Depending on when you started mountain biking, there's a good chance that the Marzocchi name still brings back memories of open bath, coil-sprung forks that were dead simple to set up and service. When the original Z1 came out in 1997 it helped fuel the fire of the freeride movement, and the years that followed saw the release of classics like the Monster T, Junior T, and then the 888 and 66.
Marzocchi returned the Z1 to their lineup in 2018, but it was air-sprung, and despite its excellent performance, fans were still left clamoring for a coil-sprung option. Well, the wait is over, and the coil-sprung Z1 is back. The $749 USD fork is nearly identical to the
air-sprung Z1 – it still uses a Grip damper for compression and rebound adjustments – except that now there's a coil spring sitting inside the left stanchion, with a dial on the top to adjust preload.
Z1 Coil Details• Intended use: all-mountain / enduro
• Coil-sprung
• Grip damper
• Wheel size: 29" or 27.5" options
• Adjustments: compression, rebound, preload
• Travel: 150mm (29 only), 160, 170, 180mm (27.5 only)
• Offsets: 37mm (27.5"), 44, 51mm (29")
• 36mm stanchions
• Weight: 2,552 grams (29")
• Price: $749 USD / Conversion kit: $175 USD
• www.marzocchi.com Four different coil spring weights are available, which should accommodate riders between 120 – 250 pounds. Additional springs are priced at $45. Perhaps even better is the fact that it's possible to convert an air-sprung Z1 or Fox 36 Rhythm fork to coil for just $175 USD. At the moment, those are the only forks that can be converted to coil - the kit isn't compatible with any other series of Fox 36 forks, such as Factory, Performance Elite, or Performance, at least for now.
The 29” Z1 can be configured to have 150, 160, or 170 millimeters of travel, and the 27.5” version can be set at either 160, 170, or 180 millimeters. Not a fan of the flashy red lowers? There's also a black version available.
Chassis Details The chassis of the Z1 Coil is the same as the air-sprung version, with 36mm stanchions constructed from 6000-series aluminum. A Grip cartridge damper, which uses a spring-backed internal floating piston to compensate for the displaced oil as the fork is compressed resides in the right leg. Low-speed compression is adjusted by rotating the big gold dial on the top of that leg, while rebound is adjusted via the red knob that's hidden under a black cap at the bottom of the right leg.
It's on the spring side where things are a little different than the air-sprung model. The top cap has a dial that's used for preload adjustment, which is used to adjust the amount of sag. Remember, just like on a coil shock, preload doesn't affect the spring rate or curve. In other words, if you're reaching the end of the travel too quickly, adding more preload isn't the answer. On that topic, Marzocchi designed the coil spring unit to have built-in bottom-out resistance thanks to the air and oil that's trapped in the lower leg. The amount of ramp-up isn't adjustable, but the design should help give the fork a slightly less linear curve as it nears the end of its travel.
Looking for even more adjustability? One potential option would be to install a Fox Grip 2 damper. At around $300 it's not a cheap upgrade, but it does add the ability to adjust high-speed compression and rebound.
Marzocchi's quick-release thru-axle holds the wheel on, although, as I mentioned in the original Z1 review, I wish a bolt-on axle was the stock configuration. A bolt-on axle may be ever-so-slightly less convenient, but they're also cleaner looking and there aren't any moving parts to deal with.
The 29” version of the Z1 coil can be set at either 150, 160, or 170mm, and the best part is there's no need to buy any additional parts to make a change. If you're comfortable doing a lower leg service on a fork, the procedure should take less than 30 minutes from start to finish. Once the lower legs are off and the C-clip at the bottom of the stanchion is removed, the spring unit slides out. Adding a spacer below the shelf that the main spring rests on reduces the travel, and putting one above the main spring increases the travel.
Over the course of the last few months I've had the Z1 in all three travel configurations – it spent time at 150mm on a Nukeproof Reactor, at 160mm on a Norco Sight, and at 170mm on a Banshee Titan.
Ride ImpressionsMarzocchi's spring rate charts put me on a blue / medium spring for the 160 and 170mm configurations, but I ended up preferring the green / firm spring for all setups - the blue spring was too soft for my liking. Bumping up a spring rate helped ensure there was still travel left over for the really big hits, and more of my time was spent in the middle of the stroke.
