At the Taipei show we took a look at the future of Marzocchi's suspension, and while we were at their headquarters near Bologna a few weeks ago, we took the chance to delve into their past too. Marzocchi's head of their MTB Competence Centre, Sandro Musiani, walked us through some of their landmark models, from the late 1980s, until the early 2000s, to look at some of their innovations and evolutions through the years.
This is where it all began - the Marzocchi STAR fork. In 1989, Marzocchi already had forty years of experience making suspension for everything from motorcycles to the Ferrari Formula One cars, but this was the first time they turned their attention to mountain bikes. It had 50mm of travel and you might be surprised to know that although Marzocchi are best known for pioneering oil and coil suspension, this first fork was air-sprung. At that time Marzocchi worked with an aftermarket company called LARM. One of their agents, Peter Eversdjeke, was in the USA and saw the very first RockShox forks in the market. At the 1989 EICMA Show he showed Andrea Pierantoni the fork. That year the motorcycle business was very slow, so he started to design this fork. Both legs had an independent airspring and there was no external adjustment. For our younger readers, that thread on the steerer tube was how stems were attached before the modern aheadset-style system was introduced.
In 1991 the STAR fork was replaced by this, the XC51. Much like the STAR fork it had air spring and sported 50mm of travel, however it was beefed up to meet the needs of the evolving mountain bikes. The bigger, burlier arch meant your brakes wouldn't pull the legs of the fork inwards with them when you used them as much. It also had a proper 1 1/8" unthreaded steerer tube. You can see with the lowers that disc brakes were not on anyone's radar at this point and the tapered legs (the internals were simple and didn't need much space) wouldn't have stood up to the forces a disc brake would have put through it.
The Bomber Z1 BAM. For some of you reading this, we're sure that is all you need to read about this fork. Getting a little nostalgic means it's easy to get carried away sometimes, but we don't think anyone will argue when we say that this fork changed mountain bike suspension. Released in 1997 into a world where 30-40mm of crudely-sprung travel was the norm, the Z1 waded in with a full 100mm of open-bath, coil-sprung plushness. It was the first mountain bike fork to use trickle-down technology from motorbikes and while the chassis may now feel heavy and dated, we reckon its plush, active action out on the trail could still hold its own today.
In 2000, Marzocchi acknowledged that the Bomber platform was too heavy for XC racing. Their current fork at the the time, the Z2, shared the same buttery damping as its bigger brother, the Z1, but dropped the travel down to 80mm and tried to shave some weight. It wasn't enough though, it was still heavier than most XC riders could live with. This fork the RAC was the result of the research into whether they could take that proven damping and package it for riders who cared how much their bikes weighed. To do this they turned to a material that is common today, but was in the highest realms of exotica at the time - carbon. They inverted the fork and created the body from a carbon monococque. We may be wrong, but we are pretty sure this was the first carbon suspension fork mountain biking had ever seen. Sadly, the project never quite worked, the pricetag for these was well beyond the reach of mere mortals and in the end Marzocchi abandoned this approach in favour of conventionally-constructed forks with air dampers.
After moving away from air for the Bomber forks and the unsuccessful RAC fork, Marzocchi made their return to the XC market with this, the Marathon Olympic. It took a far more conventional approach, with a lighter, refined chassis and an air spring to get the weight down. Travel was adjustable from 80 to 120mm through spacers and offered riders five positions of adjustment with the ECC5 system. Released to their pro team in 2002 (for the Olympics, surprisingly), Alison Sydor piloted hers to the silver medal.
Admit it, how many of you who saw the article title just wanted to see photos of this beast of a fork? Without a doubt, the Super Monster T is one of the biggest, heaviest, wildest mountain bike fork ever put into production. Weighing in with a full 300mm (12 inches, one foot) of travel, along with the cockroaches this would be the only thing to survive a nuclear holocaust. Modern downhill forks weigh about 3kg, this weighs six. Produced from 2002 to 2004, it was the high water mark for the "more is better" push in mountain biking, before people realised Jan Karpiel was nuts and everything settled down to a more manageable eight inches as the norm for downhill bikes.
On the downhill side, Marzocchi's work research into upside down forks was more successful and slightly longer-lived. The Shiver was in production from 2000 to 2005 and is still thought of fondly by certain corners of the downhill/freeride world. Whether that attachment is simply down to how it looks, or how it worked is hard to say, because at nearly 4kg it was always heavy, but that weight didn't translate into stiffness. But practicalities aside, yeah it does still look cool.
All the development into long-travel forks culminated in this, the 888. Taking everything they learned from the Bomber range and the Shiver, they distilled it into this simple bombproof package (ok, maybe not bombproof if you bought a set in 200 . Released in 2003, its open bath damping has stood the test of time and although they have added adjustments since, the heart of the fork has remained unchanged in that time. We know more than one person who bought an early set of these and had the anodising on the legs give out before the internals. In fact, 2013 is the tenth birthday of the 888!
Sandro Musiani has been with Marzocchi for 29 years. Today he is head of their MTB competence centre and in his time with the company he worked on developing every one of these forks here.
And Matt the threads on the steerer tube are for attaching the headset to the fork, securing the entire assembly tot the frame. The stem attaches to the inside of the steerer and does not use the threads at all. Ask RC, I'm sure he can help with the "history lessons".
i seem to be the only person that can remember that when the shiver came out , a lot of the riders including myself that found the front wheel to flop , you landed a little squirrely on the front and the tire would almost hit the inside of the forks upper , i knew a lot of people that got them when the first came out and ended up going back to there monsters and super ts, especially for the skinnies for control.
the motion of the fork was amazing though,
Notice how they left the 55 out of this article and the taiwan aspect. I think the 55 could be the best fork out there if they just fix a few bugs. I owned every marz they ever made z1s to 888s and all in btween. Still get no love from marz so I do all my own servicing. They even sent me a fork once that supposed to have open bath cart but they forgot to drill ports lol oops!!! I drill my own ports, marz service is questionable but the italian made forks are the best. Just close down taiwan factory please. They drunk or on drugs over there. Open factory back in italk or germany and take over the market again. Leave the fugazi fox no seal forks for the racers. Rockshox has stolen marzs thunder lately so they kind of on top now. Problem with them is the boxxer not made for weekend warrior hucker types and packs up under preassure. Could always get the avalanche upgrade carts for any fork now so all companies better watch out for that. Avy carts are Showa moto strength, not made in taiwan flimflams.
