Marzocchi Z1 Coil £789

Adjustment LSC, LSR, coil-spring rate (by swapping springs), preload Travel 170 180mm (650b), 160 170mm (29in), internally adjustable Offset 44mm (650b, 29in) Weight 2,525g (29in, 170mm)

We tested the air-sprung Z1 last year and, while it performed well, it lacked beginning-stroke sensitivity and mid-stroke support compared to the best forks. The coil version, however, lets you have your cake and eat it, with a supple, traction-rich beginning stroke and masses of support to lean on after sag. You can see why, despite huge improvements in air springs, coil keeps coming back.

Unusually, it also has an air piston, which compresses the (unpressurised) air trapped inside to provide extra progressiveness. In theory, this diminishes the usual coilspring advantage of having no sliding seals and therefore less friction. But in the field, the Z1 is super-supple, bobbing during seated pedalling and hoovering up traction as it sags generously and reacts even to thumb-width roots.

In the middle of the travel the support is unparalleled (except perhaps by the Fox 38), with loads to lean on when braking, so the ride height remains consistent and the handling is more predictable.

It’s heavy – not that we noticed this while riding, though. We also found that the extra-firm spring Marzocchi recommended for us, at 85kg, was a bit hard, which meant the fork transmitted more feedback on medium/large bumps and we couldn’t use full travel. There are only four spring rate options, so the gaps between them are big. This means many riders (like us) will need to compromise.

If you can find the right spring, it’s easy to set up. We left the compression and preload wide open and set the rebound to nine clicks from closed. The linear spring curve makes it easy to get the rebound right because it recovers faster from mid travel without overshooting the sag. www.silverfish-uk.com