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Help setting up a 66 Light ETA fork

lonewolfe

lonewolfe

Monkey
Nov 14, 2002
408
0
Bay Area
I picked up a new 66 Light ETA and took it for its' maiden ride this afternoon. I followed the Marzocchi set up guide for suggested air pressure for the 200-220+ weight range which is as high as the chart goes. Anyhow, their suggested air pressure for this weight range is 52 to 65psi. I originally filled it to 65psi and it was so incredibly stiff that I went down to 52pos which is where I tried it today. The fork is super stiff. I did some jumps and a couple of small drops around 4' along with a pretty rutted downhill run with jumps and small drops. I used 98mm of travel which is somewhere around 3 3/4". I find it hard to believe this is from new seal stiction and lack of break in time. I was running about 7 clicks of rebound and 1 click of compression.

The manual also said to set up the fork with 25-35% sag. I was never able to get more than 7mm with 30psi.


I believe the Marzocchi manual is wrong. Any suggestions on air pressure?
 
G

Gunnar75

Chimp
May 16, 2007
43
0
The manual is wrong, try using 3-5 psi. That is what zoke told me to run on 66 VF (lowest end fork). Talked to couple others who 1 didn't run any air and another a 2 and 3 psi. I'm 195 before any gear.
 
Secret Squirrel

Secret Squirrel

There is no Justice!
Dec 21, 2004
8,150
1
Up sh*t creek, without a paddle
lonewolfe said:
I picked up a new 66 Light ETA and took it for its' maiden ride this afternoon. I followed the Marzocchi set up guide for suggested air pressure for the 200-220+ weight range which is as high as the chart goes. Anyhow, their suggested air pressure for this weight range is 52 to 65psi. I originally filled it to 65psi and it was so incredibly stiff that I went down to 52pos which is where I tried it today. The fork is super stiff. I did some jumps and a couple of small drops around 4' along with a pretty rutted downhill run with jumps and small drops. I used 98mm of travel which is somewhere around 3 3/4". I find it hard to believe this is from new seal stiction and lack of break in time. I was running about 7 clicks of rebound and 1 click of compression.

The manual also said to set up the fork with 25-35% sag. I was never able to get more than 7mm with 30psi.


I believe the Marzocchi manual is wrong. Any suggestions on air pressure?
Click to expand...
I'm about 265 and I use 10-15 psi for xc trail riding. When I'm doing stuff that I want more plushness out of the fork, I'll run about 5 psi or less.

*This is just an out-of-the-box fork...no new, stiffer springs or anything.
 
lonewolfe

lonewolfe

Monkey
Nov 14, 2002
408
0
Bay Area
Hey Gunnar75! Thanks for the information. The 66 Light ETA is works differently than the 66VF model. I believe the VF has air assist for setting pre-load but the 66 Light ETA actually has an air cartridge in one leg and an RC2 ETA coil cartridge in the other leg.

I ran it yesterday at about 35psi and it was a tremendous improvement. Still not perfect but getting close. I got almost 5" of travel.

No matter how much pressure or ,lack of pressure, can I get the sag setup correctly. This I assume is because of stiction from new seals that have not bedded in yet.
 
lonewolfe

lonewolfe

Monkey
Nov 14, 2002
408
0
Bay Area
Secret Squirrel said:
I'm about 265 and I use 10-15 psi for xc trail riding. When I'm doing stuff that I want more plushness out of the fork, I'll run about 5 psi or less.

*This is just an out-of-the-box fork...no new, stiffer springs or anything.
Click to expand...
Hey Secret Squirrel! Is your fork a 66 Light or RC2 ETA?
 
lonewolfe

lonewolfe

Monkey
Nov 14, 2002
408
0
Bay Area
We have the exact same fork. Yours matches that red Turner perfectly? Is that a RFX/Six Pack?

How much compression and rebound are you running? I had mine set to about 5 clicks compression, 12 clicks rebound and about 25psi yesterday and the fork felt great till I was going downhill and this rocky trail. I hit the front break and the front end dived quite a bit making me think more air pressure was needed. I took it up to about 33lbs and it seemed to stop the break dive. It has all been trial and error. I appreciate your help!
 
Secret Squirrel

Secret Squirrel

There is no Justice!
Dec 21, 2004
8,150
1
Up sh*t creek, without a paddle
lonewolfe said:
We have the exact same fork. Yours matches that red Turner perfectly? Is that a RFX/Six Pack?

How much compression and rebound are you running? I had mine set to about 5 clicks compression, 12 clicks rebound and about 25psi yesterday and the fork felt great till I was going downhill and this rocky trail. I hit the front break and the front end dived quite a bit making me think more air pressure was needed. I took it up to about 33lbs and it seemed to stop the break dive. It has all been trial and error. I appreciate your help!
Click to expand...
Yeah. XL RFX. I love the ability to drop the front for climbs, it helps sooooo much.

