Marzocchi 380 C2R2 Titanium - Review

Inside the 380 C2R2 Titanium

Marzocchi's forks have used an open bath approach to damper design for many years, with a cartridge that fed on the same oil that acted as lubrication within the fork. This design made for exceptionally smooth performance due to there being enough oil to slosh about and lube the bushings, but it couldn't compete with how a closed or semi-closed damper performs when talking consistency because of that very same sloshing effect. Marzocchi says that the 380's Dynamic Bleed Cartridge is a hybrid of those three damper designs, with it requiring some internal trickery to make that happen. The DBC cartridge uses a one-way seal that lets damping oil enter as required, but the clever bit is a spring-loaded piston that acts as a compensator, just like an internal floating piston in a shock's piggyback, that keeps the cartridge full of oil without it hydraulically locking: the piston moves up to make room as the damper cartridge fills with oil, and also down in its travel to take up the lost displacement as oil rushes out.

The DBC damper may be new to Marzocchi's lineup, but they aren't straying away from their open approach to giving consumers the ability to remove and tune vital damper components. Looking for a change that can't be done via the external low and high-speed compression dials? The entire compression assembly can be removed from the top of the fork to allow the garage tuners and pro mechanics to make alterations to the mid-speed compression circuit, and shim stack assemblies that will make the job easier are available from Marzocchi for aftermarket purchase, as well as the specific tools to get the job done.




The Chassis

A big reason for the 380's competitive weight, especially given that it has a coil spring inside of it, is Marzocchi's aggressive redesign of the fork chassis. The lack of the cheesy M-arch is a sign that it's all about go rather than show, just as it should be, and the new lowers alone are said to be 100 grams lighter than what was used for the 888. Two gram-saving measures aren't nearly as obvious, though, being that they're completely hidden from view. Rather than use the same crowns as on their 888 forks - the 38mm stanchions are the same size, after all - Marzocchi has gone ahead with a new design that looks slimmer, weighs less, and according to Marzocchi, increases rigidity. Post-forging machining is used to create a hollow lower crown - 888 lower crowns were solid - that adds up to 40 grams of weight loss, and they claim that the clamping bolts have now been moved to the side of the crowns to improve turning clearance and better distribute stress.

There's also a new 20mm thru-axle that's butted along its length, making it thinner in the middle where extra material isn't needed. The axle only requires a hex key on one side, with it fitting into a keyed section on the opposite side of the fork lowers to hold it from spinning while you snug down the cap. All told, Marzocchi says the axle itself is 30 grams lighter than the previous version, and while that might not sound like much, it does all add up, especially when you're trying to have your coil-sprung fork weigh in close to the air-sprung competition.



The fork's name is an easy giveaway that Marzocchi didn't shy away from using titanium to save some more weight, with a single coil spring in the left leg being made from the stuff. That's not all, though, as the clamp bolts at both the lower and upper crown, as well as at the axle-clamp, are all titanium. The latter actually thread into aluminum barrel inserts that can be replaced, thereby keeping Marzocchi from having to machine threads into the lowers, something that always ends up being a bit fragile.

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Setup - One of the best places in the world to evaluate a downhill bike, and especially suspension, has to be the Whistler Bike Park. So that's exactly where I spent most of my time with the 380 under me, doing countless runs on everything from the smoother jump filled tracks to the more downhill bike worthy lines higher up in the Garbanzo zone. I didn't find the setup process overly involved, despite there being four different knobs available to adjust the DBC damper's performance, although I could see a rider maybe out-thinking himself if he tended to get too wrapped up in tuning the fork. Each dial is quite effective through its range, especially when talking about the more noticeable low-speed rebound and compression, and it took a few days worth of riding until I found a setting that I'd be happy with almost everywhere - certainly longer than a fork with less adjustment possibilities. It's also worth noting that the anodized aluminum knobs, while looking great and having a high quality feel to them, are pretty stiff to turn. Small beans in the grand scheme of things, though.







