From The Top: Marzocchi

Mar 19, 2013 at 2:46
by Julian Coffey  
Andrea Pierantoni

MARZOCCHI

Andrea Pierantoni, sales and marketing director for Tenneco Marzocchi, started working at the Italian suspension brand in 1976. Over his near 37-year tenure, he has seen his share of the guts and the glory behind Marzocchi on both the moto and mountain bike side of things. Much change is afoot for the Italian suspension brand, and Andrea recently left Bologna in northern Italy to spend some time rebuilding and moving Marzocchi’s US operations from Valencia to Long Beach, CA. Lucky for us, he loves Japanese food, and we were able to entice him up to Vancouver for a sit down over sushi.

Why don’t we start with a little background? Can you give us a brief history of Marzocchi the company for those that may not know?

Marzocchi is one of Italy’s oldest suspension companies. It was founded in 1949 by Guglielmo Marzocchi and his brother, Stefano, in the basement of the family’s house in Bologna. Marzocchi is now based in nearby Zola Predosa.

Since the beginning, Marzocchi has seen the world of racing as a key market for its high-quality products. In the early 1950s, companies such as Mondial, Ducati, Moto CM and Maserati all used Marzocchi components. Over the years, Marzocchi has focused on sponsoring racing teams and riders – including such well known pilots as Giacomo Agostini, Joel Robert, Gaston Rahier and Edi Orioli. The Marzocchi teams have successfully competed in all the major categories and disciplines of racing, including motocross, enduro, trial, supermotard, Paris Dakar, speed records and the Tourist Trophy.


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In the early 1980s, Marzocchi became the suspension supplier for Ferrari’s Formula 1 racing cars. In 1989, Marzocchi entered into the growing mountain bike business, offering suspension forks and rear shocks for high-end bikes. In 2008, Marzocchi became part of Tenneco Inc., a U.S.-based company specializing in the production and distribution of ride and emission control components. As a part of Tenneco, Marzocchi was able to overhaul its operations – from the design phase to the assembly line – making the company stronger and more efficient. Today, all of Marzocchi’s forks and rear shocks are developed in-house by an experienced team of engineers, offering customers a complete line of absorbers for all riding styles and frame designs.


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Your father was the first Marzocchi employee in 1949, what was his job exactly? You started working at Marzocchi in 1976 - one could argue that you were essentially born into this role with fork oil running through your veins. Having followed in his footsteps, what was your first job?

In 1949, my father was the first Marzocchi support worker. He was working in the Marzocchi garage when they started to build suspension for Ducati. I started in 1976 as a worker in the factory on the production machines. I worked in production until 1978 and then moved to the engineering department as tooling designer. In 1980 I went to R&D as a product developer, and in 1982 I started the development for Ferrari F1 and all the race suspension. By 1987 I was the engineering department director, and since 1991 I’ve been the sales and marketing director for moto and MTB.

What was the thinking behind getting into the mountain bike suspension game? My impression is that Marzocchi initially thought MTB would be a short-lived endeavour, and that their moto business would continue to be the stronghold. When was the heyday period for Marzocchi MTB suspension, and was there a time when MTB sales eclipsed moto?

It all started in 1989 during the Milano moto show. It wasn’t a very good time for moto, and we began to look for other opportunities. At that time we had a distributor that worked for both moto and MTB, and one Dutch sales agent pushed us to start a MTB business. He showed me a fork and I started to design one during the Milano show. As soon as we were back we started the development of the first forks on the market. Mr. Marzocchi and my father were against this idea because they thought this would be a short-lived business. but I pushed and in the end I convinced them, which was the start of the Marzocchi MTB brand.

Andreu - Where The Trail Ends - Freeride Interview image Photo by Matt Domanski Courtesy Red Bull Content Pool

At a time when the large majority of suspension forks depended on elastomers and primitive dampers (if a damper was used at all), Marzocchi's first Z1 was a radical departure when it debuted in mid-nineties with an open-bath damper and coil springs. Performance was put before weight on the priority scale. Since then we've seen all sorts of damper and spring layouts put into production by various suspension companies, some with more success than others, but many riders still harken back to those early days of gimmick, free ultra-active suspension. Can we look forward to Marzocchi sticking with, and fine tuning their open-bath layout for use in future designs, or should we expect something completely different?

Marzocchi’s power lies in our know-how, and now we also have the car suspension support from Tenneco. This big box of technology can give us the opportunity to transfer technology from one business to the other. The open bath moved from moto to MTB, now the alloy stanchion tube is a big innovation in moto because we transferred the technology from MTB to moto - we are the first company in the world to produce this kind of product, and it’s found on the Ducati Panigale and Hypermotard SP. The future will be electronic, and we are one step ahead because we have already developed a new semi-active suspension with internal valving where the consumer can change the damping from their smartphone or tablet.

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  Sandro Musiani - lead engineer for Marzocchi MTB.


In mid-2008, Marzocchi sold its MTB and moto suspension business to US-based auto aftermarket parts manufacturer Tenneco Inc., a company currently enjoying revenues of over $7 billion annually. Take us through this transition period for Marzocchi, and how it affected not only the product, but also the company as a whole.

Tenneco Inc is a U.S. based company that specializes in producing and distributing ride and emission control components. They also have experience in shock manufacturing and in both semi-active and active suspension systems, as well as advanced electronic suspension systems. As a part of Tenneco, Marzocchi has been able to overhaul its operations – from the design phase to the assembly line – making the company stronger and more efficient.

Since the acquisition, Tenneco has implemented new standards in design, engineering and manufacturing to bring significant improvements in quality, productivity and distribution at Marzocchi. These improvements are helping the reputation of our brand and increasing the confidence of the world’s motorcycle and MTB manufacturers in Marzocchi products. We are showing significant new business and a strong order book going forward into 2013.


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SR Suntour has manufactured many of your high-end suspension forks. How long have they produced Marzocchi product and is this still the case?

