Not using it to race, just freeride - mostly lift access at Diablo. Going on a Devnici Ollie.
Boxxer or 888
- Thread starter Samslon
- Start date
The 888 is going to be heavier, but stiffer.
The Boxxer will be lighter.
Suspension feel is pretty individual, I prefer the 888's feel, but many like the Boxxers.
I used to give the reliability to Marz, but lately they've had some problems. If you do get the Boxxer expect pretty frequent seal replacements.
For general riding I'd opt for the Boxxer team out of the Boxxers, the WC is a lot more money for a little bit of weight savings and a lot more frequent maintenance.
The Boxxer will be lighter.
Suspension feel is pretty individual, I prefer the 888's feel, but many like the Boxxers.
I used to give the reliability to Marz, but lately they've had some problems. If you do get the Boxxer expect pretty frequent seal replacements.
For general riding I'd opt for the Boxxer team out of the Boxxers, the WC is a lot more money for a little bit of weight savings and a lot more frequent maintenance.
Thanks, the 888 looks so much beefier. I've ridden the 888 and liked it but the weight savings on the boxxer might be nice (never rode a boxxer though). Although for freeride i'm not sure how much that matters.
I'm thinking of getting it used too, preferably an 07 for either one - will that make a difference in choosing one of the other?
I'm thinking of getting it used too, preferably an 07 for either one - will that make a difference in choosing one of the other?
I ride at diablo too... I have a 07 fox 40... Let's just say I am thinking about a marzocchi eventually.
I maintain my fox 40 well, but it gets dirty quick, and with diablos rock gardens, the lowers on it have dents all over, lucky it didn't crack yet...
I say go for the 888, especially if your not racing too much.
I maintain my fox 40 well, but it gets dirty quick, and with diablos rock gardens, the lowers on it have dents all over, lucky it didn't crack yet...
I say go for the 888, especially if your not racing too much.
Boxxer.
Boxxers are good for hucking about 8 feet to flat, where as an 888 is good for about 10 feet to flat. The 40's only good for about 5 to flat then the lowers blow out from hydraulic pressure. Where the boxxer's excel is in Curb absorbtion. I can ride up a 5 inch curb sitting down on my boxxer where as the 888's only good for about 4 inches at best. The 40's lowers usually explode from the increased load of my 347 pound fatass body slamming it into the curb.
So basically get the boxxer cause they have the best race support and a blind hippy could work on them, air or coil.
Boxxers are good for hucking about 8 feet to flat, where as an 888 is good for about 10 feet to flat. The 40's only good for about 5 to flat then the lowers blow out from hydraulic pressure. Where the boxxer's excel is in Curb absorbtion. I can ride up a 5 inch curb sitting down on my boxxer where as the 888's only good for about 4 inches at best. The 40's lowers usually explode from the increased load of my 347 pound fatass body slamming it into the curb.
So basically get the boxxer cause they have the best race support and a blind hippy could work on them, air or coil.
Boxxer. I'm trying to sell my '08 888 ATA WC and get one.
I just sold my 07 888 rc2x WC and bought a Boxxer WC. I've been a Marz guy since day 1 and this is the first Boxxer I've ridden. I'm converted, I won't be going back anytime soon. Over a pound lighter and I like the damping better. It feels firmer and more controlled, while still being plush.
best review ever
Thanks for the responses - I think I'm leaning toward the Boxxer WC. Has anyone had problems with the air and maintenance?
Sound like they are doing everything they can to fix the problems though.
Problems are fixed, talked to chris and Ronnie not long ago.
I still have ZERO issues with my 08 stuff and know several peeps with ZERO issues. Thats not saying there wasnt but it got pretty ridiculous at one point. Im on the M now and will remain there, reliable and bulletproof!
I still have ZERO issues with my 08 stuff and know several peeps with ZERO issues. Thats not saying there wasnt but it got pretty ridiculous at one point. Im on the M now and will remain there, reliable and bulletproof!
Solo-air is probably the best air spring setup that I've worked on, it's fairly linear and a full service involves a bit of oil and a couple of o-rings. Rockshox provide a full (and very detailed) service manual on their site, and the whole setup comes apart (and goes back together) quite easily.
I usually get a year (so one race season and a bit) out of the setup before needing service, the only o-ring that goes is the one under the solo air piston (that separates the neg/pos chambers).
Hope that helps.
888, they are way easier to rebuild and are super smooth. they also hav emuch thicker stations so they won't bend as easily as the boxxer at diablo.
I talked to Chris when I saw the Jenson add. It should be all later stuff, Marz sold out early and the 888s where scarce it was mainly the 55s and some AM stuff few 66s and a few 888s so you should be good. Between the team and the 888 Id go marz.
The Marz stuff that they had at Marz was all later stuff so from that end its good.
I pondered this question recently. Bought an 08 Marz. 888WC ATA. I have to say the thing is brilliant. It took abit to get it figured out as the Marzocchi recommendations are rubbish as far as setting go. Being 240 and pretty aggressive I find it hard to find a fork that can be super supple on the small stuff without sacricing mid/end travel performance. This fork is so adjustable that I can actully have both. The boxxer scares me with the stantions snapping and the maintenance upkeep. Hopefully the new Boxxer will fix those things? Good luck!
boxxer is a sweet fork, i am using my second one and got years out of my old one. they are fun to use - light and works good.
sure the 888 works nice to.
sure the 888 works nice to.
