66 woes?

[VTfreerider]

I've been reading posts for awhile and this is my first actual post. I have an older boxxer on my bullit ('98 or '99) that I got real cheap, it's worked ok but i really need something else to match the feel of the 5th in the rear. I want a 7 or 8" fork and think that a 66rc would be awesome cause it's single crown and not too heavy.

my only concern is if these 7" single crown forks are stong enough. I'm about 200lbs and ride everthing, trails, downhill and freeride. I'd love a 888 except for the weight and price and would never be able to ride uphill. Those of you who have had experience with the 66, are they tough enough? Are they stiff enough for all-around hucking? I just don't want my headtube to snap off a 15 footer or another big hit. What do you guys think about this? :thumb:

[Kanter]

I ride my Fly with a 888 uphill. The 888 is ABOUT the same weight as the 66 and the 66 is taller than the 888. You need to do a little more research.

Your headtube will not break before the 66.

[buildyourown]

First, what do you not like about your boxxer? Make sure your next fork has what your boxxer is lacking.

You mentioned the 66. I believe the 66 is as tall if not taller than a 888. This would make it an even worse climber. Also, the weight difference is degligable.

If you have the cash, look at the Fox 36. Stiff, light, and adjustable if you ever want to go up. Its shorter than you said you wanted but I think the quality of travel would make up for it.

[VTfreerider]

about the boxxer....it's too short, I'm over 6'3 and ride a large so it'd be nice to have a higher front end for descending, and it's just not plush enough, it has good big hit response but almost no small bump sensitivity, the '01 z.1 on my hardtail feels better in almost all situations

the 36's are nice, but dont they only go up to 6" of travel? and is there any chance marzocchi would ever offer an ECC option on the 66s for climbing?

the 888 is about a pound heavier, so there is a weight difference too, when do the shorter '06 66s come out?

[Jayridesacove]

The 170mm 66rc is about as tall at the 200mm 888rc.
a/c 595mm on the 66, a/c 605mm on the 888rc

The 170mm 66rc is 20mm taller than the 170mm 888rc

If you do alot of climbing you will probably hate it.

I just got one for my sc bullit about a week ago, but I only use the bike to go down.

I'll be breaking mine in at Snowshoe this weekend, so I'll let you know what I think about it.

Mattiod on the forums is also getting a 66rc and He'll be at Snowshoe this weekend also.

*I just noticed your name, Carlisle*

[VTfreerider]

yeah man, good luck this weekend and let me know how it feels on the bullit.

[fuzzynutz]

If you lift for about a week that 1 extra pound will feel like nothing.

[jackalope]

I just put a 66 RC on my Bullit, and so far it's been superb...Raced with it at Massanutten a few weeks ago, and somehow managed to sneak up on the podium, so going down is great with this fork...Hucked it some recently, and no bottoming out, even though I forgot to crank down the compression after the race...I would even say I like it more than my Shiver (gasp) that it replaced, especially given the weight savings...Seems nice and stiff, but like folks have already said, it is a tall mutha...I think my BB height is now around 20 inches :blah:

Seriously, great fork and I highly recommend it (plus, you can actually X it up now on jumps ;) )

[wysiwyg]

Didnt BETD do a 7" kit for older boxxers?

[LOOnatic]

FYI:
The 06 Fox 36 has a wee bit more travel and no travel reduction as compared to last year.

[Bulldog]

FYI:
The 06 Fox 36 has a wee bit more travel and no travel reduction as compared to last year.

That's the new coil 160mm travel version, not the current air version.

[Downhiller]

i have 66rc on banshee morphine...

fork is great, when you go "downhill" on track if you adjust fork for your weight, fork works about 60 to 60 % of all travel (170mm)

on road and when you (i) go to some xc route forks eats all stones and roots.
fork dont fall down much when you are standing up --- its just matter of adjust, and for all around biking is ok but its little heavy to some one who love light forks...

in my case i have put little more air in both legs , because standard factory adjust is to soft...

compression and rebound is very VERY sensitive , every click is difrend adjustment in fork so you must try many times to adjust perfectly for your riding (my freeride)

when i sit on bike fork "fall down" just like marzocchi told about 2 or 3 cm (cca.)

when i compare 66rc (mine) with friends 888r my fork is little more tall ...

every bumps small or big fork "eats" all up and if you take a drop/jump what ever about half meter fork works like this: travel gets about 60 to 70 % of travel and when you think that fork will after that blow you up it get up all travel just like you need, not too slow not to fast..

like fork knows what do you want of it :) :)

its it all about good adjusment and air pressure.

after super monster fork 66rc feels like feather.
before 66rc i was riding on dirt jumper 3 and when i compare i think that 66rc is lighter that DJ3 but its around same KG and G.
maybe 66rc is higher and much very much bigger that dj3 so wheight is spred more and when i jump or go to track in wood its look and feels like 66rc is lighter..

only one stupid thing is how to pump the fork.
i must turn "thing" where i adjust compression or rebound one whole turn just to get to hole where is thing where i can pump it...

and i try to ordenry pump for all forks and i cant pump it, i must have only marzocchi pump. i dont know maybe there on market are pumps for it but i try 2 and only one works..

and in the end it is just matter of bike on which you are putting 66rc, on HT its great, just perfectly much travel i need.
for fullsuspension i dont know.




ps. sorry again for my bad english and wrong words...


respect



pps. fork looks stiff and when you ride it feels very stiff, i dont bealive it will brake on any drop just dont land on FLAT. :dead:

[***MTB***]

I have tried a 66rc at one of my local bike shops. I took it off a couple small drops. The suspension is really plush and it looks really durable.

