# 2012 Marzocchi 888 RC3 Evo Ti Proto



## Nick_M2R (Oct 18, 2008)

Oh yessssss........ 
:thumbsup: 

Im starting to get the Nagging feeling that Marzocchi is back!


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Nick_M2R said:


> Oh yessssss........
> :thumbsup:
> 
> Im starting to get the Nagging feeling that Marzocchi is back!


They aren't "back" just because they can make a pretty chassi. They better have some internals in there that support the fancy look, which has been a problem for marzocchi for the last, oh, about 10 years or so. The HSCV stuff was fine way back in the day when everything sucked, but I'd say that Fox, RS, Manitou, and others are lightyears ahead in terms of damping. I don't know why they don't drop carts in the forks that simply have the features and engineering as their moto carts, but they don't. Where are the shimmed (and re-shimmable) rebound valves? The complex low-high compression valves with seperate adjustments? Anti-bottoming cone, maybe even adjustable? Etc...They got a long ways to go, and a bling-looking chassi doesn't mean there's any real substance there.


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## boogenman (Sep 22, 2006)

It ill take more than some bling to earn my $$$


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## DeanH (Jan 9, 2008)

the 2010 888 Evos ride everybit and better then anything else out there now.

they had bum years in 08 and 09, but the 10 models have been doing amazing.

Id take a RC3 EVO TI over a fox40 any day at least i wont have to bring spare bladders or a boxxer, so i wont have to service it constantly.

nah all things aside..

the new boxxers ride great, so do the Fox40s

But i prefer the 888 over any of them, in the 10 + models.

But saying marz hasnt been up to par the last 10 years is just plain stupid, even manitou that has been out cold for a while has managed to get back in the game.

For DH forks that is, i cant comment on their XC forks.


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## blender (Oct 28, 2005)

haters gonna hate
the new chassis looks very clean. The gold on black is a fantastic combo!

last weekend at Northstar, in my crew there were 3 Boxxers, 2 brand new 40s, and I was on my inferior 888.

one Boxxer WC ended up with a damper snapped in half, two other Boxxer Teams were puking oil out of the seals after the first day. Both 40s (one regular and one Kashima), felt super sticky and very overdamped (could have been personal rider settings). 

My $hitty 888 felt amazing all weekend. Incredibly compliant off the top, very smooth and controlled through the stroke, with excellent bottom-out characteristics. For one run I swapped bikes with one of my buddies that was on the 40, and he confirmed that the 888 felt stellar.

People sit around and e-hate on Marzocchi all day long, yet i keep riding my 888 without a single issue. I got one of the dreaded 2008 forks, which eventually developed the bushing slop that everyone experienced. The lowers were warrantied for 2010 lowers by Marz USA, and the bushings have been solid since. I take good care of my equipment, my 888 gets fresh grease and Motorex oil every few months, and nomatter how hard I ride this fork - it keeps performing at the highest level. Going on 3rd season of frequent and heavy park riding, and I don't even think about my front end, it just does what it's supposed to do.

I'm not here to defend Marzocchi, or bash other products. I have zero brand loyalty, and only ride products that work for me. There is no speculation or bias in my opinion, it is based on simple facts and real riding experiences. If my 888 was complete $hit, like everyone else seems to think, I would happily trade it for a better fork, but it's simply not the case.
I'm finding it very difficult to understand how so many people dislike Marzocchi so much. 
Did i get the ONE magic 888 that was perfectly made?


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## tiSS'er (Jan 6, 2004)

Jayem said:


> They aren't "back" just because they can make a pretty chassi. They better have some internals in there that support the fancy look, which has been a problem for marzocchi for the last, oh, about 10 years or so. The HSCV stuff was fine way back in the day when everything sucked, but I'd say that Fox, RS, Manitou, and others are lightyears ahead in terms of damping. I don't know why they don't drop carts in the forks that simply have the features and engineering as their moto carts, but they don't. Where are the shimmed (and re-shimmable) rebound valves? The complex low-high compression valves with seperate adjustments? Anti-bottoming cone, maybe even adjustable? Etc...They got a long ways to go, and a bling-looking chassi doesn't mean there's any real substance there.


Agreed. I have an 08 66RC3 which is now a 2010RC3 since it has been steadily upgraded over the last 18 months. It has been in for warranty 3 times now. The last time I rode it was in Whistler, and had oil spewing from the coil side. Fortunately, it was near the end of the week and I just wiped it up after each ride.