I have ridden mostly Marzocchi forks since I started in 2003/04, best fork I have ridden (minus the 05 Shiver I own) was a 05 66RC, 2005 was Marzocchi's best year bar none. As for flex, yes Shivers do flex laterally (grab the wheel with your legs and push on one side of the handle bars and pulling with the other) but the initial feeling of the fork (and this is coming from a average rider saying this) is unmatched, sure you can get close to the feeling with today's forks but they are not the same. You just have to decide if your willing to take the 9 pound hit of mounting the fork to your bike. I will admit its overkill for me but it was one of those mtn bike bucket list type of deals that I wanted to own and try for a bit. I will hold onto them aslong as I have a bike to run them on.
bikesrlame shiver is easy to bottom out only when oil level is too low for riders weight/riding style. I always have 10ml more than the book says. And about weight: my shiver weights about 3,8-3,9kg, almost the same as 888 rc3 2008, not as heavy as most people think
One of the nice things about the Shiver is that it's essentially a motocross fork inside, so all that 40 years of trial and error from that arena becomes useful. I run a custom mixed oil weight in mine, to add compression. I've got a buddy who runs ATF in his, which is an old '70s era motorcycle racing trick.
I had and have Marzocchi in my bikes and besides being very good and tunable you can service them yourself and that for me beats the hell out of shitty fox that has to be sent to a very expensive and slow service.
Marz rules enduro with the 55-44s as we have seen in europe. Fox uses a dust wiper for a oil seal so thats why the weigh less and require service 3 times a year. If you racing not a big deal to rip fork appart once a month. I service my 55 every 3 years so its pretty obvious how much better it is having real oil seals. Also spend the extra $14 and get real marzocchi oil seals. Those enduro seals suck balls and last half the time of a marz. Thats why they half the price??
I bought a 2002 Shiver in 2010 and have been riding it ever since! Changed the seals last year and change the oil once a year! And my friends wonder why I don't get a Boxxer or a Fox40...Only going to upgrade to either a DVO or a Kowa! Had a 1997 red Z2 and a Z1 dropoff from 1999 110 or 130mm of travel. Super easy to service and super smooth travel! Actually saw a super monster twice once in a bike shop (picked it up and it weighed a ton) and also on this SICK bike www.pinkbike.com/photo/7053260 Unfortunately only managed to have a ride on the road as the guy was packing up to leave! Wished I'd seen him before so I could have tested the bike at the top of Deux Alpes bikepark!
I was able to get parts (specifically O-rings and footnuts) from marzocchi for an '04 DJ a few months back, they should have what you need, call 'em up.
jprock- hit up a auto store and buy one of those O-Ring packs that they have in their cheap $5.99 bins. It comes with 50 O-Rings you will never use but 10 that fit just right lol
I tried that zalgrath, and they always seem to have too much rubber to them for the diameter to work properly. seriously, the parts are dirt cheap from marzo, can't go wrong.
It was just an idea. I just let mine leak it's very minimal with mine that I just wipe it off at the end of the day. The forks build up friction witch then turns into a gas and that has to purge some where. That tiny little allen bolt next to the preload knob is the purge screw, I've never have used it cuz it leaks out of the o-rings lol
Dear Matt Wragg, you were corrected by someone in the comments the last time you made this mistake (I think in the article about old GTs) and you've still repeated it here: rim brakes did not pull the fork legs inwards, they pushed them outwards! And that was what arches and boosters prevented. Do you even read comments under your own articles?
I posted this like second comment but it appears (on my feed anyway) to have vanished... so to repeat...
Got the history screwed up RIGHT from the beginning... way to go Matt. Yes the first fork was the STAR, and it sucked.... terrible reviews by every magazine that got to test one. That effort was followed by the XC-100, XC-200 and XC-300 models for the 1992 model year. The "XC-51" was a discount model that didn't appear until the 1994 model year having replaced the XC-50 which came in 1993 which itself replaced the XC-100. The XC-200 was followed by the XC-150 in 1993 and the XC-300 by the XC-400 in 1993. In 1994 came the XC-51 and the XC-500 and a version in between them made for Giant bicycles was called the EGS. In 1995 we got the XC-600, the XCR and the 3" travel DH3 model as well as the EGS and a new elastomer-only model called the Zokes. 1996 brought us the XC-700, the DH3 again, the Zokes 2, and IF you were a lucky racer to be sponsored at the time by Marzocchi, the summer 1996 debut of the Bomber Z1. The first one in Canada went to quebec DH racer Sebastien Guite, who still owns it. Among other things it introduced was dual-disc mounts on the lower legs, for the rare Formula hydraulic double-disc front brake.
I dont think he reads the comments if he did he wouldnt be writing untill he went back to high school and was taught basic physics and how to research.
Those Z1s make me want to build a jump from wood and blocks with no landing and session it all evening after school with my mates and have coke and jelly snakes for dinner.
. "We may be wrong, but we are pretty sure this was the first carbon suspension fork mountain biking had ever seen" Specialized built there carbon fibre future shock FSX fork (based on a rockshox mag 21) 7years earlier. then in 96 they built there second carbon fibre fork, the Judy FSX (based on the rockshox judy)
Not to mention there was a company called auriga that made CF lowers kits for Manitou forks, Scott USA had two carbon fiber lowers version of the Unishocks called the LF and the LFR around 1995, and Girvin/Noleen had CF legged versions of the Vector/Crosslink models from 1996 onwards.
@Olive, yes, the later ones did. The first year or so and the protos were all alloy, then carbon lower legs and alloy arches appeared. There was the RC150 DH fork with carbon lowers too, mental thing that was with the damper that worked when it felt like it.
Yep. Had a set of the carbon paces... thought they were ace at the time despite the abundance of flex.
Upgraded to the Z1's in 99 and have been on Marzocchi ever since!
Many technically incorrect statements in there.. For a start threaded fork was NOT how early stems were mounted but how the headset was mounted! A quilled stem was required as a result but it was not the threading that was used for the mount! Secondly, and as mentioned above, brakes don't pull forks together they push them apart. And thirdly, that is NOT the Z1 BAM, it is the Z1, and pre-production at that with the steel leg. The BAM followed a year later with a lighter more machined brace, blue lower profile preload adjuster knobs, and if I recall had the progressively wound springs rather than the linear springs in the original Z1.
