[RARES]

Both are 150 mm ...
What are the differences between the two? Was the Z150 a big Zoke mistake (to heavy??)? After all - they don't make them for 2005.

Back round:
Just got a S.C. Chameleon Along side my Heckler. Now that I got the trail /XC thing covered buy the Chameleon (3-4 footers) Means I get to build the Heckler for the worst.

I currently run a 130mm Z1FR -dam best fork ever!! Therefore I'm ready to switch it for one of its big brothers : Z150 or (the new 05) Z1FR. Note there are good deals for the Z150 on the net, so price wise the Z150 is a bargain.

What do ya say??

Thanks you guys,

E.

 

[etal]

No mistake

The Z150 was a good fork last year and still is...
The Z1 FR1 is just a refinement of last years Z150, the fact that the name changed does not mean it was a mistake. Thats just the marketing department trying to fit it in with the rest of the marzocchi line.

Changes for the 2005 model:
- its a little lighter
- has new damping cartridges based on 888 technology
- dumped the QR20 system for a dedicated 20mm through axel

 

[scrublover]

just like the other reply.

the 05 150mm Z-1 is lighter, better internals, better 20mm axle setup.

if the cost isn't a concern, go for the 05. if on a budget, then Z-150s are coming up super cheap in forum classifieds and E-bay all the time. you can likely pick one up in pretty good shape for half (or less) what the 05 Z-1 150mm will run you, if you shop around.

i've got a Z-150 coil that i'm liking quite a bit (picked it up used, fairly cheap) so far. if i'd have wanted to throw more money at it, i'd have gone for the "updated" version. but i'll stick with what i've got for now.

 

[Bulldog]

The Z150 was heavier because it had to be as strong as possible as the baddest SC fork in their line through '04. That meant steel stantions and initially a steel steerer. Now that the 66 is here for guys that want to go big on a SC fork they were able to lighten the Z up with the alloy stantions and steerer.

The Z150 is a cool fork and if you don't mind the extra weight you should have no hesitations in picking one up cheap.

 

[SSINGA]

Option #3: If your Z1FR is an 03 or 04 you can get new internals to make it 150mm!

 

[TNC]

One thing I find weird on the Z150

Both are 150 mm….What are the differences between the two? Was the Z150 a big Zoke mistake (to heavy&#8230? After all - they don't make them for 2005.

Back round:
Just got a S.C. Chameleon Along side my Heckler. Now that I got the trail /XC thing covered buy the Chameleon (3-4 footers) Means I get to build the Heckler for the worst.

I currently run a 130mm Z1FR - dam best fork ever!! Therefore I'm ready to switch it for one of its big brothers : Z150 or (the new 05) Z1FR. Note there are good deals for the Z150 on the net, so price wise the Z150 is a bargain.

What do ya say??

Thanks you guys,

E.

Is that the springs for the steel stanchions are larger OD than any other 32mm stanchion forks in the Marz lineup. Yeah, I know the steel is thinner than the alloy stanchions, but it seems odd that they found the need to have proprietary outer diameter springs. I'm still waiting for a 6" coil spring for my Z150 SL/Z150 FR hybrid fork. The cartridge in this pic comes from a Z150 coil and will drop right into the Z150SL right leg. That yellow Z150 coil spring, however, won't fit in any of the alloy 32 mm stanchions. The new Z1 6" for '05 has a coil that will fit. Yeah, the Z150 FR was a good fork, but apparently just the stop gap until the 66 came out.

 

[tscheezy]

Wow. What an incredibly weird question. So Ford should still be cranking out the Model T to prove it was not all some horrible mistake? Hello?

What etal said. I have the 04 Z1 130 and the 05 FR1 150. Both cool forks. The 05 is lighter, has more travel, a better TA system, less mid-stroke dive, and feels amazing (but not necessarily better than the 04- they both are the best going).

 

[dbabuser]

buyer beware

Note there are good deals for the Z150 on the net, so price wise the Z150 is a bargain.

What do ya say??

Thanks you guys,

E.

Make sure the Z150 you're finding a deal on isn't the Dropoff version.

 

[Blue Shorts]

Wow. What an incredibly weird question. So Ford should still be cranking out the Model T to prove it was not all some horrible mistake? Hello?

What etal said. I have the 04 Z1 130 and the 05 FR1 150. Both cool forks. The 05 is lighter, has more travel, a better TA system, less mid-stroke dive, and feels amazing (but not necessarily better than the 04- they both are the best going).