It sure is pretty, but my Lyrik is more adjustable, has much better rebound and has been solid. I just ordered a new Van 160 to replace the Lyrik, so we will see how that goes. I did get some time to play on a 2011 non-Kashima Float, and it was amazing. The dampening was great and it was super smooth. This will be my first Fox in years, but my hopes are high. The Lyrik has been superb, but is showing its age.

I find it funny how the market has changed. 10 years ago, Marzocchi was the only choice. RS was crap, and Fox was questionable. Then RS got their act together, Marzocchi and Fox fell. Now it seems like RS is maintaining, Fox is back, and Marzocchi is sitting off the back. I hope they get back to where they were, because when they work they are the best fork....


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## CrustyOne (Oct 29, 2007)

Quote Jayem....."They better have some internals in there that support the fancy look, which has been a problem for marzocchi for the last, oh, about 10 years or so"

10 years, are you on drugs?, they made amazing stuff up to and including 2007
as for the 2011/12 stuff, well wait and see eh?


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## Pwshadow (Sep 5, 2010)

CrustyOne said:


> Quote Jayem....."They better have some internals in there that support the fancy look, which has been a problem for marzocchi for the last, oh, about 10 years or so"
> 
> 10 years, are you on drugs?, they made amazing stuff up to and including 2007
> as for the 2011/12 stuff, well wait and see eh?


I second that. I have riden the new 40 with the Kashima coat and it is not as buttery or bottomless as my 2007 888 rc2x.


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## Bikesair (Feb 20, 2006)

I tend to think that the ported rebound on the RC3/EVO cartridge has probably been determined to be sufficient for performance riding. I mean I wish I could say I've ridden a long travel Fox fork but I haven't so I can't give you a personal opinion. I just think that it isn't because Marzocchi is lazy...it's just determined to not be necessary. 

I mean think about it...why would Marzocchi go to all the trouble of designing a new cartridge and then flopping when it came to the rebound? If they determined that a ported piston could not perform to the specifications of their pro-rider requirements I'm sure they would have changed it. It's stupid to go through all that NRE to not make something that is going to need to be changed in two years. I guess we will see...

And if I had to guess about the bottom out cone it would be because it's open bath so you can change the progresiveness of the storke. I know that's not ideal for a lot of riders but I actually enjoy the feel of a progressive stroke. Just been ridin' on air forks forever and have learned to roll with it. Oh and Fox will be the first one to tell you that the majority of riders do not need independent LSC and HSC adjustments. They just know what people want to buy. 

I guess I'm defending Marzocchi here but I do understand where you guys are coming from. I just think that a Zoke is known for what it is and they are staying true to that. Don't over complicate something simple. An Evo cart can be out and apart in like 5 minutes if you know what your doing. 

All aside...that is one damn good looking fork.


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## b-kul (Sep 20, 2009)

Jayem said:


> about 10 years or so.


counting is hard. 

looks like 40mm sanctions.


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## be350ka (Dec 17, 2004)

I hope Marz is coming back! I have had several Marz forks and still use a 2006 66SL and a 2007 888 RC2X. BOTH have been great for all of these years. As a matter of fact I am sending in the 66 for new air seals and plan on another 4 years of problem free use.

Currently I am using a FOX 40 because I just had to see what it was all about. Although I do like the fork I think I am going to switch back to the 888 for a back to back comparison. I didn't feel the night and day difference that everyone made me think I would feel.


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## JD Risk (Nov 7, 2005)

I got a new 888 this season (2010 RC3 EVO) and it's been great but now I'm starting to get a lot of bushing slop. Something felt a little weird when I first got it but I couldn't isolate it. It felt like it had no damping in the last half inch of rebound and it was topping out. Now I'm sure it was the bushings all along. I'll ride it the rest of the season and then send it back and see what they say. Overall it's still the best fork I've ridden but I thought the bushings were supposed to be great this year.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Bikesair said:


> I mean think about it...why would Marzocchi go to all the trouble of designing a new cartridge and then flopping when it came to the rebound? If they determined that a ported piston could not perform to the specifications of their pro-rider requirements I'm sure they would have changed it. It's stupid to go through all that NRE to not make something that is going to need to be changed in two years. I guess we will see....


