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Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Kodak,Tennessee.USA
Date Reviewed: November 27, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Bigfoot | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Marzochi reliability & strength. | | Similar Products Used: | PIKE,2004 Z1FR coil,Manitiou Sherman Flick. | | Bike Setup: | 2004 BULLIT.2005 66RC.8" Hayes hydro brakes.Poverty platform pedals.Roach TT pad.Thomson stem & post.XTR derailer.Truvativ guide-32T ring.RF cranks.OS bar.Lock-on grips. | | Bottom Line: | Works real good.Add air & go.It's light & steers stiff without flex.Lighter than a coil fork,but not as plush.I tried this fork for mountaincross & trail.It works excellent for that on a mountaincross frame like the Morewood NdizaST.
I went up to a 170mm 66RC for freeride on a Bullit but wanted to review the Z1FR.SL since i rode it a 5x.
Like i said,just add air & go.It's reliable.
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mikey O
a Weekend Warrior
from PA
Date Reviewed: January 17, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Merli Park | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | Well, I've been beating this fork for 3 years now and it just keeps going strong. With the right oil and right air pressure, it is fantastic...light, plush, hard to bottom out, stiff. ETA is a good feature, but I forget to use it most of the time. | | Weaknesses: | Oil leaks into negative air chamber and robs you of travel, seals may blow in cold weather (abrupt temp change- like from your warm basement to 15 degree weather), low oil level and too thin oil from factory, loud clank if you bottom it out | | Similar Products Used: | Lots...Spyder R, Manitou SX, Black Elite, Manitou Magnum | | Bike Setup: | Giant AC-Air | | Bottom Line: | I did not like this fork at first. The manual is so ridiculously vague, you can probably throw it out and be better off. Slightly better info on website but not much. So I started tinkering and, over time, found the following:
Replace the stock oil with a good 10 WT. Fill it up to top, then compress the fork fully to push out excess oil. Then cork it up and its as full as it is going to get. This gives great damping and ETA. The factory almost never puts enough oil in it and it is very thin.
Measure travel regularly- if less than 5", bleed the air/oil out of the neg chamber and reset air pressure (hold rag over when doing this or will paint ceiling). Eventually, you will have to do this less and less. I have not added any oil to the left leg, and I'm not going to, as it just winds up in the neg air chamber (factory supposedly "fixed" this once, but didn't last long). I like this fork alot now. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Luke B.
a Weekend Warrior
from Boise, Idaho USA
Date Reviewed: September 27, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | any | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | Excellent stiffness, good large bump comtrol,
ECC works wonders for uphill. Simple, easy to maintain. | | Weaknesses: | tall, hard to get neg. air spring just right | | Similar Products Used: | Marz. MXC, Fox Vanilla | | Bike Setup: | Kona Bear (lots of replaced parts, I'm big) | | Bottom Line: | Killer large bump eating travel, doesn't like washboards too much, easy to maintain. just pop out seals, clean, lube, rock on! Good for larger riders, I ride 20 to 60 miles per week. ECC works well, albeit not much travel when locked down. I'm 6'2, 230, big rider, not so much a jumper, but it doesn't complain if I do. After one year it's still really smooth, once the correct air pressure is maintained. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
AMike
a
from California
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$360.00 | | Purchased At: | SuperGo | | Strengths: | Very stiff, accurate steering. ECC does the trick for long climbs. Very nice travel quality that can be dialed in with air pressure. | | Weaknesses: | Kind of heavy and tall. | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou Black Elite, Marz. X-Fly 100 | | Bike Setup: | Enduro with a few upgrades. | | Bottom Line: | For the price I paid, this fork is really good. I almost got a Fox instead, but after watching all my friends have problems with bushings and seals, I went with what I have experience using. The fork can be a bit of a pain to tune, but it's not so bad. I try to use three times the positive pressure in the negative chamber. I at first experienced some harsh top-out, but using lower pressures fixed this without adversely affecting the ride.