We started working with SR Suntour in 2003, all the way through to the 2012 model year. We recently started working with Hodaka as the manufacturer of our front forks in addition to the ROCO rear shock, which they have made since we introduced that product line. The end result is simple - a reliable product with quality performance on the trails.

There has been a ton of speculation and general chatter with regard to the deal that fell through between Tenneco Marzocchi and SR Suntour. Without drowning anyone (including yourself) in legalese, can you give us your version of events?

We don’t want to encourage gossip, so here are the facts: Over the past 6 months we have developed a new assembly line. recent testing shows us that we have a suspension product with significantly better performance than in the past, so all we are waiting for is the final answer from the consumer! We now control all of our suppliers, and have race support service in the EU and are looking to organize this in the USA as well. In addition, we have a new line for model year 2015.

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Ask any rider who used a Marzocchi fork in the early to mid-2000s and you will likely hear how impressed they were with not only how active (read plush) the fork was, but also its long-term reliability. Marzocchi forks were well known to run smooth and trouble-free for longer than the competition at the time. This trend seemed to reverse in later years, with certain Marzocchi forks not being able to equal the dependability of those early models. Can you provide some insight on this?

In the last few years we had some problems with ATA, and it took longer than expected to correct it because it happened during the crisis period and during the acquisition by Tenneco. When Tenneco arrived and found this problem they invested money and time to solve it as fast as possible - it has all been fixed in a very short time, but for the final consumers it has taken too long and we lost a portion of our market share. Tenneco’s investment to support Marzocchi MTB allowed us to recover a big percentage of this lost market share with model year 2012.

Although Marzocchi has been somewhat absent recently as a promoted brand, you are still very popular among Pinkbike users, and after the latest PB suspension poll, your brand still sits squarely in third spot for plan-to-buy forks. To what do you attribute this consumer loyalty?

Our first goal is the final consumer - even during the negative period we never lost sight of how important the final consumer is. I think this is the reason that the market still recognizes us. But also, the consumer recognizes that in Marzocchi there is know-how experience and the capability to produce reliable products.

photo
  Marzocchi daily R&D session.

How does Marzocchi plan to return the brand to full strength? What plans are in place to restore Marzocchi's trustworthy status?

We have finalized a five year business plan that includes marketing and planning strategy for each year, where the goal is to return to and exceed our former position in the suspension market.

Is Marzocchi basically starting its new product line from a clean computer screen moving forward?

We always start from a white paper, but two seconds later it is full because we have too many ideas that our engineers want to develop. Unfortunately, we cannot do everything they have in mind, but we try to come to an agreement on which ideas to use.

Does Marzocchi outsource all of its suspension production? Can you walk us through the steps from idea, to product design, prototype construction, product testing and then final production? How does Marzocchi stay on top of the R&D and manufacturing process?

The policy of Tenneco is to follow the customers in order to reduce the lead time and this is the situation that we have in MTB, but design prototype are made only in Italy because the brain of MTB is here. For testing we use our test riders around the world - USA, Canada, Europe etc...

Lisa Bassi - designer and R amp D
  Lisa Bassi - designer and R&D

Marzocchi has recently shown a computer controlled semi-active suspension fork designed for motorbikes that is able to select a predetermined level of damping for a given impact, thereby not forcing the system to compromise as much as a traditional design. Is this something that we may see applied to Marzocchi's mountain bike suspension in the not so distant future?

As I said before, the future will be in that market and we have worked the last 3 years to develop a semi-active suspension for use in moto and MTB. In this case, we have developed it first in moto because of the higher loads on the valve, which means it will be possible to use it in MTB without the necessity of developing a new one.

While electronically controlled damping is only just recently being explored in the world of mountain bikes (with the exception of the K2/Noleen 'Smart Shock', although it is debatable as to how effective it actually was), many of today's forks feature extremely complicated mechanical internals that the average rider likely finds quite intimidating. With this in mind, I think that it is fair to say that many of those same riders would prefer simpler suspension that is not only easier to understand, but also straightforward when it comes to tuning and performing maintenance. Where on this scale do Marzocchi's future products fit into place?

We have taken this into account - the cartridge is the open bath system with a new valve that allows us to have a new process on the damping evolution. This system is under patent.

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  Simone Bassi - MTB marketing.

What role does tuning currently play in terms of Marzocchi suspension performance? Can we expect to see more emphasis on custom and track specific set-ups on the racing side of things, and how will this affect retail product?

Our power in moto is achieving the correct settings and we are doing the same in MTB. We have introduced a new system where we can get our moto riders riding with the setting that they need according to their frame, off set and weight. We are still working on a system for our retail MTB product because MTB is little bit different than moto. Our intention is to have something similar, but we have to take care to keep the costs down for the final consumer.

Old Marzocchi Forks from over the years.

The Shiver and RAC forks were two attempts by Marzocchi at MTB inverted fork design. The majority of your current moto production forks are inverted, why not continue to produce this design for the mountain bike market?

We know the inverted fork product very well. In the past we tried to produce this fork for MTB with the Shiver and the RAC, but we have found some issues around flexibility and weight. With the experience that we have, I can tell you that today the main problem producing this fork for moto is the weight, as we have to reach a certain level of rigidity. In MTB, the weight will be the key point to solve while maintaining enough rigidity. For example, 70% of our moto production is inverted forks and we produce for several different market segments, but in relation to MTB, there is one moto segment that is very significant - trials.

Motorbike trilas historically has used inverted forks, but the market has changed significantly. Trials riders have realized that the larger part of the fork on the top doesn't help them control the bike as well as a traditional fork design. Of course the weight is also a factor. We have produced several inverted samples to try and drive the market in this direction, last one in 2011, but in the end the moto trials market didn't accept it. We still work to find a solution for the inverted fork but the new fork that we are developing for this trials will be conventional again. I'm not saying someone won't find a way. While we have several independent solutions but collectively, weight, price and rigidity are the 3 points that on this kind of product still currently don't meet our needs for a final product.

