT hardtail, and now on my new Sette Reken hardtail, although I think it complimented the Mantra best. I see that many people dislike the little ECC lever. I have hardly ever used the ECC so I have had no problems with it. This fork has saved my butt in many a hairy situation, and it really allows you to push your riding to new levels. This is not a wimpy little XC fork, but more aggressive XC, borderline all mountain fork. I have had absoloutely no problems with this fork, and I see that the newer models of this fork, have only gotten better. For a 100mm travel fork, it doesn't get any better than this. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott
a Weekend Warrior
from Perth Western Australia
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | Plush travel, quite light weight, adjustable, easy to maintain, lock out is very useful | | Weaknesses: | Lowers scratch easy, stickers come off, but pull them off anyway and you have a stealth 'bomber' | | Bike Setup: | 1999 Trek 6000 with avid sd & 1d 7's, riser bar, new saddle and these forks | | Bottom Line: | These are great forks for most riders. The are well made (except for the ecc lever, but i'll get to that). I bought these secondhand without the ecc lever, and am still locating the air adaptor (luckily the previous owner was about the same weight as me). The are plush and progressive and very stiff. My bike now turns when and where i want it to (before i was just a passenger). Anyway, if you ecc lever breaks, and your feeling a little handy, make a remote lockout with an samll L brecket, some spare cable/housing, an old shifter, a brake noodle and some cable ties. email me at emailscottwilliams@yahooc.com.au for some photos if your interested. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
PFunk
a Weekend Warrior
from Arcata
Date Reviewed: June 10, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$275.00 | | Purchased At: | speedgoat | | Strengths: | Well made, low maintenance, works like a fork should | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | n/a | | Bike Setup: | n/a | | Bottom Line: | THis is a follow-up to my review posted last fall. I have been riding this fork hard for almost a year now, and it has required absolutely no maintenance or repair. No oil leaks. No broken parts (I have the aluminum lock-out lever). No loss of air pressure. Nothing. The way it should be.
One thing I will say again about this fork - the ECC lock-out is brilliant. I use it all the time on long climbs. Completely eliminates any bob and at the same time lowers the front end for better climb geometry. I'm hooked. Of course, once out of the lock-out, it handles big and small hits with ease. Improved my riding skills over the rough stuff big time. Also a relatively light fork for the performace and durability you get.
Much better value than FOX IMHO...
Great job on this one Marzocchi....
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Troffers
a Weekend Warrior
from Surrey
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Oxshott woods | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$130.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike shop where i work! | | Strengths: | Stiff, strong and light | | Weaknesses: | Takes time to bed in (but it's worth the wait..!) | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou spyder (rubbish!), countless forks tested on bikes in the shop... | | Bike Setup: | 2003 GT Moto, Azonic bar/stem combo, WTB Weirwolf 2.5/ Schwalbe Fat Albert, Avid SD Ultimate levers, shimano cable discs | | Bottom Line: | For the price they are the best forks i've tried. Took a week or two to bed in but who cares! I've serviced them and put in a 5wt oil recently and now they're as smooth as silk - reacts well to small bumps and undulations but can handle the big hits too thanks to Marzocchi's simple yet effective damping.
