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Product Review - 2008 Marzocchi
66RC3
If you are in the market for a new
front fork, we may have the right fork for you. Dieselbikes crew member Paul
"Crashpad" went out and purchased a 2008 Marzocchi 66 RC3 and put the fork
through a beat down. If you know how Paul "Crashpad" rides, then you know he
goes through bike parts as fast as we can drink a case of Sam Summer! Below
is a short product review of this fork with just the facts and no long
winded dragged out blab, blab, blab…well you get the point.
I purchased the Marzocchi 66RC3 on the
advise of some other local riders. Installed on my 2007 Kona Stinky I have
been ridding this fork for almost two months and feel its time to share my
opinion. The fork has been ridden on a number of local trails such as Lynn
Woods, Middlesex Fells, Gloucester and other North Shore locations. I also
hit some downhill locations as Highland Mountain Bike Park, Bromont
(Canada), and even did a Montreal urban ride!
Out of the box using the stock spring
and factory settings, the fork really shines in the freeride arena! Easy to
reach rebound and mechanical pre-compression knobs on top of stanchions
allow for fast adjustments. The fork has 7" of travel that is fully usable
and smooth throughout the stroke. As usually (at least with me) the fork did
need a short period of time to break. After a few rides I only required
adjustment of the rebound dampening to remove top out feeling. Super
responsive and moderately powerful for medium drops, though it does bottom
out on large steep rollers but we are trying the air preload chamber for the
first time. This fork is a single crown and its weight isn’t so bad given
that it has a mechanical spring. Surprisingly the fork really climbs well
for having 7" of travel.
Urban riding 30+ miles on a Stinky is
not recommended but the fork was great. I just had to crank the
mechanical pre-compression up to the max and got rid of most of the pedal
bob in the front while still preserving ability to hit walls, stairs and
other stunts you can find in the city. Full on DH riding does push the fork
to it's limits, but this could be the rider as well…lol. Riding the World
Cup trail at Bromont (Canada) definitely put the fork through its paces, but
it has been one of the better forks I have ridden on such terrain. For XC
and light FR/technical XC duties at the Fells, the fork was superb! It was
like the front wheel stayed glued to the trail. Responsive through rocky
stuff at Bromont and taking most drops in stride the fork handled everything
this 200+lbs rider dished out.
At $900 retail, the fork is expensive
but compared to other forks in this class like the Fox 36 VAN RC2, the price
is not that bad. Better ride obviously than the older 150MM Drop Off series
dual crown with no adjustments that comes standard with the Kona Stinky. If
you're like me, and air forks just don't seem to work for you, the Marzocchi
66 RC3 is good choice especially if you don't want the encumbrance of a dual
crown fork. At 7" of solid travel, all FR duties are mastered and most DH as
well, the 66 is a well rounded fork that delivers what Marzocchi claims.
Most importantly, the white lowers mean you can really pimp it out your ride
with those new white rims that all the cool kids are riding!
If you have any questions and/or
comments about this review, just
drop us and e-mail,
we will do our best to give you an answer.
Review By: Paul "Crashpad"
Posted By:
Frank "Diesel"
Date: 07/03/2008
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