If one day you see an inverted fork on a trials motorbike, it'll mean that someone has found a solution and we'll be ready to replicate on MTB. We feel that trials and MTB are very closely related disciplines, the first Monster T was a moto trials fork.


Davide ripping through the meadows.

Are there any plans to build air-sprung forks and shocks for DH/Enduro applications? With the mid-to-upper end trail/AM market suspension seemingly saturated, where does Marzocchi see as its best opportunity to gain market share? With MTB sales relatively stabilized, where is the growth going to come from? How many suspension brands do you think will appear/disappear within the next five years?

For this answer I would need a crystal ball. We have our philosophy. We believe that for the long travel we still need the oil, but there are new technology also in the motorcycle market that are going to test the air spring because everyone is looking for light weight. But today there are no answers on that. About the suspension brand, I wish all the best to all the other brands and I have no idea how many brands there will be in the next five years - the only thing that I can confirm is that all of the Marzocchi team is working to be back at the top of the MTB market five years from now.

Rob Kruidenier Simone Bassi and Andrea Pierantoni
  Rob Kruidenier, Simone Bassi and Andrea Pierantoni





Author Info:
JulianCoffey avatar

Member since Aug 9, 2010
158 articles

189 Comments
  • 141 4
 People need to respect men like Andrea Pierantoni more. Without him and his father there is no way that we would ride like we do today.
  • 18 4
 haha everyone sees gold stanctions and thinks kashima, i believe fantaman sums that up perfectly. for the benifit of waterfall99 and others with simlar loss of brain function it is gold race coating, basically its similar to kashima exept that instead of filling the pores with molybdenum disulfide they are impregnated with teflon, same idea of smoothing the forks by filling in mirco pores on its surfaces. the teflon equivalent should be slightly smoother but will be a softer finish making it more susceptible to scratches and i would expect it to wear a little easier too.

for the benifit of any people that are being soft about this stuff and listen to all the PR and believe it all, this low friction stanction thing isnt new, its been around for ages, way longer than fox's advertisement department will want you to believe, before this marzocchi had nickel coating going back as far as 2007, they have also dabbled in ti nitride with less success. fox has also tried such materials and i think im right in saying that their 2008 wc edition forks had slighly different stanctions to the standard 40's,
rockshox has been dabling with their "blackbox" stanctions for the last 3 years and i think im right in saying that the 2003 boxxers were availible with ti nitrate stanctions, so as far as i know we have sram to thank for this "smooth stanchion race"

ironically sram started the camain that fox is currently owning with its kashima PR work... looks like they've shot themselves in the foot with that one!!
  • 4 4
 the ti coating is the higher quality option tho
  • 4 10
flag alazamanza (Mar 19, 2013 at 19:52) (Below Threshold)
 don't know about you but i haven't heard any official press release saying you can order the ti forks, they must have hit a snag or two otherwise i would have thought they would have made a big deal about it, the fact that sram gave up on the ti nitrate in 2003 after just one production year also suggests that there was a problem with the material
  • 3 7
flag tmanb3 (Mar 19, 2013 at 20:57) (Below Threshold)
 what do you mean "you cant order the forks?" www.blueskycycling.com/product6561_39_-2012-Marzocchi-44-Micro-Switch-TA-1.5-Tapered-Fork.htm and 100s of other places too..
  • 3 7
flag alazamanza (Mar 19, 2013 at 21:39) (Below Threshold)
 the 888 ti nitrides?? havent seen any press releases saying that marzocchi are now taking orders for them, of course you can get hold of their standard range pretty much anywhere, those 44's have nickel coated stanchion tubes, not ti nitride ones!! i was saying that the ti nitride tubed forks must have hit problems, not their standard range of forks
  • 5 3
 pretty sure fox copied marz with the 2008 40 wc forks having nickel coating directly after marz, in reference to alazamanza's comment
  • 11 0
 a Japanese company called KOWA have been using kashima coating since the early 90's.
  • 4 0
 Pace had ti-nitride coatings on there stanchions in the 90s
  • 3 0
 ^^^ Beat me too it ^^^
  • 2 0
 Hey fritzman! Thanks for the great post and continuing support, happy trails! As for ti nitride stanchion tubes...we had trouble perfecting the quality of production. For now, our focus is anodizing, nickel treatment, and Gold Race Coating.
  • 2 0
 as i understand it, Ti nitride coating has issues because it doesn't bond particularly well with material that isn't titanium, and rubs off too easily, my Pace forks were sent back to the factory 3 times in 2 years. seeing as nobody uses titanium stanchions i cant see that particular problem being resolved
  • 1 0
 then why do they use it on drill bits that are made of steal?
  • 3 5
 Doesn't matter. I have a 2008 marz fork and to me they ripped me off and unless they're going to recall all of the pieces of shit that they've sold since then, they will remain shady scumbags.
  • 2 0
 you're popular in this thread bro
  • 32 2
 stayed with marzo through the bad years.... Welcome back boys!
  • 2 0
 count me in..
  • 5 0
 still (or again) the best and most reliable forks in my opinion.
  • 4 0
 Glad those years are in the past. Thanks for hanging with us!
  • 28 1
 Good interview PB, although I'm disappointed to see he wasn't a little more honest about the problem they had in 2008, wasn't just the ATA...
  • 9 1
 I'm just glad he acknowledged there was a problem. Many wouldn't.

I ride whatever comes OEM on Giants, so I was stuck with Fox for years and there were some reliability issues (stanchion rub in only 20 hours!). My latest Giant is RS sprung, and my air shock was losing 50psi in half an hour of riding until RS fixed it.