The fork is a bit heavy for aggresive XC and can make the bike feel a bit more marshmallowy. That's OK with me, but something you should think about if you're considering this fork. The increase in steering accuracy over 30mm forks is amazing though, and well worth it if you don't mind the change in geometry.
Tuning the fork couldn't be simpler. Just add air. And what is with people saying you need an allen wrench to do this? There's a removable plug in the ECC knob that you can add air through. There's absolutely no need to remove the knob on mine (yes, it is a 2003, and perhaps mine is different in some way.)
Overall, I really like this fork. It's a vast improvment over Marzocchi's air forks of yore. I don't weigh a lot, so the air tuning is great for me. Technical stuff just becomes easier overnight when this fork is tuned right. The ECC will get you there in style if the climb is relatively smooth. If you like very aggressive trail riding this fork is for you. I think if the fork didn't chopper my bike so much I'd give it a full 5 chilis. A truly outstanding value at the closeout price. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Blast "um
a Cross Country Rider
from Honolulu, Hawaii
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$359.00 | | Purchased At: | SUpErGo | | Strengths: | No need to buy springs, durability and solid feel | | Weaknesses: | Damper could be more adjustable, needs more tire clearance | | Similar Products Used: | Quadra 21R, Judy FSX, Judy SL, X-vert, SX-Ti, Z1, X-fly, Black elite (and maybe a few more over all the time I've been riding). All owned and used! | | Bike Setup: | '02 Giant AC, Fox vanilla RC in the rear, Free ride style setup | | Bottom Line: | Here is how i just set mine up and it works GREAT! I weight 210# and use 10 weight oil with a 45mm oil height (side with negative pressure will need to be approximated as level goes up while you push that side damper in, when you take your fork apart for oil change you will know what I mean). Thinking possibly using a 50mm oil height. Positive pressure is 40 PSI with a negative pressure of 120 PSI. I tried some oil levels listed in the forums, but this works better for me. Hope this info is helpful to people as I spent a fair amount of time finding this out.
Product weaknesses is the damping is limited to the ECC5 and my 2.4 Fire FR just barely fits (I had to redish my wheel slightly to prevent rubbing) and am going with a 2.3 or 2.35 for my next tire. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lee F
a
from Tucson,AZ
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Strengths: | very adjustable!! Feels very solid.......Marzocchi tech dept. (Tracy) | | Similar Products Used: | Phsylo,Indy,Atom bomb | | Bike Setup: | Turner XCE mostly XT,Fox vanilla RC coil,Specialized Preo-Roller tires............. | | Bottom Line: | Overall a great fork. I had a fe problems at the start. (Leaking air)The guys at Marzocchi were great. They took the time to make it right. I am totaly satisfied with Marzocchi. Its nice to know they stand behind their products. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
northwave
a Cross Country Rider
from Manchester, UK
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Mabie Forest, Red Route | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Harry Hall Cycles (UK) | | Strengths: | Infinitely tunable | | Weaknesses: | Disc hose routing on the '04 model (I've had to zip tie my disc hose to the plastic hose clamp and it doesn't route well with a Marzocchi fender in place either). | | Similar Products Used: | ZI Freeride QR20, Marathon SL, MX Pro ETA, SID 100s, Manitou X Verts, Duke SLs... | | Bike Setup: | '98 FSR Elite, with full BETD backend (linkage plate, replacement seat & chain stays, needle bearing kit), Tim Flooks tuned Vanilla R with "North Shore" damping (more at http://www.rothar.com/FSR.htm) | | Bottom Line: | These forks are lighter than the Z1 Freeride coil fork they replaced, the performance as you would expect is not quite as good as a coil fork, but it comes damn close and the weight saving more than makes up for the difference in ride feel.
To be honest I prefer the ECC5 adjustability over ETA and frequently cycle amongst the five settings when out riding. I have seen a few sets that have been sent with the ECC adjuster incorrectly fitted so you can't get all five positions, but reseating it is a 30 second job with just a 2.5mm allen key.