On the air-sprung Z1, I ran the compression lever about 1/8 of the way through its range, while on the coil Z1 I ended up running the lever in the midpoint of the range. That additional low-speed compression helped give me the ride height I was looking for and helped prevent the fork from diving too deep into its travel. There aren't any detents in that compression lever, which means riders might want to make a mark on the crown with a paint pen to denote their preferred position. That'll make it easier to get back to that spot quickly if the lever gets bumped, or rotated to add even more compression for a long climb.
The air-sprung Z1 isn't exactly lacking when it comes to its overall trail feel - when I reviewed it last year I wrote, “I have zero complaints in regards to stiction... There's minimal breakaway force required to get things moving, and small bumps were dispatched without any issues.” Those words still hold true, but going the coil route takes the level of small bump sensitivity to the next level. The coil Z1's smoothness is very impressive, and it delivers a welcome amount of additional traction when it comes to dealing with wet, slippery, and off-camber sections of trail.
Of course, if your trails tend to be smoother and flowier the Z1 Coil isn't going to deliver much of a performance difference compared to the air-sprung version – it's on rougher sections of trail where the benefits of a coil spring really stand out. Hard, fast and repeated hits melted away nicely, which helped keep my hands and forearms happy on long, sustained descents. My ears were kept happy too - the plastic sleeves that surround the Z1's spring worked very well, and I didn't encounter any annoying knocking or rattling.
On bigger hits, the end-stroke ramp up is much less abrupt than what an air fork full of spacers feels like. I used the full amount of travel every once in a while, usually on larger drops to not-that-steep landings, but overall the ramp-up is very smooth, just enough to keep the fork from going through all of its travel too quickly.
Are there any downsides to the Z1 Coil? Well, there's that 2,500 gram weight to consider, which is around a pound more than an air-sprung 36 or a RockShox Lyrik, or approximately 340 grams more than the air-sprung Z1. There's also the fact that it's not really possible to fine-tune a coil shock in the same way you would with air, which means some riders could potentially end up between spring rates and need to settle on a slightly stiffer or softer setup than they'd typically run.
Pros
+ Extremely easy to set up and adjust
+ No extra parts needed to adjust travel
+ Super smooth & supple in rough terrain
Cons
- Not for gram-counters
- Only four spring weights
- Some riders may want more adjustments
Pinkbike's Take | The new Z1 Coil hits the mark, delivering tons of traction and comfort at an attractive price. The coil conversion kit is also a welcome option, giving riders the ability to change the ride feel of their current Z1 or Fox 36 Rhythm without breaking the bank.— Mike Kazimer |
It’s good, really good. This looks like a more polished product and I like the preload adjustment but the hydraulic bottom out control on the smashpot is quite simply awesome. It’s supple, quiet and confidence inspiring. It’s heavy AF but you don’t notice it at all.
The feeling of nostalgia with this fork is high with the Z1, what’s old as new Like how I used to Tie an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em.
So which would you rather have?
Ultra stiff with never creaky crown or slightly better small bump sensitivity.
I ran the standard z1 back to back with a factory 36. Weight didn’t bug me but I did notice the added stiffness. This just adds the weight of the spring set up to the z1. My remedy still sub 30 with this fork on it.
I get your point on weight, but the point of this fork isn’t that it’s heavy, it’s that it’s got a coil spring in it. The one with no coil spring is 300g lighter, because the coil spring weighs 300g. Therefore the target customer for this fork is someone who is willing to take a weight penalty for the smoothness and low maintenance of a coil spring.
My guess is, people who care about weight will buy a Pike. People who want a reasonably cheap coil fork have one option (because the ACS 3 and the Smashpot are not cheap conversions).
I like the idea though for people who like air. Mojo had a fox 36 dual crown upgrade kit, I don’t know if it ever came out. There is the Bartlett which I have never seen in real life.
It raised the question, if a suspension company wanted to design an enduro single crown from scratch with legs that could only extend to 180mm, super light top crown, tapered to fook upper sections of the legs, and a minimal lower crown, perhaps even a steerer tubeless design, what would that weigh? Surely two crowns could weight the same as a big fat single crown. The weight of the taller stanchions could be offset by removing the steerer tube. Is 2kg theoretically possible?
I'd argue that both forks are in fact targeting similar audiences. I'm not necessarily saying one is better, just that their weight and intended use are very similar bearing in mind you can run 2020 Boxxers at 180mm travel (and presumably less).
