Info From the Marzocchi Webiste

Features:

• Target Weight :: 2940 g. w/ steer tube (255 g.)
• Damping System :: New Alloy SSV
• Adjustability :: External Air Preload w/o Adaptor
  Single External Rebound Adjustment (Bottom)
  Single External Compression Adj. (Bottom)
• Spring Type :: Coil Springs
• Travel :: 170mm
• Top Crown :: N/A
• Lower Crown :: New Forged Crown w/ Cryofit “M” Design
• Arch/Sliders :: New Magnesium 66 Monolite, 30mm shorter
• Stanchions :: 35mm Alloy Striaght Tubes
• Steerer Tube :: Alloy Steerer Tube
• Disc Brake Mount :: Disc Brake Post Mount
• Drop-Out Type :: 20mm Dedicated Axle

Intended Use:

• Extreme Freeride
• Downhill

My Opinion

I know this is a bit late to be reviewing an 06 model fork, but I bought it new on closeout and have just now had sufficient time to ride it and get a feel for how it performs. This was my first purchase of a single crown fork. I was a bit weary of this whole freeride single crown fork thing when it first started to come around. A 7″ travel single crown fork? That’s just asking for something to snap right? Well a friend of mine let me ride his spare 05′ 66 RC for a few months. I pretty much fell in love with the whole single crown idea after that. Now the 05 model I was riding was the one with the super tall crown that made your ride height way too high. I also noticed some creaking coming from the steerer tube and/or where the stanchions went into the crown. Other than that, that fork was dialed.

The 66 VF2 is very similar. It has all of the same adjustments. You have external air preload, external rebound and external compression adjustments. Adjustments are easy to make and easy to notice when you make them. I’ve ridden forks before that you could turn and turn on the adjustments and you would hardly be able to tell a difference. This fork is quick and easy to get dialed. The rebound and compression adjustments are on the bottom of the fork legs. I’ve always been weary of having adjustment knobs in this locale just because of how exposed and close to the ground they are. My worries came reality after the 3rd ride. My rebound knob apparently took a hit and no longer turned. The damping still worked, but the knob wouldn’t turn to change the adjustment. Luckily I had the reboud dialed in how I wanted it and it hasn’t come out of adjustment 6 months later. Just in the past month I’ve lost my compression knob. It can still be adjusted with a small screwdriver or coin or something. Air preload is simple. You can add a few pounds of air to each leg if you like to stiffen up the ride if needed. I think i had maybe 5-10lbs of air in only one leg of my fork. Anything more was just too stiff of a ride for my liking. This would probably depend on how much you weigh.

The Ride

So how did this thing ride? One word. Awesome. This is one of the best riding forks I’ve been on. Coming off of a 888 I was a bit weary of the single crown. I never felt held back or worried about the fork breaking. Of course when you’re in the high speed rock chop it’s not quite as stiff as the 888, but how often are you bombing through rock chop unless you’re a downhill racer. It’s occasional around here and will get you through anything. The ride height is about perfect on this fork. The flat crowns provided a lower ride height in the front end to get your center of gravity down and keep you in control in the slow techy stuff.

Just plain ol’ trail riding is where this fork shines. The travel is smooth all the way throught the stroke, and ramps up at the end of the travel to keep it from bottoming. I can only think of one time I bottomed this fork out and it was on a 15ft drop to a not so sweet tranny. This fork is bomber….pun intended. It’s confidence inspiring. It soaks up the high speed bumps as well as the big hits.

The 66 series forks are only getting better. I’d highly reccommend one if you’re looking into a single crown. I just got an 08′ 66 RC3 and I’m looking forward to testing it out. You won’t be dissapointed with a 66.

• Post Rating: 2.6

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