This allen key is an essential tool as you need it to add pressure to the ECC side of the fork. Having to remove the top cap out in the field is asking for trouble, especially given the chance of losing bits. That said these forks hold air, so once you've got the setup right for your weight AND riding style, then the shock pump stays buried in your 'pack.
Stiffness is impressive. I think the '04 ones with 32mm legs are actually stiffer than my '02 QR20's. I just wish Marzocchi would do a SL QR20! I've also had problems with sticky air valves on both my Freeride SLs and Marathon SLs, but this is usually cured by reinflating, still it's a little bit annoying.
Spend time getting them set up properly and you won't be disappointed. Marzocchi build quality and sealing is legendary. With a good maintenance regime, these forks will provide years of faithful service - even in British winters :o)
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rich Sack
a Cross Country Rider
from Trabuco Canyon, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: March 17, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | San Juan Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$360.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | Adjustability, Stiff, Eats up everything, while Feeling bottoless on large drops, beautiful to look at, ecc5 | | Weaknesses: | A little heavy, no technical info on how to service and take the fork apart. Need an allen wrench to add air to right + chamber | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shock, Manitou | | Bike Setup: | Stumpjumper FSR | | Bottom Line: | If you don't mind spending a few minutes to adjust the air pressure, this is the best fork you can own. There is no other fork that lets you climb like a short travel fork and go downhill like 5 inch fork. Mine has worked flawleesly. This fork has saved be several times. Set up is very easy and much less complicated than the new 2004 minute air shocks by manitou and fox. I weigh 195 lbs. Just put 35-40 psi in the the two positive chambers (takes about 2 minutes...would be faster if you didn't need an allen wrench to take of right valve cover) and 120 psi in the neg chamber (takes less than 1 minute). Remember - most pumps read a pressure that is 5 - 10 psi lower than what is in the shock...if your pump says 40 psi you may have 50 psi in the shock. Many people don't realize, because it's hidden in the manual, that the negative spring not only affects the plushness of the fork but also increases the compression dampening of the fork (increase neg air pressure and your rebound increases as well as your small bump sensitivity increasing as well. My ecc is a God-send, making it climb like a billy goat and go downhill like butter (and with the neg spring set properly there are 5 or at least 4 distinct positions..position 2 and 3 act the same). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
clark
a
from vancouver
Date Reviewed: March 14, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | light, stiffer than my sid, looks nice | | Weaknesses: | horrible damping, bottoms out all the time, not terribly stiff, though not bad for a std QR axle, poor adjustability, etc... | | Similar Products Used: | manitou breakout, firefly, r/s psylo, marz mxr | | Bike Setup: | heckler, light freeride setup | | Bottom Line: | do not get this fork. get a manitou firefly (less than half a pound extra weight). if you can afford it, get a 2004 with spv - they are incredible! worth the extra $$$.
even better, if you were smart enough to get a frame with 1.5" headtube, get the breakout or breakout plus with spv - unbelievable!
everyone who's given this good reviews has obviously not tried the coil shocks. the air damping is awful. unless you crank the preload it will bottom out on anything over 3-4 feet, and then you're left with no small bump sensitivity. the rebound adjustment is quite useless. ecc-5 works ok sometimes, but its random.
had one of the best mechanics on the north shore look at it. he shares my new opinion of air shocks for freeride application. he threw some more oil in, so now its slighter less harsh when it bottoms and i can drop the preload for a more comfy ride, but it still sucks. however, now the ecc locks down at click 3 instead of click 5 (ie. i have almost no control over rebound).
ok, i'm 200 pounds. maybe you could get away with this fork if you're much lighter so you can run lower preload, but this thing is still a huge pain in the ass to tune (see all reviews below). you can't control pressure within a couple psi realistically, even with a good shock pump.
my advice: get a manitou. if you're like me and wanted a regular QR dropout so you could use your weenie xc front wheel, get a new wheel, cuz you'll bust it anyway. get a proper 20mm thru-axle. they're so much stiffer. the 04 firefly is sick!