I'm glad you like the coil Z1's. 'Zilla and I have been high on these forks since we got them in '03. I've yet to try any 130mm fork the does a better job.

What did you do with your '03Z1SL?

 

[frank n. beans]

It isn't that heavy

The z150 is pretty sweet. Sure it weighs a little bit more, but come on, this isn't an XC race fork. I don't see the weight holding me back at all, I can still wheelie and pull up the front end just fine. I have a feeling those steel stantions are less prone to gouges than aluminum too. That alone makes it worth the weight for me. I am not crazy about the qr20 hinge design but that isn't a deal breaker. For what its worth, given the choice between the z150 and a new fr1, I'd pick the z150 due to the steel stantions.

 

[tscheezy]

What did you do with your '03Z1SL?

I still have it. I'm going to loan it to EndoRando for the spring/summer since I have 3, soon to be 4, other forks I can run on the Spot (04 Z1, Pike Team, Pike Air, Vanilla). He wants to give a "bigger" fork a go on his Fiver.

 

[RARES]

Conversion?

Option #3: If your Z1FR is an 03 or 04 you can get new internals to make it 150mm!

Turn my z1 130 mm to 150mm ???!!! - Wow !!

Do you have more info about this option ??

Thanks,

E.

 

[RARES]

130 to 150 mm ??

New internals??

 

[RARES]

How much is a "little lighter" for the 05 Z1?

The extra general weight added to the bike is not an issue for me as having that weight added only in the front. That does some what concern me on one issue :

" How much harder would it be puling on the bars when dropping/ launching?"

Thanks you guys,

E.

 

[tscheezy]

My 04 Z1 is 5.9# complete with TA, and my 05 FR1 is 5.7# complete with TA. Not a big diff, but impressive since the 05 has longer springs and such.

To convert you would need to buy new rods/springs/dampers for each leg. It's probably cheaper to buy a new 05 and sell your old fork, and you'd get ALL the new goodies that way (new TA, etc).

 

[scrublover]

The z150 is pretty sweet. Sure it weighs a little bit more, but come on, this isn't an XC race fork. I don't see the weight holding me back at all, I can still wheelie and pull up the front end just fine. I have a feeling those steel stantions are less prone to gouges than aluminum too. That alone makes it worth the weight for me. I am not crazy about the qr20 hinge design but that isn't a deal breaker. For what its worth, given the choice between the z150 and a new fr1, I'd pick the z150 due to the steel stantions.

another option to save a bit of weight:

my Z-150 (bought used, cheap) was the later model that came with air preload caps on both legs. removed both coils, and am running full air in it. feels great, and i have infinite adjustability. i trust it well enough; i figure if i do something to blow both seals and lose air in both legs at the same time, it's probably something that'll leave me hurting anyhow.......
dropped a little over a half pound.

another option, especially if you get the Z-150 cheap enough, is to send it to marzocchi for a steerer replacement. steel-------->to alloy. told me they would do that over the phone. with shipping, it may run me about $80. and it'll drop about another half pound, if not more, and still end up giving me a total fork price way less than anything new.

a nice new single crown big fork will have to wait until next year for me.

 

[dbabuser]

wow

for a steerer replacement. steel-------->to alloy. told me they would do that over the phone.

They can do that over the phone now?? What will they think of next?

 

[TNC]

Did I ask a question?

Wow. What an incredibly weird question. So Ford should still be cranking out the Model T to prove it was not all some horrible mistake? Hello?

What etal said. I have the 04 Z1 130 and the 05 FR1 150. Both cool forks. The 05 is lighter, has more travel, a better TA system, less mid-stroke dive, and feels amazing (but not necessarily better than the 04- they both are the best going).

The only thing I thought was weird about the Z150 was the proprietary spring.

 

[bikerx40]

On Zokie's web site they say that the 05 FR1 150 has "888 style cartridges". They also say that it has HSCV. Do you have any idea if the HSCV cartidge in the FR1 is any different than any other HSCV cartridge (like all of your other Marz forks)? What does 888 style mean? I don't get it.

Wow. What an incredibly weird question. So Ford should still be cranking out the Model T to prove it was not all some horrible mistake? Hello?

What etal said. I have the 04 Z1 130 and the 05 FR1 150. Both cool forks. The 05 is lighter, has more travel, a better TA system, less mid-stroke dive, and feels amazing (but not necessarily better than the 04- they both are the best going).

 

[tscheezy]

TNC- no, RARES asked the weird Q. I was responding to him.

BX40- I don't know what the 888 deal is. I have not had the dampers laying next to each other nor have I opened them up.