That's only when you're alone with me....and well roofied.
'09 Marz 888 ATA
- Thread starter General Lee
- Start date
I have both an 08 ATA 888 and ATA 66. They are both amazing forks. My 66 I just removed the PAR on and the 888 still has it. I disagree with the better feel of the coil. IMO, with the amount of adjustment available with the air system you can tune it far better than a coil. You can make it ride higher in it's travel, ride firmer, softer, whatever. The main thing that sticks out the most is how well it handles hard hits. It just swallows them and you don't feel a clank or anything. I've had plenty of Marz. coil forks and the air ATA forks blow them away in overall ride. Here's a link to a teardown of my 66 ata in case anyone wants to see what's going on in there.
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=487618
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=487618
If you're riding them hard, and a lot, the extra maintenance is a pain in the ass. Plus, its not that hard to tweak/bend the ATA cart as it turns out :'(
If you're noticing that the ATA is smoother than the coil then your spring is probably not seated right and is rubbing against the inside of the stanchion.
The top pro's are running coils for a reason though. It's called midstroke support.
I've owned and tuned 4 ATA forks now and set up countless others. The ATA can be made to work VERY well for sure, but for both the reliability factor and the performance on steeper trails that require that midstroke support, I've always chosen to go back to the coil setups. I still run a 66 ATA on my 6" bike though which does its job quite well.
The top pro's are running coils for a reason though. It's called midstroke support.
I've owned and tuned 4 ATA forks now and set up countless others. The ATA can be made to work VERY well for sure, but for both the reliability factor and the performance on steeper trails that require that midstroke support, I've always chosen to go back to the coil setups. I still run a 66 ATA on my 6" bike though which does its job quite well.
That's funny you say the midstroke support. That's exactly why I like the ATA forks. My coils would always eat through their travel too fast, especially on steeps. Maybe the newer coil forks don't do that but I hated coming down a run and looking down to see barely any stantion showing. And if you tried to make it ride higher you would lose all small bump. I'm 240 and ride hard so maybe not the best example I suppose. Either way we are spoiled by the supple buttery goodness that is a zoke.
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At 240 you probably need the heaviest coil spring you can get. If the coil is sprung properly, the midstroke support thing will be evident.
Hi
MY 09 888ATA finally arrived and it looks great.
Now is the time to set it up to get the best of them. So I am calling all the 888 ATA owners for your advice and tips. It is save to assume I have absolutely zero experience with 888s so talk to me as simple as it is possible.
Thanks for all the input.
Cheers
MY 09 888ATA finally arrived and it looks great.
Now is the time to set it up to get the best of them. So I am calling all the 888 ATA owners for your advice and tips. It is save to assume I have absolutely zero experience with 888s so talk to me as simple as it is possible.
Thanks for all the input.
Cheers
how much do you weigh?
With all my gear about 260lb
I used to have Fox40 and the heaviest spring (yellow) a was a bit too stiff, maybe this helps.
Cheers
I have a 2007 888sl ata (No PAR), and a 2007 66RC2X, and the 888 is buttery smooth and completely reliable. The 66 Rc2X is great too but not quite as smooth.........its overdue for a oil change so we'll call it even.
I'm glad I went with the air spring........I still can't think of a fork I'd replace it with...40's, boxxer or new 888's.
I'm 200 with gear and run 85psi in my Non-Par air chamber.
I'm glad I went with the air spring........I still can't think of a fork I'd replace it with...40's, boxxer or new 888's.
I'm 200 with gear and run 85psi in my Non-Par air chamber.
85 psi is REALLY low for a single chamber ATA fork at your weight. I am 170 in street clothes, and don't wear a ton of armor and I was still able to get through the stroke quicker than I would like at 100-105psi.
I ultimately replaced mine with a 2007 RC2X WC with a BOS cartridge. It's faster...
I ultimately replaced mine with a 2007 RC2X WC with a BOS cartridge. It's faster...
I run 70psi in mine. No PAR. I weigh 145 w/gear. And can someone tell me why people hate on Marzo so much? Seriously, they had tons of issues in 08, but are pretty solid for 09. It's not like the new Boxxers don't have problems...
I was running it at 95psi, with less compression. I tried droping the air to 85 and running more compression an liked it much more. I'm running 30% sag with this air pressure and I still only use full travel on the nastiest of hits........most runs i use about 7"s.
Sag guidelines are pretty different for an air fork (and I personally think they're next to useless anyway on a DH bike). They generally work best with around 20% standing on the pedals on flat ground.
At that PSI I'd imagine you'd be bottoming the living daylights out of it. Did you rebuild it and put more than a couple drops of oil into the ATA?
At that PSI I'd imagine you'd be bottoming the living daylights out of it. Did you rebuild it and put more than a couple drops of oil into the ATA?
has anyone ever experienced the problem that the ATA cart is constantly filling up with oil? after some time (i.e. a few runs) the fork gets noticeably stiffer and loses usable travel. when i let out the air, a substantial ammount of oil spills out. after re-inflating without the excessive oil, the fork works again just fine, at least for some time. i have returned the fork to marzocchi and they claim to have replaced an o-ring, but the problem still persists.
on a side note, the par-piston was removed on my fork.
on a side note, the par-piston was removed on my fork.
That sounds familiar//////// I might let all the air/oil out of my air chamber and re-inflate.
thats what i do with mine, on a pretty regular basis. helps but still sucks though. noone knows a permanent fix for this?
You need to replace the O-ring on the inside of the seal head at the top of the air chamber. Some of the O-rings in 08 cartridges didn't seal 100% so the semi bath oil works itself in to the cartridge. As this oil builds up, the fork doesn't get full travel any more.
Thats it, otherwise known as marz. part number 528036