2 chili's is called "fair". 3 is "good". i can't call this fork "good". sorry. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ivan
a
from C-Springs
Date Reviewed: March 12, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$450.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson | | Strengths: | Stiffness, beauty, lockout. | | Weaknesses: | Difficult to dial in (depends on if its an XC day, an urban assault day, or downhilling). I wish it came with a 2004 Calendar. | | Similar Products Used: | Z2, Float 100 RLC, Black comp 120 | | Bike Setup: | G-spot, Z1 SL, XT, avid mechanicals with some thomson and titec bits thrown in | | Bottom Line: | 450$ w/the chris king headset seems like a good price. This fork is much stiffer, smoother and more adjustable than the 2003 Black comp I just got off of. Strength is way up there as I nosed-in-to-endo on a 5 foot to pavement drop w/no issues to the fork. Like all the other notes, I'm still trying to dial in the pressures. Looking back, the only other fork I should have considered was the Fox Talas. But for 300$ more and no headset, there wasn't a real decision here. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Trevor
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Cruz
Date Reviewed: March 11, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Fast, bumpy , and furious | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | supergo | | Strengths: | Rolls over just about everything. ECC, even though it should have multiple settings for extension. stiffness. Looks. I did not have much trouble setting the air pressures. Find the right sag and use the rebound adjustment to compensate for the touchy negative air pressure. | | Weaknesses: | drop out to crown length is considerably longer that Fox's 125mm forks. adapter needed to add air. BAD MANUAL. It is the same manual as my MX Comp w/eta. Heavy. Noisy oil/air sounds. | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox judy, Marzocchi MX comp w/eta | | Bike Setup: | I-Drive 1.0 | | Bottom Line: | On my first ride down a rooty, bumpy trail I came around a corner and two guys coming up gave me big grins. I realized that I had been screeming in joy at the new bump eater I had found. This fork rocks. The plush ride totally makes up for the changed head angle. The ECC makes up for the head angle on the climbs and still leaves me with more than an inch of travel in most cases. If you don't wish to pick a line on this fork (cross country) you don't have to. If you find it cheap, buy it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mattman
a Weekend Warrior
from La Mirada
Date Reviewed: February 8, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$359.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | Looks good, I can set it up for my 250# weight, ECC works well for climbing. | | Weaknesses: | Negative air leaked 50# a week from day one and now went out completely, I'm bummed. The bike will go to supergo tomorrow and I hope they can fix the problem there and not have to ship the fork off for repair. Hard to get the set-up right. | | Similar Products Used: | Marzocchi Z4 air, Rock Shox Psylo XC, Rock Shox Pilot SL | | Bike Setup: | '03 Trek Liquid 20+ | | Bottom Line: | I bought this fork to replace the stock Psylo that sucked for a guy my size. I have had good experience with Marzocchi in the past but this really suckes to have problems with a fork that is not even 3 months old. I still have not got the set-up dialed and I'm already taking it in for repair. Until the negative air cartridge went out I was liking it pretty well it is a huge improvement over the Psylo. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dylan
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: January 22, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | still searchin' | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Adrenaline Bikes | | Strengths: | Looks, adjustability, stiff, plush, did I say looks? | | Weaknesses: | Poor manual and instructions. They just plain out suck. The sensitivity of the fork makes me wish I had a pump with 1lb increments. | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou, Rock Shox | | Bike Setup: | "THE GHOST" - 2003 Foes FXR with all the fixin's such as curnutt TI, Julie 6", XT drivetrain, 32 spoke X3.1 rims to Hugi 240's, Fire XC Pro 2.1's, Thomson post/stem, King headset | | Bottom Line: | These shocks fit my Foes very nicely. The titanium is like a light gray and the black lettering looks cool. Now for the real stuff. The stanchions are pretty stout and hold up well. I can't say enough about the smoothness of this fork. It is definitely one of the best lightweight, long travel forks out there.
Now for the adjustment part. This is what I do to set it up. Give it a try if you get fed up with the manual.
I weigh 165 lbs.