If you want some quality forks and are on a bit of a budget, then you can't go wrong with these puppies!!!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andy
a Cross Country Rider
from Clarksville, TN USA
Date Reviewed: May 6, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | online | | Strengths: | tough and easily adjustable | | Weaknesses: | CRAPPY LOCKOUT LEVER THAT BROKE
BEING IGNORED BY MARZOCCHI CUSTOMER SERVICE | | Similar Products Used: | rigid, cheapies, tested a bunch before settling on this one | | Bike Setup: | 2002 Kona Bear, custom built | | Bottom Line: | The fork was great until the lockout lever broke. I tried from the time I owned it to get the aluminum lever from marzocchi, to no avail. Now that the lever has broken off in a light-duty crash, the lockout cannot be used. If anyone knows how to get ahold of someone at Marzocchi, please let me know. In the end, the fork is good but customer service will make me go to someone else. Bad way to lose a customer... ARE YOU LISTENING MARZOCCHI???? | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bobo
a Downhiller
from los angelize
Date Reviewed: January 5, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$279.00 | | Purchased At: | Wheelworld | | Strengths: | air, full 100mm travel, looks, price, they work | | Weaknesses: | none really for a fork that costs under 300 beans | | Similar Products Used: | too many to list | | Bottom Line: | This fork is great for aggresive XC. Lockout is pretty sweet for climbing. Alot tougher than other forks in its category in my opinion. Another plus is that there is no need to buy springs in order to set it up to your weight since preload is air adjustable. Mine are in mint condition and collecting dust since I swithced to downhilling. E mail me and I'll give 'em to ya for less than half of what I paid. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom simpson
a Weekend Warrior
from Albany wa
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | mt clarence | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | great southern bikes | | Strengths: | 1 they look sick
2 there cheap
3 there marzzocchi
| | Weaknesses: | 1 they scratch to easy
2 stock springs are to soft
3 they creak | | Similar Products Used: | sr suntour shox cheap crap | | Bike Setup: | 02 avanti hotdog | | Bottom Line: | A good fork for the money and hey there marzzochi. they have there let downs with the soft springs and the creaking other than that there a good fork for the money
dont buy if youre an aggressive rider who likes stiff shox | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Skinny D
a Weekend Warrior
from Bangor
Date Reviewed: December 28, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Gwydyr forest, N Wales | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Stiff, durable, easily maintained. | | Weaknesses: | Massive stiction, question over air to coil upgrade on ECC model | | Similar Products Used: | RS 99 Judy XC | | Bike Setup: | 02 Enduro Comp | | Bottom Line: | The forks stiction really bugs me. The fork doesn't feel plush in comparison to the RS Judy (which was super plush but flexy as anything) due to the stiction.
The fork ramps up so that getting the full 100mm is nigh on impossible, too much air and it ramps up at 60/70mm, too little and it runs at 50% sag.
Theres 15mm of negative travel on this fork which drops it to an 85mm fork.
No fault of the fork but the 130mm Enduro requires a Z1 freeride coil on the front, not an 85mm MXC air. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Forrest
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle
Date Reviewed: December 8, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | Gregg's Greenlake | | Strengths: | Super rigid, ECC is a great concept, super durable. | | Weaknesses: | ECC knob | | Similar Products Used: | RST-281(junk), Manitou SXr (plush but flexy), Black comp 80/100 (new bike, no opinion yet) | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Kona Blast, thomson post and stem, Time Aliums, upgraded rear wheel to XT-DT-Rhyno. | | Bottom Line: | The fork is the third I've had on the bike and I have put probably 1500 miles on it so far. I bought the air vesion for the adjustability. I lube the tubes with silicon spray when I lube the chain and so far this has kept anything from sticking to the tubes and damaging the seals. It has not leaked so much as 1 pound of air, I quit checking the pressure more than once a month after a couple months. The ECC knob comes loose easily, I put lock-tight on the screw a couple months back and so far so good but I carry an extra knob in the seat pack just in case. It took at least 100 miles before the seals were fully broken in and reached the final plush level but big deal. I am a big guy at about 250 lbs and highly recommend this fork for big guys like me. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Daniel S
a Cross Country Rider
from Moskow, Russia
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Very differentiated: from racing to aggressive X-country | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | my shop | | Strengths: | The very name BOMBER speaks for itself! The fork is “IMMORTAL”!!! YOU BET! Many of my friends “torture” different Marzocchies (MXC, MXR, Wage, Z1’s) for several years by now with very little maintenance and service if any at all and they all still work nearly flawlessly! This is M’s quality I appreciate the most. Hopefully it’s well applicable to the rest.
It WORKS GREAT!!! Responsive to minor hits even when pumped-up hard, VERY sm-o-o-o-o-th 100 travel, but NEVER bottomed! Never! (when pumped-up in accord to the manual recommendations, of course), damping is fine with some funny oil sounds (who cares), pretty stiff, seals are very good – they don’t leak, and keep all the dirt and water outside even in severe conditions and without the skins.