But they didn't, they half assed it. Where's the high/low externally adjustable compression? They half-assed pretty much ALL of their damping systems in the past, that was ok when all the other fork manufacturers were half assing stuff (like RS hydracoil, fox 36s losing travel, etc), but the other manufacturers finally got decent interals in there. Marzocchi used good internals on the 03 and later Monster Ts (real shiver MX carts), but they've half assed about every other damper they've made. I got the much hyped and brand new All-mountain 1 when it came out, with the brand new TST damping. What a crock of crap that was, sure, it was a way to add some compression adjustment, but as far as compression DAMPING goes it blew chunks. Maybe they aren't lazy and just inept, I dunno, but I wouldn't race out to buy any new marzocchi products. The closest I'd get is buy a cheap low-end marzocchi chassi and put an avalanche cart in it. Then I got something even better than what marzocchi is trying to pawn off this year, for cheaper. It's kind of like they are always trying to catch up as of the last 5-10 years. Manitou came out with TPC+, which was frankly quite far ahead of marzocchi, it's just that manitou's cartridges sucked. RS got motion control and then mission-control. What did marzocchi do? They got the RC2 and then RC3 carts. I got both of them. As far as damping they ain't very great. I think how they never show/explain the internals is telling enough. Finally RC3 evo came out which was a good deal better, but still way behind the curve.


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## nmpearson (Aug 13, 2007)

The new 888's are seriously amazing. I was stunned the difference between the 09(i had a wc that had no issues except weight), and the 2011 stuff. I talked to them for a while. Seems like they really are starting to get things dialed. Tyler at twenty6 said he's going to be producing 888 stems this year, so i'm thinking its time to switch back. my boxxer was great this year but the 888's are just so much more plush and seem ready for hard daily use


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## woodyak (Jan 20, 2004)

My experience with the 2010 66 RC3 TI has been kinda shaky. I've been riding it for about a season and I haven't had any major issues. The seals are fine and the damping feels pretty good, though it does feel oversprung for my 150lb. weight. I do have some minor issues that are kinda building up. First off the fork came with a creaky crown right out of the box. The option was to send it in and weight or ride so I decided to ride. I also had a problem getting full travel until I rebuilt it and reduced the oil volume. I contacted Zoke about all of my issues and their advice was not helpful at all. Basically they told me I could send it in but I'd be w/o a fork for a month during prime riding season. That's pretty crappy service when you just laid out 1k for a new top of the line fork. 

I had a 2009 Totem solo air which I thought sucked terribly. The thing had terrible brake dive, which I countered with air and compression which made the fork ride like crap. I converted it to coil and it was significantly better. Not as plush on the small stuff as I'd like but decent. And the chassis was incredibly stiff. I was amazed at how much stiffer it is than the older dual and triple crown forks. I really liked how easy it was to change the oil with the ports on the legs. I eventually removed the floodgate to get better plushness. It wasn't all gravy though. In that year of ownership I went through 5 sets of seals, including 2 sets of Enduro's, 2 dampers, and I sent it in twice. They finally replaced it, which I sold to get the 66. Yeah, the RS stuff is easy to work on and their customer service is very easy to deal with (despite being forced to go through a shop) but having my bike out of commission got real old.

This leaves me to FOX. I had a couple of 36's in the past and while I remembered loving the damping I did have issues. My 07 VANRC236 felt great but it would bottom kind of easily. I ended up having to use the heavier spring to keep it from clanking, which made the fork ride rough. After 6 months I ran into the dreaded stanchion wear, bushing wear, seal blowout issue. This sucked but Fox did eventually did a crash replacement for it. My next 36 was an 08 FloatRC2. I was pretty impressed at how it rode for an air fork but I did have the loss of travel issue and it also clanked pretty easily. It would clank but not use the last 3/4" of travel. Drove me nuts so I sold it and got the Totem.

So now I'm going back around full circle. I've ordered a 180 Talas RC2. I plan on sending the 66 into Zoke and have them completely rework it. That should give me time to decide which fork I like better. The 66 or the Talas. Based on what I've read I have high hopes for the TALAS.


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## westman (Jul 13, 2007)

For performance and low maintnance, BOS is king. 40s are not impressive to me at all(unplush, sticky and overdamped feel), boxxers break left and right as did the last couple of years' 888s. The new zocchi 888 Rc3 Evo cartridge fork actually seems pretty good and I would buy one if I was not so utterly pleased with my BOS. And I like the look of that 2012!

