2008 Marzocchi: Lets get some feedback.

One of the problems with the bushings is that they need to be tight enough to not allow play, but still allow lubrication to flow through, it's a tricky balance. I've always had problems with my Marz forks feeling a little sloppy, but I have one now that is anything but sloppy, and it feels fantastic.

However, this all trivial as the after market sales hardly dictate the success of these companies. OEM spec will, and Marz still has a strong showing, stronger than all other manufacturers.

You are trying to say that Marzocchi has a stronger OEM showing then Fox and RockShox?

Or compared to the million other companies that want a piece of the suspension market?

…

I don't think Marzocchi will loose (much?!) OE market share to any of those companies in the short term but there is definitely a correlation between hot aftermarket product ('97 Z1, '01 Fox Vanilla Forx) and OE spec.

But I do not think at this point Rock Shox or Fox is going to be giving anything up to Marzocchi either and Manitou is definitely going to reclaim lost OE spec.

One of the problems with the bushings is that they need to be tight enough to not allow play, but still allow lubrication to flow through, it's a tricky balance. I've always had problems with my Marz forks feeling a little sloppy, but I have one now that is anything but sloppy, and it feels fantastic.

What year and model? OE or aftermarket purchase?

Usually companies have their product dialed by the time aftermarket forks are available (Rock Shox Totem 2-Step being the notable exception).

I find it runs in a cycle:

((Nb. This is for new or problem products. Most OE stuff is last years guts in this years body so generally the bugs are worked out))

-Some (most?!) OE forks have problems
-Most Aftermarket forks fixed in time for bike shop sales
-If Some OE forks had problems then some "Aftermarket" mail order forks have problems. This is because they are usually just OE over-stock for cheap.

Well, I still think marzocchi's product is a far cry from what it was in the past. The quality and craftsmanship of monsters, shivers… is long gone, to bad.

Well, I still think marzocchi's product is a far cry from what it was in the past. The quality and craftsmanship of monsters, shivers… is long gone, to bad.

Have you popped open a RC2 cartridge lately?

Anyways, this thread should be more about problems or praises, and less about market share and blah blah blah.

We should revist this thread half way thru the season and see where everyone stands by then. I think its too early to tell because this is Marz first year out of tawain. One thing I don't get is that all the riders that loved the shiver and super t's don't consider Avalanche, Marz moved away from heavy to light(because the market drove that) while avalanche stayed on course. If you look on Avy site they are doing mods now for 888's.

I've been riding the 55 TST2 for 4 months now. I wasn't too happy that after about a month it had to go into the shop to be repaired. However, after it was fixed it has performed perfectly.

Negative:

I'm pretty much a set it and forget it user, so would do away with the TST2 gizmo.

Positive:

Easy to setup air/coil for SAG; Plush to soak up the bumps; Excellent response curve when requiring full travel.

Well, I still think marzocchi's product is a far cry from what it was in the past. The quality and craftsmanship of monsters, shivers… is long gone, to bad.

I think the problem is, people demand more and more from the forks and the damping, therefore the internals get more complicated, meaning more to go wrong. If you were to ride an old simple fork now, chances are pretty high that you would complain about how crappy it felt, even though it would be super reliable.

Well, I still think marzocchi's product is a far cry from what it was in the past. The quality and craftsmanship of monsters, shivers… is long gone, to bad.

Quality, but as simple as it gets.

The quality is still there, I have an 08 66 ATA and the craftsmanship is every bit as good as my Shiver was, but highly refined.

Everyone that I ever talked to that had a Shiver, liked the 888 better when it came out. Better damping, lighter package.

A Shiver today would feel like an overweight wallowing pig compared to a new 888WC.

I agree with Biggles above. If we jumped on that old fork we thought was the best thing out there now, it would likely feel like dung.

I've been riding the 55 TST2 for 4 months now. I wasn't too happy that after about a month it had to go into the shop to be repaired. However, after it was fixed it has performed perfectly.

What required fixing?

I'm not debating performance (I have 66rc2x and love them) just the way they were made. I think they looked way better ( just an opinion). Anyway back to the original topic…

All this talk about sales numbers and who's who - anyone got some data to back that up?

Plus, number of sales does not have to equal quality of the product. But I'm sure we all know this.

Bushing slop off the floor? Putting a marketing spin on it? Brilliant. A fork should have to be broken in and feel like shit off the floor. Dare I say that a high level race fork should come ready to be rebuilt to the user's specs? Oooo, not many people ready for that! When you buy that nice shiny new $1800 fork, before you mount it onto your bike, send it over to a tuner or learn how to do it yourself. "Set it and forget it" is not a wise motto to follow in regards to high end suspension.

P.S. I would say Marz' QC will be better than the made in Italy days. RS quality jumped quite a bit the first year they moved over.

I have not been too impressed with what I've seen from the new Marzocchi's.

2 local riders bought ' 08 66 ATA's…both developed severe bushing play within a few rides.

A friend of mine just bought a brand new '08 888RC3. He's only had it for 2 weeks and is not a "hard" rider. Sunday he went off a 4 foot drop, the fork blew and dropped its oil everywhere. He's also had to send his Roco shock back for a rebuild…twice. Again, he's a pretty conservative rider. These are probably just small defects or issues, but its pretty frustrating for a brand new $1200 fork. Before it broke, he LOVED the RC3, said it felt plusher than anything else.

Now another guy I ride with has an '07 66 RC2X and beats the living hell out of that fork all the time - no problems whatsoever. I loved my 2005 and 2006 888's, awesome forks. Their quality control has gone down the tubes…hopefully its not a sign of things to come.

A Shiver today would feel like an overweight wallowing pig compared to a new 888WC.

And flexy. Loved my Shiver but the new stuff blows it away. The 55 that I rode on the weekend actually felt stiffer than the shiv

I like the graphics too, so thats makes one of us. I might go '08 66 RC3 once its proven