When you are sitting on the bike, the left side of the fork has 2 valves and the middle one is -. The outside one is the +. The right side of the fork only has one valve, which is +. You need to turn the ECC all the way clockwise to see this valve. Let out all the air from all + and - chambers and keep the ECC all the way clockwise. Now pump about 20lbs into the + chambers on both left and right sides. Now, turn the ECC all the way counterclockwise. (The shock should rise all the way up.) Turn the ECC back all the way CW. Pump up the + chambers to 25lbs. Now pump up the - chamber to 100lbs. Turn the ECC valve all the way CCW. Check the plushness. What do you think? I hope that helps some folks.
5 stinkies for this fork. It rocks. Period.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brett Dulyea
a Weekend Warrior
from Newport Beach, CA
Date Reviewed: January 16, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | El Morro | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$360.00 | | Purchased At: | supergo | | Strengths: | It's great, but the lock down feature doesn't work on mine! | | Weaknesses: | The ECC5 lock out feature slowly unlocks so that by the time I'm up the hill, it's 90% extended. I've sent it back twice and had to use a Judy 80 loaner fork while it's out. Freakin' Lame! | | Bottom Line: | I regret buying this fork as one of the coolest feature has yet to work properly. Buyer beware, test is out before you scratch it up so that you can take it back. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Reymond Singson
a Weekend Warrior
from Manila, Philippines
Date Reviewed: January 1, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Tagaytay | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Light, Stiff, very plush and adjustable. | | Weaknesses: | takes a while to set up properly. Negative airspring loses air over time - makes the rebound suddently too fast if you dont check the air pressure. No QR20 option like the Z150 SL | | Similar Products Used: | z1 coil, dj3 | | Bike Setup: | Cove Stiffee FR with Z1 SL's. RF and Shimano Parts. | | Bottom Line: | I was really intrigued by this fork, since a lot of buyers were put off by the notion of an air sprung FR fork. When the LBS here gave me a good deal, I decided to slap it on my cove, w/c I found to nose heavy with the DJ3. Had a hard time setting it up at first, but I saw the pressures the guys from this review set up. Now its as smooth as my coil z1 on my switch. the weight makes the bike a lot easier to whip around and pick up. Really great fork and a great buy. If you find a 2003 on sale. pick it up fast you wont regret it :) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
FATTRAX
a Weekend Warrior
from PHOENIX
Date Reviewed: December 12, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | SOUTH MOUNTAIN | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$359.00 | | Purchased At: | SUPERGO | | Strengths: | SUPER ADJUSTABLE.GREAT STEERING PRECISION.CLEAN LOOK WITH NO CANTI BOSSES.THE COLOR MATCHES MY FRAME DECALS PERFECTLY. | | Weaknesses: | 3 PSI ONE WAY OR ANOTHER CHANGES THE RIDE QUALITYS.NOT REALLY A WEAKNESS,JUST A LITTLE LONGER TO GET THE PERFECT SET UP. | | Similar Products Used: | X-VERT SUPER.VARIOUS ROCK SHOX'S | | Bike Setup: | '02 K2 DISCO MONKEY,Z-1 SL,XT DISCS,RACE FACE,CHRIS KING,WTB,BONTRAGER,RYHNO LITES W/GEAX STURDY'S. | | Bottom Line: | THIS IS A GREAT 5" FORK!LIGHTER THAN IT'S COIL SPRUNG BROTHER AND EASIER TO TUNE.PLUSH RIDE AND STEERS GREAT.ECC MAKES STEEP CLIMBS A NON ISSUE.REDOUND ADJUSTMENTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE W/EVERY CLICK.GREAT MARZOCCHI LOOKS!AIR PRESSURE IS THE KEY.I'M 215lbs,CURRENTLY SET AT 47+ AND 145-.THIS IS WORKING GREAT FOR ME.PUT A ZIP TIE ON ONE OF THE SLIDERS TO SEE IF YOU ARE GETTING FULL TRAVEL.ADJUST AS NEEDED,IT'S THAT EASY. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stefan
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder, CO
Date Reviewed: November 26, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$380.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | Light, stiff, tunability, ECC5, damping.