But the BOS Idylle is still the king of the hill.


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## Pau11y (Oct 15, 2004)

Mmmmmm... black and gold hawtness! Say, that crown doesn't look like the Bxr bolt pattern!? Thought Marz was going to standardize on that?
Since Marz replaced my '08 888 WC lowers w/ the '10 slotted bushes and lowers, the fork has bee flawless. And, recently upgraded to the Avy cart. After some tweaking w/ Craig about rebound damping, the performance has been oh so sweet!


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## tiSS'er (Jan 6, 2004)

woodyak said:


> My experience with the 2010 66 RC3 TI has been kinda shaky. I've been riding it for about a season and I haven't had any major issues. The seals are fine and the damping feels pretty good, though it does feel oversprung for my 150lb. weight. I do have some minor issues that are kinda building up. First off the fork came with a creaky crown right out of the box. The option was to send it in and weight or ride so I decided to ride. I also had a problem getting full travel until I rebuilt it and reduced the oil volume. I contacted Zoke about all of my issues and their advice was not helpful at all. Basically they told me I could send it in but I'd be w/o a fork for a month during prime riding season. That's pretty crappy service when you just laid out 1k for a new top of the line fork.
> 
> I had a 2009 Totem solo air which I thought sucked terribly. The thing had terrible brake dive, which I countered with air and compression which made the fork ride like crap. I converted it to coil and it was significantly better. Not as plush on the small stuff as I'd like but decent. And the chassis was incredibly stiff. I was amazed at how much stiffer it is than the older dual and triple crown forks. I really liked how easy it was to change the oil with the ports on the legs. I eventually removed the floodgate to get better plushness. It wasn't all gravy though. In that year of ownership I went through 5 sets of seals, including 2 sets of Enduro's, 2 dampers, and I sent it in twice. They finally replaced it, which I sold to get the 66. Yeah, the RS stuff is easy to work on and their customer service is very easy to deal with (despite being forced to go through a shop) but having my bike out of commission got real old.
> 
> ...


I think every manufacturer has their issues. I just don't trust Marzocchi just yet, and the fact that they have a 4-5 week delay in warranty tells me that they are getting new warranties all of the time. I really like the RS products I've owned, but have heard the horror stories from others.

Fox is a new adventure for me. I'm hoping the rave reviews I keep hearing are accurate. I've ordered a Van 160 RC2, and all I keep hearing is how great the dampening is, and how smooth they are. I do have a few concerns about reliability of the damper but I am a religous maintenance freak.

I also think Fox gets a bit worse of a rep due to the fact that most OEM forks are Fox, and the numbers are against them. Much like Avid gets a bad rap due to the sheer numbers of units they have out there.

I really hope Marzocchi is getting things sorted, that new 888 is HAWT, and would certainly dawn my Podium...if I had one.


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## enemy1 (Nov 2, 2008)

Pau11y said:


> Mmmmmm... black and gold hawtness! Say, that crown doesn't look like the Bxr bolt pattern!? Thought Marz was going to standardize on that?
> Since Marz replaced my '08 888 WC lowers w/ the '10 slotted bushes and lowers, the fork has bee flawless. And, recently upgraded to the Avy cart. After some tweaking w/ Craig about rebound damping, the performance has been oh so sweet!


The direct mount stem pattern is a real turn off. They should use the same as RockShox and Fox.

Is the RC3 evo a closed cartridge or open bath?

I'm really torn between three options I have:
Option 1 is to sell 2 Boxxer Race forks (one used and the other is brand new) and get the 2011 888 evo 
Option 2 is to sell 1 Boxxer Race and get the Avy Cart
Option 3 is to sell 1 Boxxer Race and get the Elka Cart (price unknown)

Is the Avalanche cartridge really so good that Option #2 is the way to go?

I think the open bath system might be better than a closed cartridge...


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## tacubaya (Jan 27, 2006)

enemy1 said:


> The direct mount stem pattern is a real turn off. They should use the same as RockShox and Fox.
> 
> Is the RC3 evo a closed cartridge or open bath?
> 
> ...


Open bath. I'd go for the avy.


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## Pau11y (Oct 15, 2004)

enemy1 said:


> The direct mount stem pattern is a real turn off. They should use the same as RockShox and Fox.
> 
> Is the Avalanche cartridge really so good that Option #2 is the way to go?
> 
> I think the open bath system might be better than a closed cartridge...


