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Marzocchi vs Fox

Aug 15, 2005
252
0
Berlin, CT
well...they're both nice forks, but what are you going to do with it? I'd tend to go towards the fox because i would not want 170mm on a SC. and i like lighter weights too....(I'm weight weenie...haha...when it comes to most riding)
 

SXtrailrider

Turbo Monkey
Aug 27, 2005
1,189
0
Fox i have the talas 36 feels perfect great control. It can go through tons of abuse with out problems feels like infinite trave. It wont let you down
 

zmtber

Turbo Monkey
Aug 13, 2005
2,435
0
what kind of riding will you need it for. i have heard people say they love fox and others the 66. However i am leaning towards the fox, i havent heard one person having any big problems with the fox stuff
 

Spokompton

Monkey
May 15, 2005
321
0
Spokane WA
The new doppio air system was designed for huckers on the 66 SL.

The new system requires much more air pressure in the negative chamber than the positive chamber, where as before they were pretty close. If any of the internal air spring seals break the high pressure air from the negative chmaber will spill into the positive chamber. It sucks the thing broke, but at the same time it will ride high in its travel because the negative spring has been released into the positive. So when it pops on a drop the fork will stay upright as apposed to collapsing and sending you over the bars. The older system would leak and get stuck down because the negative pressure was so close or below the positve pressure.

Then you also have the bottom out chamber which is pretty much makes the 66sl an RC2x. If all else fails, this will keep the fork from slamming bottom.

On top of that, the right leg can take air preload.


They went out of their way to make sure it's a safe fork for hucking. On top of that it's completely user servicable.

Unlike that goddamn TALAS system they put into the Fox 36. What a joke that was...




66SL is $656 at AEBIKE.COM
Adjustable from 150 - 170mm while still being able to retain the proper sag. It can go lower than 150mm if you sag it down more, which wouldn't be bad for huge climbs or XC.

Fox forx are for racing, thus they make compromises in things like dent resistance and long term reliability and user servicability. They cost a lot because you are buying a lightweight fork NOT because you are buying the most burly or reliable fork. Good for racers, but not good for us JoeShmoes who want a reliable fork and don't care about saving 1/10 of a second on our DH runs.

I've seen both the 40 and 36 receive major dents from small impacts. One guy dented his 40 really bad just from it falling over while it was standing up.

I have yet to ever see a single dented Marzocchi or broken Marzocchi for that matter.


When you consider the price and the fact that the Van 36 and 66 SL are pretty mich the same weight, it's a no brainer in favor of the 66SL.

 

gmac

Monkey
Apr 6, 2002
471
0
A vote for Fox 36 VAN

Really nice fork.

Great damping. It actually feels like the fork kind of catches you on landing. I think it feels different from every Bomber I've owned. Closest damping feel was a Shiver.

Stiff, stiff, stiff.

Perfect for a bike that sees more trail than lift serviced. I'm also using it on a Bullit w/ 6" rear travel and shuttled to slack the HA.
 

sbabuser

Turbo Monkey
Dec 22, 2004
1,114
55
Golden, CO
Spokompton said:
I've seen both the 40 and 36 receive major dents from small impacts. One guy dented his 40 really bad just from it falling over while it was standing up.

I have yet to ever see a single dented Marzocchi or broken Marzocchi for that matter.


When you consider the price and the fact that the Van 36 and 66 SL are pretty mich the same weight, it's a no brainer in favor of the 66SL.
You're joking, right?
I've seen pics of a couple broken 40's, but none received dents in any of the crashes they were involved in.
Additionally, I've never seen one picture of a dented Fox fork on the internet. How do you explain that, if they're so prone to denting?
 

Castle

Turbo Monkey
Jun 10, 2002
1,446
0
VA
The Van 36 will have better quality of travel.

the 66sl just feels ok, doesn't compare to a coil fork from fox or marzocchi.
 