I stopped reading much past that, but I had the 2002 Shiver as shown above, and it was the most flexy (torsionally) fork ever, but it was the fantastic plushness rather than the looks that appealed to most people.
bang on about the headset remark, gave up there as the writer obviously wasn't paying attention or doesn't know, so pointless reading any further as the facts are totally inaccurate.
the z1 and z1 bam are different alloys as well. BAM stand for Bomber Aerospace Material. other than that you're 100 on the money with every other issue in the article.
just sick, especially when he tries to talk down to the younger kids explaining the threads on the fork!!
Worse was that he seemed to think younger readers wouldn't know it. Well I worked in a bike refurbishing shop when I was 17, so it was all quill stems and loose ball bearings. And he went and got it wrong anyway...
Those Z1s are still the benchmark in longevity, I think. Years ago when I rode one for a year, and then sold it to a friend who rode it for a long time, we didn't even know that you were supposed to change the oil to prevent stanchion rub. Good thing that even after a few years, there was still no stanchion rub, no play, no leakage and they were as buttery as they day they were born. I think he sold them on and they were still pristine.
So how come, after all these years and 'advancements', my Fox 32s get stanchion rub in fewer than 30 hours? And now Fox tells me I have to service them every 20 hours?
Those Z1s were so advanced for their time, when they first came out many riders at the Australian DH Nationals had ditched their 'DH' forks for them.
That's because back then, companies built and engineered the products to last and weren't driven by pure sales/maintenance numbers like today. The more it breaks, the more $$$ you spend buying their parts to fix it. crooked....realll crooked.
That's because there is VERY LITTLE OIL in today's forks. The bike industry has decided that lightweight is more important than reliability, and they have cut weights by producing products that use less oil and have half the lifespan. And most mountain bikers seem to be just fine with this... Buy a $1000 fork, ride it for a couple seasons, then throw it away...YAY!
I'd say it's more a general lack of quality than open vs cartridge systems. On Fox forks, take them apart and put in correct oil levels when they're fresh out the box, also replace the standard wipers with Enduro wiper/oil seals and suddenly their life span doubles and the service interval triples (and the anodising doesn't fall off either). Fox's quality control is terrible and they'll go out of their way to make it your fault when that rubbish QC wrecks your fork in three months flat. A thousand dollar plus fork shouldn't need a strip down and after market parts to make it work properly from new, it just shouldn't, but Fox spend a lot on advertising and too many believe in it. . Rockshox and Manitou are much better, mainly because they have a good attitude when customers get a bad/oil free fork, but they still have this same problem of shipping forks with not enough oil in the lowers (and RS wipers are naff next to Enduros too). If they specced proper separate wiper and oil seals a lot of these problems would go away.
Not all today's forks are like that axle. My RC3ti's are almost 3 years and they're just about to get their first seal change... Thats not a short lifespan by any stretch.
I second what Fix-the-Spade said, just got a new cartridge for my 40's, plenty of air inside... you wouldn't expect to have to bleed brand new cartridge, but having said that foxes are really easy to service yourself and get spares.
Oh, I know why forks don't last so well these days. It was more a question pointing the finger at today's forks.
Reducing the life-blood of a fork to save weight is surely counterproductive. I think it has become a war of one-upmanship by the big companies "Our forks weighs 40gms less than their fork.", though I guess we, the consumers, are to blame - weight is much easier to measure than performance. I mean, just check that Giant Glory thread where dudes are getting their bike's weight down by running rotors that are so skeletal there is hardly any metal at all. Who in their right mind would sacrifice stopping power for a few grams? Not Steve Peat (who ran the cable version of the Avid rotor as it had more metal) and certainly not Count Rumford.
All have to say is, I have a 98 Z1 Bam with 5" of travel and I still ride it to this day, and ride it hard. It is as plush as smooth as it ever was. All I can say is on this fork, they got it right, to bad they broke The mode. Amazing fork.
yes I know you heavily americanized fox/rockshox fans won't like this but the reason you have forks like that today is from marzocchi, no my 888 isn't the greatest race fork ever but I still love it for just bashing around, and if anything it's italian which has to count for something, to this day nothing on my downhill bike except the cane creek headset is american and I'm quite happy with that, so maybe I act like an old guy but I love european products and what I love even more is european products with a history behind them, ones that were hugely innovative for their time, would you call a set of world cups or 40's innovative? I wouldn't. (DVO gets that vote for todays riding IMO) anyway neg prop me if you like it's my opinion and very few people on here will agree with it
When I go past some RS/Fox fanboy with my 10 years old italian Marzocchi, I just want to wave my arms around and shout at them "You bought the wrong fork!".
Be in no doubt the z1 bam is THE reason we ride the forks we do today in 1997 the English magazine mbuk released chainspotting there is a section with steve geall doing 35ft table drop off with z1's he would not be doing that on 96 equipment I can tell you !!!!! in 96 the only single crown forks with more than 80mm travel were rst's. I bought a set of z1's and they were amazing for the time 16 years ago . I ride totems now which in comparison seem like monsters but in 97 z1's were monsters they changed mountain bike suspension for good . What I cant help thinking is what has happened to marzocchi in recent years the 888 is poor compared to a 40 or boxer wc and totems and 36's rule the roost in the free ride world . COME ON MARZ SORT IT OUT RE RELEASE SHIVER SINGLE CROWNS
Spooky, you referring to the RST Mozo Pro? Big yellow things? They were terrible. Lots of travel and no control of it. Greg Louganis dived less than those things.
And then my next fork was a Z1. Wow, what a difference.
Ummmm, Dave Cullinan table-top jumped the bridge under the chair lift and over the concrete sledding tracks at Bromont Quebec at the 1992 Worlds on spindly legged early production Marzocchi XC-400 forks on a Verlicchi made / Iron Horse labeled full suspension frame with 2" front travel and 3" rear travel. It was one of the first table-top jumps done in a major competition by any downhiller and he even WON the world championships some say because of it (because he didn't slow to ride the bridge section like every other rider did).
