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Ok people, i seem to have a MAJOR problem

1K views 12 replies 11 participants last post by  Nick_M2R 
#1 ·
Well im at the crossroads right now

My 09 marzocchi 66 RC3 has gone back to the aussie distro AGAIN for the same problems as the 3 before it. When i get the replacement back i am selling it straight away and swore never to use marzocchi again at least for a couple of years.

After riding my Lyrik on my Bass, ive become very attached to rockshox, caus i can tune the MiCo well as well as revalve it, but also because they are easily serviced and it is pretty easy to get replacement parts in australia

I was pretty much set on a 2010 Boxxer race for my 07 stinky, which i can get for $949. Heard some good things bout it so i was looking forward to getting one

HOWEVER

Today, 2 other forks came into the mix

2007 66 RC2X = $540
or a
2007 66 ATA SL = $580

OK i said id sworn off marzocchi for along time after the 3 POS 66 forks i had before, but these are the zokes that where made back in italy,.

Basically its like this

07 66 ATA SL
My mate has a 2008 ATA WC which was stuck down, but yesterday i figured out how to fix the stuckdown issue. 20min job that required a $0.30 o-ring. The fork feels really nice now.

But looking at the reviews on this site, the 07 ATA seems to have a few issues, namely the ATA travel windown and the stuckdown issue, both of which i can fix myself, althought so others reported loose bushings as well. The main reason i lookk at the ata is because im trying to shed so weight off my stinky, also the adjustable travel is tempting, but in the end it is still a air fork which i intend to use for DH/FR and i would like it to be pretty much bombproof

SO

Now we fall to the alternate, the 2007 66 RC2X
Basically from what ive read on this site its an awesome fork
Having LSC adjustment in the form of the RC2
Having HSC in the X cart

(i may have the carts completely wrong, feel free to correct me if i am :thumbsup: )

Air preload to use as a bottom out adjust
oil height tuning
easy to service

What do you guys think, should i get the 07 RC2X over the boxxer? I would like a fork that i can hammer over and over and besides the occasional oil change, i wont have to touch it, or have to send it into the distro with problems every 3 months. Seeing as the 07's where made in italy im hoping they will be free from marz recent epic fails. Are there any issues with the 07 66's?

Loose bushings?
Creaking Crowns?
Undersized Lowers?
Leaking Seals?
Cracked compression carts?

I am honestly hesitant about the RC2X, but from what im reading it would ride so much better than the boxxer, but after having 3 failed forks you may understand i am a little skeptical.

What do you guys think?

Give marzocchi one last chance in the form of a 2007 66 RC2X for $540

Or forget marzocchi for a couple of years and get a 2010 Boxxer race for $949?

Please im looking for honest feedback hear, its much appreciated :thumbsup:
 
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#2 ·
The 2007 66 are bombproof usually.
They are like the old zocchies. Heavy, stiff, reliable.

Though the damping is not that refined. Some like it some not. Very progressive and compared to a Pike or Boxxer the sensitivity is not that good.

But they almost dont need maintenance.

If you can get one in really good condition, go for it.


Greetings Znarf
 
#4 · (Edited)
I have ridden both (in fact I now own the Boxxer Race 2010). I would not say that the zoke rides sooo much better....I am in fact quite impressed with the Boxxer so far. Now, I really really like the 07 66 (non-ATA), and would seriously consider it for any single-crown duty, but I have to say the new Boxxer (race) is really a solid feeling piece of kit. Very smooth and supple, the damping action may not be that refined (motion control only), but the low speed compression does a good enough job of battling brake dive and g-out, without loosing much sensitivity. I would not hesitate.
Oh and a $80 upgrade buys you the DropStop bottom out upgrade...not bad...I'll be going for that as soon as I get out of this damn leg cast...
 
#5 ·
I'm very impressed with the new RockShox stuff and I'm increasingly unimpressed with Marzocchi.
Also, I prefer a stiff double crown to the gauranteed flexier single crown and I think weights are about the same.
PLUS, you get an extra inch of travel with the Boxxer and the ability to adjust the stantions till your front end is as low as the travel and tire permit.
 
#7 ·
My '07 SL1 ATA was probably the most impressive fork I've ever used, for three months, then it cacked out on me. It was back under warranty three times for two different failures - the third time, I told them just to send my money back instead. I bought an RC3 which, after having a set of '09 uppers fitted and new bushings, has been great. While I was having the ATA fork seen to, I bought a used '07 RC2X (it was actually the cheapest appropriate fork I could find). I've been using it on my Orange SubZero since and it's a very impressive fork. Not as good on small bumps as the RC3, but it's supple and predictable.

If there was ever a (modern) fork to give Marzocchi a last chance with, it's the '07 RC2X. I know that there are fixes for the ATA's troubles, but, personally, I'd rather take a fork that I can trust hit after hit.
 