It's a Zoke! | | Weaknesses: | Axle to crown length (long), takes for ever to get it set up properly, Zoke customer service (no one at Marzocchi know what the oil volume is, reccomended air pressures can be off the map). | | Similar Products Used: | Z4 Air, Black Elite | | Bike Setup: | SS SC Chameleon, Ritchey hubs/219s, XT cranks, King cogs, various tires (Geax right now), Titec bits n pieces | | Bottom Line: | Aside from difficulty tuning it, and the stupidity at Marzocchi, this is a great fork. From the outside, one can't help but think the innards are painfully complicated, but they're really not. It's a very easy fork to work on (like all Marzocchis). I've changed the oil and air pressures around, all with great results.
I'm riding it right now with 10 wt oil (ssslloooowww and plush) and + 28/- 90 and it seems to work alright. (I weigh 150 lbs.) It's a bit on the stiff side, and sucks up hits reasonably well, but I think I might switch back to 7.5 wt oil, or perhaps somewhere in between. Too high a negative pressure really throws things for a loop, making the rebound sloppy and the sag too deep. With the heavier weight oil, it's much more succeptible to these tuning anomalies. The clicking mentioned below is probably Marzocchi's trademark metal-on-metal bottom out, and is probably a product of too little oil, or too little positive compared to the negative chamber (1 pos vs 3 neg works pretty well as a rule). It could also be loose lower bolts.
Over all, it's a good fork, and the '03s can be had for stinking cheap. Worth every penny, but it loses on behalf of it's incompetent manufacturer and fickleness! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Phil
a Weekend Warrior
from Adelaide South Australia
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$370.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | Light, stiff, tunable, Marzocchi mudguard, its a Marzocchi | | Weaknesses: | Takes a while to tune, retail price, clicking sound on bigger hits?? Changes head angles... | | Similar Products Used: | RST, manitou, rock shock | | Bike Setup: | Merida Magnesium Elite, lotsa nice bits ~24lbs with still many heavy bits. | | Bottom Line: | Once tuned in it is very responsive on small and big hits. I do lose a small amount of high pressure (~15psi) after a few rides, but no big deal. Nice and stiff for a bigger guy (200lbs). I have gained confidence using this fork, and will adjust pressures as I take bigger drops.
The travel slackened my head angle considerably (my frame is really only XC) but the performance far out weighs geometry change, and the lock down still allows great climbing.
I have noticed a loud clicking on bigger hits, I have assumed its the faster valving coming into play but has anyone else experienced this??
Still - "I LOVE IT"
My setup:
ME: 200lbs
Hi: 145psi
Lo: 35psi
Rebound: 2nd click in | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a
from State College PA
Date Reviewed: November 12, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Light for a 5 inch travel fork, buttery smooth, what's there to say other than it works great. | | Weaknesses: | To put air in the right leg (leg with the ECC knob) you have to use an allen wrench and take the cap off, not a real problem, but tedious. | | Similar Products Used: | Marzocchi Z.2, Z.3, shiver sc. Manitou Xvert(hahaha as if it could compare) | | Bike Setup: | Ellsworth Id, Z1 fork, romic rear, xt drive train, race face signature DH BB and North Shore cranks, Hayes Hydros, Atom lab rims laced to Hayes superlight hubs, | | Bottom Line: | Great fork once you get it set up and figure out what pressures you like to run. It costs more than most entry level bikes, but if you have the bones to shell out, buy it; but if you don't, I'm sure the coil version works just as well with a little extra weight. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joel
a
from Boulder
Date Reviewed: November 12, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | Super responsive & Tunable. | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | RockShox junk- | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Mountain ETSX | | Bottom Line: | Follow up to rantings earlier about bad customer service:
After a few phone calls to Marzocchi I finally got the right guy on the horn who next day shipped a new negative air cartridge to me. Now that the fork is working properly I have to say that it was worth the wait.
I recant my earlier 1 chili rating and give a full 5 chilis, even with having received a defective fork at first. This would give the Z.1 Freeride a clean 5.0 average rating.
