Marzocchi Forks.... Which to go for...

Papa Smurf

Ok, I'm a hardtail rider who does XC and the occasional bit of DH (No big jumps- don't wish to die just yet)

Got a budget of £150 MAX! Looking for strong, reasonably weighted but most of all, long lasting and reliable forks. It's a toss up between either the Marzocchi
MX Pro - £150.
Dirt Jumper 3 - £117.
MZ Supercomp - £108.

What do you guys reckon? Any experience with any of these forks? Good/bad points?

According to What Mountain Bike Magazine the MX Pro's are pretty much perfect for what I do, easy set up that pretty much never needs re-adjusting etc...
But I basically want to know if it's worth spending a little less for something just as good, and to be fair... The Jumper 3's aren't really at all different, except they're Coil, not Coil and Air like the Pro's.

Also, the top pole of the fork that goes into the bike stem, are they a standard size? I don't seem to see much about getting them in different sizes.
Bike is a 06 Specialised Hardrock Sport (Disk)

Thanks!

nicklouse

MX pro. 1 1/8th inch and if new the steerer will be long enough but will need to be cut to length.

schmako

Definately the MX Pro's, much better forks than the other two. Had a go on my mates Carrera Vulcan with them, they're pretty plush forks.

Mytchett Mike

Thinking about the same myself - take a look at:

http://bikepimp.co.uk/search/Marzocchi+mx+pro - could get them for £130

Mike

BlackSpur

Have you considered a Tora?

partyboy1101

Fitted a pair of 2007 MX Pro's last week and had my first ride on them yesterday. The 2007's are an air fork rather than the 2008 which is air and coil - (2007s are a bit lighter too).

First impressions........bloody great!!! Way better than the RS Dart 3's which i took off and comparable to my mates Commencal with RS Rebas. Only paid £110 fitted too!!!! Result

bikeperson45

Bet supersonic says get toras...
Out of those options, MX PROS

Marjory Stewart BAxtor

MX pros are pretty light too

supersonic

mX Pro is about 4.6lbs. If doing a bit of DH, go for a Tora ;-)

Papa Smurf

What decent Tora's could I get for the same money then?

supersonic

Have a look at these:

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/?acti ... 0&brandID=

So much fork for the money! Not as light as the air version, but cheaper, tough, and packed with features. Pretty much a RS Revelation coil, but stronger.

Papa Smurf

Hmm, I must admit they do sound nice... Just read another thread about Maz forks and got abit curious when it became clear they're no good for jumping. I don't do massive jumps, maybe the odd 5ft drop but normally I just bounce off anything and everything I can find out n about.
Those Tora's... I'd kind of need them in black as my bike is bright Red :shock:
Do they come in black anyone know?

supersonic

All 3 of my pairs are black!

The whole jumping/dh with forks is a fine line. The Marzocchi MX is classed as na XC fork, the Tora covers All Mountain too, so should be up for harder riding. Given its burlier structure, and added stiffness, this is backed up. Still not warrantied for jumping per se, would need an Argyle or Dirt Jumper for that, but still a tough fork.

Papa Smurf

You have a pair of Tora's that you pointed out to me? In black?? Hmm...

Well like I said... When I do DH I don't do the big jumps, I know I'll break myself and more so the bike, which is not exactly what I want to do. Don't do it often anyway and the only proper jumps I do are tabletops, with the extremely rare drop off a big wall/bank. (4-5ft tops).

supersonic

Oh, the forks in the pic with the Manitous are just the lowers lol.

The Tora sounds ideal for you.

Papa Smurf

You should be a salesman

supersonic

Hehe, RS pay me well ;-)

Hello There

As BlackSpur said I would have a look at a pair of maybe last years Tora's. I seem to have seen a pair of 2007 Rock Shox Reba SL for around £150-160 somewhere. May not be great for downhilling because of the short travel but in my mind at that price there IS NOT a better fork... I'll have a look and see if I can find where I saw it... .

BlackSpur

Hello There wrote:

there IS NOT a better fork...

I really disagree with you there - the Reba is a very ood fork for XC, but for Freeride or DH there are much better forks. It completely depends on application.

Papa Smurf

Well I took the advice about the Tora's as I didn't think it was worth chancing some DH with XC forks.
So I opted for these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=002
Not a bad price I reckon, around £15 to £30 cheaper than Wiggle, Evans, Merlin, CRC etc

BlackSpur

But if they are faulty or damaged you struggle to get refunded. Personally I would pay an extra £15 for aftersale security, but hey, it's your money

Papa Smurf

Well they're from WoolyHatShop, who not only are a proper company, but I've brought from them before with no worries. So in a sense I do have some backup.
I could of got them for the same price on 1 of the bike sites but rather than registering I thought I would use ebay, as that's all set up and payment is easy.

When I get the forks, am I better off giving them to a shop to be set up or trying it myself? Bear in mind I have no idea about forks whatsoever.
Also, after they're been set up, will I need anything to maintain them? They're coil sprung so I wont need a pump or anything??

Hello There

In reply to Blackspur's comment I am sorry that I didn't make it clear but I meant that as the fork is used for XC and occasional DH I suggested the Rock Shox Reba because at £150 it is a very good for someone who would do mainly XC... I agree with the fact that for DH and Freeride there are much better forks... You would probably bottom out the Rock Shox Reba's very easily off a high drop off. Sorry Papa Smurf for posting this as it really doesn't help and I am not trying to make an issue of it Blackspur just thought I would reply . You raise some very good points!

supersonic

Where is it £150?