Agree w/ you on the 1st point.
On 2nd pt: I'm thinking about a 2nd cart for a 35mm frankenforked 888VF that'll use a 35mm Bxr spring. It's ~ the same length as the 38mm 888 spring. And, the VF top cap can be drilled out for an air valve if necessary.
On the 3rd point: open bath => user serviceable/tunable.


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## [email protected] (Mar 12, 2011)

These are perfect for my shimano saint groupo. Way to go MARZ!!! 888 forever!


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## scorpionsf (Nov 16, 2006)

pretty sexy

anyone else think they should bring back the gunmetal rc2x and give them the new dropouts and stantion coatings and call it a day???


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## Norcoshore1 (Apr 28, 2010)

I hope they make a 66 like that. It would be sweeeeeeet


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## Nick_M2R (Oct 18, 2008)

Some new bits for the 2012 888 also

Direct mount stem crown (boxxer - fox40 style)
Proper shimmed rebound piston


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Too late, ordered the avalanche cartridge today. Avalanche has been using this technology for more than a decade in their forks. Marzocchi is going to finally do it next year? F-marzocchi. I'm not buying a new fork or waiting until they finally decide to offer the cartridge. $300 for a high end cartridge with all the bells and whistles is a win.


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## fattyreking (Jul 2, 2011)

id have the new 888 over boxxer or fox .......every review ive read rave about the 2010/2011 888 EVO Ti and i think after the bad rep they had previously to 2010 is going to change and i think they want to step it up and prove that they can build an awesome dh fork and im with them..........BOS forks would be my first option except the weight/$ turns my off and im sick of the mainstream of boxxers and fox look but saying that im not a fan of the gold stanchions


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## macming (Oct 31, 2004)

Jayem said:


> Too late, ordered the avalanche cartridge today. Avalanche has been using this technology for more than a decade in their forks. Marzocchi is going to finally do it next year? F-marzocchi. I'm not buying a new fork or waiting until they finally decide to offer the cartridge. $300 for a high end cartridge with all the bells and whistles is a win.


How did the Avy cart work out?


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## RBrady (Jan 20, 2009)

I'm rocking a 10 66ti for over a year now. Love it. Zero issues so far.


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## Jim311 (Feb 7, 2006)

Holy old azz thread bump. Rockshox > Marz


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## IntenseRdr (Jan 21, 2004)

That actually looks like the Marz Display from Interbike last year. They had several 888s showing off their custom build factory upgrades or something to that effect.


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## e2kkot (Jul 19, 2011)

Looks sexy! I'm rocking Marzocchi 888RV and it is extremely soft many people doesn't like that, but I do. I feel like I am riding Cadillac


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## michaeldorian (Nov 17, 2006)

The 2012's on there website looks nothing like that proto. Anyone know what happened to the gold nickel coating on the sanctions?


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## invol2ver (Jul 14, 2009)

they said they couldn't find a way to make it consistent and cost effective yet


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## supramk388 (Mar 6, 2007)

Nick_M2R said:


> Some new bits for the 2012 888 also
> 
> Direct mount stem crown (boxxer - fox40 style)
> Proper shimmed rebound piston


Bump...

Is white and black the only option for 2012 or can i get that black on gold set up in the first pic?


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## michaeldorian (Nov 17, 2006)

supramk388 said:


> Bump...
> 
> Is white and black the only option for 2012 or can i get that black on gold set up in the first pic?


Call me vain but I don't care. I'm not rocking this fork until they can make those gold sanctions. 

I think they showed there cards way too early. Showing those gold sanctions before they can make them was a mistake. What a tease.


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## istandalone (Feb 6, 2011)

sanction:
sanc·tion/ˈsaNG(k)SHən/
Noun:	
A threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule.
Verb:	
Give official permission or approval for (an action).
Synonyms:	
noun. approval - approbation - endorsement - authorization
verb. approve - confirm - authorize - ratify - affirm - endorse


stanchion:


stan·chion/ˈstanCHən/
Noun:	
An upright bar, post, or frame forming a support or barrier.
Synonyms:	
prop - pillar - support - post - shore - column - strut


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## michaeldorian (Nov 17, 2006)

istandalone said:


> sanction:
> sanc·tion/ˈsaNG(k)SHən/
> Noun:
> A threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule.
> ...


That's what I meant. Thanks for the correction. :thumbsup:


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