My 2009 fox van r 36’s have expired, the cost of resurrection is similar or more than the price of a new fork.

Now I am attracted to the Marzocchi 55R as a like for like replacement of the Van R, but the the super flash Marzocchi 55 RC3 Evo V2 Ti is tickling my fancy too..

Given that I was dead happy with the Van R, will the Marz 55R be as good a replacement? If I spent an extra £340 on the RC3’s will I really really notice it?

Help me STW you are my only hope..

You’ve got the money right ?

No contest then, get the RC3 Ti’S or you’ll be forever wondering just how good they would be 😉

If I had the money I’d go for the RC3 Ti – my 44’s with that damping are bloody great 🙂

I can’t compare the two forks, I used the 55 rc3 ti forks for the last couple of years and loved then but recently upgraded to the rc3 evo v2 ti and they are amazing. I need to write a proper review but that the summary, really really good! They feel better than the old rc3 ti’s, more controlled and even plusher. They still fail the car park test though, I don’t know how that works!

Edit just to say that they forks I had before the marzocchi’s were the van 36’s. They see great but the 55’s were better!

They still fail the car park test though, I don’t know how that works!

Que?

Had both and the RC3ti are amazing but the R is a very good option if the budget is tight.

Yep Marzochis RC3Ti here and there brilliant, probably the first fork i have had that really feels like a motorcycle fork both in quality and feedback it gves when you adjust to suit, highly recommended and fox are falling way behind in terms of reliability and performance imho..

i have 55 ti and 55 cr both are awesome but rc3 ti are the best fork i have ever used

In what way have the 36s died?

Que? I mean that when you you are hanging about the car park, checking out other people’s bikes, and you push on the fork and normally turn to your friends and say something like “buttery dude” or whatever the kids say nowadays. The marz forks don’t feel amazing when you do that.

Yes I have a pair of 55 RC3 Ti – the best fork I have ever used. If you can afford them get them.

Stanchions worn, still ridable, but bushing rock is evident, and given the age the rebuild costs are a bit silly.
I can get new uppers @£300 ish, plus service @£70, but the damper service bladders are no longer being made so this is probably the last time they can be serviced, I could get a new modern damper unit at £370 ish, but now we are talking the cost of the Rc3 ti’s.

I mean that when you you are hanging about the car park, checking out other people’s bikes, and you push on the fork and normally turn to your friends and say something like “buttery dude” or whatever the kids say nowadays. The marz forks don’t feel amazing when you do that.

Ahh the kids are foolish and know nothing. Hand speed damping checks are not really likely to tell you about how your fork will respond when absorbing 160mm height of rock at 15mph.

Never trust the kids. Unless you ride at “hand speeds”. 🙂

Ok I’ve done it, RC3 ti evo watsits from CRC are ordered. You lot rock.
Now if it turns out they are crap I’m coming to get you..

You will have a better chance of catching us with those forks on! Good choice, hope you enjoy then as much as I am.

No risk of disappointment!

Your life is now complete.

So were the rc3’s any good?

Probably going to get a set to replace my damaged 36 atlas forks. The combined high and low speed compression adjuster sounds a bit weird. But all the reviews say they’re pretty good/the best.

I have taken delivery of the forks, not fitted yet…

Have they internal travel adjust on them?

The RC3 damper is lush, good choice.

LSC/HSC adjustment is very easy, and as a whole the fork just works. Really really well.

I’m running a 2009 model – don’t know what’s changed in the RC3 (probably not much, it didn’t need to) – I’d have another Marz at the drop of a hat.

Have they internal travel adjust on them?

Not the coil models (RC3 ti).

Not the coil models (RC3 ti).

Why don’t they make a decent 150 or 160mm fork? Seems daft.

It does. Think they’ll have something new out soon though.

And it’s not too hard to pick up a 55 RC3ti from when they were 160mm.

I’ve got a set of the 55R’s on a spare bike, just ‘cos they were cheap.

I actually really like them. Dead simple and just have that nice, plush “coil & oil” feel.

The lack of spring rate adjustment (there’s only a mechanical pre-load adjuster) does mean that they won’t work very well if you’re not the “right” weight.

The Rc3 is so good it makes me wonder why they bother with any other fork. They used to have a mind boggling array of forks and damping systems. I can’t help thinking that a lot of the quality issues would have been avoided with a much simpler lineup. If they just produced 1x fork per range/application then the tooling, and manufacturing process would surely have been simer and cheaper, meaning a brilliant product at a better price.

I know Bos is a very different set-up to Marzocchi but their model range makes a lot of sense: one thing done well.

got mine fitted tonight, but not ridden it.

Initial thoughts are, its very plush on the bounce it up and down in the garage test, which is contrary to some other reports that suggest it feels harsh when bounced statically, but feels fine in actual use.

I was also expecting to have to dial some preload in given that I’m 14 stone, but at the moment it looks fine with no spring preload (and no air preload either), maybe it’ll sag more once it gets broken in, in which case some preload might be required.

Looks nice too.

Thats good news julian, as I am 14 stone too. (Which is bad if you are only 1670mm tall) 😳

Went out for a ride on these tonight in macc forest, theyre pretty damn good, very smooth over small stuff,dont blow through the travel on the bigger stuff. I expect to do a bit more fiddling with the knobs to fine tune it some more when i get on some more varied terrain. But considering theyre brand new and not broken in yet,theyre very very good.

They seem much better than the fox36 they replaced, they seem to be a good pairing with the ccdb air i have on the back.

As a result of this thread someone emailed me about my fox 36 r lowers, and someone else wanted the damper assembly etc, I am up for splitting these now, but cant remember who it was…