If my next Giant has Marzocchi OEM, it will be a welcomed into my garage. The original orange Z1 left some big shoes to fill - I have NEVER seen its equal for reliability.
  • 6 0
 Exactly, I had 2008 55 fork and big problems with ETA and TST2. Interview is full of marketing brilliant sentences like "we follow our customers", "tenneco strategy is..." etc. I remember my first Marzo (MX Pro), which is still working after 10 years on my friend's bike. Super plush and almost ZERO maintenance.
  • 2 0
 i had an 08 and 09 55 R. first issue i noticed were the quick release axles they used on both year models. the front wheel would flex like crazy going into turns and braking.

2nd issue was the damping. i was never able to get full travel even if drained all the air, crazy.

it may not be worth mentioning as i know marzocchi is typically on the heavy side but was more about plushness and reliability but the 08 and 09 models that came out (55 and 66) were the heaviest single crown forks marzocchi has ever come up with. the 55 R i owned weighed 2.7 kgs and no where was it any stiffer and plush. just plain garbage. sad coz its a far cry from my '07 AM and '05 EXR Race (which had air and spring preload adjustment which weren't common to other XC/trail forks at that time). hope they get their act together this time around.
  • 2 0
 I ran 2008 66 rcv a nice plush fork that i enjoyed and swapped onto many of my bikes. When I ran into problems with them that I assumed was just a service needed the uk importer Windwave dealt with me extremely well. Turned out there was an issue with the lowers which where replaced immediately without cost some three years later in 2011. Have always been very pleased with zocchis especially the aftersales. Dont know about the rest of the world but uk and the german importer I have dealt with have been excellent.
  • 1 0
 In all the LBS in my country they had issues with Marzocchi till 2009 models and not only ATA and TST . . stanchions stuck and others.From 2010 and after they improved them a lot! I have a 66 rc3 evo 2011 model with no service till now and is a blast!!
  • 11 0
 Yes, some of the products from 2008 and 2009 had performance problems. We could go on and on talking about incorrect o-ring sizes, bad bushings, and poor rebound cartridges, but that is not where we are at now. The future is plush and squishy!
  • 1 0
 Thanks for the reply Marzocchi but u must find a trustworthy retailer and service for our country.I know it is not your problem(one from here must give u a call) but a lot of people like the branch and taken care only by local bike shops . .
  • 1 0
 Well handled,as a consumer,I respect that you owened up to ur bobbles.that is amazing and ballsy in my book
  • 25 4
 Marz is the best no contest. Fork makes a noise when it compresses? So do fox 40's AND you need to store them upside down, after all that they still don't feel like a 888. Boxxers are shit so I won't even go there. If Marz wants to own the market, sell the forks with GOLD stantions. Seems to be working for Fox.
  • 8 4
 They should also increase the stanchions on their DH fork to 40mm, or at least offer one model with them and boost the travel of it to 210 or 220mm(but not 300!). I would buy it if it were under 8 lbs.

An awesome company, I've always loved their coil forks and their history.
  • 1 1
 eh, air + USD, I'd be happy with that, I'd like the 888 to be increased to 40mm as well for stem options and to stay coil so it can be a hucking fork like it used to be, just wish they made better shocks, each to their own but I despised my roco, as in hated it to the point where a vivid air was improvement
  • 4 0
 i don't see why they should have 40mm stanchions? i never had any problem with my 38mm's, they're stiff enough. plus 200mm of travel is absolutely enough (since it's working perfectly)
  • 1 4
 38 is stiff but being stuck with the marz stem blows, either go to 35 or 40, not being able to run havoc 35 is stupid on a burly fork
  • 3 0
 my 2012 model has the normal DM standard. so there is no need to change the stanchions for that...
  • 3 0
 Thanks for the props Tmackstab, www.pinkbike.com/photo/8248554 sweet step down!!
  • 1 0
 I only rode a 888 one day back in 2006ish. I liked it enough but just couldn't get used to the "squish feel". So then i went back to the WC Boxxer and liked the feel and response. Definitely a "harsher" ride but i still really like the WC Boxxers. I don't agree with Tmackstab saying they are "shit", but it is definitely a difference in ride feel that you love or hate, for both forks.
  • 19 3
 I had a 2007 888 RC2X, it was awesome, had it for ages, never really needed servicing. I miss it... Have looked at Marzocchi forks again, hope the new ones are as reliable as the old 07's!
  • 4 2
 i still got 2006 model for my trail bike... never service, still plush full travel like new... hope getting 888 soon,, god please bless my wish.
  • 9 1
 Still run an 01' Shiver, goin stong! ahah
  • 4 1
 i have a 04 exr pro that i changed oil just once, its like new yet
  • 3 0
 I have a 2012 66, and I am pretty sad about it... I've been using it for 6 months, and it is already in need of service... My old 2008 66 has never ever been serviced!
  • 6 0
 2012 888, haven't serviced it once except when I got it used end of 2011-early 2012, this is with crashes scratching the stanchion (shut up kashima fanboys you take a rock to your gold shit and see what happens) and the fact I tend to never clean or hose off the stanchions unless I remember
  • 1 0
 i dont remember there was 66 on year 2012 line up ... forgive me
  • 3 0
 Still rock an 05 Shiver, never touched it, still kills.
  • 1 0
 06 66 vf2 running here (on my brother's bike, gave them to him as I switched for 55s), serial seals, changed oil twice in all those years, running smoother than butter!
  • 1 0
 Also still run a 2006 rc2x on my dh bike, had it from new, never been serviced never missed a beat.
  • 1 0
 you should be happy its only every six months, thats not even bad, and will keep your fork proper
  • 2 0
 Good to hear there are lots of classic Bombers out on the trails still. How many people are still rocking Monster T's??
  • 1 0
 I have 888 RC '06. Service is so simple I change oil every year and I changed seals once. It work like a dream, very smooth with incredible sensitive. I'm loyal to the Marzocchi brand and when I decided to buy another fork from them I hope it will also have all these advantages. Here's video of my 888 at work Smile www.youtube.com/watch?v=draUfqLbaXg&feature=youtu.be
  • 19 3
 I hope they get their shit back together. Their marketing is practically non-existant, many of their riders switched and it's difficult to get springs for their forks.
  • 10 1
 Tell me about it, the last press release I saw looked like it was penned in a second language, by a high school kid, who was also texting at the time. I almost volunteered to take over the marketing department, which must have lost some bodies to DVO.
  • 8 0
 Used to love their adds, women in tight clothing oooooh!
  • 9 0
 I've been a loyal 888 user since the 2005 models and have NEVER looked back. Through the bad years, I had my 888 RC2xva, until the 2010 RC3 evo finally caught my eye, and I've been on that fork for 3 years. I hope Marzocchi can get back to top form, so more people will try and enjoy their product Smile
  • 6 1
 Marzo 4 life...
  • 4 0
 the RC3 Evo is a very nice fork
  • 4 0
 my 2010 66RC3 and 2011 888evo are easily the best suspensions I have ever tried, can't wait for Marzo to come out with a killer inverted 8'' DH fork !!!...
  • 1 1
 loved my old z1s, but i was disappointed with the 888's i had, they were great while they worked but the ata problems hit me like a train and after that was fixed i started going through the rc3 dampers, such a shame cos they were excellent otherwise
  • 9 0
 "We believe that for the long travel we still need the oil"

