[YETI187]

i need a new fork. i'm looking into a z1 fr and the vanilla rlc. i weigh 240 and do occasional 4-5' drops. i can get the vanilla for about $100 less then the z1. i do alot of trailriding on the bike as well. weight isn't much of a concern. i just want something that will hold up. anybody have a vanilla and would like to input on the matter?

 

[Zark]

At your weight and riding style the Z1 sounds like the winner, just plan n spending an extra $50 for heavy springs. The Fox is a great fork that can handle some abuse, but the Marzocchi is the abuse king. The fox is also lighter, but it hardly matters at your weight. The Zocchi you can work on yourself, the fox must go back when it needs work.

The ETA travel adjust is the bext climbing feature on any fork. Flick it, press the fork down, 3". Flick it the other way and your ready to descend, thats easy!

 

[BlackhillsBob]

Might make a difference on the bike your are riding to, 4" travel vs 5" travel vs 6" travel, heavy wheels, light wheels, will you want to use a 20mm front hub anytime soon, and so on....

 

[RITFreeRider]

I have both forks and they are both awesome. But at you're size I would def go for the Z1 mines taken soo many beatings and still rode away. You might want to think about going to a 20mm axle too, just to help things out.

 

[MikeOK]

I have one of each. I like the ride of the Fox best, plus it comes with 3 springs: soft, med, & heavy. The Z1 is (probably) a little beefier. Hard choice, but if it were me and I was doing trails up to moderate XC, I would go with the Fox. It's more adjustable, rides better in my opinion, and is probably plenty stout. The Z1 is very good but not as adjustable. The ETA is good, but not as good as a real lockout. The Z1 is just a tad stiffer, but not much.

I weigh about 200 and usually run the medium spring in my Fox, but when doing bigger stuff I'll put the heavy in. The stock spring in the Z1 has been okay but if I were any heavier I would want the heavy spring. It is marginal at my weight with the stock spring.

I've never dealt with Marz' service so I can't comment, but I had excellent service from Fox when it was time to rebuild.