I have not ridden enough other products to make a real comparison but this fork simply feels amazing
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris Dye
a Weekend Warrior
from Provo
Date Reviewed: November 9, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | ridge trail 157 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$360.00 | | Purchased At: | supergo | | Strengths: | Durable, Stiff, Lightweight, Feels like a coil fork, Adjustable, pimp looks, and there's a little clip to hold your brake line in place | | Weaknesses: | air pressure settings not so user friendly | | Similar Products Used: | Z1 MCR, Z1 X-Fly, Psylo, Manitou Black | | Bike Setup: | Id w/ XT drivetrain, Wheelset: DT Huegi FR hubs Comp. Spokes, Valiant Rims, Hayes Discs, Thomson, LP, Bontrager cockpit, Tioga Tires, Time pedals, frickin' old Giro Cow Seat w/ the mange | | Bottom Line: | The performance of this fork was an amazing improvement over all the other forks I've ever owned. It feels very much like other marzocchi coil forks of the same type.
The fork is stiff; there is little flex in hard turns or during tight, technical maneuvering. It feels like the tullio psylo forks i've ridden, it's that stiff.
The fork is so plush due to marzocchi's doppio air system. The negative spring is very effective at keeping the fork active over even small bumps. I will glady accept the extra hassle of the awkward air valve locations for a few minutes in order to reap the benefits of a well-built, high performance fork. (There are three air valves to adjust - two positive and one negative, all located on the top caps of the fork.) It only takes about 15 minutes of testing various air pressure settings to find the right ones. Knowing marzocchi, they have done an excellent job on the internals so I expect that the fork will be performing well and holding air for a long time.
And it just looks pimp. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff
a Weekend Warrior
from Cambridge, MA
Date Reviewed: November 8, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Many | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | classifieds | | Strengths: | Price, strengths, looks, relatively simple, seem durable so far since I've starting doing drops (bottomed harshly many times) and nothing has broken ... yet. | | Weaknesses: | Very difficult to get air pressure settings right. It seems like each time I go through the process of setting them I get a different result with same air pressure settings. I keep going up to get them stiffer but have not reached that ideal setting yet. Anyone try heavier oil weight? | | Similar Products Used: | Rockshox SID SL. | | Bike Setup: | SC Heckler set up for light freeriding. | | Bottom Line: | This is a follow up to my previous post from a week ago. Originally, the forks were really stiff and I reset the pressure last weekend. They are now too soft and I'm bottoming easily off 3-4 foot drops. I have fiddled with settings several times and now running 50pos/125 neg. I played with negative and it seems the less you put in the stiffer they are so that is how I'm getting them to be a bit stiffer but don't want to go too low. Has anyone tried heavier oil? I like the forks but need them to get stiffer later in the travel. They seem to blow through travel too easily but the initial plushness seems right. If I put more pos air in, they get too harsh in early stroke. Downgraded my overall rating from 5 to 4. Email me if you have tried heavier weight oil put and can give me some advice. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joel
a
from Boulder
Date Reviewed: November 4, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | supergo | | Strengths: | Looks nice | | Weaknesses: | Came out of the box broken, has a faulty negative air cartridge | | Similar Products Used: | RockShox | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Mountian ETSX | | Bottom Line: | Well, I guess this fork is supposed to be sweet when it works, but wasn't. I expected a little more out of Marzocchi's customer service than I got. After multiple calls it became apparent that the thing was hosed. Good luck if you buy one, cause if you need warranty help Marzocchi was less than helpful with me.
