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Marzocchi 55 RC3 Ti and 66 RC3 Ti

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In the heart of the 2010 range is the RC3 cartridge that provides the damping for the 888 (EVO), 66, 55, 44 & 4X models. The Italian made, open bath RC3 cartridge gives a wide and usable range of rebound and both high and low speed compression adjustment. The High and low compression is adjusted from just one dial.

Open bath technology is used throughout the range. Marzocchi have also incorporated a new MDU bottom out bumper that prevents any harsh bottom out noises and secondly it also displaces a little oil – this saves weight.

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The titanium coil springs have been re-worked saving up to half the weight over the 2009 versions. Higher quality titanium is now used in the manufacture of the spring, however fewer coils are now used keeping the weight and the cost down.

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Marzocchi are now using higher quality 2 piece bushings that are reworked with vertical slots for better oil penetration. The bushings are also paired to the stanchions and lower legs to ensure tighter tolerances and smother running.

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Marzocchi has taken the QR lever design from their QR15 system and produced the new QR20 system. In use it feels like a standard QR lever, but gives you the full security and stiffness of a 20mm bolt up. The new QR20 levers are also backwards compatible to the 2008 model range.

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55 RC3 Ti

Marzocchi has taken 2009 55RC3 and put it on a diet. Weighing in at only 1850g for an open bath, coil sprung fork the 55 RC3 Ti weighs only 101g more than the 2009 55 ATA and 362g less than the 2009 55 RC3.

The 160mm travel 55 RC3 Ti features adjustable rebound and hi & low speed compression damping, mechanical pre-load with a low pressure air valve for small pre-load adjustments. A Titanium main spring helps to keep the weight down with alternative rate springs available from launch.

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66 RC3 Ti

Weighing in at 2760g for an open bath, coil sprung fork the 66 RC3 Ti weighs 133g less than the 2009 66 ATA and a 481g less than the 2009 66 RC3.

The 180mm travel 66 RC3 Ti features adjustable rebound and hi & low speed compression damping, mechanical pre-load with a low pressure air valve for small pre-load adjustments. A Titanium main spring helps to keep the weight down with alternative rate springs available from launch.

55 RC3 Ti – 1 1/8” or 1.5” £899.95

66 RC3 Ti – 1 1/8” or 1.5” £999.95

Orange Switch 6er. Stif Squatcher. Schwalbe Magic Mary Purple Addix front. Maxxis DHR II 3C MaxxTerra rear. Coil fan. Ebikes are not evil. I have been a writer for nigh on 20 years, a photographer for 25 years and a mountain biker for 30 years. I have written countless magazine and website features and route guides for the UK mountain bike press, most notably for the esteemed and highly regarded Singletrackworld. Although I am a Lancastrian, I freely admit that West Yorkshire is my favourite place to ride. Rarely a week goes by without me riding and exploring the South Pennines.

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Comments (18)

    I don’t get it. Marzocchi’s rep is in the toilet. Who’s going to take a gamble on a £900 160mm coil fork for the sake of a few hundred grams? Makes a 36 van or float, which is probably top of your 160mm shopping list already, look like an absolute bargain.

    Even if they do turn out great, they’re still £200 more than the competition. I mean why would you not just buy a fox or a lyrik or something? The mind boggles.

    Plus they’re ugly.

    So’s your face 🙂
    I’m hoping they are back on form but as you say they are a bit on the pricey side, leisure lakes has the 2010 fox float rc2s at £870RRP so not quite the £200 you say.

    To be honest, if they’re a return to the reliability of Marzocchi of old, they’ll be worth every penny!

    Find it strange that the 44 and 55 RC3 are identical claimed weights despite travel differences and one being QR20 and one QR15. Hmmmm…

    OMG!!!! How did forks get so expensive! they might be good but you could spend a few more pennies and buy a Specialized Pitch, hopefully the more basic models have also improved in quality and are actually a reasonable price!

    Sorry I was ranting. I meant £200 vs the vans.

    its seems such a shame that marzocchi have gone pants
    I think fox put them under too much pressure to get lighter and offer more features and they lost their way (just strong simple reliable indestructable)
    Its interesting that they have now gone for bushing with vertical slots like my 04 floats, marzocchi bushing were always vastly superior to the anodising eating/ reassemble every 15 minutes efforts of fox

    marzocchi forks seem to get discounted more than fox so i suspect prices will even out

    £900: is this April 1st?!!!

    Who in their right mind would spend almost a grand on a Zocci fork given their recent performance and reliability? One of the recent 44 magazine samples fell apart, and I presume magazine samples are cherry-picked.

    I don’t think they’ll be £900 for long – I’d expect to see them at about £600 based on what happened last year with RS forks.

    stop messing around with this “its only 101g more than the 2009 55 ATA and 362g less than the 2009 55 RC3” crap!

    is that 2666g or 2438g then? because it sure isn’t 1850g….

    open bath zocchi’s with simple dampers,

    Even if they do end up costing £900, just think of it as £400 with a £500 saving in servicing over 5 years.

    “Even if they do end up costing £900, just think of it as £400 with a £500 saving in servicing over 5 years.”

    That would be a hell of a turnaround if suddenly their forks became good enough to keep for FIVE YEARS! I’ll believe it when i see it…

    Hmm lots of people seem to hate MZ round here, wonder if they are recent owners who’ve experienced the reported duff quality or just people who have read those reports. Were the same people around/remember when MZ did do forks that lasted 5years and plenty more (My 98 bombers blew their seals at the end of this winter, when I can be bothered to get some new seals I reckon they’ll go on for a bit yet)

    Oh and from what I’ve read magazine samples are quite often pre-production and so certainly not cherry picked. (but I could well be wrong)

    They have told whopping porkies about weights in the past mind.

    D0NK- I regret selling my ’05 Zocchi AM SLs. The best fork every made I reckon.

    One of our Demo bikes arrived with the 55 ATA and, like an awful lot of them, this stuck down to 60mm after 1 ride. The same has happened (repeatedly) to my friend’s XC700s, which I borrowed and was an awful fork.

    Something bad happened, and I’m a bit apprehensive about my upcoming ownership of a 55 ATA.

    my ’05 z1 freerides are a great fork; super tough and very stiff. don’t expect them to go any time soon.
    my ’08 55ATA2s have just gone to windwave for warranty repair, the usual vanishing travel issues.
    i’m optimistic though…

    i really dont understand the whole price thing.you can get second hand cars for the price of some of these forks.i think were being taken for a ride fork internals are not that complex.im more likely to get my old forks serviced than buy new.their shooting themselves in the foot if you ask me

    Jeez – they’re damn expensive. It seems that ever since Fox bought out forks that were deemed expensive then, it has given other companies the green light to make more complex forks and charge ever increasing prices…..£1,000 for 66’s? That’s a joke! They need to be better than the old Marzocchi’s for that price! I think 2005 was the last good year for them – I had some AM1’s and they were s**te. I bitched about paying £550 for some rubbish forks that spent more time at Windwave than on the front of my bike….let alone £1,000!

    I’ve got some of the original 05 66’s and they’re awesome, still going and have all the adjustment I feel I need. And they were £500 or so in the day (which seemed a lot back then).

    Why don’t bushings have spiral groves in them? You’d get the oil penetration but not the wear lines…

    Perhaps I should patent that idea?

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