Say what you like about 888's But I still run 2008 888rcv's They're an awesome pair of forks and I'll always run them over any age boxxers. I know a number of good local riders who run them due to the build quality and strength for such a small price. I know everyone will try to tell me that boxxers are the way, but I'm sticking with marzocchi!
deeeight, I was at that race with cully winning, craziest thing I ever got to witness as a kid!!! I still have the vhs tape of it, the camera man missed it though. cully claimed he had to time between the chair lifts to do the jump as well , for fear of hitting his head on the chairlift, I personally cant remember if it was that low been a long time, but the table top was over the railing on the bridge I had done some runs and was splitting Manitou 2 bumpers all day, from the G out on the bridge and had a bad set up to be jumping, so it was sick no matter what, .
as well rocky mountain riders andy tout and bruce spicer were sponsored by a for company from Italy called "poali " not sure of the exact spelling but they had carbon fiber legs in about 93-94' not sure if that was before they used the scott unishocks that had the carbon legs or after.
I was there on the Saturday watching the XC World race, and when I arrived the women's race was about to end and the men's about to begin so me and a buddy decided to bike up the fire road to find a better spot on the course to watch the start and just as we passed the bridge, down comes this guy with purple forks and swingarm who's doing DH course practice, and he tabletops the bridge. I snapped a photo with a little camera but the film got ruined so half my photos from the day were over exposed, including that particular one. My friend Sebastien (who I mentioned elsewhere in the comments) was there racing the elite-DH event on a green Grove Innovations X-Frame hardtail with a white Scott Unishocks fork. I ran into him in the pits area hours later with bloody arm and leg complaining about some useless british national team rider who was going so slow and then forced a pass situation in a bad section of the course. I had only driven up to bromont to watch the XC race (the DH was on sunday) and on the way back to Ottawa, the exhaust pipe of my car snapped midspan just ahead of the resonator can (and well before the muffler) and it was BRAP BRAP BRAP exhaust sound for 250 kms.
donpinpon29, i forgot that cully started the season on the hannibrinks , no damping , i tried 1 out several times that year, super light for the time and was actually stiff but i was light then so i cant really say , but i remember doing bunny hops like i was on a pogostick,, the frame that he started on that year also came stock with 24" wheels and mavic derailers.
Can anybody find video of Cullinan's table top jump in '92? I was able to find this but it's sadly missing that section. =( www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFxL8yQakrk
@bikesrlame. Yeah I remember that hardtail 24" with a small triangle behind the seat tube. For me, that fork made more sense than moto style but seems I was wrong (and dan too haha) Wasn't there an ironhorse poster with dave cullinan tabletop at bromont? Or was it at mbaction issue? Can't recall it. Great dawning days for dh. Nothing was cooler than riding your backyard trail pretending it was that insane cap da il!!
yeah mozo pro's they were wack aye still at the time any suspension was better than no suspension , my dad had judy sls on his Zaskar le and they were terrible ... absolutely shocking ..... I ride free ride and I have ridden 888's on a few peoples bikes I seriously don't rate them I think they are good value for money as fox are just stupidly priced tbh rockshox I hated till I found totems and you only have to look at a lot of free riders bikes rockshox have smashed it with the totems stiff , strong and butter smooth and good value .
I correct myself 'nomis123' they're 2007, not sure why i put 2008, either way, I really like those forks and will keep using them and run them until they die.
donpinpon29 I had that poster for yesrs, it had the awesomest table top , with one foot clipped in and the other out doing a sick knack knack, the poster wwas the year he won the wolrd but the poster was made at the start of the year before they even had the plaid clothing . that year they had a killer young xc rider named marc gullickson as well that when on to kill it for others later on.
oh yeah the frame was called the A frame , and had these 17" chain stays as well, oh shit that bike also had a suspension seat post from a company in uk , it is a 3 letter name I think but cant remember, they marketed it as a full suspension, because it has the the USE post , with a shim stock
Hate to be pedantic but the thread on the steerer tube (4th pic) doesn't hold the stem on, it holds the headset itself together. The stem has an expanding wedge that fits deep inside the steerer tube and is tightened by an Allen bolt on top. And here I am a decade later with 2 bikes still running threaded headsets...
Loved the article! I also have a soft spot for Marzocchi forks. I remember being jealous of the 2003 Bombers. They looked so indestructible. The early dirt jumper series I saw all the time, and I knew I had to have some.
Currently rocking a set of Dirt Jam Pro's from 2006 and they work perfectly for my application. So straight forward to rebuild and adjust, can't complain. Sometimes simple is better.
The super monster.. It was the high watermark of 'more is better' push in mountain biking, before people realised Jan karpiel was nuts and everything settled down to a manageable 8 inches. Hahaha Jan karpiel. karpiel apocalypse with super monsters were TANKS. But i always wanted to plow one down a track just to see how much you wouldn't have to move lol
By far the best bike I've ever owned, I actually prefer it with a 888 just because the super monster is so heavy, but the bike is awesome. www.pinkbike.com/photo/9156706
What, no love for Z2s or 66's? No mention of Jenna Jameson, the original Bomber girl? What about thr Z150? I remember thinking a 6" single crown fork was a dental emergency waiting to happen. What about the Super T's and the quirky 80mm travel Z3 QR20? And the misnamed QR20+? The Superfly? The Atom Bomb? So many memorable Marzocchi products.
I've owned several Marzocchis since my Z1 QR20 that came stock on a Rocky Mountain Reaper. I still have a 66RC2X and a Z2 Bomber in use. Great forks - still going strong with regular maintenance.
I think Marz is blowing it by ignoring the hard core trail rider market. Where is the successor to the Z1?
My first ever suspension forks were Marzocchi XC600's. Nearly cost more than the price of my bike at the time and used to blow seals on a monthly basis. I eventually got them warrantied by the bike shop (I think they were sick of replacing the seals all the time haha) for a new Bomber Z2. Those forks were bombproof and I never blew a seal (I had them for around 8 years). My current forks are Bomber Z1's from 2006 with ETA and 150mm travel. They feel the same as the old Z2's (with a crapload more travel of course) and are still going strong despite being around 7 years old.
I wish I could say my next forks were going to be Marzocchi forks, but having just grabbed a Kona Taro, it looks like I'll be converting to Rock Shox. No matter how that goes, I'll always have a special place in my heart for Marzocchi and the many years of great forks they have given me!