-Somewhat off topic
Apparently, Marzocchi will be setting up a new extension to their main site, giving step by step service instructions on how to service their forks (much like all the other manufacturers). They restricted this information for liability reasons in the event someone would attempt such a maneuver and break their fork turning around and blaming them for the misfortune....this is somewhat bizarre since all the other do it with no problem
Although not discussed in this thread, for those who haven't bought marzo thinking they wouldn't be able to rebuild them, this shouldn't be a reason for you
Apparently, Marzocchi will be setting up a new extension to their main site, giving step by step service instructions on how to service their forks (much like all the other manufacturers). They restricted this information for liability reasons in the event someone would attempt such a maneuver and break their fork turning around and blaming them for the misfortune....this is somewhat bizarre since all the other do it with no problem
Although not discussed in this thread, for those who haven't bought marzo thinking they wouldn't be able to rebuild them, this shouldn't be a reason for you
In the back of the arch, (in the webbing) There will be a green dot=older lowers, or a red dot=newer ones. I had all 3 of mine re****ed in aug & they've been great since.
Even with the bushing slop problem (that's been fixed for free) I love the performance & would still buy another 888 over any boxxer, any day.
Taking any fork apart bi-weekly for servicing is a Joke, & Rockshox acts like it's normal. A properly maintained boxxer will go through more $ in oil over a season than the damn thing probably cost in the first place.
Boxxer: The only fork that I've killed 2 in a day..
Mine has a red dot... sweet. Thanks for the info.
Mine doesn't have any dot! What does this mean?
If it rides well then you have nothing to worry about. The problems are very obvious.
Since there are so many questions regarding Marzocchi quality I thought I may chime in.
In 2007 Marzocchi was acquired by Tenneco. A HUGE US based company that specializes mostly in automotive suspension. With the buy the moved 2008 manufacturing to Taiwan (in the same facility as SR Suntour actually). You may think this was a bad idea, but Taiwan is notorious for the quality of their production.
With any move there was some bugs. Mostly in quality control. The forks that did have issues SHOULD have been cought by QC and fixed. Instead they were basically shipping broken forks to peoples door. The problems included creaking crowns and bushing slop. As per said earlier the majority of these issues were fixed in late 2008 and I have only heard of 1 or 2 2009's with the issues. They did have one 2008 recall for a small range of forks. You can see if your fork falls in that range at Marzocchi.com under the Tech Department.
A lot of people also complain about TST and ATA and about how much they fail. From all the things I have read and experienced the majority of those failures are from bad maintenance. I love the adjust-ability of my ATA and would never give it up. Especially being a light rider.
Marzocchi is the only company that will advocate the Frankensteining of your fork. They will tell you how to tinker with your system to get the best performance. They pretty much held my hand through the HSCV conversion of my Junior-T however they said they were more than willing to do it THEMSELVES! I mean how cool.
Also I had a Rock Shox blow up on me once and almost blind me so...that was kind of the end of my Rock Shox experience.
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I wish I could say I had the same experience with Marzocchi. At the end of October last year I had a small crash. I bent my steerer tube, even though I have a 780mm Truvativ Boobar. You would think the bar would have bent and not the steerer tube! Anyway, I contacted Marzocchi, Italy, because there is no agent for Marzocchi anymore in South Africa.....the agents complained about bad aftersales service from Marzocchi.
I e-mailed them and told them about the accident and mailed them some pictures. They acknowleged the mail and said they will send the photo's to their warranty division. That is the last I ever heard from them after repeatedly e-mailing them!!
You would think they would have at least given me SOME feedback, even if it was simply to tell me that the part is not covered under their warranty. I must say that for a company of their "stature" I expected a lot more. It seems the agents here in SA had a valid complaint......and reading various forums on the internet, it appears they are as useless as they appear to be.
I'm now going to buy a Boxxer Team and will never have anything to do with Marzocchi again. There is no excuse for not giving me an answer. As a matter of fact, it strongly betrays a lack of manners and decency!
They don't even need negative publicity from ex-customers as myself.....they seem extremely proficient at doing that all by themselves.
I e-mailed them and told them about the accident and mailed them some pictures. They acknowleged the mail and said they will send the photo's to their warranty division. That is the last I ever heard from them after repeatedly e-mailing them!!
You would think they would have at least given me SOME feedback, even if it was simply to tell me that the part is not covered under their warranty. I must say that for a company of their "stature" I expected a lot more. It seems the agents here in SA had a valid complaint......and reading various forums on the internet, it appears they are as useless as they appear to be.
I'm now going to buy a Boxxer Team and will never have anything to do with Marzocchi again. There is no excuse for not giving me an answer. As a matter of fact, it strongly betrays a lack of manners and decency!
They don't even need negative publicity from ex-customers as myself.....they seem extremely proficient at doing that all by themselves.
fair enough adrianm. That sucks that South Africa isn't well supported.
There's a reason their unresponsive though. The US service department says its because they are still recovering from the 2008 model year haha. If you want I could call the US service department (who is very responsive) and see if they have any suggestions for you. I understand if your over it though.
I have heard RS RMA program being a nightmare as well. I guess just make sure you have a LBS nearby that is a certified distributor. If you don't you wont be able to return your Teams when they break either. I think it was something like that.
There's a reason their unresponsive though. The US service department says its because they are still recovering from the 2008 model year haha. If you want I could call the US service department (who is very responsive) and see if they have any suggestions for you. I understand if your over it though.
I have heard RS RMA program being a nightmare as well. I guess just make sure you have a LBS nearby that is a certified distributor. If you don't you wont be able to return your Teams when they break either. I think it was something like that.
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This reminds me of a thread on MTBR a few months back where someone was asking if they could use the Sam Hill 510's for "freeride" because they thought it was a "DH race only" shoe.
How in the name of christ can you tell what height a fork can be hucked to flat from? 
How your body deals with the impact is far more important than a pair of forks.
And why would you want to huck to flat anyway???
How your body deals with the impact is far more important than a pair of forks.
And why would you want to huck to flat anyway???