MARZOCCHI BOMBER Z1
£799 www.silverfish-uk.com
Marzocchi’s Z1 is an ‘all-mountain’ classic. Its 36mm-stanchion chassis is made from lowergrade 6000-series aluminium, so it’s heavier than the equivalent Fox Performance fork it shares internals with, but also cheaper. It uses a simple damper with just external low-speed compression and rebound damping adjustment. The Z1 handled the rough and tumble we put it through, its big stanchions giving us confidence on demanding terrain, where its additional weight went unnoticed. Beginning-stroke sensitivity is only middling, but it still does an admirable job of taking the buzz out of high-frequency trail chatter and keeping the front wheel in contact with the ground.
Deeper in the travel is where you’ll feel the Marzocchi’s charm. Progression can be tuned with plastic spacers; we ran one spacer, which gave us enough progression to push the 140mm of travel hard into big compressions and down steep trails, without causing a harsh ramp-up. The fork has a controlled mid-stroke, where it absorbs square-edged hits well, so provides a comfy ride, but isn’t as forgiving as the Fox 34 Factory (overleaf). We had no issues under heavy braking or when loading the fork through corners.
The Z1 feels plush throughout its travel, with a gradual transition between the beginning-, midand end-stroke compression. It has a damped feel, so we ran the compression fully open. The gold dial goes from open to pretty much lockedout, but isn’t indexed. With no clicks to count, you just have to remember its position. We wound the rebound damping off to get the spring to return fast enough for repeated hits, so feel that the fork is overdamped for lighter riders. But it’s impressive for the price and its ease of set-up is a treat.