A mate of mine had XC600's on his Kona AA around 95-96 I think. They were the flexiest fork ever but we didn't care because they looked awesome! haha. I got right jealous and got Amp Research F2's. All style and very little function but loved a whole heap.
LOL! The XC600 was also my first suspension fork. What a cool thing. Eventually received a Z2 too ;-). Looked good next to my Z1 on the DH bike. Years do fly...
I always loved Marzocchi's design and style, mainly the Bombers from 2004 (when I got my first bike) and of course the Shiver, but why do almost all Marzocchi forks have to be so ridiculously heavy? How come that Fox can make a 160mm fork what weighs sometimes a pound less than an equivalent from Marzocchi? I'm buying a new fork again, I was looking at various 55 models, but after checking the weigts I'll just have to buy my third Fox...
It's at least partially because they tend to put loads of oil in there. My Fox 36s are lighter because they've got only a tiny amount of oil outside the damping cartridge. Keep on top of the maintenance and they're awesome forks, but Marzocchi forks (the good ones, anyway) will work fine for years without ever being opened.
(Also, the 55RC3Ti has coils, so you need to compare it to the Vanilla, not the Float/TALAS.)
Comparing the weight, there'd have to be a pint of oil in them...
Btw I had two Fox Vanillas so far (one for a year, another one for a few months) and only thing I ever did to them was that I sprayed the stanchions with TF2 teflon spray once in a week.
Yeah, Marz forks have a tonne of oil in them compared to RockShox & Fox, that's why they weigh so much. Some people swear by them though for being so plush. Other people just swear at them.
Hey Rockshox, Fox and Manitou, pay attention to the comments under this article! People want strong reliable equipment that doesn't need to be rebuilt if you look at it funny.
I've had a couple of Dirt Jumpers that I loved and am still rocking an 03 Junior T on my Big Hit that rides like new with ZERO maintenance on it other than keeping it clean. I'm looking for a clean older Z150 or All Mountain for my next build. F these new forks that need rebuilds once a season or whatever.
What's that status on Marzocchi these days? Back when I rode dirt in 2005 I had DJ 3's on it, in fact back then amongst my friends and their bike riding dads Marzocchi were the forks to have, nothing else was even considered. I remember in 2011 though when I got back into biking, having been away from the scene for a few years Marzocchi's were suddenly pants, loads of reports from people having problems with them or snapping. What's the situation with them now? Been eying up some 150mm zocchis
Swet collection. Should I consider myself Marz Factory rider - been rocking them since 1995 - first,crappy elastomer Zokes, 1996 - DH 3 tuned with spring, Z3Qr20 in 2000, DJ 3 in 2004, Z1 AllMnt in 2008, and 66RC (NOS from 2007) for 2 years. I somehow missed the bad times, and been confident with Mraz products, apart from the crappy Zokes.
Wow... brings back memories....I had a Marz Zokes back in the day in 1995. Up until then, the Zokes were the best suspension fork I'd ever had. I'd previously used Tange Shock Blades with something like a whopping 1.5" of travel until that bike got stolen.... and then after that, I had a worse than crap Ballistic fork which bottomed out when you got on the bike.
I soon ditched the Ballistic for the Zokes and they worked super for the day and it was great fun undoing the fork legs and re-arranging the elastomer stack every which way..... I got rid of the fork for an RST Mozo Pro when the elastomers had squished their last. Unfortunately in 1996 spare parts were rare and certainly finding replacement elastomers for Zokes where I live was mission impossible.
In this day and age though you can find almost anything you want on the internet. Don't you just love elastomers?
Still got my Z1 CR and Z1 freeride. But now I need a new pair, please revive the 44 RC3 ti... I beg you. or 55 RC3 ti with a way to drop the travel 20mm Oh and don't forget to release them in 1 1/8th steerer option for all of us with custom bad ass hardcore hard tales. Many thanks
I know you're after the RC3 ti but have you seen the new 2013 Marzocchi 55CR? It looks sweeeeet!!!!!!!!! - and it can be lowered from 170 - 150mm via an internal spacer.....If only I could find something.....anything(?!) about these online. There's no reviews and I've not seen any out on the trails yet but dear god I want some for my Cannondale Prophet!!!!
@ mastadon - I need to know how to do that, if it can be done I'm buying... help! everyone says it can't! oh and yes i have read the bit about compressing the fork, then pressing the preload valve to release the air creating negative pre load and their by reducing the travel. @ ama86 - yes I've seen them and they do look sweet, though i really don't want air... but... if i cant get a RC3 ti i might
55CR was looking real sweet until I saw there's no taper option.... WHY? Dumb having a 1.5 or taper HT then tossing all the benefits aside mounting a 1.125 straight......
Ahhh fair enough. OldSKoolAK - yeah, I wondered about that too? Seeing as they've downsized their product range massively this year (compared to last), I reckon that maybe they're trying to offer a "one size fits all" fork solution in the 55CR in order that they are able to cater to the widest possible market.....
In anycase though, I reckon it should be plenty stiff enough at 35mm - more so than my beloved aging Pike anyway - so unless I hear any horror stories about the 55CR, I reckon I'll be buying one soon
I just talked to Marzocchi North Vancouver about how they did the lowering and they said it is either a spacer or a small negative spring that they install. Very simple and has no effect on the damping. I am sure if you asked your countries Marzocchi Distributor they could help you out...
Note to Marzocchi: Please go back making forks like you used to... Reliable forks made in Italy that actually have LOTS OF OIL in them, and coil springs. Heavy, durable, buttery smooth forks that are truly "Bomber". NO ONE is making a fork like that anymore! Everything out there today is overpriced garbage that has to be serviced every five minutes.
They have the new 888 evo, and they can be custom tuned in your shed too, I redone the shim stack in mine 3 years ago, just put in a ti spring there now and topped up oil. That's it in 3 years of hard riding, with 4 weeks shuttling in the alps too... Might strip and rebuild with new seals after 4 years next spring but then if they arent weeping might just change the oil and keep going...
I would have to agree about some of the tech info being wrong but love to see the evolution through photo's. I started out on old mag 20's, 21's, Manitous, RST Mozo Pro W's, and anyone remember Halson inverted forks? They worked well for the time. Then I bought a set of Z1's and I have been on Marzocchi's from then on. I hear that they are not doing the 66 series any more. What will they replace them with? The 55's are sweet but if someone like myself would like something with a little more beef to it in a single crown fork they need to fill the void. Cool pic's PB.