The Mezzer yes, it is a fork I've looked at buying. They look sweet and I love the Tomac era graphics.
Mezzer is great. Issues seem to be sirted out. Mine woried fine from the Beginning.
Other way: get a used cheap yari, an awk/runt dual positive air chamber cartridge and an avalanche or M-Suspensiontech tuning cartridge. Great supportive, sejsitive forks with smooth and reliable damping. Better than thos le stock lyriks and so on.
Or a Mezzer and if something does not fut, make a small shimstack tune and you are done
How are you going to say they’re reselling their best product and knock them for that... which they’re not. Then say they’re rebadging Fox products and knock them for that? Pick one. At least then you wouldn’t sound like every other idiot beating this horse.
as far as i know the topaz is based on the suntour, but with DVO's better product support. maybe the monarch is based on the suntour as well?
@xeren: No it's the DVO that's a Monarch Plus. SR Suntour ones are different. You can rebuild it at home.
If they are the same shock as you claim, I guess it would mean DVO copied the Monarch plus and had SR Suntour manufacture it with a bladder instead of an IFP.
This would raise two questions. First, why would they copy a shock that was shit? Second, why didn't SRAM sue them for copying?
I'm not saying you're wrong, just that I find it hard to believe and also that this is the first time I've heard that claim.
Like I say, you could be right. I don't know for sure.
I mean they are interchangeable. I could install a bladder reservoir from a DVO topaz on a monarch plus. I could take a M+ RT3 metering rod and put it straight into a Topaz.
What is the part that you don't get?
Read this:
tech.dvosuspension.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/topaz_fullservicev2.pdf
Go to step 34
Then this:
www.servicearchive.sram.com/sites/default/files/techdocs/2017_rockshox_spc_rev_b.pdf
Page 126.
Take the bladder out of the equation.
Same parts.
Okay man, i agree with you that they indeed might be the same in construction. This does not change the fact that the one outperforms the other.
I've not broken down all three, but I've heard from those that have that there are striking similarities between the Monarch, TriAir, and Topaz. DVO is pretty open that they use SR Suntour for manufacturing and I know SR Suntour whitelabels manufacturing for other brands. It seems likely that they manufacture the Monarch, as well, which may explain the similarities.
Regardless, I'd rather have the Topaz simply because I can get DVO on the phone. As an individual, I can't interact directly with SRAM, which is frustrating. I've had DVO products before and, while I wasn't a huge fan of the Topaz (it's overdamped), their forks are real easy to work on and felt better than equiv. RS/Fox products.
There are a few overlapping products that we use between the 2 brands but the DVO product range is positioned as a more up market product with a higher cosmetic fit and finish. DVO also uses their tried and true bladder system where as SR SUNTOUR utilizes a more user friendly IFP for do it yourself yearly maintenance. Both systems are well proven and should be chosen based on user preferences.
DVO is the only brand we manufacture in our facilities.
Cheers.
Right on, good to know. For some reason, I thought you did manufacturing for others. Thanks for the info.
But s the piston design the same, too. One can see easily that the outer structure of both shocks is almost identical,but is with the comoression and main piston design?
but
Marzocchi was Marzocchi when there was a bunch of Italians who had innovative and creative ideas and did things with the ability of Italian artisans
Having said all of this I don't want to spread hate, I am super stoked about this from both a brand perspective and a product concept...let alone the fact that I am Italian and love to see Marzocchi do well!
Did Fox save Marzocchi? I was under the impression they bought the name and the designs, not the employees or facilities. If I’m right about that, Fox did not save marzocchi. Rather, they allowed the people who owned marzocchi to get out with money in their pockets, as opposed to getting out broke as beggars. I doubt the people of marzocchi, and by that I mean the employees, would have seen any of that money. Maybe a bit I guess if they got redundancy. They still had to find new jobs though.
- Marzocchi is best when you put AVA cartridge into it
- did you try Ava cartridge in Fox or RS?
- No, but, Marzocchi...
- Oh... so basically we are suddenly comparing women with breasts implants with women without them?
Now I'm not sure if this is rumor or not, but did Marzocchi's DBC damper design evolve into Fox's Grip2 damper?
Buying a plot with a house on it doesn’t cost much more than a plot without one
Still, SRAM got narrow wide from tractors and they still have a patent on it...
