160mm Fork

[mfoga]

I am going to upgrade my fork on my MKIII to something with a thru axle. Pretty much everything is 160mm. I have done the math and for pretty much everything I am looking at it will have .5-.8 degree change in head angle.

I have been reading reviews and stuff and think I have come down to a handful now

Fox 36 Talas or Float

Rock Shok Lyrik 2-step of Solo Air

Marzocchi 55 ETA or TST2

The Marzocchi can be found for much less then the other so thats a huge plus but I seem to hear mixed reviews. Many people seem to really say they are crap and are heaviest but neither are really more then current fork.

The Rock Shok seems have less haters and a can be found for a tad less then a Fox but heavier then Fox.

The Fox is the most expensive and seems to have the most up and down reviews. People seem to Rave about them or just hate them not a lot of in the middle reviews.

So honnest opinions from people with actual experience with these forks. I want the best bang for the buck.

[Rockinthecasbah]

Marzocchi 55 ETA or TST2 everything I have used from them is junk, but there are some people who get these things to work,
you cant go wrong with the RS or the Fox, from my experience and few other peoples I wouldnt go marz, but what do I know

[denmother]

I have been running the Fox 36 Talas RC2 for 4 years. I recently sold my 2006 and now have a 2008. I did have to have the 2006 rebuilt once last year (before I sold it).

Look around for a used one!!!!

[tkblazer]

an 06 z1 light would be perfect for that bike if you can find one used.. otherwise a lyric would be cool

[stinkyrider]

Just my humble opinion, but a 160 mm fork seems a bit overkill for a 5" bike. Perhaps a Rock Shox pike could be an option?

It works for Dino Brown, right? It must be good.

[volcomsteban]

i just got done demoing a chumba evo with a Lyric fork. didnt like it. has a few adjustments but as far as i could tell they didnt adjust anything. but they do have u-turn travel so you can set it 115-160

[denmother]

Originally Posted by stinkyrider

Just my humble opinion, but a 160 mm fork seems a bit overkill for a 5" bike. Perhaps a Rock Shox pike could be an option?

It works for Dino Brown, right? It must be good.

It all depends on what type of riding you are going to be doing. I run the Pike 454 on my 4x bike and the Talas on my 5.75" AM bike. It's not the best fork for climbing, but it can't be beat for technical downhill, jumping, drops, etc.

[mfoga]

Originally Posted by stinkyrider

Just my humble opinion, but a 160 mm fork seems a bit overkill for a 5" bike. Perhaps a Rock Shox pike could be an option?

It works for Dino Brown, right? It must be good.

My thinking was if I was paying about the same price why not get the extra travel.

[DirtymikeTDB]

I absolutly love my Marzocchi fork, the 55 ETA is a tough fork, Not too fond of the TST dampening, people are complaining that Marz hasnt updated there dampening Tech, but why should they change what works. I run an 07 66eta, its 180 and would be overkill for what your doing, but the 55eta would be the replacement of the older 160 66 that first came out, tough strong and reliable. I have yet to have a marzocchi fork that has failed on me in anyway.


P.S. I weigh in at 250, and I am pretty damn rough on my gear.

Hope this helps

Originally Posted by mfoga

My thinking was if I was paying about the same price why not get the extra travel.

Six in fork on a five in bike works great, its not overkill at all

[strobelite]

ive been on marz forks for a few years, and only had problems with oem items.

my year and a half use of an 05 z1 light has been butta-smooth.

hope this helps.

[DISCO]

RS is more easily serviceable, fox is plush but blows through travel (lots of pre-load) Marz is coil/air and slightly heavier. For a lot of climbing the TALAS or TWO-Step is the way to go, U-turn requires a stop at the top and bottom versus travel on the fly.

Do you want to go coil or air is the question.

[hellboundheroic]

Originally Posted by mfoga

My thinking was if I was paying about the same price why not get the extra travel.

Extra travel is great but if you do a lot of hill climbing be ready to compensate your body position for the added height. I have a 160mm fork and it pulls up pretty easily on the steep hills.

[mfoga]

Originally Posted by hellboundheroic

Extra travel is great but if you do a lot of hill climbing be ready to compensate your body position for the added height. I have a 160mm fork and it pulls up pretty easily on the steep hills.

Thats why the top of my list was the Talas , ETA and 2 Step. All have the ability to quickly drop the fork to climb

[DirtymikeTDB]

Originally Posted by DISCO

RS is more easily serviceable, fox is plush but blows through travel (lots of pre-load) Marz is coil/air and slightly heavier. For a lot of climbing the TALAS or TWO-Step is the way to go, U-turn requires a stop at the top and bottom versus travel on the fly.