I ride monster t and I my opinion is the best fork ever produce. Super strong super plush super tyre clearance easy to service and u can turn like with single crown! You say is to havy but you wrong is not the forks folt... just you are not strong enough! ! Buttom line is: this is only bike part I ever bout and last more then 2 years!!!
Well, never had Marcocchi (just Answer Manitou Comp (I guess) on my Giant Terrago, and then Judy XC with Speed Springs on my Giant ATX but always was impressed with Marcocchi Z1! It looked so beefy and was so plush! Dream of many
i was too until the check and glide rings on the rebound valve blew a couple of months ago. since i've cut open the rebound cart, i might put it together later but lowered for my hardtail. the anodising has visibly worn near the seals (no scratches but you can see it's gotten so thin the metal under it reflects on sun) but the chassis is still so smooth and mint, these things were made to last
i had an XC51 back in the day, a Z3 (80mm) after that, then a 1999 Z1 (120mm), then an 01 JR. T, an 02 dirtjumper(120mm), then a 03 Z1 FR ECC, then an 05 drop off triple, after 15 years of Marzo loyalty I bought a 2010 a Lyrik It was abour time Rock Shox made a fork that was as good a Marzo! I will probably buy another marzo someday, but it wont be for a while.
I still have a pair of original Bomber Z1's with the dual disk mounts, got them off one of the old team Animal/giant riders (sprung video 1, I think) (cant remember who exactly) only been serviced a handful of times and still like butter. Now hanging in my garage as a little bit of MTB history!
Now I have some 888's on my DH bike and they are so so so good! Thank you Marzocchi for your lovely forks.
They forgot one of the two most influential forks they ever made, the Z1 Drop Off. Created long travel single crown forks of today. Could be responsible for all of trail biking single handed.
I had the first shivers and loved them, bit flexy but, had hainebrink bat fastard 8" upside down forks before them and shivers where soo much better.
Also had the standard version of the monster t's with 8" soo buttery and stiff if they only where lighter but by far one of the beat forks ever.
Have 2010 888 evo2 now with custom tuned shim stack and a ti spring. Best of both combination with the stiffer stancions and the slippy black coating..
Have to laugh at all this arm pump rubbish, I sail down morzine about 15 times in a day with no arm pump.... sofa style
Sydor didn't win a silver in the 2004 Olympics. Premont did! I come from the prairies and there was a kid in town who had an A-line with a Super Monster. It looked hilarious. We laughed at how absolutely unnecessary it was for what we were doing...
Shivers are flexy in the parking lot. I still run Shivers. These forks track better than any other fork I have tried. Huge volumes of oil and exelent small bump sensitivity make these forks track like a bike on rails. Honestly I think most people confuse very plush forks with the feeling of flex! The DVO Emerald fork will be the new replacement for the Shiver. Will it have the same small bump plushness and still be able to handle big hits? Well see.
The Start Fork was my first fork because it was cheaper than the rock shox. It was pretty bad and really weak, I broke the arch multiple times. My next rock shox mag21 was not any stronger but I got an aftermarket Kooka arch that made it decent..
I still think the Z1 BAM is the greatest fork of all time and way ahead of its time. open oil bath, 130mm travel, 20mm thru. We are still rocking this style today for trail, all mtn, enduro, whatever the F you wanna call mtn biking. I still remember the local bike shop in fremont california in 1999 had a sign in their shop as to why they like the Z1 BAM: Function over form. Theyre still fighting that good fight today.
Z.1 came from the boys at Marzocchi USA. This article is such a smoke screen and the editors should get to the real truth behind what made Marzocchi great and it wasnt the Italians!
Z1, 888, 66rc2x ahh those were the days my friend when it just worked and lasted now Ive been through 5 forks in 2 years, those Zocchi 3 lasted the ages and the dampening was right on, no midstroke divey shit like ya get today, apart from dumping std fluid after break in period never serviced any of those forks again, still ran like butta, now its every two fricken months or feel they like shite! Would have loved the upside down carbon single crown dam even now it looks sexy, hope DVO pulls one through, Ill be in!
Still use the 08 66 from time to time, very versitile (in some ways better than my F40) the z1 and the wedge were the most rebuildable, adaptable, products for cycling I had ever seen. Sold the Wedge for a chunk of change over 2 years ago and still miss it.
Gonna have an espresso in salute to the "M" -double shot long, no milk 3 sugars, please.
Made in Italy, these were quality forks. They still work like the day I bought' em buttery smooth. Not like the made in taiwan crap they're putting out nowadays... They don't make' em like they used to... www.pinkbike.com/photo/6530387
I was the UK mechanic and warranty for marzocchi uk back in 1996-1998 and remember these forks well, I serviced bloody hundreds of xc51, xc700, bomber z1, my own z2 superflys. Spring converted, just serviced, still going well
Warner’s Polished ATX 990 with Z1 Bombers was my unicorn at 16-17 years old. The frame was meh but paired with those big orange cannons up front it looked the nuts. Could never afford bombers though, by the time I could Fox had appeared and the rest was history.
All those cool fork projects were from Marzocchi USA. It's obvious they are trying to make it sound like Marzocchi Italy was more important than it was. Marzocchi USA is gone and so are the important people who gave soul to the company. It is also obvious that they are trying to pump the company up in order to sell it. No one in Italy rides a bike, how can they ever make good projects again? No fricken way!
I wish I had a Z1 with the CNC'd bolt-on arch mounted on my livingroom wall. Unfortunately mine was stolen along with one of my favourite bikes 10 years ago.
I just serviced my 2003 bomber DJ1 QR20 fork, and also the marzocchi 20mm hub. this is just an awesome fork. Really heavy for such a short travel fork, but I don't wanna change it for another.
Could some one please let me know who to talk too or a creditable web link that explains how to lower a pair of 55 RC3 EVO V2 ti would this void warranty? many thanks
2006 888R still rocking today. Just some oil changes, seals and springs they are amazing. I am now though going to upgrade to the Fox 40 RC2 kashima coated in black. Marzzochi you have done very well. Thank you all.
I have a 55 on my 4X bike and had it rebuild 3 times and tried the open bath. It still sucks big time and no one I know could ever get it to work properly.
I still have a Bomber Z1 BAM, 100 mm of course travel. So much for the time!