Spokompton

Monkey
May 15, 2005
321
0
Spokane WA
Castle said:
The Van 36 will have better quality of travel.

the 66sl just feels ok, doesn't compare to a coil fork from fox or marzocchi.
I now strongly disagree with the comment about the 66sl being lesser.

I've ridden plenty of coil forks, including tons of Marzocchi pure coil forks.

Once broken in a bit and tuned properly (it takes a while to get a good air setting, main reason for bad feeling is not being setup right!) it feels no different than any coil fork I've been on.

It's most deffinitely more smooth than any Half Coil Half air Marzocchi fork I've ridden. Those forks don't have negative air pressuer, so they feel really sticky on smaller bumps.

When you consider the lightweight of the SL it actually has an edge over the coil 66 forks IMO. Along with the fact that the spring rate will never be too high or too low. Using air will be good for my type of riding where I like it soft for the trails and firm for the hucks.
 

sampo

Chimp
Nov 21, 2005
19
0
I'm in exactly the same position, thinking of replacing my 03 super T on my ASX with either the Van RC2 or the 66SL. Keep the feedback coming please, especially anyone who has experience of either of these forks.
 

Castle

Turbo Monkey
Jun 10, 2002
1,446
0
VA
Spokompton said:
I now strongly disagree with the comment about the 66sl being lesser.

I've ridden plenty of coil forks, including tons of Marzocchi pure coil forks.

Once broken in a bit and tuned properly (it takes a while to get a good air setting, main reason for bad feeling is not being setup right!) it feels no different than any coil fork I've been on.

It's most deffinitely more smooth than any Half Coil Half air Marzocchi fork I've ridden. Those forks don't have negative air pressuer, so they feel really sticky on smaller bumps.

When you consider the lightweight of the SL it actually has an edge over the coil 66 forks IMO. Along with the fact that the spring rate will never be too high or too low. Using air will be good for my type of riding where I like it soft for the trails and firm for the hucks.
see "boing" thread, 140lb rider, 5 pump strokes positive chamber (didn't register on guage) no air in preload chamber, still too stiff for rider, cannot use all the travel. We spent probably over an hour playing with that fork and really never got it where he wanted it.
 

Racerx7734

Monkey
Mar 4, 2002
616
0
Hostile Sausage
This is easy..........Marzocchi all the way.

Marzocchi is proven effective travel and overall performance with little to no maint...............and never have I seen one break or dent.

Fox is not..........however I will say that the Fox rear shocks are very, very good.
 

Spokompton

Monkey
May 15, 2005
321
0
Spokane WA
Castle said:
see "boing" thread, 140lb rider, 5 pump strokes positive chamber (didn't register on guage) no air in preload chamber, still too stiff for rider, cannot use all the travel. We spent probably over an hour playing with that fork and really never got it where he wanted it.
There must be something wrong with your fork or pump.

Maybe too much oil?

I have mine at 40 psi positive and get most of my travel.

I will have to mess with PAR and oil levels to fine tune that last little bit of travel.


I've never seen a Zoke with perfect oil levels out of the box. I guess that's one problem with zokes.



BTW, trying to say that Fox is better because they have better forks all around is missleading. They don't sell any low end cheap forks.

When you compare similar forks between the two, you must also account for price. $600 spent on a Zoke will get you more fork than $600 spent on a Fox.


New 2006 66 rc2x forks are going for less than $700.
New Fox 36 forks are going for $800-$1000


$800 AND all you get is a rebound adjustment? Come on fox, that's just lame. Give them all rc2 damping.
 

Changleen

Paranoid Member
Jan 9, 2004
14,335
2,448
Hypernormality
Spokompton said:
I've never seen a Zoke with perfect oil levels out of the box. I guess that's one problem with zokes.
Well, It's kind of a personal thing, same as oil weight - you can't really have a 'perfect' amount for everyone eh?
 

Castle

Turbo Monkey
Jun 10, 2002
1,446
0
VA
Spokompton said:
There must be something wrong with your fork or pump.

