[Quasi]

How about a big collective noogie (or whatever you call it when you grab somebody by the head with one arm and grind your knuckles into his head with your free hand) for Marzocchi. The manual says my fork is compatible with a remote lockout. But it says nothing about the lockout being so remote that it hasn't been manufactured yet and probably never will be.

Boooooooooooooooooooooooo...........hisssssssssssss. Damn those Rockshox owners, spoiled bastids.....

 

[tscheezy]

I think this has been discussed. Don't remember the outcome, but it may have been a translation problem from Italian where they meant to say "external" adjuster and instead said "remote" adjuster or something.

Just put a thumb shifter on your bars and tape a length of housing down on the crown. Same effect.

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

From what I've seen of Italian technical manual translations, that does sound right. Besides, I have no problem reaching my ECC lever while riding, don't need any more stuff on the bars.

 

[jkish]

They meant ghetto remote... a long stick to hit the buttons on the tv from your chair. Italian translation "within reach"

 

[Bike Nazi]

You're not missing nothing

How about a big collective noogie (or whatever you call it when you grab somebody by the head with one arm and grind your knuckles into his head with your free hand) for Marzocchi. The manual says my fork is compatible with a remote lockout. But it says nothing about the lockout being so remote that it hasn't been manufactured yet and probably never will be.

Boooooooooooooooooooooooo...........hisssssssssssss. Damn those Rockshox owners, spoiled bastids.....

IMO once set up properly a good fork shouldn't need an on and off switch.

 

[Quasi]

IMO once set up properly a good fork shouldn't need an on and off switch.

It's for steep grades. Do you have a fork with some kind of angle sensor that can shrink itself down when the bike is at an upward angle?

I don't steer well on a unicycle.

 

[watermoccasin]

It's for steep gradesQUOTE]

ECC is a crutch. And it messes up your bike's handling. Proper bike setup (saddle positioned far enough forward) and proper body position (scoot forward until the saddle nose is trying to violate you, bend your elbows like you're at the bottom of a push-up) are the right way to climb a steep grade. I'm on my 4th fork with ECC, and I always use it about 5 times on a new fork and then never again. Also the RockShox remote lockout levers are horrible horrible horrible. The ones I tried were impossible to adjust properly (4 very talented bike mechanics couldn't get it to work), and it would gradually slide back to lock-out-position while riding. Maybe it works better now, but the whole bar-lockout-idea needs a few generations of refinement.

 

[Bike Nazi]

No, but my 80mm Sid Race gets the job done

It's for steep grades. Do you have a fork with some kind of angle sensor that can shrink itself down when the bike is at an upward angle?

I don't steer well on a unicycle.

without a lock out, which I wouldn't remember to turn back on before going down hill.
I guess the lock out on the handlebars would help but IMO MTB bikes already have enough cables, switches and gadgets.

 

[Jm.]

It's for steep gradesQUOTE]

ECC is a crutch. And it messes up your bike's handling. Proper bike setup (saddle positioned far enough forward) and proper body position (scoot forward until the saddle nose is trying to violate you, bend your elbows like you're at the bottom of a push-up) are the right way to climb a steep grade. I'm on my 4th fork with ECC, and I always use it about 5 times on a new fork and then never again. Also the RockShox remote lockout levers are horrible horrible horrible. The ones I tried were impossible to adjust properly (4 very talented bike mechanics couldn't get it to work), and it would gradually slide back to lock-out-position while riding. Maybe it works better now, but the whole bar-lockout-idea needs a few generations of refinement.

Well, when we run 5" and 6" travel forks because we like going downhill, we can't avoid the fact that we have a very high front end that is going to wander around. As much as you want it to be, a high front end will ALWAYS wander around, be harder to control, and require more effort to climb a hill than a lower front end like found on an XC bike.

So, we have ETA which locks our forks down to give us steeper head angles and the same axle to crown height of an XC fork or less.

And just like it helps freeriders, it helps XCers when they can drop their fork significantly to help them gain more leverage for a climb.

No body position or setup can totally make up for the fact that a high front end is a high front end and a b*tch to get up some hills. ECC can be pretty crappy though, because it locks it out as well, and seems to "stall" over rocks easily because it is essentially "rigid", this is where ETA comes in, it doesn't "stall" over the rocks like ECC does.

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

While I've only had ECC, I like the idea of ETA as well. I don't use the ECC very often, but sometimes it comes in very handy. It's not a crutch, it's a tool I like to use when it's needed. It doesn't mess up my bike's handling as I only use it to shorten my fork for very steep climbs, where it's actually improving my bike's handling in that situation. I don't use it for general climbing as it's not beneficial except where it's so steep my front end wanders (pretty steep grade at that point). If you ran your ECC to the point where it messed up your bike's handling I'd say you couldn't make a good decision as to when to use it.

 

[Quasi]

It's for steep gradesQUOTE]

ECC is a crutch. And it messes up your bike's handling. Proper bike setup (saddle positioned far enough forward) and proper body position (scoot forward until the saddle nose is trying to violate you, bend your elbows like you're at the bottom of a push-up) are the right way to climb a steep grade. I'm on my 4th fork with ECC, and I always use it about 5 times on a new fork and then never again. Also the RockShox remote lockout levers are horrible horrible horrible. The ones I tried were impossible to adjust properly (4 very talented bike mechanics couldn't get it to work), and it would gradually slide back to lock-out-position while riding. Maybe it works better now, but the whole bar-lockout-idea needs a few generations of refinement.

I use it on grades which are so steep the front wheel is popping off the ground. The lockout brings your front end down a bit changing the fore to aft balance of the bike. It lowers the bars a bit, allowing you more pull to keep your weight forward where it belongs on a steep ascent. Of course, some drop bars would help this too. Anything which helps shift the bike and rider's weight forward is good on a steep climb. Any repositioning of the body off the seat and onto the cranks will be more effective with a shorter fork. In some situations, the lockout may allow seated climbs when one would normally have to put more weight on the cranks/handle bars and less on the seat. Seated=efficiency=longer ride.

The main problem with the lockout, as somebody else noted, is that it is easy to forget. Leaving it on can be dangerous on a steep DH. Hence having it on the handlebars would help bring it to your attention.