She works so good that i use it on the hardest position on my MONTY MOTION 475 - YEAR 1996
Why nobody has said anything about the Mr.T 100mm travel, 20mm hub, triple crown.. i'm looking for one, i need one! let me know if willing to sell me one
Still got my 2004 Super T Pro mounted in the garage. Italy made for real... Also just picked up a 2011 66 with an Avalanche cartridge kit! Screw the taiwan Fac.
i have had marzocchi's over the years, xc600, z1 bam 1997, shiver dc, shiver sc (still have a set) tried the new Ti 888's they were epic, alot plusher than my Fox 40's.
Been running some sort of Marz fork since my first real bike which had Triple drop offs....now running a Bomber AM. bomb proof forks....even though they are a little heavy.
Got the history screwed up RIGHT from the beginning... way to go Matt.
Yes the first fork was the STAR, and it sucked.... terrible reviews by every magazine that got to test one. That effort was followed by the XC-100, XC-200 and XC-300 models for the 1992 model year. The "XC-51" was a discount model that didn't appear until the 1994 model year having replaced the XC-50 which came in 1993 which itself replaced the XC-100. The XC-200 was followed by the XC-150 in 1993 and the XC-300 by the XC-400 in 1993. In 1994 came the XC-51 and the XC-500 and a version in between them made for Giant bicycles was called the EGS. In 1995 we got the XC-600, the XCR and the 3" travel DH3 model as well as the EGS and a new elastomer-only model called the Zokes. 1996 brought us the XC-700, the DH3 again, the Zokes 2, and IF you were a lucky racer to be sponsored at the time by Marzocchi, the summer 1996 debut of the Bomber Z1. The first one in Canada went to quebec DH racer Sebastien Guite, who still owns it. Among other things it introduced was dual-disc mounts on the lower legs, for the rare Formula hydraulic double-disc front brake.
I opened them up to have a look inside them and everything looked fine.
Anyway the person who bought them got a bargain. I met him and he thought they were mint, but obviously they had a few scuffs on the stickers. I mean they were 9 effin years old at the time what did he expect. He haggled me down in price. A little too low but I let them go. I should have said no and got more for them. I didn't think he was a rider anyway. Just buy and sell on bloke. Live and learn I suppose.
i still remember buying extra brake arches to put on the outside, so the brakes would be sandwiched in between the external aftermarket arch and frame/fork arch.
I know several people who have done similar.
And about weight: my shiver weights about 3,8-3,9kg, almost the same as 888 rc3 2008, not as heavy as most people think
www.pinkbike.com/u/zalgrath/album/NW-Cup-2013
Had a 1997 red Z2 and a Z1 dropoff from 1999 110 or 130mm of travel. Super easy to service and super smooth travel!
Actually saw a super monster twice once in a bike shop (picked it up and it weighed a ton) and also on this SICK bike www.pinkbike.com/photo/7053260
Unfortunately only managed to have a ride on the road as the guy was packing up to leave! Wished I'd seen him before so I could have tested the bike at the top of Deux Alpes bikepark!
i love my fork, just changed my oil today. but it keeps leaking from the top. anyone knows where i can find o-rings for this ?
Got the history screwed up RIGHT from the beginning... way to go Matt. Yes the first fork was the STAR, and it sucked.... terrible reviews by every magazine that got to test one. That effort was followed by the XC-100, XC-200 and XC-300 models for the 1992 model year. The "XC-51" was a discount model that didn't appear until the 1994 model year having replaced the XC-50 which came in 1993 which itself replaced the XC-100. The XC-200 was followed by the XC-150 in 1993 and the XC-300 by the XC-400 in 1993. In 1994 came the XC-51 and the XC-500 and a version in between them made for Giant bicycles was called the EGS. In 1995 we got the XC-600, the XCR and the 3" travel DH3 model as well as the EGS and a new elastomer-only model called the Zokes. 1996 brought us the XC-700, the DH3 again, the Zokes 2, and IF you were a lucky racer to be sponsored at the time by Marzocchi, the summer 1996 debut of the Bomber Z1. The first one in Canada went to quebec DH racer Sebastien Guite, who still owns it. Among other things it introduced was dual-disc mounts on the lower legs, for the rare Formula hydraulic double-disc front brake.
Specialized built there carbon fibre future shock FSX fork (based on a rockshox mag 21) 7years earlier. then in 96 they built there second carbon fibre fork, the Judy FSX (based on the rockshox judy)
I stopped reading much past that, but I had the 2002 Shiver as shown above, and it was the most flexy (torsionally) fork ever, but it was the fantastic plushness rather than the looks that appealed to most people.
If you don't believe me check it out on the decals on the fork, aswell on Marzocchi's website: www.marzocchi.com/template/detailProdotti.asp?idC=1592&IdFolder=113&idMY=2456&IdOggetto=7706
So how come, after all these years and 'advancements', my Fox 32s get stanchion rub in fewer than 30 hours? And now Fox tells me I have to service them every 20 hours?
Those Z1s were so advanced for their time, when they first came out many riders at the Australian DH Nationals had ditched their 'DH' forks for them.
crooked....realll crooked.
A thousand dollar plus fork shouldn't need a strip down and after market parts to make it work properly from new, it just shouldn't, but Fox spend a lot on advertising and too many believe in it.
.
Rockshox and Manitou are much better, mainly because they have a good attitude when customers get a bad/oil free fork, but they still have this same problem of shipping forks with not enough oil in the lowers (and RS wipers are naff next to Enduros too). If they specced proper separate wiper and oil seals a lot of these problems would go away.
Reducing the life-blood of a fork to save weight is surely counterproductive. I think it has become a war of one-upmanship by the big companies "Our forks weighs 40gms less than their fork.", though I guess we, the consumers, are to blame - weight is much easier to measure than performance. I mean, just check that Giant Glory thread where dudes are getting their bike's weight down by running rotors that are so skeletal there is hardly any metal at all. Who in their right mind would sacrifice stopping power for a few grams? Not Steve Peat (who ran the cable version of the Avid rotor as it had more metal) and certainly not Count Rumford.
My Risse Champs took 400ml of 5wt... in EACH LEG!
It is as plush as smooth as it ever was. All I can say is on this fork, they got it right, to bad they broke
The mode. Amazing fork.