Maybe too much oil?

I have mine at 40 psi positive and get most of my travel.

I will have to mess with PAR and oil levels to fine tune that last little bit of travel.


I've never seen a Zoke with perfect oil levels out of the box. I guess that's one problem with zokes.



BTW, trying to say that Fox is better because they have better forks all around is missleading. They don't sell any low end cheap forks.

When you compare similar forks between the two, you must also account for price. $600 spent on a Zoke will get you more fork than $600 spent on a Fox.


New 2006 66 rc2x forks are going for less than $700.
New Fox 36 forks are going for $800-$1000


$800 AND all you get is a rebound adjustment? Come on fox, that's just lame. Give them all rc2 damping.
yeah we tried multiple pumps, I thought the same thing....

I didn't want to take the time to check oil levels as it's not even my fork and it was after hours. I don't see zocchi's inaccurate oil levels a problem, you typically end up fine tuning it anyway and the first recommended oil change comes very soon after the break in period.

Just out of curiosity what do you weigh without gear?

I think the MSRP's are something like

Van 36rc2 885
Van 36r 759
Talas 36rc2 995
Talas 36r 849

66rc2x 825
66SL 799
66lighteta 799
66VF2 689

they are all way too expensive, suspension imparticular has really increased in price in the passed few years.... not saying technology hasn't because it has but ouch! 700-1,000 for a single crown....
 

Spokompton

Monkey
May 15, 2005
321
0
Spokane WA
Castle said:
yeah we tried multiple pumps, I thought the same thing....

I didn't want to take the time to check oil levels as it's not even my fork and it was after hours. I don't see zocchi's inaccurate oil levels a problem, you typically end up fine tuning it anyway and the first recommended oil change comes very soon after the break in period.

Just out of curiosity what do you weigh without gear?

I think the MSRP's are something like

Van 36rc2 885
Van 36r 759
Talas 36rc2 995
Talas 36r 849

66rc2x 825
66SL 799
66lighteta 799
66VF2 689

they are all way too expensive, suspension imparticular has really increased in price in the passed few years.... not saying technology hasn't because it has but ouch! 700-1,000 for a single crown....

You should go by actual selling prices, not MSRP. The Pike came out last year with a much higher MSRP than what they really sold for. No one in their right mind would say the Pike wasn't a good value.

I've found that Fox product are sold in the market closer to MSRP than Zokes.

Every one of the 06 66 forks can be had for less than $700


I weigh close to 2oo lbs.
150 in negative chamber
10 in bottom out.


It's important to get enough negative pressure in there.
 

Castle

Turbo Monkey
Jun 10, 2002
1,446
0
VA
Spokompton said:
You should go by actual selling prices, not MSRP. The Pike came out last year with a much higher MSRP than what they really sold for. No one in their right mind would say the Pike wasn't a good value.

I've found that Fox product are sold in the market closer to MSRP than Zokes.

Every one of the 06 66 forks can be had for less than $700


I weigh close to 2oo lbs.
150 in negative chamber
10 in bottom out.


It's important to get enough negative pressure in there.
I agree, and don't have time to search the net for all the deals out there.

I think the SL will work better for a heavier rider like yourself.

I believe we had 150lbs in it and he ended up raising it higher to reduce the travel, so there's plenty of negative air in there.

The pike is a good fork, I just wish they'd hurry up and slap a air assist on it or relase the 426 in a air u turn. Def. big bang for the buck..
 

mosplat

Monkey
Mar 25, 2003
177
0
Brooklyn <-> Oakland
one thing i found interesting:
i was looking through a bunch of crankworx photos noel (of knolly bikes) posted on mtbr
and it looked like 9 out of 10 riders were running 66s or 888s.
if you wanna check it out (they ARE sick shots):
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=120837

i personally run an 05 66rc that i thoroughly enjoy.
not to say i wouldn't enjoy a fox van 36..
i'm just more familiar and comfortable with marzocchi.