I adore the ECC!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Though it has some “byproduct ills” (sea weaknesses), it’s definitely by far the BEST lockout variant on the market!!!!!!!!!!! No compromise! I started to enjoy uphill climbing with it. Other manufactures may do nice products as well, but unless they incorporate the lockout of a similar kind they remain behind. Heh!
Low pressure air springs allow me to vary the fork performance for a wide range of different terrains.
It’s pretty light and VERY CHEAP for its performance!
After all, it looks impressive!
What else should one expect from the $300 fork? Many $500 ones are not that good.
| | Weaknesses: | No pump included! Silly? May be I don’t need another one, so why to pay more for the fork? Weakness? it's up two your judgement.
Plastic lockout lever might be a bad joke! Just a piece of crap deteriorating the entire fork flawlessness... As if some $10 speakers in Mercedes 600. eh!....... that’s sucks. It may go slipping at the most crucial moment. Once I had to stop during the competition for over a minute to tie it up and unlock! Damn! And ultimately the lever went broken in less than a month. I replaced it with a self-made metal one – bigger and two-sided. Feels OK now.
Btw – it was not very easy to locate the lever and lock the fork “on the fly.” It’s surely lacking the remote lockout mounted on the handlebar like those of some new RS's forks.
Yeah, nearly forgot. I finally switched to disk brake in front from V’s thanks to this fork. To tell the truth, ECC makes the fork slightly change its geometry, so that V pads rub the rim if they’re too close to it or when poorly adjusted. However, if you’re as stubborn and weight obsessed freak as I used to be and like your V’s, than you still CAN adjust V’s well enough and trouble yourself not with the extra expenses for the disks.
And one more minor thing you should know. When it’s new - it takes about 10 hours of riding to start performing its best. So what?!!! It’s trivial. Don’t make quick judgments. Have some patience and after some time you’ll forget it’s there! Just perfect!
| | Similar Products Used: | I’m an administrator of the local veloshop and a member of the bike fan club. So I rode lost of different forks.
RS Mg21 – piece of junk in all respects compared to Marzocchi.
Super Fatty DL 2002. - Not so responsive as MXC. Expensive and exclusive. Though very strong, rather light and overall satisfactory. It’s mounted on my 2nd Cannondale bike.
Judy sl – a raw paw-waw stick! unsmooth, a way to soft, heavy. Just stupid. No way satisfactory for its price! I rode such for 2 years. However, 2-crown Judy is much better.
Psylo sl – Leaky seals!!! soft for a 85 kgs rider without hard springs. Somewhat heavy. Requires frequent service. “Dies” quickly.
Duke sl – good enough. Quick & rather responsive. Same price as MXC but no lockout.
Sid sl – FLEXY! too little travel. Disk brakes “kill” it pretty quickly. It’s definitely overvalued.
FOX – very-very nice fork, but costly. Still requires more maintenance than M. lockout is not of ECC type. Good one, but i only tried it several times. it's 1 month old.
Z1 FR – very impressed with it!!! Plush, strong, excellent performance, ECC, etc. but heavier, not air, and much more expensive than my MXC-ECC. However, if I were a crazy free-rider I would choose this one for sure.
Some White Brothers – very nice, incredibly light, but not for the aggressive X-country.
| | Bike Setup: | Cannondale hardtail / Complete XT all over /xt disk(f) hub & Hugi 240(r) / Mavic 517 / XT disk(f) and XT rim(R) brakes. | | Bottom Line: | Excellent performance. Set it and forget that it’s there. The best price / performance product on the market! Fits different riding styles, except for probably the extreme ones, as DH.
Only 4 chills overall just because of some “infant-ills” with ECC lever and fork geometry when it’s locked-out. Nothing more to say. Try this fork and it will speak for itself… you’ll be very impressed, and as happy as I and ALL of my friends who ride such or similar M’s are. forget those silly Judies! Go get M! You won’t regret it! Period!
I made my best to present the product as objectively as I could.
Regards.
