Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

66 disappoinment/confusion

2K views 17 replies 16 participants last post by  nickgto 
#1 ·
Okay so I put the 66 RC2X on my Uzzi, and cannot believe how "tough" this thing is.

I only put a couple pounds of air in each side, turned the compression all the way off, and barely gave it any rebound. Got on the bike and can hardly push this thing down!!

Are the seals really that tight?? or is it my fork??

Dude, I'll be sooooo bummed if it's the fork. Coming off a Sherman, this is the reason why I switched over to a reliable fork.

Brand-spanking new out of the box, and no where near the standard Marzocchi buttery smoothnisity that one would expect.

Any insight to my dilemna is great appreciated,
-tep
 
#3 ·
My 66 is a nice stiff fork, but have an impossible time getting full travel. Now I'm running it w/o any air and its like having a 5" beefy fork. Never 6". Two trips to the LBS got me nowhere but have a lighter wallet.

I'm thinking a lighter spring.

fwiw/ I checked out another bike w/ a 66 and it was nice and smooth and didn't need to drop 10,000 feet to get full travel.

*I've had it for a year, 4 months, so its broken in.
 
#4 ·
You will need at least 10 hours of riding on the fork before it will feel smooth. The bushings/seals are some of the best and they take time to seat. I just put a 66sl on my bike and it was very stiff. Now I have may be 6 real hours of riding and it feels better already.

With Marzocchi forks you have to be patient. Proper breaking will leave you with one of the best forks on the market. Once you get 10-20 hours on the fork, change the oil and you will be happy.

As for not getting full travel on a 66, as with any Marzocchi, is based on oil level. Try removing 10ml from the RC (right) leg and see if you get more travel. Marzocchi specs the oil levels based on rider weights, so if you are light, you may need to remove some, or if you are heavier you may need to add some.
 
#5 ·
I'm running a brand new 66RC2X as well. I have about 12 hrs of time on it and it's starting to loosen up and feel much better. A few things to try:

1) Run no air pressure.

2) Run no compression (the knob on the bottom)

3) Rebound to taste, I think at first I ran it "full out" or as fast as it can go.

Now go ride, ride and ride. Try to hit as many rocks in the trail as you can. It's more fun that way :D . The point being to make the fork as active as possible to assist the break-in period. After a few rides it'll start loosening up and then you'll have to adjust the dampening to taste. I am now getting full travel outta my 66 and it feels awesome, but still has more breaking in to do. Marz does say it takes 20 hours to break in.

Another thing to consider: How much do you weigh? If you are light, the stock springs may be too much for you. But I think you'd have to be under 130lbs or something like that...keep us posted! I love my 66 so far!!
 
#6 ·
I would remove all air from the fork legs, and crack that sucker open and check the oil levels. Of the 4 06 Zokes that I have worked on, all 4 of them came with too much oil from the factory. After 15 hours of riding, do an oil change, and the fork will really come alive.
 
#7 ·
my 06 66vf that i had was horrible out of the box. the thing had stiction for days. Took aobut 3 hard rides to work it out, and after about 8 rides there still was a little there. Gve it some time and it will work itself out. But get rid of all the air pressure from the fork. even 2 pumps of a shcok pump can make them ride really really harsh. other than that, just give it time my son, give it time.
 
#8 ·
Right out of the box, my 66SL was quite sticky, but then I ran the bike into a curb about 10 times and it loosened up to a tolerable level. After a few rides it's still getting smoother, and I expect it to improve further. Sounds like you have a tuning issue with your air, oil level, and possibly spring.
 
#9 ·
Really stupid question...the RC2X is my first air assisted fork...can you let all the air out without a pump? Is it similar to a tube valve inside? I have spun the caps off but could see nothing like a tube inside. By the way, I have had mine on for a week and LOVE it.
 
#10 ·
Locoman said:
My 66 is a nice stiff fork, but have an impossible time getting full travel. Now I'm running it w/o any air and its like having a 5" beefy fork. Never 6". Two trips to the LBS got me nowhere but have a lighter wallet.

I'm thinking a lighter spring.

fwiw/ I checked out another bike w/ a 66 and it was nice and smooth and didn't need to drop 10,000 feet to get full travel.

*I've had it for a year, 4 months, so its broken in.
Have you dropped the oil level?

Too high of an oil level will limit travel significantly.

I have the 06 66 and I get full travel no problem. It did take a little while to break in, but now I run about 12psi in each leg.
 