Sensitivity and Coil Spring - Smooth and active doesn't even begin to describe how supple the 380 is, especially at the top of its stroke. It seriously has most other forks on the market feel like they're using cold Nutella as lubrication - it takes next to nothing to get the fork moving. Whatever the reason - the nickel treated stanchions, the SKF seals, or some tricky low-speed compression damping - the 380 is without a doubt the most active downhill fork on the market today. This means that it erases chatter, things like smaller rocks, roots, and ripples in the ground, in a way that the other options aren't able to do, and also that less of that chatter is transferred through to the riders' hands. That keeps the front tire glued to the ground very, very well, which is arguably more important than keeping your hands from getting beaten up given that it's meant to be used on the front of a downhill race bike. Keeping the tire on the deck has to add up to additional traction as well, which can only help you. Bottom line: the 380 is much more supple and active than a Dorado, a BoXXer, FOX's 40, an Emerald or anything else out there.

Marzocchi's decision to go with a coil spring for the new 380 is certainly a big factor in the fork's mega plush feel, as there are no air spring seals that could add friction into the system - those who have always preferred the personality of a coil-sprung fork won't be disappointed with the 380. The stock 6.5 N/mm titanium spring felt spot-on for my 170lb weight and riding abilities, even if the fork did feel a touch under-sprung at first. I was half expecting the under-damped and under-sprung feel of an old 888 given how compliant the fork is when you give it a push at a standstill, but it doesn't come close to gobbling up its travel as quickly as its predecessor. That said, the 380 does use more of its travel more often than other options on the market, with a much more linear stroke than an air-sprung fork that has more inherent ramp-up to it. I can't complain about ever clanging off of the bottom, however, and the spring rate felt great, but it's just that the fork tends to go deeper into its stroke than you would see a similarly sprung BoXXer or FOX 40 do.




DBC Damper - The 380's general theme seems to be about being more active than the competition, and it's the same story when talking about the DBC cartridge's control over the fork's stroke. The feel is very much still Marzocchi, even after all these years, and fans of the 888 will likely be immediately won over by the Italian company's newest damper simply because it retains that lively stroke that they've long been known for. That said, it's far more controlled than the 888 could ever dream of being, and while the 380 certainly does tend to dive more under braking than a BoXXer or FOX 40, the sensation is much less pronounced than in the past. Yes, adding more damping does work to keep the fork up higher and the stroke calmer, but the action is still very forgiving regardless.

The four adjustments on hand - low-speed compression and rebound, high-speed compression and rebound - are all very effective throughout their range, and they really do allow you to tune the 380 to your liking. It's still four dials, though, in a time when arguably the most popular fork on the market, the BoXXer, has gone to a single external dial for low-speed rebound and one for low-speed compression. Who's right? Do more adjustments make for a better fork? That's totally going to depend on if you like to be able to make changes and be part of the tuning process, or if you're more likely to just put the fork on your bike and hit the mountain. That also raises the topic of being able to actually out-tune yourself and end up with a less than ideal setup, something that is more likely to happen with the 380's four-way adjustable DBC damper than if you were on a less adaptable fork. For example, backing out the low-speed compression nearly completely will allow it to gobble up its travel very quickly and make for a bike that doesn't handle predictably, while adding too much high-speed compression will have the fork feeling spikey and harsh on occasion. Of course, the flip-side to that is that you can get it exactly to your liking, so long as you have a basic understanding of what's going on and a desire to get the most out of the fork.


Rigidity and Reliability - The 380 receives top marks for both Rs. Chassis stiffness was never a question at any point during the test period, although that's to be expected for a right-side-up downhill fork these days, isn't it? It also never felt too torsionally rigid, which is arguably a bigger deal for many riders, with the fork not once feeling like it was deflecting strangely in any manner. And as for reliability, I can't complain about even a wisp of oil on the stanchions, let alone an actual mechanical issue that would require attention.



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