Daniel.
ps to Marzocchi: if you read this, make some nice remote lockout, do something to the fork lockout geometry, and you have by far the best product on the market! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Daniel S
a Cross Country Rider
from Moskow, Russia
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Very differentiated: from racing to aggressive X-country | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | my shop | | Strengths: | The very name BOMBER speaks for itself! The fork is “IMMORTAL”!!! YOU BET! Many of my friends “torture” different Marzocchies (MXC, MXR, Wage, Z1’s) for several years by now with very little maintenance and service if any at all and they all still work nearly flawlessly! This is M’s quality I appreciate the most. Hopefully it’s well applicable to the rest.
It WORKS GREAT!!! Responsive to minor hits even when pumped-up hard, VERY sm-o-o-o-o-th 100 travel, but NEVER bottomed! Never! (when pumped-up in accord to the manual recommendations, of course), damping is fine with some funny oil sounds (who cares), pretty stiff, seals are very good – they don’t leak, and keep all the dirt and water outside even in severe conditions and without the skins.
I adore the ECC!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Though it has some “byproduct ills” (sea weaknesses), it’s definitely by far the BEST lockout variant on the market!!!!!!!!!!! No compromise! I started to enjoy uphill climbing with it. Other manufactures may do nice products as well, but unless they incorporate the lockout of a similar kind they remain behind. Heh!
Low pressure air springs allow me to vary the fork performance for a wide range of different terrains.
It’s pretty light and VERY CHEAP for its performance!
After all, it looks impressive!
What else should one expect from the $300 fork? Many $500 ones are not that good.
| | Weaknesses: | No pump included! Silly? May be I don’t need another one, so why to pay more for the fork? Weakness? it's up two your judgement.
Plastic lockout lever might be a bad joke! Just a piece of crap deteriorating the entire fork flawlessness... As if some $10 speakers in Mercedes 600. eh!....... that’s sucks. It may go slipping at the most crucial moment. Once I had to stop during the competition for over a minute to tie it up and unlock! Damn! And ultimately the lever went broken in less than a month. I replaced it with a self-made metal one – bigger and two-sided. Feels OK now.
Btw – it was not very easy to locate the lever and lock the fork “on the fly.” It’s surely lacking the remote lockout mounted on the handlebar like those of some new RS's forks.
Yeah, nearly forgot. I finally switched to disk brake in front from V’s thanks to this fork. To tell the truth, ECC makes the fork slightly change its geometry, so that V pads rub the rim if they’re too close to it or when poorly adjusted. However, if you’re as stubborn and weight obsessed freak as I used to be and like your V’s, than you still CAN adjust V’s well enough and trouble yourself not with the extra expenses for the disks.
And one more minor thing you should know. When it’s new - it takes about 10 hours of riding to start performing its best. So what?!!! It’s trivial. Don’t make quick judgments. Have some patience and after some time you’ll forget it’s there! Just perfect!
| | Similar Products Used: | I’m an administrator of the local veloshop and a member of the bike fan club. So I rode lost of different forks.
RS Mg21 – piece of junk in all respects compared to Marzocchi.
Super Fatty DL 2002. - Not so responsive as MXC. Expensive and exclusive. Though very strong, rather light and overall satisfactory. It’s mounted on my 2nd Cannondale bike.
Judy sl – a raw paw-waw stick! unsmooth, a way to soft, heavy. Just stupid. No way satisfactory for its price! I rode such for 2 years. However, 2-crown Judy is much better.
Psylo sl – Leaky seals!!! soft for a 85 kgs rider without hard springs. Somewhat heavy. Requires frequent service. “Dies” quickly.
Duke sl – good enough. Quick & rather responsive. Same price as MXC but no lockout.
Sid sl – FLEXY! too little travel. Disk brakes “kill” it pretty quickly. It’s definitely overvalued.
FOX – very-very nice fork, but costly. Still requires more maintenance than M. lockout is not of ECC type. Good one, but i only tried it several times. it's 1 month old.
Z1 FR – very impressed with it!!! Plush, strong, excellent performance, ECC, etc. but heavier, not air, and much more expensive than my MXC-ECC. However, if I were a crazy free-rider I would choose this one for sure.