[Secret Squirrel]

Buy the 66 RC!!!! NOW!!!!

Slap it on, Ride the sh!t out of it!! I'm 6'7" and 240 and tossed a 6" 66 on my Cove G-Spot still with the stock springs!!! I put a longer stroke shock on the rear for 7" and the 6" version of the fork works perfectly. It does make climbing a little harder because you have to keep your seat low...otherwise you go over the rear wheel too easily on steep sections, so it is a bit of a quad-burner but the fork itself is awesome!! I've been riding it about 5 months and haven't bottomed it yet. The air preload, rebound and compression adjustments are wonderful. I've done a couple of runs on the local DH trails not to mention a bunch of "cross-country" rides...(yes, a 40 lb. freeride bike is slower to the top...but coming down even after your buddies rest for the extra 20 minutes, it's still faster!!!) and the 66 is stiff and buttery!!! Not to mention the added versatility of a single crown!!! I'd suggest with a SC Bullit, go with the 7" version. You won't regret it!!!

[VTfreerider]

thanks guys, the 7" 66RC is sounding pretty damn good to me, i think i'll save the money and go for it. my only last concern is that my bullit already has such a high bb compared to say, my hardtail, that it feels kinda sketchy descending sometimes and its kinda hard to whip it around. is the 66 only gonna make this worse or should i just expect that its hard to whip around a 7"/7" 40+lb bike?

[jackalope]

^^

My '03 Bullit now has about a 15.5" BB height with the 66 RC...Sags down to just under 13.5" when my phat azz is aboard...At least you won't hit your pedals on too many things ;)

Admittedly, not an ideal setup for pure DH racing (as this is a Bullit and not a V-10 we're talking about), but like I said earlier, you can still be competitive...Especially if your competition crashes because they keep clipping their pedals :devil:

Actually, I just slammed my seat as far as it could go, and just hung my ass off the back on real steep, tech stuff...Not a big deal really, plus it feels pretty good going down steeps at speed, now that it's raked out a little more than the typical Bullit...

[Secret Squirrel]

Yeah....pretty much you just need to accept that any 7" fork is going to raise the BB and make a difference in sketchiness....but you will get used to it....and if you do a couple more push-ups a day..you won't even notice after a little bit!! :rolleyes: Besides whipping a 40+ lb. rig around with style and ease should be about talent and experience with the equipment you have...if it wasn't then everyone would be Darren "Are you freakin' serious?!?!!?" Berrecloth....


Live fast, live hard....or go live with your parents, at least that's what I say! :nuts: :) :blah: :)

[frorider]

Yeah....pretty much you just need to accept that any 7" fork is going to raise the BB and make a difference in sketchiness....but you will get used to it....

actually, no, we don't need to accept that. if marzocchi hadn't failed engineering 101 they would have realized that a 1.5 head tube and steerer tube would have allowed them to build a crown that was light, stiff, strong, and low profile. manitou TPC+ or SPC evolve may or may not be ideal damping for your riding, but put aside the damping question and focus on the light weight, reasonable a-to-crown distance, and stiffness of the 7 inch breakout plus for example.

in actuality it's not so much that marzocchi failed Engr. 101...i'm sure they saw the advantages of a bigger headset/steerer tube (just as DH bars have trended toward 31.8 clamps, etc.)..it's more that their pride did not allow them to jump on the 1.5 bandwagon. so they pretended to be ignorant engineers.

i think the z150 especially, and the 66 to a certain extent, do not represent what single crown long travel could have been. oh well, too late now.

on a related tangent, let's not forget that the original 888 got everyone saying Damn that sucker's tall, to which Marz replied in a snotty way "hey 8 inches requires tall, get a life bro" but then fortunately the market ignored marzocchi's lame response, and aftermarket crowns came out to lower things down a bit, and these days marz has sorta admitted that well geez maybe marz should try listening to riders rather than ridiculing them.

i've been riding marz since '98 or something like that but these days i've had enough of their corporate asininity. :nuts:

[Bulldog]

actually, no, we don't need to accept that. if marzocchi hadn't failed engineering 101 they would have realized that a 1.5 head tube and steerer tube would have allowed them to build a crown that was light, stiff, strong, and low profile. manitou TPC+ or SPC evolve may or may not be ideal damping for your riding, but put aside the damping question and focus on the light weight, reasonable a-to-crown distance, and stiffness of the 7 inch breakout plus for example.

