Best Marzocchi fork for 170lb 6'2" urban/FR/XC rider??

[Stephanie Long]

Hi,

I'm a 170lb 6'2'" rider, mainly riding aggressive XC, as well as some
FR/urban, doing things like wall rides and 4ft drops onto flat pavement. I
probably wouldn't attempt anything much bigger than 6ft drops. Of the
options for forks that Marzocchi offers, what should be the minimum I need?

DJ category

Do I need to opt for a (heavy!) DJ fork, like the Dirt Jam Comp (on the 2005
Norco Bigfoot for instance) or a Dirt Jumper 3?

FR category

I'm assuming that the "Drop Off" which they categorize as a FR fork is
superior to all their XC options, but inferior to the DJ forks? Is the "Drop
Off" also lighter than the all their DJ forks?

XC category

Or are some of their XC forks suitable for my above mentioned needs, such as
the MZ Race or MZ Comp, with 100-130mm of travel? I'm looking at several
bikes right now, most of which have a MZ Comp 100mm fork, and I'm wondering
whether that would suit my needs or whether upgrading is an absolute must.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Stephen Baker]

Stephanie,
Since all your choices are from the same company, why not write and ask them?
They will know much better than a bunch of strangers on Usenet, most of whom
think that Urban/DJ/FR is really just Adult BMX, not Mountain Biking.

Just a thought...

Steve

 

[Scott]

> Hi,
>
> I'm a 170lb 6'2'" rider, mainly riding aggressive XC, as well as some
> FR/urban, doing things like wall rides and 4ft drops onto flat pavement. I
> probably wouldn't attempt anything much bigger than 6ft drops. Of the
> options for forks that Marzocchi offers, what should be the minimum I
> need?
>
> DJ category
>
> Do I need to opt for a (heavy!) DJ fork, like the Dirt Jam Comp (on the
> 2005
> Norco Bigfoot for instance) or a Dirt Jumper 3?
>
> FR category
>
> I'm assuming that the "Drop Off" which they categorize as a FR fork is
> superior to all their XC options, but inferior to the DJ forks? Is the
> "Drop
> Off" also lighter than the all their DJ forks?
>
> XC category
>
> Or are some of their XC forks suitable for my above mentioned needs, such
> as
> the MZ Race or MZ Comp, with 100-130mm of travel? I'm looking at several
> bikes right now, most of which have a MZ Comp 100mm fork, and I'm
> wondering
> whether that would suit my needs or whether upgrading is an absolute must.
>
> Thanks in advance for your help!


Alright if you really want a fork to take drops and jumps but you won't be
riding trails or XC... the DJ and Doff forks are good easpecially for
the$$$.

These forks s@#k for anything other than taking big hits. If you are going
up to 6' 130mm forks are ok if you know how to land. If you posted this I
would guess you are still learning. Maybe look at 6" forks or more.

If you plan to ride all around trails and drops and have a bigger buget get
the Z1 or Manitou Firefly.

 

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

Stephanie Long wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm a 170lb 6'2'" rider, mainly riding aggressive XC, as well as some
> FR/urban, doing things like wall rides and 4ft drops onto flat
> pavement. I probably wouldn't attempt anything much bigger than 6ft
> drops. Of the options for forks that Marzocchi offers, what should be
> the minimum I need?

You're one big crazy grrl.

> XC category
>
> Or are some of their XC forks suitable for my above mentioned needs,
> such as the MZ Race or MZ Comp, with 100-130mm of travel? I'm looking
> at several bikes right now, most of which have a MZ Comp 100mm fork,
> and I'm wondering whether that would suit my needs or whether
> upgrading is an absolute must.

I think you're referring to the MX Comp, which is a far cry from the MZ
Comp. I wouldn't do 6' jumps onto a MX Comp. Looks like the Z1 series is
perfectly suited for you. Check out Fox's offerings, too.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

 

[Stephanie Long]

"Phil, Squid-in-Training" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:LJ%[email protected]...
> Stephanie Long wrote:
> > Or are some of their XC forks suitable for my above mentioned needs,
> > such as the MZ Race or MZ Comp, with 100-130mm of travel? I'm looking
> > at several bikes right now, most of which have a MZ Comp 100mm fork,
> > and I'm wondering whether that would suit my needs or whether
> > upgrading is an absolute must.
>
> I think you're referring to the MX Comp, which is a far cry from the MZ
> Comp. I wouldn't do 6' jumps onto a MX Comp. Looks like the Z1 series is
> perfectly suited for you. Check out Fox's offerings, too.