Some White Brothers – very nice, incredibly light, but not for the aggressive X-country.
| | Bike Setup: | Cannondale hardtail / Complete XT all over /xt disk(f) hub & Hugi 240(r) / Mavic 517 / XT disk(f) and XT rim(R) brakes. | | Bottom Line: | Excellent performance. Set it and forget that it’s there. The best price / performance product on the market! Fits different riding styles, except for probably the extreme ones, as DH.
Only 4 chills overall just because of some “infant-ills” with ECC lever and fork geometry when it’s locked-out. Nothing more to say. Try this fork and it will speak for itself… you’ll be very impressed, and as happy as I and ALL of my friends who ride such or similar M’s are. forget those silly Judies! Go get M! You won’t regret it! Period!
I made my best to present the product as objectively as I could.
Regards.
Daniel.
ps to Marzocchi: if you read this, make some nice remote lockout, do something to the fork lockout geometry, and you have by far the best product on the market! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dudeman
a Cross Country Rider
from San Mateo, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: October 14, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Double Secret Not-aTrail | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$240.00 | | Purchased At: | Price Point | | Strengths: | Plush -- the negative spring makes for a huge improvement over the 2000 FLylight 100. Stiff. Reliable. Reasonably light. ECC is the bomb for fireroad climbs and sprints. | | Weaknesses: | ECC causes some sort of tweak in the hub which alters the brake alignment, whether running disc or rim brake. The rights set up eliminates this problem.
Lowers will scratch easily. Stickers are hokey, but you can take them off. | | Similar Products Used: | SID XL, X-Vert, Marz. Flylight 100. Psylo SL. RST Mozo. Softride stem! | | Bike Setup: | Kona Hot 853 steel hardtail. | | Bottom Line: | Best fork hands down I have ever used. Can't beat the price. I can't see why people spend so much money on the new and complicated forks when you get more reliability and 98% of the performance in a fork with technology that is a couple of years old. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alvin
a Weekend Warrior
from Spain
Date Reviewed: September 12, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | all but tarmac | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Strong, incredibly smooth, great response. The ECC, best invention on earth. | | Weaknesses: | The ECC plastic lever loosened and stopped working for a while, braking my downhill joy. A quick tighten and no problem anymore, but I'll order the aluminium one. | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox Quadra, Super Fatty | | Bike Setup: | GT Zaskar Race Edition, Mavic 517, all XT/XTR, Selle Italia, ON/OFF Carbon-line goodies and an old and awful speedometer :-)) | | Bottom Line: | outstanding fork, eats every rock on earth, mine 0 leaks, great value for money. My dealer recommended it to me and I just did the right thing. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andy
a Cross Country Rider
from U.K
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Merlin Cycles | | Strengths: | Design, Warranty (2 Years), Reputation | | Weaknesses: | Not too confident that the ECC Switch on top of the left leg is going to last....just nit-picking really! | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou SX-R | | Bike Setup: | Kona Kula, XT, XTR, Mavic Ceramics, Middleburn, Flite, X-Lite | | Bottom Line: | They say first impressions last, I have just ridden my first twenty miles with these forks and I have to say I wish I had junked my Manitou's long ago and swapped to Bombers (my second Manitou fork cracked - Wont be sending my hard earned money their way again!!)
Straight from the box the Bombers performed - If they are this good now what are they like when fully scrubbed in!!!
Love the lockout facility, cant praise them enough and all this for 170 pounds sterling - amazing.
I honestly could not justify spending anymore than that on a fork if this is what you get for the money. Any level of rider would do well to fit these to thier pride and joy!!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
King of the Hills
a Cross Country Rider
from Cardiff, Wales UK
Date Reviewed: July 29, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Coed-y-Brennin | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | wiggle.co.uk | | Strengths: | Plush with a capital PLUSH. ECC BRILLIANT, perfect for the climbs and road sections. I being under 9 stone - run them at around 15PSI and they're still impossible for me to bottom them out. Factory damping setting perfect also! Had no problems with the ECC lever also. | | Weaknesses: | I suppose the lever COULD be a bit bigger and easier to get to. Did take a while to bed in...but this could suggest good reliability?? | | Similar Products Used: | Judy SL's 99. As unplush as a pogostick. | | Bike Setup: | Kinises Maxlite (easton framing), full XT, Mavic 517 w/goldtech hubs, easton handlebars, stem and seatpost. | | Bottom Line: | Im from the UK and they are selling like hot cakes. As i said before, i fun them with as little as 15psi sometimes, and are perfect, plush and BRILLIANT.