in actuality it's not so much that marzocchi failed Engr. 101...i'm sure they saw the advantages of a bigger headset/steerer tube (just as DH bars have trended toward 31.8 clamps, etc.)..it's more that their pride did not allow them to jump on the 1.5 bandwagon. so they pretended to be ignorant engineers.

i think the z150 especially, and the 66 to a certain extent, do not represent what single crown long travel could have been. oh well, too late now.

on a related tangent, let's not forget that the original 888 got everyone saying Damn that sucker's tall, to which Marz replied in a snotty way "hey 8 inches requires tall, get a life bro" but then fortunately the market ignored marzocchi's lame response, and aftermarket crowns came out to lower things down a bit, and these days marz has sorta admitted that well geez maybe marz should try listening to riders rather than ridiculing them.

i've been riding marz since '98 or something like that but these days i've had enough of their corporate asininity. :nuts:

Lucky for you next years 66 will be pretty much on par with Manitou's Sherman/Travis line as far as weight and height. Better late than never. I'll have my '05 66 up for sale as soon as the new one is available.

[lovebunny]

actually, no, we don't need to accept that. if marzocchi hadn't failed engineering 101 they would have realized that a 1.5 head tube and steerer tube would have allowed them to build a crown that was light, stiff, strong, and low profile. manitou TPC+ or SPC evolve may or may not be ideal damping for your riding, but put aside the damping question and focus on the light weight, reasonable a-to-crown distance, and stiffness of the 7 inch breakout plus for example.

in actuality it's not so much that marzocchi failed Engr. 101...i'm sure they saw the advantages of a bigger headset/steerer tube (just as DH bars have trended toward 31.8 clamps, etc.)..it's more that their pride did not allow them to jump on the 1.5 bandwagon. so they pretended to be ignorant engineers.

i think the z150 especially, and the 66 to a certain extent, do not represent what single crown long travel could have been. oh well, too late now.

on a related tangent, let's not forget that the original 888 got everyone saying Damn that sucker's tall, to which Marz replied in a snotty way "hey 8 inches requires tall, get a life bro" but then fortunately the market ignored marzocchi's lame response, and aftermarket crowns came out to lower things down a bit, and these days marz has sorta admitted that well geez maybe marz should try listening to riders rather than ridiculing them.

i've been riding marz since '98 or something like that but these days i've had enough of their corporate asininity. :nuts:
what if you dont want to buy a whole new frame but still want to use a 7 inch sc?

[frorider]

that sort of logic, if rigidly followed, would put a stop to any and all innovation in bike gear. 20 mm thru axle forks, external bearing cranksets, 150 mm rear spacing dropouts, etc. etc....all require money spent on associated parts since they break with the 'standard'. frames that warrant long travel SC forks get abused, and people do replace those frames eventually.

no one said that all SC forks with more than, say, 5 inches of travel had to use 1.5 HT. the point was that FRAME designers immediately understood the advantages from a frame point of view, and two fork manufacturers did (manitou and magura...magura forks are more common in europe obviously).

the ROAD BIKE industry---traditionalists in many ways---effortlessly made the transition from 1 inch to 1.125 for good old engineering reasons. sure it meant that if you wanted the latest and best fork and stem setup, you had to buy a new road frame. but you weren't forced to. you could stay trad, but you had a choice i.e. it was supported by many brands. why does the mtn bike industry find it so hard to make the transition from 1.125 to 1.5? ask people in the mtb industry, and most fingers point to marzocchi.

it's just so ridiculous that we're using the same headset dimensiosn as 2 lb road bikes. doing so forces bandaid fixes like deep penetration headsets (a b*tch to remove), more use of steel, high profile crowns, etc.

and splendid options like a SC marzocchi that's taller than the DC version, and almost as heavy. :think:

[Secret Squirrel]

I think the point that you're missing is that Manitou and Rockshox...and any other manufacturer of READILY available forks for cheaper than the moon, don't stand up to repeated abuse by people any bigger than about 175...Why?? Because that's the average size of rider out there...if you'll look back, this guy is 200+...I'm 240....I've ridden Rockshox forks of all calibers, from Psylo's to Boxxer World Cups....Manitous from Breakouts to the MRD (which, much to my dismay) did not live up to expectations...sigh....None, and I mean NONE, of those forks performed as well, even after heavier springs, oil, new seals, etc...., as stock Marzocchi's....yeah...they're a little heavier, a little taller.....deal...until they're ready to shift their paradigm to what the smaller riders want, I'm stickin' with em cause they don't feel like they'll snap in two off a 15 foot rock drop. At my size, durability, comfort, and confidence in my equipment come at a cost of a little added weight, and in my opinion, better geometry for being 6'7"....

But that's just me....

Live fast, live hard or go live with your parents....that's what I say....