This is a large part of why Marzocchi forks work and feel so good. Please don't change! And keep using a ti spring in the 55!
  • 1 0
 I think there's a c missing there, so it's should say We believe that for the long travel we still need the coil, but there are new technology also in the motorcycle market that are going to test the air spring because everyone is looking for light weight. Oil is used for damping, not for the spring. And air doesn't work that well as a damper. Plus they are talking about an air spring, so a coil would fit in there perfectly.
  • 15 7
 If you keep putting pictures of that incredibly good looking superbike, your going to have no mountain bikers left, everyone quitting mtb and riding motorcycles. That bike is so insane, holy crap! POD!!
  • 3 1
 I can't believe you got neg propped for that comment. I don't own a motorbike but I enjoy looking at (and listening to) Italian superbikes as much as I like looking at (and listening to) Italian supercars.

I would put a poster of that Augusta on my workshop wall before ANY MTB I can think of. Bella! No, no, no... BELLISSIMO!!
  • 3 0
 why not ride both? I love riding my bike on the trails, and then hopping on my CBR to cruise by the ocean... good times all around
  • 2 0
 cruise on a cbr? must take soooo much will power not to blast the throttle wide open
  • 1 0
 CBR250? :p
  • 3 0
 I have a 2005 MV Agusta F4 1000S (similar to the bike in the pic). It has the Marz inverted fork on it, and the thing is amazing! One of the best forks for feedback I have ever used.
  • 1 0
 I was drooling over an MV at uni today, rich teachers!
  • 7 0
 This is quoted from a long time customer of ISO

" Marzocchi was making moto suspension and racing F1 when Bob Fox was still in diapers. "

That is saying something.
Congrats boys, nice PR and good questions answered honestly.
  • 10 3
 I am a 37 year old rider and I have been a huge fan of Marzocchi ever since my first Bomber (which was red) probably in 1997. I loved the heavy, open bath forks which felt very plush and were ultra reliable. Last year, I replaced my five year old z1 with a brand new Marzocchi and it started leaking oil from the bottom of one of the legs after two rides Frown
I like my new fork, but I probably won't buy another Marzocchi unless they move manufacturing back to Italy.
  • 2 1
 I bought a used bike and it was also leaking from the air valve and the top cap of the micro switch. I sent it in it was a pain to get a hold of them but I attribute that to them moving warehouses. Im told a rebuild will be $125 which I think is fairly cheap if it fixes it well. I just hope I dont get the same problems shortly after as the original user I bought it from said they had just serviced it. If it works, I will definitely be a marz fan because of their response and very reasonable rebuild cost.
  • 6 0
 My life improved drastically when I sold my Boxxer and bolted on a 888. ZERO maintenance. Plush as can be. It changed my perspective on coil and subsequently swaped out all of my suspension. I'm really glad to hear they're continuing to move the brand forward.
  • 2 0
 Good to hear kboss. Keep on shredding!
  • 4 0
 My next fork is going to be a Marzocchi almost for sure. I tried some 55's and they felt sooo plush I am really looking after a coil fork in the 160-170mm range. As Fox and RS are focusing so much on air-sprung systems and idiot-proof set ups ( no more RC2 or dual air), MZ seems the way to go!
  • 4 0
 Shiver Forks are among the ONLY forks that will work with the new "Fat Bikes (snow bikes)".
The Shiver Forks pull a premium among the Fat Bike crowd in areas where there is lots of snow.

On another note: I've owned two 150mm Bombers and two 888's and never had an issue, solid as they come.
  • 12 5
 Started from the bottom now Marzocchi's here
  • 7 0
 Finally something interesting going on here ! Kepp on rocking Marzocchi!!
  • 4 0
 888 RC3 Ti, Original Shiver, 55R with TST upgrade, Rocco, and 66 sitting in the basement now, not including past old bikes sold. Your welcome for keeping yah afloat for the last 12 years lol Smile
  • 3 0
 Thanks for love!
  • 1 0
 Anytime, haven't given me a reason to jump ship yet!
  • 3 0
 Looking forward to the new Zocchi line, They are the best MTB fork on the market! I have been running them for close to 20 years now. My current line of Zocchi products in use are an 04 MZ Comp that never gets seviced and runs like the day I bought the bike it is on. 05 888 VF that is as smooth as a babies rear, 06 66 VF2 that has been serviced just last year for the first time and is just crazy PLUSH. Two 07 66 ETA RV'S, Both serviced last year for the first time and function like they are brand new, can you say super butter! Last an 07 AM 2 with ETA and RV, not serviced yet and works like a champ. Last but not least an 08 ROCO WC, might as well call it a timex! I have never had a single problem with any of these forks or shock and no Marzocchi, your R&D department cannot have them back..............unless you have something really cool to trade. Thank you Marzocchi for the best forks on the market. Great interview PB.
  • 5 0
 First dh fork I tried was a 888vf. Now waiting on my 888cr '13 being delivered. Marzocchi rocks.
  • 3 1
 Quality Manufacturing is a thing of the past , it seems like every single thing I've bought in the last 2years is straight garbage I'm a contractor so I see this from a few sides, I hate it , if u want quality it usually comes from an up and comer who is trying to prove themselves And or their product
  • 5 0
 Mountain bike Royalty! Without these guys the sport wouldnt be what it is today. Thanks
  • 2 0
 since the 2008 the only thing that really matters was PROFIT and also they started implementing "planned obsolescence" so you have to service or changed your fork every six months...hopefully Marzocchi understand that if they are still manufacturing crap stuff nobody would buy it.
btw I used to have DROPOFFIII from 2005-using it for 8 years never changed oil or seals, during that time it was working like a dream
  • 2 0
 Thanks PinkBike for another great interview.

