New Marzocchi DH Fork! Marzocchi 380 C2R2

This year is a pretty exciting year for Dh, at least forkwise it is. With companies like x-fusion, dvo, fox , sun tour, and even manitou releasing new versions looks like marzocchi has decided to do the same and almost completely redesign it's DC Fork.



Looks very similar to the 888 but the internals have changed also new is the tapered steerer.

380 C2R2 Titanium Details

• Intended use: DH racing
• Travel: 200mm
• Titanium coil spring
• 38mm nickel treated stanchions
• Tapered or straight steerer
• New 'Dynamic Bleed Cartridge'
• Adjustments: separate low and high-speed compression, low and high-speed rebound
• Titanium clamp bolts stock
• Compatible with 650B wheels
• Production fork weight: 6.28lb
• Availability: September, 2013
• MSRP: TBA

"Dynamic Bleed Cartridge
Previous 888s employed Marzocchi's longstanding open bath approach to damper design, with a sealed cartridge (more recent 888 cartridges could be tuned, though) that
fed on the same oil that acted as lubrication within the fork. This layout made for exceptionally smooth performance due to there being enough oil to slosh about and lube the fork's bushings, although it couldn't meet how a closed or semi-closed damper performs when talking consistency because of that very same sloshing effect. Marzocchi says that their new Dynamic Bleed Cartridge is hybrid of the three versions cited above, although it certainly requires some internal trickery to make that happen. The DBC cartridge uses a "one-way seal" that allows oil to enter as required, but the clever bit is a spring-loaded piston that acts a compensator (very similar to how an internal floating piston functions in a shock's piggyback) that keeps the cartridge full of oil without it hydraulically locking: the piston moves up to make room as the damper cartridge fills with oil, and also down in its travel to take up the lost displacement as oil rushes out. While it both sounds and is more complicated than Marzocchi's older open bath damper, the DBC system borrows technology that the Italian company is familiar with from using it within their motocross forks.

The DBC damper may be new to Marzocchi's lineup, but they are not straying away from their open approach to giving consumers the ability to remove and tune vital damper components. Looking for a change that can't be done via the external low and high-speed compression dials? The entire compression assembly can be removed from the top of the fork to allow the garage tuners and pro mechanics to make alterations to the mid-speed compression circuit, and shim stack assemblies that will make the job easier will likely be available from Marzocchi. "



http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Marzocchi-380-C2R2-Titanium-fork-and-Moto-C2R-shock-Taipei-S.html

 

I need to try this one! :bang:

 

Curious . . .
are a lot of new DH frames going to have tapered head tubes?
and/or are they going to force the issue by coming up with a new standard and hoping everyone adopts???
Is a tapered head tube even necessary on a DC fork?

 

Most dh frames have 1.5 inch or tapered head tubes. On the last crop of 40's, 888's, and boxxers 1 1/8 steerers were the norm. Not really a new standard, but tapered is new for dh bikes steerer wise. In the last few years a lot of the major dh bike producers seemed to have adopted the tapered headtubes, it's suppose to be a stiffer setup when paired with tapered steerers, though I doubt I would be able to tell on a dual crown fork. If your upgrading from an older fork to a tapered one you'll need a new lower cup, however current 888 owners would probably be able to get away with using the older crowns and throwing the unused new crowns in the spare parts bin.

I am curious to see who's gonna be the first to mount a 650b wheel on the front of their dh bike.

Looks like the new tapered crowns have some weight saving and increased turning radius benefits.

"New Crowns and Lowers
Rather than use the same crowns as on their 888 forks (the 38mm stanchions are the same size after all), Marzocchi has gone ahead with a new design that looks slimmer, weighs less, and according to Marzocchi, increases rigidity. Post-forging machining is used to create a hollow lower crown - 888 lower crowns are solid - that adds up to 40 grams of weight loss, and Marzocchi says that the clamping bolts have now been moved to the side of the crowns to improve turning clearance and better distribute stress. Many of Marzocchi's forks have long used an arch with an 'M' shape to them that, while aesthetically pleasing to some, never really played a functional role. The big M is no longer, though, with a slimmer and much more practical shape to the arch. The new lowers contribute to another 100 grams of weight loss over the 888 RC3 EVO V.2 Titanium, adding up to a 170 gram difference between the crowns and lowers."