#9 ·
Nick_M2R said:
But looking at the reviews on this site, the 07 ATA seems to have a few issues, namely the ATA travel windown and the stuckdown issue, both of which i can fix myself, althought so others reported loose bushings as well. The main reason i lookk at the ata is because im trying to shed so weight off my stinky, also the adjustable travel is tempting, but in the end it is still a air fork which i intend to use for DH/FR and i would like it to be pretty much bombproof
You know, I bought a 07 888 SL ATA last year knowing the problems, and I haven't had any since. I can't complain too much about the fork, it rides really nice. I have come across a few problems from others on these boards, mostly with the travel wind down, but a user here posted a step by step instruction on fixing it. Also, you can remove the PAR if you want to modify the feeling of the fork. There are step by step instructions for doing that on MTBR as well.

I have heard that the 07 66 SL ATA's have more wind down problems than the 888 counterpart, but even then its not that big of a deal. I think its well known that 06 and 07 Marzocchi forks have a lot less problems than their newer models. The only quirk in the line up is the SL ATA which people have had problems with (I haven't).

The super safe route would to be to get the 07 66 RC2X, since those are pretty bombproof, but I'd be willing to take a SL ATA. Tuning the SL ATA to get the perfect setup does take a while, but I think its worth it. The fork feels great for Downhill and really absorbs all sized hits.
 
#10 ·
It was heavy but I wish I still had my 66RC2X. Never douted it and it was super supple with eggcellent BO resistance.If anything its a great fork to have and keep if you find yourself picking something more up to date later down the road, super tough and durable so perfect as a back up fork.
 
#12 ·
I think you are justified in your line of thinking in terms of possibly using a RS fork, but the boxxer race sucks without the mission control damping. My reba failed again a few days ago, but at least it's a pretty simple fix I can do at home with an o-ring from the hardware store. For these reasons I am not against their stuff as I used to be, they are using much better damping systems and doing pretty well.

I also stay away from travel-adjustable air shocks like the plauge. Just too many ways for them to fail, and while the track record is better, I doubt it will ever be something that "works" all the time. Then there's the issue of the air-spring curve. Either you'll like it or not, but quite a few pro races have put coil springs in their boxxer WCs (replacing the air-spring). Lighter for the sake of lighter isn't always better.

I have an 06 66 though, it's my 666! It's the same chassi as the 07 66, just with 10mm less travel. I do have to replace the seals every season or two, but otherwise it's been rock-steady and just takes the abuse day after day. I wish it was a full-coil model like the 66RC2x, as it's the 66 Light ETA version. It does have RC2, but it requires me to put air pressure in the air-spring leg. Except for this quirk (I'd rather just have full coil) it's great and very at-home on my RFX. 170mm front travel and 163mm rear travel, very nice balance. They are also nice due to being able to change the oil height and adding a whole lot of bottom-out resistance. RS has finally got a system on their Boxxer Team that adjusts the bottom-out resistance, but you can adjust this on ANY marzocchi fork, which is a big plus over the others. I have an 08 888 as well, but it was made just after the problamatic production run. It's doing fine, although I wish the damping was more sophisticated. After you ride some really good stuff like Avalanche some of the current products seem like somewhat of a joke, even if they really aren't that bad. Supposedly they are working on some cartridges for forks like the 888, but otherwise the boxxer's mission-control has peaked my interest. I don't care for fox due to the poor seals (not true oil seals) and inability to easily work on the internals, but if I had to buy a new DH fork right now I'd probably go for the boxxer Team. If I had to buy a new FR fork for my RFX, it might be a marzoccchi 55RC3, which is pretty similer to my 06 66. I'd consider the new 170mm lyric, but unfortunately there's no travel-adjust or lock-down feature with 170mm models and I wouldn't want an air-adjsutable-travel version anyway. If I was looking for a "bighit" FR fork, it would either be the Totem or current 66, but I'd like to have the ability to lower the front end, and marzocchi took the ETA function out of the 66 for the last few years.

I'm a little puzzled by 180mm single crown forks. I don't see any way to climb them up steep stuff with ease (like on an every-day-every-ride bike) without some sort of travel adjust feature, and then compared to something like an 888 I'd rather have the 20mm extra travel and added strength. I thought 170mm (06) was great, but then marzocchi made it 180mm and left a pretty big gap in their product line. With all the 6" travel AM bikes you were forced to put a 150mm Z1 on there, which was ok but the 32mm stanchions and 150mm of travel were pretty dated compared to what some of these bikes were capable of. I think the 55 RC3 fills the gap pretty well...but unfortunately doesn't include an ETA cartridge...at least stock (can be retrofitted).

The 07 66RC2x should be solid.
 
#13 ·
Well you people pretty much have me sold on the RC2X, but then i also might be swaying towards the ATA. Normally, i avoid air travel adjust systems like a plague as i think they are too delicate for DH/FR, last week my mate got a 08 888 ATA WC that was stuck down, but on the weekend i thought to hell with sending it back to marz to have a o-ring replaced. When i took the ATA cart apart, i was shocked, its so dam simple, it is only 3 moving parts! 2 if you remove the par piston. Replacing the 4 o-rings that make up the ATA cart was easy, and after a day of downhilling it has held up, so that is a start. The travel winddown is also an easy fix, so it seems the only issues with this fork are easily fixed.

To hell with it im gonna get a 07 66 RC2X.....
Nothing beats the good old coil fork, ill loose the weight outta the wheels and myself

But still keep the opinions coming guys!
 
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