I like many others have been running Marzocchi forks for many years and love the fact that you just bolt them on and they work, I currently have a 2012 66 RC3 EVO Ti and its been fantastic.

Recently I bought myself one of those 29er AM clown bikes and went down the fox 34 float route. All I can say is for a £900 fork they really are overpriced!! Sure there light but they seem to offer no small bump compliance in comparison with the 66.

I think there would be a real market for a Coil Sprung AM style 29er fork. I know I for one would happily throw away the fox for a 150/160mm 55 RC3 EVO Ti 29er with a 20mm bolt through.
  • 2 0
 Just want to give props to the headquarters in Italy. I had to service my 888 fork and at the time there was no official service center in Greece. I contacted them and they told me that it was better to send my fork to Italy. They gave me special shipping and service rates. Excellent customer service and communication. These people are true pros.
  • 2 0
 I really do hope this is a proper return for marzocchi theyve been out of the game for far too long. Used to love my Z1 FR2s and my 66VFs circa '05 but things seemed to go really badly wrong from there on in for them and i switched out to RS. If they truely do want to make themselves a real force they need to keep the weight down (although im not gonna moan about sacrificing 2-300g for that super plush marzo feel) and make sure the parts supply is tip top otherwise forget it.

Think theyve been moving in the right direction, i just get the feeling that the need to take the RS approach when SRAM turned them around and just focus on 3/4 main lines of fork and get them nailed. 80-120mm offering, 120-160mm offering and then a dual crown beast, get those right and expand the lines from there. also forget all this air sprung travel adjust, it just doesnt work, make something in the vein of coil uturn and offer an easily adjustable air sping ala solo air but get that marzo plush feel from the damper and theyre on to a total winner.

I never felt the need for compression on my Z1s where as on the pikes that i replaced them with i would always have to run a small amount and thats what made the marzos great, the weight difference however was pretty immense.

Still good luck to them i cant wait to see what they put out there in the next few years, i would like to see a new shiver tho.
  • 2 0
 I remember, like it was yesterday, when in mid 90's I wanted Marzocchi fork so bad. Basic model was elastomer only and very expensive in Poland compared to RockShox products. I was dreaming about my own Z1 but wasn't able to afford one. Then in the eary 2000 the "bad series" started to appear. Marzocchi wasn't so long lasting and as proof as before. Something had ended. Looking from the perspective I don't regret not having one but it's need to be stressed that Marzocchi was VERY INSPIRATIONAL for many riders. They have showed us that we need oil damping systems and internal oil lubrication. We'll always remeber Z1 and QR20.