The ECC gives you the best of both worlds, a plush 100mm travel fork for the downhills - and a short stiff fork for the uphills - PERFECT!
However - if you are a weight freeeeeek, then you may have to sacrifice a bit of reliability and go with the rockshox, as they usually tend to be lighter (dont they??).
If you do choose to buy this fork...YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!! Simply spiffing young chap! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
PFunk
a Weekend Warrior
from Arcata
Date Reviewed: July 28, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$275.00 | | Purchased At: | speedgoat | | Strengths: | see my post 7/25 | | Weaknesses: | see my post 7/25 | | Similar Products Used: | see my post 7/25 | | Bike Setup: | see my post 7/25 | | Bottom Line: | typo alert: I meant to say that the decal on this fork is either red or BLUE (not black) - depending on whether you get the coil (red) or air (blue). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
PFunk
a Weekend Warrior
from Arcata
Date Reviewed: July 25, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | singletrack | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$275.00 | | Purchased At: | speedgoat | | Strengths: | see below | | Weaknesses: | Aaahhhhhhhhh....Ok....it wasn't free. | | Similar Products Used: | Similar? yes, I've used other suspension forks before, it that's what this question means, i.e., Noleen Crosslink, Girvin Vector, Manitou (when they used elastomers - I guess I'm dating myself) | | Bike Setup: | K2 "OZ" (carbon frame) - Risse Astro5 rear shock - Sram 9.0 everything - blah, blah, blah | | Bottom Line: | Ok, here is the deal. First, everyone who reviews this fork, please specify which one - coil? air? 100mm? 80mm? Secondly, regarding the plastic lockout knob everyone is obsessing about...here's what you do: Pick up the phone, call Marzocchi and say: "Please send me your aluminum lock-out knob." Problem solved. It costs 3 bucks.
I agree with all the good things said about this fork below. And add: I love this lock-out!! (I use V brakes and have not experienced any of the brake rub problems mentioned below.) Using the lockout lowers the front end about 20mm. So in addition to eliminating "bob" when going uphill, your bike is transformed into hill-climbing geometry. Brilliant!
Can't say much about dependability - I've only had this thing for about one month. But it looks sturdy. This is a proven bomber design, so I'm not anticipating any problems.
Ok, one thing you should know about - Marzocchi went with magnesium to save some weight (mine weighs 1680 grams). Magnesium is relatively soft. If you are anal about scratches, don't get this fork.
The fork is black. The decals are red or black, depending on whether you get the coil or air model. If you don't like the color, call Marzocchi and they can send you a different color. I took my decals off. I don't believe in being a human billboard.
Buy it while you can....
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
graham
a
from west yorks
Date Reviewed: July 22, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | the moors, the woods | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Strengths: | Excellent ride, stiff, responsive, lockout for uphills | | Weaknesses: | None yet, except lockout lever had moved round 90 degrees for some reason, still works though, but does feel a bit puny! | | Bike Setup: | Orange Mr XC | | Bottom Line: | This fork costs under £200, incredible fork for the money, you can get cheaper versions still if you dont want the lockout function, but it is excellent for climbs, dropping the front geometry and locking the fork. Previously had manitou SX E fork which came fitted, which was limp and was creating rifts between me and the bike. This fork has made a massive difference to the ride - far better damping, luvly responsive steering/control, confident ride - cross country, hard trails, technical riding, fast decents, so far it likes it all, and looks rather nice too. Me n the bike are back on form. I wont give it 5 overall, cos Ive only used it for 3 months, but so far its been excellent. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ben S.
