...I guess not. Huh.
So a while back when I first got this shock, I threw up a review after my first ride. Now that I've got some actual ride time with the shock, I thought I'd give everyone a follow-up to tell what I think of the Marzocchi Roco rear shock.
First review linky:
http://ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141516
Key changes I've made to the ride since the initial review:
- Swapped out the spring (400# to a 450#)
- Swapped out the fork (Shiver to an 888 RC2X)
- Little bit more compression damping
- Couple stupid things that really don't matter like brakes, handlebars, grips, a new chain, yadda, yadda, yadda.
What I still like:
I've now done a little bit of everything on this shock, from riding it to class with the seat all high up, to hitting Earthmore, Beacon Hill's biggest drop (at around 15 feet take-off to top of tranny), and I'm still blown away by its performance. It is able to soak up everything that I've thrown at it so far, and it just keeps begging for more. I've got the compression set at 5 clicks from wide open, and the rebound set at that happy point just after the last feeling of pogo goes away.
What I thought I didn't like...
The pedal bob that I was noticing when I first got the shock isn't nearly as bad anymore. I played with the setup of the shock, and while it does move more than my 5th did when I'm riding up and down the street, on the trail, you don't notice it at all. The extra "mobility" of the rear shock makes it perform much better than my 5th ever did (I think that's called something like "active"
) Swapping the spring for a stiffer one really helped it out a bunch. Hits feel like they go away. What I thought I didn't like, it turns out I love.
It really is a strange feeling, but the rear end of the bike still feels a lot smoother through the travel than the bike did with the 5th Element. I still notice the difference every time I ride the bike. What has been described as a "dead" rear end isn't what I don't have anymore. Mated with the new 888 - one that is set up damn near perfect, as far as I can tell - the bike is plush on both ends, but still pedals like it always did.
The progressiveness of the bike is also something that I can tell is working - granted, I never bottomed the 5th - it is just that you actually feel the rear shock ramping up. I didn't get this the first time I rode it (I even said the shock felt linear) because the spring wasn't stiff enough, so I was blowing through too much travel too quick. The ramp-up is the same way with Marzocchi forks - you get that uber-plush initial bit of travel, then the fork actually goes to work. Same thing here. I really, really like that aspect of it because you get the super-plush feeling when you first sit on the bike and once you're through that, your bike is sitting exactly where it should be in terms of sag, and the shock is at the working-point I was blabbing about a second ago. On my VP-Free, it is even more noticeable because the VPP system is made to run at a certain amount of sag to work the best.
The best thing I can say to sum up what I think about this shock: "When can we go riding again?"
If anyone is skeptical about the "lost" energy of riding a shock without a pedal platform, chew on this: for every second you potentially lose due to energy lost to the rear shock, you're gaining 3 because of the performance of the rear end of your bike. I was riding faster, jumping further that I ever did. I was smoking all my buddies down the trail who were beating me at races last year (one with a VP-Free as well, but with the 5th instead of the Roco). Swapping out the rear shock on your bike will do the same thing for you, too.
I said it in the first review, and now that I've ridden it a bit more, it is obvious that it is an understatement: The Marzocchi Roco not only performs extremely well, it makes me enjoy riding my bike more than I ever did before. That, IMO, is one of the best things that an upgrade can do for your bike.
On a side note:
Huge props to Marzocchi - I got an '06 888 RC2X that had a bad casting on the lowers. They swapped them, and after I gave them a sad story about it being my spring break and me not having a fork for my bike (thus, not being able to take the trip I'd planned), they overnighted the fork to me free of charge so that I could ride.
So a while back when I first got this shock, I threw up a review after my first ride. Now that I've got some actual ride time with the shock, I thought I'd give everyone a follow-up to tell what I think of the Marzocchi Roco rear shock.
First review linky:
http://ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141516
Key changes I've made to the ride since the initial review:
- Swapped out the spring (400# to a 450#)
- Swapped out the fork (Shiver to an 888 RC2X)
- Little bit more compression damping
- Couple stupid things that really don't matter like brakes, handlebars, grips, a new chain, yadda, yadda, yadda.
![](http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f32/tonyzammit/DCP03527.jpg)
What I still like:
I've now done a little bit of everything on this shock, from riding it to class with the seat all high up, to hitting Earthmore, Beacon Hill's biggest drop (at around 15 feet take-off to top of tranny), and I'm still blown away by its performance. It is able to soak up everything that I've thrown at it so far, and it just keeps begging for more. I've got the compression set at 5 clicks from wide open, and the rebound set at that happy point just after the last feeling of pogo goes away.
What I thought I didn't like...
The pedal bob that I was noticing when I first got the shock isn't nearly as bad anymore. I played with the setup of the shock, and while it does move more than my 5th did when I'm riding up and down the street, on the trail, you don't notice it at all. The extra "mobility" of the rear shock makes it perform much better than my 5th ever did (I think that's called something like "active"
![Rolleyes :rolleyes: :rolleyes:](/images/smilies/xrolleyes.gif)
It really is a strange feeling, but the rear end of the bike still feels a lot smoother through the travel than the bike did with the 5th Element. I still notice the difference every time I ride the bike. What has been described as a "dead" rear end isn't what I don't have anymore. Mated with the new 888 - one that is set up damn near perfect, as far as I can tell - the bike is plush on both ends, but still pedals like it always did.
The progressiveness of the bike is also something that I can tell is working - granted, I never bottomed the 5th - it is just that you actually feel the rear shock ramping up. I didn't get this the first time I rode it (I even said the shock felt linear) because the spring wasn't stiff enough, so I was blowing through too much travel too quick. The ramp-up is the same way with Marzocchi forks - you get that uber-plush initial bit of travel, then the fork actually goes to work. Same thing here. I really, really like that aspect of it because you get the super-plush feeling when you first sit on the bike and once you're through that, your bike is sitting exactly where it should be in terms of sag, and the shock is at the working-point I was blabbing about a second ago. On my VP-Free, it is even more noticeable because the VPP system is made to run at a certain amount of sag to work the best.
The best thing I can say to sum up what I think about this shock: "When can we go riding again?"
If anyone is skeptical about the "lost" energy of riding a shock without a pedal platform, chew on this: for every second you potentially lose due to energy lost to the rear shock, you're gaining 3 because of the performance of the rear end of your bike. I was riding faster, jumping further that I ever did. I was smoking all my buddies down the trail who were beating me at races last year (one with a VP-Free as well, but with the 5th instead of the Roco). Swapping out the rear shock on your bike will do the same thing for you, too.
I said it in the first review, and now that I've ridden it a bit more, it is obvious that it is an understatement: The Marzocchi Roco not only performs extremely well, it makes me enjoy riding my bike more than I ever did before. That, IMO, is one of the best things that an upgrade can do for your bike.
On a side note:
Huge props to Marzocchi - I got an '06 888 RC2X that had a bad casting on the lowers. They swapped them, and after I gave them a sad story about it being my spring break and me not having a fork for my bike (thus, not being able to take the trip I'd planned), they overnighted the fork to me free of charge so that I could ride.