Thanks for the reply. What's the difference between the MX Comp and MZ
Comp? And what kind of riding could you expect to do on each?

Thanks in advance,
Stephanie

 

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

Stephanie Long wrote:
> "Phil, Squid-in-Training" <[email protected]>
> wrote in message news:LJ%[email protected]...
>> Stephanie Long wrote:
>>> Or are some of their XC forks suitable for my above mentioned needs,
>>> such as the MZ Race or MZ Comp, with 100-130mm of travel? I'm
>>> looking at several bikes right now, most of which have a MZ Comp
>>> 100mm fork, and I'm wondering whether that would suit my needs or
>>> whether upgrading is an absolute must.
>>
>> I think you're referring to the MX Comp, which is a far cry from the
>> MZ Comp. I wouldn't do 6' jumps onto a MX Comp. Looks like the Z1
>> series is perfectly suited for you. Check out Fox's offerings, too.
>
> Thanks for the reply. What's the difference between the MX Comp and
> MZ Comp? And what kind of riding could you expect to do on each?

The MX series is the "real" Marzocchi fork. The MZ Comp is actually an OEM
SR Suntour fork with the Marzocchi sticker on it. You can tell because the
fork sliders are chromed and not titanium-nitrided the gold color that all
decent quality forks have been given the last few years. You also get the
tool used to open up the fork, which says "SR Suntour" on it. So basically,
it's a low-priced fork for easy riding, but any urban riding on it won't be
very happy riding.

The MX series is Marzocchi's cross-country/aggressive XC fork that's similar
to the RockShox Duke/Psylo and the Manitou Black, except the quality on the
Marzocchis tends to be higher.

I ride urban and a bit of trials, and I have a Fox Vanilla that's performing
just fine. As I said before, though, the Marzocchi Z1 series has the ETA
lockout for XC, plenty of beef for big drops, and it's not ridiculously
heavy.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

 

[Stephanie Long]

"Phil, Squid-in-Training" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
> The MX series is the "real" Marzocchi fork. The MZ Comp is actually an
OEM
> SR Suntour fork with the Marzocchi sticker on it. You can tell because
the
> fork sliders are chromed and not titanium-nitrided the gold color that all
> decent quality forks have been given the last few years. You also get the
> tool used to open up the fork, which says "SR Suntour" on it. So
basically,
> it's a low-priced fork for easy riding, but any urban riding on it won't
be
> very happy riding.
>
> The MX series is Marzocchi's cross-country/aggressive XC fork that's
similar
> to the RockShox Duke/Psylo and the Manitou Black, except the quality on
the
> Marzocchis tends to be higher.
>
> I ride urban and a bit of trials, and I have a Fox Vanilla that's
performing
> just fine. As I said before, though, the Marzocchi Z1 series has the ETA
> lockout for XC, plenty of beef for big drops, and it's not ridiculously
> heavy.

Thanks for the reply Phil. Three more questions, if I may:
1. What are the Marzocchi EXR forks like? Are are they even worse quality
than the MZ Comp?
2. Thanks for the tip about the Marzocchi Z1 series. How does the Marzocchi
"Drop Off" (also a FR fork I believe) compare with these?
3. What do you mean by "ETA lockout" - I'm not that familiar with all the
technical possibilities of forks, as you can tell, and I'd like to learn!

Thanks!