a Weekend Warrior
from South Florida
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$299.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Smooth, responsive, no stiction, affordable performance, looks wicked, makes my C-dale look like a "real" mountain bike. | | Weaknesses: | None so far. | | Similar Products Used: | Headshok Super Fatty M | | Bike Setup: | C-dale Super V 500, 'zocchi MXC-ECC fork, Avid 2.0 Levers, Avid SD-5 brakes, Titec XC riser bar, rest stock. | | Bottom Line: | I love this fork. I have the 80mm air setup. After my LBS told me to get rid of my Headshok, I finally listened. I didn't know what I was missing. This thing is very response, unlike the Headshok. The Headshok is probably well-suited for a racer, due its light weight and stiffness, but for aggresive trail riding, it just didn't cut it. I don't have much use for the ECC since there are not long climbs in South Florida, so I don't care about the cheap ECC switch. The best thing about this fork is that you forget it's there; it just does it's job. I've had no strange noises or sticton, no leaking, no problems so far. I'm a happy camper. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
matt
a Cross Country Rider
from kingston,ny
Date Reviewed: July 18, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | Table Rock Tours and Bikes | | Strengths: | strong as could be. It is just as the name implies "bomber" becuar is is simply bomb proof. When i am rideing the steep rock gardens i can fly through them wiht ease now. and the sttep climbs found in this part of ny are easy now with the ecc. | | Weaknesses: | The stupid plastic ecc lever!! Why would such a respected company like marzocchi put a weak piece of plastic on such a nice fork?? The rest of the fork is unstopable but the plastic lever is a piece of poop!! | | Similar Products Used: | Judy xc, duke xc, duke sl, duke race, manitu magium, mars elite | | Bike Setup: | santa cruz chamelion, with the mxc-ecc,truvativ stylo team,truvativ sl bb,raceface rings,xtr casset,chris king hubs, 517 rims, dt spokes,thompson seat post,eastion ct2 bar and steam, crhis king head set, panaracer fire xc pros | | Bottom Line: | sweet fork. I love the ecc because it makes hills easy for a guy like me that weighs 200lbs. I would reccomend this for to anywone who wants an awesome upgrade from their current fork. I just need marzocchi to make mettal ecc levers, only 4 chilis because ok the ecc lever | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mike casarubbia
a Cross Country Rider
from france
Date Reviewed: July 16, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | cassis | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$190.00 | | Purchased At: | tinazzi | | Strengths: | ecc, geometry change of the bike when on/off feel | | Similar Products Used: | judy xc , marzo z3 | | Bike Setup: | Sunn Crosss,B4 disks front & rear Crossmax , Sram 9.0 ,fiz'k comfort seat , | | Bottom Line: | when I need a soild fork I flip the EEC switch a good push on the bars and the bike goes down about an inch and wow!! A good agressive xc position good for flying up hill and good on leveled ground. And on dumpy roads or downhills reflip the switch and up you go an inch a little free-ride feel very nice on rocky downhills. Im 175lbs and mxc ecc helped my riding skills alot! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alex
a
from NYC, NY USA
Date Reviewed: July 14, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | phattire.com | | Strengths: | excellent stiffness, lockout great for trials, but after less then a week of hard riding, oil leaking from seals in right stanch.
excellent rebound right out of the box, good construction, as the legs and arch are one piece and not three separate pieces (which is structurally weaker). | | Weaknesses: | LEAKY SEALS! one chili because these problems are just such a pain in the ass to take care of, seals should not leak in the first month. three chilis for value because the fork is otherwise a nice piece.. oh and the lockout lever broke the second day, though it was still relatively functional | | Similar Products Used: | have a z1 wedge on my kona roast which i love, it's super plush and extremely forgiving and laterally very stiff.
i've used and broken factory set up RS T2s and JUDYs which **suck** but i like the long travel coil/oil competitors of marzocchis but have heard some maybe not so good things. | | Bike Setup: | generic Nashbar steel frams with magura 22s, road cog, riser bars, sedona 2.35 tires on rhyno lite rims, mostly shimano otherwise, set up for trials. | | Bottom Line: | leaky seals seemed to be a major problem last year with marzocchi, I thought it'd be corrected by now. I am going to contact manufacturer and hopefully their customer serv will take care of problem. will follow up then.
overall i like marzocchi; I love the wedge, only thing that could make it better would be a lockout, which i think is available on a similar marzocchi, but its about double the price.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Simon
a Cross Country Rider
from Sussex, England
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2002 | |
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