Marz is making there comeback and has been for a few years.
And then my next fork was a Z1. Wow, what a difference.
cully claimed he had to time between the chair lifts to do the jump as well , for fear of hitting his head on the chairlift, I personally cant remember if it was that low been a long time, but the table top was over the railing on the bridge I had done some runs and was splitting Manitou 2 bumpers all day, from the G out on the bridge and had a bad set up to be jumping, so it was sick no matter what, .
as well rocky mountain riders andy tout and bruce spicer were sponsored by a for company from Italy called "poali " not sure of the exact spelling but they had carbon fiber legs in about 93-94' not sure if that was before they used the scott unishocks that had the carbon legs or after.
Wasn't there an ironhorse poster with dave cullinan tabletop at bromont?
Or was it at mbaction issue? Can't recall it. Great dawning days for dh. Nothing was cooler than riding your backyard trail pretending it was that insane cap da il!!
oh yeah the frame was called the A frame , and had these 17" chain stays as well,
oh shit that bike also had a suspension seat post from a company in uk , it is a 3 letter name I think but cant remember, they marketed it as a full suspension, because it has the the USE post , with a shim stock
Great article though, more like this please.
I've owned several Marzocchis since my Z1 QR20 that came stock on a Rocky Mountain Reaper. I still have a 66RC2X and a Z2 Bomber in use. Great forks - still going strong with regular maintenance.
I think Marz is blowing it by ignoring the hard core trail rider market. Where is the successor to the Z1?
I wish I could say my next forks were going to be Marzocchi forks, but having just grabbed a Kona Taro, it looks like I'll be converting to Rock Shox. No matter how that goes, I'll always have a special place in my heart for Marzocchi and the many years of great forks they have given me!
I'm buying a new fork again, I was looking at various 55 models, but after checking the weigts I'll just have to buy my third Fox...
(Also, the 55RC3Ti has coils, so you need to compare it to the Vanilla, not the Float/TALAS.)
Btw I had two Fox Vanillas so far (one for a year, another one for a few months) and only thing I ever did to them was that I sprayed the stanchions with TF2 teflon spray once in a week.
After 2007 they started making them in taiwan cost cutting and cheaper labor made for some crappy forks....
www.pinkbike.com/photo/7578043
www.pinkbike.com/photo/5714256
www.pinkbike.com/photo/5714255
Should I consider myself Marz Factory rider - been rocking them since 1995 - first,crappy elastomer Zokes, 1996 - DH 3 tuned with spring, Z3Qr20 in 2000, DJ 3 in 2004, Z1 AllMnt in 2008, and 66RC (NOS from 2007) for 2 years.
I somehow missed the bad times, and been confident with Mraz products, apart from the crappy Zokes.
I soon ditched the Ballistic for the Zokes and they worked super for the day and it was great fun undoing the fork legs and re-arranging the elastomer stack every which way..... I got rid of the fork for an RST Mozo Pro when the elastomers had squished their last. Unfortunately in 1996 spare parts were rare and certainly finding replacement elastomers for Zokes where I live was mission impossible.
In this day and age though you can find almost anything you want on the internet.
Don't you just love elastomers?
the crown cracked and the stanchions come up, so my father bolt both stanchions to the crown xD
Nice though!
Oh and don't forget to release them in 1 1/8th steerer option for all of us with custom bad ass hardcore hard tales.
Many thanks
@ ama86 - yes I've seen them and they do look sweet, though i really don't want air... but... if i cant get a RC3 ti i might
In anycase though, I reckon it should be plenty stiff enough at 35mm - more so than my beloved aging Pike anyway - so unless I hear any horror stories about the 55CR, I reckon I'll be buying one soon
this is only bike part I ever bout and last more then 2 years!!!
Now I have some 888's on my DH bike and they are so so so good! Thank you Marzocchi for your lovely forks.
Also had the standard version of the monster t's with 8"
soo buttery and stiff if they only where lighter but by far one of the beat forks ever.
Have 2010 888 evo2 now with custom tuned shim stack and a ti spring. Best of both combination with the stiffer stancions and the slippy black coating..
Have to laugh at all this arm pump rubbish, I sail down morzine about 15 times in a day with no arm pump.... sofa style
Honestly I think most people confuse very plush forks with the feeling of flex!
The DVO Emerald fork will be the new replacement for the Shiver. Will it have the same small bump plushness and still be able to handle big hits? Well see.
01 wedge 20mm
07 66 ATA
08 66 rc2
08 Rocco WC
09 888rc2
Still use the 08 66 from time to time, very versitile (in some ways better than my F40)
the z1 and the wedge were the most rebuildable, adaptable, products for cycling I had ever seen.
Sold the Wedge for a chunk of change over 2 years ago and still miss it.
Gonna have an espresso in salute to the "M"
-double shot long, no milk 3 sugars, please.
pinnit
Not like the made in taiwan crap they're putting out nowadays... They don't make' em like they used to...
www.pinkbike.com/photo/6530387
www.pinkbike.com/photo/9549904
www.pinkbike.com/photo/9525600
www.pinkbike.com/photo/9520310
would this void warranty?
many thanks
i'm looking for one, i need one! let me know if willing to sell me one
tried the new Ti 888's they were epic, alot plusher than my Fox 40's.
Yes the first fork was the STAR, and it sucked.... terrible reviews by every magazine that got to test one. That effort was followed by the XC-100, XC-200 and XC-300 models for the 1992 model year. The "XC-51" was a discount model that didn't appear until the 1994 model year having replaced the XC-50 which came in 1993 which itself replaced the XC-100. The XC-200 was followed by the XC-150 in 1993 and the XC-300 by the XC-400 in 1993. In 1994 came the XC-51 and the XC-500 and a version in between them made for Giant bicycles was called the EGS. In 1995 we got the XC-600, the XCR and the 3" travel DH3 model as well as the EGS and a new elastomer-only model called the Zokes. 1996 brought us the XC-700, the DH3 again, the Zokes 2, and IF you were a lucky racer to be sponsored at the time by Marzocchi, the summer 1996 debut of the Bomber Z1. The first one in Canada went to quebec DH racer Sebastien Guite, who still owns it. Among other things it introduced was dual-disc mounts on the lower legs, for the rare Formula hydraulic double-disc front brake.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/5741904
^^*)
P.D: I need a RAC, NOW !!