 

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

"Stephanie Long" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Phil, Squid-in-Training" <[email protected]> wrote in
> message news:[email protected]...
>> The MX series is the "real" Marzocchi fork. The MZ Comp is actually an
> OEM
>> SR Suntour fork with the Marzocchi sticker on it. You can tell because
> the
>> fork sliders are chromed and not titanium-nitrided the gold color that
>> all
>> decent quality forks have been given the last few years. You also get
>> the
>> tool used to open up the fork, which says "SR Suntour" on it. So
> basically,
>> it's a low-priced fork for easy riding, but any urban riding on it won't
> be
>> very happy riding.
>>
>> The MX series is Marzocchi's cross-country/aggressive XC fork that's
> similar
>> to the RockShox Duke/Psylo and the Manitou Black, except the quality on
> the
>> Marzocchis tends to be higher.
>>
>> I ride urban and a bit of trials, and I have a Fox Vanilla that's
> performing
>> just fine. As I said before, though, the Marzocchi Z1 series has the ETA
>> lockout for XC, plenty of beef for big drops, and it's not ridiculously
>> heavy.
>
> Thanks for the reply Phil. Three more questions, if I may:
> 1. What are the Marzocchi EXR forks like? Are are they even worse quality
> than the MZ Comp?

They're not worse... some of them are actually the same fork as the MZ. The
bad ones I've seen have silver/chrome sliders (also known as stanchions)...
this is a tell-tale sign that it's an OEM/junker fork. Look for the
gold-colored stanchions. I believe that all the aftermarket forks Marzocchi
makes have the gold-colored treatment.

> 2. Thanks for the tip about the Marzocchi Z1 series. How does the
> Marzocchi
> "Drop Off" (also a FR fork I believe) compare with these?

I think that some of these are OEM forks, but they're similar to the Z1. I
don't know too much about them...

> 3. What do you mean by "ETA lockout" - I'm not that familiar with all the
> technical possibilities of forks, as you can tell, and I'd like to learn!

Here's what Michael Dart said about it:

You turn it on, compress the fork and it stays stuck down in it's travel.
This makes climbing easier. There is still 30mm of travel for small hits.
Just don't forget to turn it off before pointing the bike downhill again!

So this might help fulfilling your XC requirement.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

 

[Slash]

On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 20:33:48 GMT, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
<[email protected]> scribbled:

>> Thanks for the reply Phil. Three more questions, if I may:
>> 1. What are the Marzocchi EXR forks like? Are are they even worse quality
>> than the MZ Comp?
>
>They're not worse... some of them are actually the same fork as the MZ. The
>bad ones I've seen have silver/chrome sliders (also known as stanchions)...
>this is a tell-tale sign that it's an OEM/junker fork. Look for the
>gold-colored stanchions. I believe that all the aftermarket forks Marzocchi
>makes have the gold-colored treatment.

That's not entirely true, but it seems to be a general color scheme
for Marzocchi. Here's a Z1 with silver stanchions (and proper muddy,
too!):

http://tinyurl.com/4md4h

But gold is far more common and is a good general guideline. That
said, I'm sure they'll throw a wrench into things and release a low
end fork with gold stanchions!

[snip]

More or less, anything "above" an MX Comp is going to be decent. Add
ETA and you'll gain a little bit of tweakability that, while maybe not
evident right away, you'll come to appreciate as you ride more and
more.

-Slash
--
"Ebert Victorious"
-The Onion

 

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

Slash wrote:
> On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 20:33:48 GMT, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
> <[email protected]> scribbled:
>
>>> Thanks for the reply Phil. Three more questions, if I may:
>>> 1. What are the Marzocchi EXR forks like? Are are they even worse
>>> quality than the MZ Comp?
>>
>> They're not worse... some of them are actually the same fork as the
>> MZ. The bad ones I've seen have silver/chrome sliders (also known
>> as stanchions)... this is a tell-tale sign that it's an OEM/junker
>> fork. Look for the gold-colored stanchions. I believe that all the
>> aftermarket forks Marzocchi makes have the gold-colored treatment.
>
> That's not entirely true, but it seems to be a general color scheme
> for Marzocchi. Here's a Z1 with silver stanchions (and proper muddy,
> too!):
>
> http://tinyurl.com/4md4h

That thing has a reflector still on it. Must've not been ridden hard,
because apparently Bush, a downhiller, broke his. Thanks for the
heads-up.

> More or less, anything "above" an MX Comp is going to be decent. Add
> ETA and you'll gain a little bit of tweakability that, while maybe not
> evident right away, you'll come to appreciate as you ride more and
> more.

MX Comps aren't bad... I just hate to see the Marzocchi name slapped on to
real shitbombs like Suntour stuff.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training