For that big Thank You Marzocchi Smile
  • 2 0
 had a Super T pro 2003... four years without any service (whats that!?)... more than 5000kms year of use... ZERO problems... what an incredible fork!! still worked good. when the mechanic in the LBS opened it up he described it to me like this: "men... everyone who was inside the shop had to go out for an half a hour... WHAT A SMELL!! the next day, the smell was still inside the shop"
  • 6 2
 Love Marz forks, Trying to replace the RS 29er fork on my Wifes bike with a new product form Marz!
  • 3 16
flag MadMax883 (Mar 19, 2013 at 17:13) (Below Threshold)
 yeah let me know how that one turns out for u....... hahaha
  • 5 0
 when will we see the mighty 66 comeback?
  • 2 0
 love marz i have had a few forks from them loved them all even my cutom 55 they did sent it off with leaking seals and came back as a one off 55 meant for dj/slope as ive been told by them
  • 2 0
 Keep using the Direct mount and Gold-ish color on the 888 and you WILL SELL MORE FORKS!!!
I just bought a 2013 888 CR with the Gold-ish stanchions and direct mount, "see through" top crown...B E A utiful.
  • 2 0
 Ive rode Rock Shox, Manitou, SR, XFusion and Zocchi. I will only use Zocchi' when I need the security and strength that nothing will go wrong. The RC2x and Shiver are still my favorite forks.
  • 1 0
 Lets hope for a come back to quality and solidly built forks! I have had several Marzocchi forks between 2002 and 2010. The 2004 dj3 and 2003 mz comp forks I still own have yet to be serviced and still feel great. After a horrible experience with the 08-10 55 tst and ata range like most people have had, I moved to RS and Fox forks and all I found there was easily worn out stanchions and harder servicing and set up. Dump Tenneco, we liked you better when you were single Marzocchi.
  • 1 0
 Great brand, their forks are awesome and I am definitely a believer/user but their customer service in the Asia Pacific region is shambolic. They never seem to answer their e-mails nor do they have a proper distributor in the region. It's a huge emerging market which they probably shouldn't ignore.
  • 4 0
 I just picked up a new old-stock '99 Z1 Bomber QR20 for a retro build. A bit heavy but built like a brick shithouse!
  • 1 0
 What retro bike you building. I'm trying to put together an original pipeline(orange and green) have trouble finding the the frame
  • 2 1
 I just restored 2002 Stinky with original 5 inch bomber.....rode it today in a snow storm.
  • 6 0
 holy cr#p!! Is the snowstorm ok???
  • 1 0
 @mattypants - Wow that's a coincidence....I just picked up a brand new old-stock Pipeline frame as well! (grey and black). I like your Rm-6!
@whistlerbound - any pics of your Stinky?......wait that doesn't sound right!
  • 1 0
 Miss my old 66rc, that thing was tall but so amazing. always performed even though I was/am a terrible rider. Stoked to see their 2015 model year goods. My buddies have some of their 2011 & 2012 gear. The stuff feels great.
  • 1 0
 I loved what marzocchi was in 2005 2007 years .. this year i wanted to return to marzocchi fork after several years .. but after months and months of waiting in vain and unkept delivery weekly promises i switched to rockshox .. well done marzocchi ... bye bye ...
  • 2 0
 I rode a set of 888s for three full seasons (35 races a year) during the mid 2000's. These were the most plush, faultless and maintenance free forks ive ever owned. The only downside was the weight.
  • 4 0
 I still love my 2007 888 RC2X. I just don't like the weight Razz
  • 4 0
 Still my favorite shock company by far.
  • 3 2
 I've only had Marzocchi forks, and I just bought the new 888's and they far exceed the quality of fox and roch shox. For those people that say that marzocchi is crap then I feel sorry for your extreme lack of intelligence
  • 1 2
 I'm quite open minded but after having my 2012 888 rc3 evo v2 TI go wrong and a 4 month wait to get them back. I can safely say I'm not willing to take another chance with them.
  • 3 0
 I've been through 36's and Lyriks and my favorite is still the 55 RC3 Ti. Amazing fork!
  • 2 0
 I ride a second hand 04 Z1 Drop Off 1. Never had to maintenance it, the previous owner never did any maintenance either. Works like a champ, ETA and all.
  • 3 0
 I ride on my Monster T from 04' and I love the weight of it Razz , indestructible fork
  • 2 2
 They need to learn customer service and to reply to customers emails or technical questions. I never even received replies after registering my Brand New RC3 Evo V2 on their site My next fork will be Fox, Xfusion, or DVO just because of the poor service.
  • 1 0
 2004 888 was one if the best forks I have ever owned, years of reliable performance with very little maintenance! I've have since switched to riding fox40's and love them, but wouldn't think twice about owning another 888!
  • 1 1
 When you put down lotta dough to get a fork you're after, among other things, reliability and a good after sales service, and Marz have ruined all that stuff lately, and they've paid dearly for it. our friend says they've already solved all issues and want to get back where they were........what the f*ck gonna say? we already know what marketing means. the only way to regain the lost trust is with actions, not words.
Anyway, i'd like marz's soon back up. always good to have more competition.
  • 1 0
 Marzocchi users since 2002.
Tried a lot of forks. Finally bought 888 rc2x, used it's internals and made Shiver DC RC2X edition:
img19.imageshack.us/img19/6582/dsc01398n.jpg
  • 2 0
 My 2008 Bombers are at your new shop now waiting to have they ATA repaired. A new pair of forks and Lisa's number would make me a happy customer again.
  • 1 0
 i own one i have a glory 2. since the beginning i have problem with the fork. strange noise coming fton the left side a part is moving inside. there s some forum about it...
  • 1 3
 i only have 1/4 of the travel i should on my 2008 55s
  • 2 0
 I love my 2012 DJ1 and my 2006 DropOff Triple. Thought the dropoff needs a rebuild I think but still both amazing forks..
  • 1 0
 Iv got a 2010 dj1 only problem iv had with it is i messed up the rebound by unintelligently putting twice the amount of air as supposed to, although i cant adjust the rebound now its still working great
  • 3 0
 2008 marzocchi 888 ata wc is what I use n I love em.
  • 3 1
 yours still work???????????
  • 2 0
 Yep lol
  • 1 0
 mst be the only set that haent gone wrong, the rest of the world's died long ago Frown
  • 1 0
 Really... Everything on mine works, best fork I've had i had a 2011 boxxer wc an a 2011 boxxer rc I prefer it over those... My ata even works still #rare
  • 1 0
 I ride 2012 44 RC3 Ti's and my girlfriend rides 2012 LR Switch! Love them both!! The air LR Switch is surprisingly plush and easy to setup!!
  • 4 0
 66's are immense.
  • 2 1
 You do realize that the 2nd photo is from Rampage don't you? Are you surprised that there are mechanical casualties at an event like Rampage? As for the first picture,"If you're gonna be dumb, ya gotta be tough".
  • 1 0
 Do you read what I post ?... "Just Saying.... Ugly pictures from marzocchi" when I wrote its bad or something like that.. but its ok.. its your opinion and is what you think... Im no one (actually a dumb) to judge you...
  • 2 1
 I see how it works...we are only allowed to say good things about Marzocchi or our posts get deleted...ok...well...ummm... I guess I have nothing to say.
  • 2 0
 Your comment wasn't deleted, it was negative propped by enough users to push it below the threshold.
  • 1 1
 For god sakes someone come out with a 10 - 12 inch travel fork. I don't want to but it looks like the only way to get one will be to raise a couple million in venture capital and get to work myself.
  • 2 3
 Oh yes, Marzocchi! Ignore your former U.S. division around Bryson Martin, as if it never existed. Give "diplomatic" responses that have nothing to do with the questions. Tell everyone how an inverted fork is just wrong, only because your former employees just made one that creates tons of hype and buzz around the web. While this article was published, a certain green fork was pretty hard to ignore at a certain Taiwan exhibition happening these days. Don't believe it? Just click the Pinkbike homepage!

Sometimes the ostrich tactic works. This time the ostrich seems to be on concrete and he's banging his head pretty hard.

You said all the "right" things, Mr. Pierantoni, bravo! Tenneco loves you for pulling this awesome job. Now please go back at work on those forks and let's hope for the good stuff for Marzocchi as soon as possible!