In regards to the adjustments...I'll go home and check 'em and post up later tonight. I don't remember off the top of my head. I think you can dial out some of the brake dive with the compression setting (Maybe I'm getting the 66 comp. adjustment confused with my 888 hi/lo comp. adj...)

I'll check all the different adj.'s tonight....
 
lonewolfe

lonewolfe

Monkey
Nov 14, 2002
408
0
Bay Area
Thanks Secret Squirel! I figure when geared up I'm probably about 250lbs so we are pretty close. I'm really liking the fork so far and when finally dialed in I'm going to love it. I'm coming from a 2005 888RC 170mm. The 888 is awesome too! I have it set up with the low speed compression sleeve, Go-Ride crowns, and Enduro Fork Seals. I just wanted something lighter and with the travel adjustment for climbing. The 66 is actually a little taller than the 888 at full extension and matches my Bullit perfectly. I couldn't be happier.
 
Secret Squirrel

Secret Squirrel

There is no Justice!
Dec 21, 2004
8,150
1
Up sh*t creek, without a paddle
Aight...just checked. Currently with 15psi in the air chamber. 17 clicks in from full fast on the rebound (out of 24). 5 clicks in from full open on the compression knob (out of 12, I think...). I think I dial the compression in a bit more for more DH oriented riding.
 
lonewolfe

lonewolfe

Monkey
Nov 14, 2002
408
0
Bay Area
Hey Secret Squirel!

Thanks for checking your adjustments. 17 clicks of rebound is a surprise as well as only 5 clicks of rebound. I'll give it a try with 15psi and your adjustments and see what happens. Have you looked at Mazocchi's manual? It says for riders over 220lbs that the positive air is between 52-65psi. How could they be soooooo wrong? I checked it for both the 66 Light ETA and the current 66 RC2 ETA and they are both the same. I believe the only difference between these forks is that the RC2 ETA gets 180mm of travel instead of 170mm like ours.

I'll let you know how it turns out. If these adjustments still allow the fork to dive then I'll open it up and check the oil levels.
 
Secret Squirrel

Secret Squirrel

There is no Justice!
Dec 21, 2004
8,150
1
Up sh*t creek, without a paddle
lonewolfe said:
Hey Secret Squirel!

Thanks for checking your adjustments. 17 clicks of rebound is a surprise as well as only 5 clicks of rebound. I'll give it a try with 15psi and your adjustments and see what happens. Have you looked at Mazocchi's manual? It says for riders over 220lbs that the positive air is between 52-65psi. How could they be soooooo wrong? I checked it for both the 66 Light ETA and the current 66 RC2 ETA and they are both the same. I believe the only difference between these forks is that the RC2 ETA gets 180mm of travel instead of 170mm like ours.

I'll let you know how it turns out. If these adjustments still allow the fork to dive then I'll open it up and check the oil levels.
Click to expand...
Yeah...Once I started getting into riding a bit more than just the casual toodle around the block I started to not refer to manuals anymore, and instead go by the butt test (whatever I feel, if I don't like it, I change it until I do.)....

I'm pretty sure that a few more clicks in on the comp adj. should solve some of the brake dive...I was just up in Whistler for a bunch of days and wanted small bump sensitivity up cause of all the chunder up there....

The 17 clicks of rebound sort of even surprised me...maybe the fork isn't as broken in as I thought!....but I like it a bit slower for trail riding...I think I was running 14 or 15 up in Whistler...

Oil levels would be the next logical step...also the viscosity...I'm not sure what the stock weight is, but you could try changing it to a heavier weight or (I think the 66 has this option too)... There should be a "higher" oil level setting for larger riders...I know my 888 has that...
 
E

eball

Chimp
Apr 11, 2007
57
0
lonewolfe said:
I picked up a new 66 Light ETA and took it for its' maiden ride this afternoon. I followed the Marzocchi set up guide for suggested air pressure for the 200-220+ weight range which is as high as the chart goes. Anyhow, their suggested air pressure for this weight range is 52 to 65psi. I originally filled it to 65psi and it was so incredibly stiff that I went down to 52pos which is where I tried it today. The fork is super stiff. I did some jumps and a couple of small drops around 4' along with a pretty rutted downhill run with jumps and small drops. I used 98mm of travel which is somewhere around 3 3/4". I find it hard to believe this is from new seal stiction and lack of break in time. I was running about 7 clicks of rebound and 1 click of compression.

The manual also said to set up the fork with 25-35% sag. I was never able to get more than 7mm with 30psi.


I believe the Marzocchi manual is wrong. Any suggestions on air pressure?
Click to expand...
Lonewolf,.For the 66 eta you are only supposed to use between 0 - 15psi. I went through this several months ago and was given the answer directly from a Marz Tech. You will need a lo-pressure pump as most pumps go from 0 to 50.

I do not recomend running your fork with 50psi as this will damage the fork.

all the best
 
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