#11 ·
If you have schrader valves, then yes, you just press the center button and all the air comes rushing out. Be careful, however, to let the oil settle first. If you do it while the bike is hanging from a wall you can squirt oil out instead of air. This is bad.

However, it sounds like you have the newfangled marzocchi setup, with the little hole that requires an adaptor to fill. In that case, use the adaptor that should have come with your fork.
 
#12 ·
i'll give it a go

thank you all for posting the same problem that I had. Then knowing that it does eventually work itself out.

I will ride it with no air, compression out, rebound to taste and then change/check the oil in ten or so hours.

looking forward to the outcome,
-tep

I guess in this case misery loves company
 
#14 ·
I'm right at about 20 hours on my 66RC2x and yes, the break in period is noticable. However, overnight (or at least between rides) they seem to change from slightly sticky to butter smooth. Mine made sticky little noises and annoyed me with what felt like a mini-top-out *tunk* sound but that's now gone.

Regarding oil and air and springs....

According to Marzocchi (called them this afternoon) there will be no spring kits for heavier or softer springs on the RC2X. The air takes care of things. If you aren't hitting full travel then wait til they're broken in and change the oil...

Measured from the top of the fork leg (with forks fully compressed) the oil should be 58-60mm. If you're not getting full travel then lower it a tad. If you're blowing through the travel raise it a tad. If you're really aggro then go with 10wt (I'm 250puonds geared up so...) and I imagine if you're a feather weight guy try either a 5wt or a mix of 5wt and 7.5wt.

Personally I like forks with this many tuning options as it lets me tinker. However last night I put way too much oil in now the fork will do 4.5" of travel tops. Oops.

Oh and same amount of oil in each leg, same as 2005 (220-225cc).
 
#15 ·
Hot Butter Topping said:
I'm right at about 20 hours on my 66RC2x and yes, the break in period is noticable. However, overnight (or at least between rides) they seem to change from slightly sticky to butter smooth. Mine made sticky little noises and annoyed me with what felt like a mini-top-out *tunk* sound but that's now gone.

Regarding oil and air and springs....

According to Marzocchi (called them this afternoon) there will be no spring kits for heavier or softer springs on the RC2X. The air takes care of things. If you aren't hitting full travel then wait til they're broken in and change the oil...

Measured from the top of the fork leg (with forks fully compressed) the oil should be 58-60mm. If you're not getting full travel then lower it a tad. If you're blowing through the travel raise it a tad. If you're really aggro then go with 10wt (I'm 250puonds geared up so...) and I imagine if you're a feather weight guy try either a 5wt or a mix of 5wt and 7.5wt.

Personally I like forks with this many tuning options as it lets me tinker. However last night I put way too much oil in now the fork will do 4.5" of travel tops. Oops.

Oh and same amount of oil in each leg, same as 2005 (220-225cc).
When did your stop making that top out thud? After you changed the oil?

-Thanks.
 
#16 ·
I just got the 66 rc2x thru Marzocchi's trade-in program for $540 and swapping my 7 month old All Mountain 3. In comparisson to my Z1FR3 on my first ride, I can see right away that the 66 is really stiff, as I only use 4.25 inches of travel on a 4 foot drop compared to 5.25 inches for the z1 on the same drop. I do love the adjustabilityof the fork because the z1 only has air preload but I only set the rebound for the moment and left the high and low compression fully open. The fork does have alot of stiction thus I tried applying Manitou's stanchion grease to make it more plush with almost little or no effect.

I did notice that the fork seems to flex more than the z1 when I only do front braking. Do you guys also notice this in your RC2X? It is like the stanchions and the lower legs are not joined very well because there is a considerable amount of lateral movement between the legs and the stanchions. I know it's hard for you to picture as it is hard for me to describe in words, but I can literally see a slight angle maybe.01 degrees between the stanchions and the legs even without the stanchions getting inside the legs whenever the brakes are applied and the bike is being rocked forward & backward.

Kindly give me feedback if this is normal because it does not happen when both brakes are applied.
 

Attachments

#18 ·
I just brought my 66rc2x which I got 10 days ago back to Marzocchi as there is a flex between the stanchions and the lower legs. Mike, the technical service guy had the technician inspect it and 20 mins. later, the technician came back and told me that he replaced the bushings because the one I got had defective ones. I inspected the fork and I did notice that not only did they replace the bushings, but they replaced the entire lower leg. Seems that Marzocchi has low QC standards these days:madman:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top