Do you want to go coil or air is the question.

Originally Posted by hellboundheroic

Extra travel is great but if you do a lot of hill climbing be ready to compensate your body position for the added height. I have a 160mm fork and it pulls up pretty easily on the steep hills.

Originally Posted by mfoga

Thats why the top of my list was the Talas , ETA and 2 Step. All have the ability to quickly drop the fork to climb

Its all about the ETA, flip a lever and ride, thats all you do, takes about 2 seconds. Just to clear a few things up about ETA, most people belive you are supposed to flip the lever, then push the fork down, which is actually incorrect, what your supposed to do is flip the lever, and ride. It will lock itself in the proper position, leaving at least 30 mm of travel. Marz is still the way to go.

[ladera Dave]

I ride the 55 eta on a 170mm frame, it rocks, good luck with your decission.

[jeffj]

I have a 2007 All Mountain 1 on a Giant Reign and love it so far. I had a 2006 All Mountain 1 on it for over 1.5 years and had no issues or problems with it either. I upgraded to the new one so I could pass the 2006 version to my son Ted for his Reign.

The 2007 All Mountain 1 is a 160mm travel fork with TST2 and ETA and a 20mm thru-axle. Wheelworld has 'em for $299 and for the next couple days, the have a 20% off deal that would put it down to $239.

The 2006 version has TST 5 and the newer one has TST 2. To tell the truth, I only used the two extreme settings on the TST 5 fork which are the two settings that TST 2 has, so it suits me fine to 'only' have the TST 2.

And if I were to have a problem, which I haven't, Marz is about 5 minutes from where I live and they apparently don't seem to have a problem if you want to deal with them directly for parts or service.

Personally, I think a Marz 55 or a Fox TALAS 36 would be a bit of overkill on a MkIII. I think you'll break a MkIII before you'll break a Pike, Marz All Mountain or Fox 32 that's mounted on it, so I don't know why you'd pay the weight penalty of a 35mm or 36mm fork. JMHO.

[wrxkid]

I am currently trying out a Rock shox Lyrick coil U-turn and I like it but it is definately heavier than my current fork (Manitou Nixon super 145mm). It's super cush and smooth. My favorite would have to be the Talas 36. It was super smooth and plush for an air fork. I would try to Van also if you want to go with a coil spring. Ask Tani , he's got all of it and I think you can try them out.

[Bryguy17]

I would say 36 talas, lyrik 2step, or the pike air uturn.

I, like others, would shy away from marz at the moment unless you're planning on getting something from a few years ago. They havn't gotten their stuff together with the taiwan manufacturing, so I'd hold off until they do.

You could go the way I did and get a used Marz from somewhere in the 05-06 range. Very solid forks. I'm loving my 66SL on the hardrock

While there are a bunch of people that hate foxes, I have a feeling its out of hate for the brand, not the product. They just don't like fox for some reason. Every one of their forks I've ridden has been flawless, and the TALAS ones are very tuneable, even if you don't get the RLC. Another thing of note, Fox has pretty good customer service from what I've experienced. They're in watsonville (just south of santa cruz), so warranty stuff gets done quickly (it was a weekend for my rear shock). I also have a friend who picked up a USED 40, and because of a stanchion problem, he essentially got a brand new 40 (everything but the crowns from what I understand).

BTW, I don't own a 36, but I do have 2 32 talas', 2 F120's, and all of them have worked flawlessly until now.

I really don't have much experience with rock shox. They seem to be really nice forks though. I've ridden a pike and liked it, and probably wouldn't mind one of their forks. I would definitely consider a Pike air over a lyrik though. THey're still plenty stiff, more fine-tuneable, and you wont be screwing with you bike's geometry.

[PacMan]

Go with the 36 TALAS. Best fork on the market, IMHO. If not that, go with Rock Shox. DO yourself and stay FAR, FAR AWAY from Marzocchi.

I've posted my Marzocchi horror story here before. If you want more details, PM me and I'll be happy to let you in on Marzocchi's unbelievably shady and suspect warranty department and their policies.

[Laggdawg]

I'm a 225lb rider and have had the 2006 Talus 36 running for the last two years. I love it. It soaks up the big stuff and small bumps as well. The only complaint is that my old version takes about 15 clicks to get it all the way down (3mm per click). The newer version is 10mm each I believe...that would be nice. Although I tend to ride it in the middle unless I know i am going to be making a big up or down, so I am not complaining...me very happy.