What a cheap blow this interview was! Pfff...
  • 5 4
 That awkward moment when you realize you have all the old school forks of the last photo.
  • 12 0
 how's that awkward?
  • 8 2
 Well it makes you wonder "How on earth I ended up with all these junk? I must get rid of them and get a new EVO "

Nah ... I'm just kidding. I'm gonna keep my Shivers and Z150 and pass them to my offsprings .
"Look what daddy used to ride in the 2000's"
  • 2 0
 so excited to use their trade in program and get my hands on a 2013 888
  • 1 0
 just did it myself...for the second time in 5 years. its an amazing thing to be cherished. I must say my new 2013 888 Evo Ti is incredibly silky out of the box. and theres a major sense of quality to it that had been missing since about '06 or '07.
  • 4 1
 I love marz forks
  • 2 2
 fuckin titties they are.
  • 2 2
 I still have that 55ata that has been worked on so many times! Thanks for nothing Marz! Couldn't make me buy there product again.
  • 2 0
 I love my 2012 888 TI RC3. 3
  • 2 0
 Marzocchi Y U NO 66 in 2013?
  • 2 0
 "no market for them"- every suspension companies statement
  • 2 0
 The 2013 55 RC3 Evo Ti is very close at 170mm travel. Very adjustable and tunable, so much so you could easily mistake it for a 66...
  • 2 0
 fox is good, but marzocchi is the best
  • 2 0
 I will run 888's till they are no longer produced
  • 1 2
 My z2 was a legend but 2003 drop off broke on the crown, but 888vf 2004 was so shity bight side of this story is Boxxer simple solution light and easy for service & maintenance. First impresion you can lost ones
  • 1 0
 2007 the golden year for them.. after all their rc2 system works awesome these days
  • 2 0
 Waiting on my 2013 888 EVO to put on my v10c, just in time for Sea Otter!
  • 2 0
 See you all at Sea Otter!
  • 2 0
 2007 was the last year for Marzocchi for me... went poop after that.
  • 5 8
 Really? I'm glad to hear tenneco fixed the ATA problem so quickly. Now how about sending all of us our money back. Quality companies stand behind their products and take care of their customers. Marzocchi did neither for us poor souls that bought the 55ATA. Mr. Pierantoni, I'm glad to hear you are doing so well at the expense of your customers. Good luck in the future with marzocchi- you're going to need it.
  • 2 0
 i think i will not get marz again, only have 1/4 travel i should on my 2008 55
  • 3 0
 and 44 ata, and 66ata, and 888 ata.....

they had that air spring cartridge on sale for at least 3 years, how did it take them 3 years to realize it wasn't working in the real world???
  • 3 0
 I was thinking the same thing as I was reading this. I have no idea how marzocchi handles their warranty, but it seems like their acknowledging that they made some shit forks for a couple of years. Marz should take a note from Evil bikes. When Evil had issues with their first production run of frames, they made every single person who bought one whole with a brand new frame. Some with a brand new carbon frame.
  • 1 0
 guys they are italian it takes time to fix problems... But the stuff they made in '12 is realy good if i need a new fork i am going to marz...
  • 1 0
 I have/had a set of '12 55rc3 ti's that I bought from new, they came with problems out the box which I am led to believe is pretty rare now for Marzocchi. I was a big fan from like 04 to 07 but then they went downhill what with being bought over and moving production to Taiwan but the service I have received with these is a joke. Would they answer any of my questions/help me out? No. No they would not, they gave me an email address to contact on their facebook page and then never answered my queries about the cartridge problems I was having despite countless emails.
  • 1 0
 That seems to be more the experience than not with people who bought all these "troubled" Marzocchi products.

Ignoring the customers who were victims of your bad business practices is no way to rebuild a brand.

I don't care how well they perform...with a track record of terrible customer service, I'll stick with Fox/SRAM.
  • 1 0
 Usualy the distributors are di*ks and if you come with an attitute then you get shitty service
  • 1 0
 If I just paid full price for a a faulty Marz 888 that felt like shit out of the box....I would probably have a little bit of a bad attitude.
  • 1 0
 I was actually pretty calm and fair about it but never did hear back from them. They got fixed in the end by Marzocchi Uk but the fact actual Marzocchi never even got back to me to point me in their direction was a bit concerning. They sell a product and show no appreciation or loyalty to the customers supporting their business.
  • 1 0
 @ donch15 it felt like shit because you need to set it up (all my forks feel like shit out of the box after a ride or 2 i set them up and they are the best forks i can find had rs and now i have fox had a marz a while back and its all in the settings)
@ skawt our main impoter and servicer of marzocchi has no e mail or official phone number to contact them... at least you can bobard them with e mails and phone cals about the loyalty they are italian that is all Wink just simle and be happy that you are alive they work at their own pace and attitute
  • 2 1
 I see some of the doe they owe us
  • 1 0
 damn. how much they owe you guys?
  • 1 0
 Impressive,i would like to say,WELL DONE!
  • 1 0
 guy at the top looks like quentin tarantino
  • 1 0
 MONSTER T!!!!!!!!!That is all
  • 1 1
 zebrak to ty masz ryj jak małpa od pierdalania rudych pał lamo zebac to ty mozesz o pare euro na byłke dziwko
  • 1 0
 I just like to say z2 bombers are awesome
  • 1 0
 Bring back the 44RC3 ti
(or a way to reduce the travel of the 55RC3 ti)
  • 1 1
 This is not an interview. It is cutting and pasting of marketing snippets.
  • 1 1
 Treatment Kashima for new Marzocchi ?!
  • 1 0
 very bad spring rattle
  • 1 1
 a ty sie pierdol jebany rudzielcu to byla szydera lamusie
  • 1 3
 marzocchi help my my fork deadh aim hew fork 2003 dirt jumper 2 help
  • 1 0
 Love a good beg.
  • 1 1
 Miejsce zebrakow jest na ulicy.
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