I don't know what sort of quality control Marzocchi uses, but the must not have checked my fork, it would have failed a simple pressure test straight away. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff
a Weekend Warrior
from Cambridge, MA
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Fells/Lynn Woods | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | MTBReview classifieds | | Strengths: | Strength, simplicity, acceptable weight for travel/stanchion size | | Weaknesses: | Difficult to get air pressue setup right | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox SID SL | | Bike Setup: | 2003 Santa Cruz, Heckler, XT/XTR drivetrain, Hope minis, Progressive 5th coil, Protaper bars, Sun Ryhno Lite wheels, Thompson stem, post | | Bottom Line: | I read these posts when I first got the forks to check setup and set them up to 44 positive/140 negative (I weigh 180lb). I've ridden about 10 times now so they should be broken in. So far they have been really stiff and not plush at all over rocks and roots. I let all the air out of them today and reset to 40 positive/135 negative and they feel so much plusher. It's not a big pressure change but I imagine they build up pressure as you ride but they are easity 20->25% softer now. I'm heading out tomorrow ... let you know how the new setup works out. I recommend them highly though ... very stiff, look great, and well thought out design. Everyone says they are durable which is going to be a nice change from my old SID SL which self destructed every season (seals blown, oil everywhere). Compared to competitiion, these forks are less expensive also. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
M TT
a Weekend Warrior
from irvine
Date Reviewed: October 9, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | San juan | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | supergo | | Strengths: | tracks very well, stiff, v. plush, fairly light for a 5incher; also looks damn good. | | Weaknesses: | none so far | | Similar Products Used: | fox vanilla rlc; manitou mars | | Bike Setup: | ellsworth id, xt/xtr, raceface, thomson, chris kings...etc | | Bottom Line: | This is an awesome fork for trail riding and light freeriding. I was very impress with the fox vanilla's stiffness and tracking ability, and the bomber is as good for less weight and cost. It is surprisingly plush for an air fork. Seems to be very well built, should last awhile. My riding has elavated another level after putting this fork in. It gives you much more confidence over the roughs. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul
a Weekend Warrior
from London, UK
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | The next downhill course I do | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | Stif | | Strengths: | Plush and relatively light | | Weaknesses: | You need to know about this web site if you want to set it up properly | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou's | | Bike Setup: | 03 Bullit, XTR, Hope M4s, Hope Bulb hubs with F219 rims, Thomson post, Kore Stem, Easton carbon bars | | Bottom Line: | As with all the posts below (and I'm sure some that will come above) once you get it dialled in the fork is great.
I'm 6'4" and 220lbs and run a bit less pressure than the guys below. 35 pos 135 neg. This makes the fork extremely plush and I'm not yet having any trouble with bottoming out - except when I ride like a complete duffer. But then I'm not doing big drops yet and as soon as I develop balls big enough I'm pretty sure I'll be moving up by about 10lbs on each setting.
I use my Bullit for a mix of trail and downhill riding and have started jumping (used to be an XC only weight weenie)
The fork is light enough for the trail stuff whilst still being capable enough on the downhill. Sure I'd like an extra 40mm of travel but I don't won't to add another 2 lbs on the fork weight.
I havn't worked out why there are 5 settings on the ECC yet. When I get to the bottom of a hill I just wind it all the way to the top and mash down on the fork. Hey presto I've lost 100mm on the front end which transforms the climbing abilities of the bike through the changes in head angle whilst I still have a small amount of travel. So what are the other setting for - answers on another post please.
Bottom line great fork for trail riding and light DH use | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JC
a Cross Country Rider
from Bend, Oregon
Date Reviewed: August 27, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Flagline | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Very plush and responsive after I finally got it dialed in. The fork came on my Rocky Mt. Slayer. | | Weaknesses: | The owners manual that I got with my bike from Marzocchi gave no information on neg. air pressure. It was a complete guessing game on my part. I was getting the most harsh top outs ever and it was driving me nuts. Of course i was running about 60 psi neg. air. This should be addressed. My LBS did not have the correct info either. I finally got it dialed after many trials and errors and a few phone calls. | | Bottom Line: | my set up- 6'3". 215 lbs. 50 pos. air. 145 neg air. It works like a charm. Great fork for porkers like myself. Marzocchi, please include reccomended air pressure in your owners manual!!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ben
a Cross Country Rider
from Brighton UK
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | South Downs way/ Local singletrack | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$340.00 | | Purchased At: | |
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$ 599.00