I just flipped back and forth between those 3 systems multiple times over the last 6 months. The Grip1 on my Z1 rips. The Grip2 on my 36 is freaking amazing. RC2... was very happy with it until Grip2 came around.
The only positive thing about the Fit4 is folks like Vorsprung can make money selling kits to make it functional.
As for RS, their dampers are crap, you couldn’t pay me to ride one.
Waki, you need to change your name to Chuck.
I'm with nurseben though. I did like my G1 Z1 a lot.
I think there is a market for a fork: not the lightest, not the smoothest, not the most adjustable, but the one that you service once in a blue moon, and the full service comprises popping the top off, flushing out the oil and topping 'er back up
One where the damping cartridge takes the oil out the bath in the leg on the downstroke, but on the rebound sprays it out the top of the cartridge, coating the internals in lube and coolant. couple of O rings to look after at most.
If i could get the old 2004 MX comps, in 36mm with 150mm travel, for a 29er, i would be all over it.
If the manual says 125 hours, it means you might service it once in the next five years but after you do it you’ll wish you didn’t bother because it feels exactly the same after the service.
Maybe we could get progressive coil with sprindex system on the "light" side of the coil, either on the fork and the shock...
We all aim for perfection but there comes a point where the law of diminishing returns sets the level for us. I know you also buy a lot of second hand stuff. Me too. In real terms, there isn't a lot of difference between a straight coil fork and something else with all the bells and whistles. It's the rider that makes the difference, and I'm a shit hot rider. I would beat most people on a Peugeot Caribes.
Still, I liked that fork. It was on the bike that got me back into mountain biking after ten years away.
Would be funny if Rockshox made a fork with "factory orange" lowers just to spite Fox though
First world problems,
Mx
Do you also have a Spitfire V3 in for a review?
It’s got an air spring to supplement the coil allowing added ramp up and increased spring rate. Will that be the next iteration? They also weigh 2.7kg !
What rings u got
I agree with Kazimers main points, but I can add that it jumps and pulls controlled air much more naturally and easily then the airs sus. equivalent. Technique as normal, a little before take-off point, pre-compress and then stand up/pull up on take off. The coil loads and unloads in a way that gives a smooth controlled take-off. As Kaz wrote, landings are also more progressive, which aids control. Coil rear shocks also interact better.
Going back to air, should you wish to, may not be an option - spring rub may score the inside of your stanchion, so the the piston may not seal again. The spring is both isolated and guided to minimise stanchion knock and rub, however there are no guarantees an air spring will seal again after riding with a spring installed. We'd be pretty surprised if anyone actually wanted to do this after riding the Smashpot though."
Yeah, I appreciate a good bottom out damper - I actually juuust built a Marz Z1 with Avalanche damper and coil hybrid spring (so retains the factory air spring for progression tuning with low pressures while using the coil to support the top/mid stroke).
And a negative coil spring acts just like a negative air spring without any possible adjustments... You're confusing negative coil spring + positive air spring with positive coil spring + small air cartridge causing the end of the stroke to ramp up.
Plus, in the latter case, it can be arguably discussed that the added air cartridge may increase friction due to its seals.
DVO's OTT adjustment allows adjustment of the coil negative spring. generally, the heavier and or more aggressive rider you are, the more OTT you add to add more resistance to the coil negative spring
LOL that's what I thought until I owned a 36 with a bolt-on axle...now it's the number one thing on my list to swap out. Can't wait until I don't have to fumble for my 5mm t-handle allen wrench in the dark at the end of the ride only to have it strip out for the 5th time.
Still, it's difficult for me to see a strong argument for the non-QR axle. Weight savings of a few grams isn't enough to outweigh the need to have a 5mm key at the ready wherever you need to remove your front wheel...which for me is at least twice every ride...then losing that key, multiple times, or breaking/stripping it or the bolts...etc. So much easier to just spin out the QR axle and be done with it.
This was my first build without a QR axle and it will be my last.
Me... I have a wrx and I stuff my bike in the trunk. Still run one. LOL!
Yep.
Top caps and threads could be similar, but there’s a difference with the inner stanchion diameter as far as I know (Rhythm and Marzocchi forks are somehow different. Could be cheaper than Smashpot etc.
Whaaat!
Waaaay too much, thats not a classic price.