 Norco Rider Ian Moult gettng flat. Photo Ian Hylands |
Marzocchi's 2004 Product Launch Part 1 Cam McRae |
Marzocchi was first on the North Shore. If you were pushing the limit on technical terrain it was once the only fork to have. I had an XC 500 on my Rocky Altitude but my first longer travel utensil was a used, orange Z1 with 4" of travel. It was just what I needed as a budding freerider. It worked flawlessly and was easy to adjust. It was also tough as nails and when it came time to sell it I did so with a clear conscience because it was still working perfectly. After that I had a 5" Z1 QR20 that I absolutely beat the crap out of. It lived for a time on my Bullit, and then on my hardtail and only last year, after abusing it for five years of riding, did I pass it on to T-Bone for his hardtail. The amazing thing was that I had bought it used as well.
That was then - when the M was as ubiquitous as moss on the Shore . In recent years things have been slightly less dominant for Marzocchi in our neighbourhood. As dual crowns began to take over many riders discovered the charms of the Rock Shox Boxxer; a real through-axle, reliable performance, relatively low weight and easy maintenance made them very appealing. Recently Manitou has stepped up and with the Sherman series they too are making serious inroads into a market that was once owned by the Italians.
It is always a treat to watch Ryan Leech ride.
Even the jaded mtb press was left open-mouthed by his smoothness and ease.
Photo Ian Hylands
A manufacturing problem last year made tire clearance an issue on many Bomber models, forcing riders to settle for less rubber than they are used to. The M-Arch has been a disappointment as well with many breaking clean through. Riders are going bigger, faster and logging more vert than ever before and the standards forks must live up to have never been higher. This background had me eager to see how Marzocchi would respond with their 2004 line-up.
Our weekend retreat in Whistler began with a dinner at the Chateau and then, first thing in the morning, we were lead through the new line by Bryson Martin - Marzocchi's chief in the U.S.
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The presentation started off XC but it was pretty clear that the bomber line was generating the most interest; we were in Whistler after all. This year Marzocchi will have some low-line forks assembled in Taiwan. A few components - like arches, valving and lowers will come from Italy and others like stanchions will be made in Taiwan. These will mainly be spec'd as original equipment and will be shipped directly to frame manufacturing facilities so the bikes can be assembled. The models applicable to freeride will be the Drop-Off Comp and the Drop-Off Triple. |
 Bryson Martin and Bryson Jr. - both were completely at home in Whislter on and off the bike. Photo Ian Hylands |
| I rode a couple of different bikes with the Z150 and I liked the way it felt. It was very plush and the adjustments seemed to work well - although I didn't try the air pre-load. The fork did feel adequately stiff but less rigid than the 1.5 Shermans I have tried, particularly in high-torsion turning situations. Marzocchi has stayed with the QR20Pro design. I would prefer to see a thru-axle option but at least the QR20 now can be operated without tools. When Jim Fitzgerald of bike mag double flatted I pulled the wheel off his '04 Super T and I was pleased with the way it worked (I owed him because I was the double pancake the day before). Who is the ideal rider to wield this weapon? If you ride like Gareth Dyer (and who doesn't really?) and large amplitude X-ups and bar spins are part of your daily regimen this may be the perfect fork for you. With the steel stanchions and steerer the 150 is going to be almost as heavy as some dual crowns. The models we saw and rode were pre-production but when they are ready for market they will sport an aluminum steerer saving 300g or 2/3 of a pound. An emerging market is longer travel bikes that are lighter weight but still burly - midway between a freeride bike and an epic machine. Rocky's entrant is the Switch Lite which matches perfectly with the Z 150 SL. This is an aluminum stanchioned, air-sprung version (Doppio Air) of the 150. I didn't have a chance to try it on the trail but other press I spoke to liked the way it rode. If performance is more important to you than weight stick with the FR. |
 The new Marzocchi Z 150 FR. Photo Courtesy Marzocchi. |
Richie Schley's personal Rocky Mountain Switch sporting the
Z 150 fork and other goodies.
News from Rocky is that this year there will be a Richie Schley pro-model Switch
- available as frame only. Photo - Cam McRae
| Another completely new model - the 888 - fills a significant void in the Marzocchi line. Before this the only forks with a through-axle were the Monster and the Shiver. If you aren't the sort who likes to toss around 15 lbs worth of fork and you aren't partial to inverted designs you were stuck. More and more bikes are moving up the travel ladder and with the speed and size continuing to grow sillier by the day 8 inches makes more sense than it ever has. I was on two different bikes equipped with the 888. One was a Rocky Mountain RMX and the other was a Norco Team Shore. The fork on the Rocky worked really well. I played with the compression and rebound knobs (mounted conveniently on the top of each stanchion) until I had things just where I wanted them With all the bike switching I wasn't feeling terrifically confident so I was taking things a little easier than usual but everything I dropped was sucked up by the 888 and it was equally happy at speed. The fork on the Team Shore was set up differently and a few times I bottomed it out violently - metal on metal. This was probably just a set-up issue, or perhaps the fork was lacking oil, but whatever the reason the possibility of a fork mashing together like that was not confidence inspiring - in fact it almost pitched me off the bike on Schleyer. |
 Thomas Vanderham trying out an 888 on his Rocky Mountain 'RMX' Photo Ian Hylands |
There are two models of 'triple eight' - the R T and the R. The R T is a price point big fork that you might see on bikes like Norco's A-Line. It is non-adjustable like last year's Monster T2 but at about half the weight. Both forks sport beefy 35mm aluminum stanchions but the lower-line R T will be controlled by a steel steerer while the R gets Al. It is possible that you will see some original equipment versions of this fork arriving in 7" trim. With an internal cartridge change the 888 can become the 788 with an inch less travel. If you buy a stock 888 after-market and you want to reduce the travel to 7", perhaps to mate more perfectly with your frame geometry, the cartridge will be made available from Marzocchi.
One very positive change in this fork is the forged lower crown that clamps with bolts rather than being fused in one place using Marzocchi's cryofit process. The Super and Juniors have also been upgraded in this way.
| The 888 is perhaps the sexiest big fork I have ever seen. The stealth black stanchions, arches and lowers are accented tastefully with the gold-annodized adjustment knobs. The shape of the through-axle mechanism is particularly sturdy and confidence inspiring and the graphics stray enough from the black theme to be visible without detracting from the below-the-radar appeal. I am eager to get some long term miles on this fork. It was great to try the new products on bikes from Norco and Rocky. Kona was only there for the first day and the weather was so bad I only got in 3 runs - none of them on a Kona. If I had known they were packing up I would have made a point of saddling one up. Apparently many of them were off to take part in the Test Of Metal XC race in Squamish. This was a way to get an idea about a fork but you certainly can't call it a test. There were so many bikes there that it was hard to stay on one for more than a run or two and it just isn't the same as trying it on your own machine - set up the way you like it. I also find it more difficult to isolate the fork performance when everything is different. So while we can't call these fork tests it was a great opportunity to check out the direction the line is taking and to hear the straight goods from the manufacturer. All in all I was very pleased with the way Marzocchi seems to be listening to riders and manufacturers. |
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In part II of this article Pete Roggeman will tell you about the experience of hanging out with the world's MTB press and being wined and dined by Marzocchi, Norco, Rocky Mountain and Kona. We'll also give you the news on the '04 DJ series as well as the Shiver, Super T and Junior T.
