Just wondered if anyone with these forks has had them serviced, or done anything to them themselves, like and oil change? I read somewhere (think it was the recent Dirt review) that it’s a good idea to change the oil after the first week’s riding – anyone know anything about this? Anyone had them serviced by TF or someone similar – and was it worth it? Like my other 55 RC3s these Evos are great, although they seem slightly notchy now even with no air in – it’s when you compress them slowly – they stick solid at a couple of points as they go through the travel. Feels like they bind a bit. Ta for any tips, warnings etc.

tbh, as Windwave will do a seal and oil change for £65 – it’s hardly worth bothering to try and do it yourself.

Cheers wwaswas – you had yours serviced by Windwave? Sounds like a good deal.

mine were 44’s but turnaround was only a few days and I’d use them again without hesitation.

Try lifting the seal up the stanchion, lube or remove the foam ring underneath

Mine were notchy on arrival too, WindWave sorted them for free, or you could pop the seals up and oil the foam thing.

Once thats been done they’re fine, even with plenty of air in.

Anyone else had/got a slight top out knock from 2012 44 RC3 ti’s? Only slight but enough to be annoying. A guy on here said his were really bad but Windwave fitted an uprated top out bumper under warranty

Did mine after a few weeks riding, takes less than 30 mins for a quick oil change and is definitely not worth the £65 windwave charge.

It’s worth doing as the oil levels in mine were way down on the recommended levels from the marz website.

If your only doing the oil change you can just remove the top caps/spring leave upside down to drain the oil, you’ll need to cycle the suspension through its travel a few times to drain the oil from the cartridges, then refill with the correct amounts (I changed to 10wt, seems to work better, for me at least) and job done.

If you want to lube seals and get rid of that rubbish foam wiper then seperating the forks is no big deal, just drain as above and remove the foot nuts and then seperate, at this point you’ll realise just how simple the forks are and start wondering why they cost what they do.

Mine came without a foam wiper, so would have saved me the bother of taking the forks apart if I’d known.

Putting them back together is a bit of a ball ache as the foot nut on the cartridge side just spins the cartridge when you tighten it, I managed to get it to tighten due to the friction between the bottom of the cart and the the fork lower, being delicate is the key.

Anyhow, did this around 2 months ago and after being hammered around the forks are still super smooth, just like my old 2007 66’s

Cheers travo – that’s really helpful. How much do you weigh? I wouldn’t know what oil to use – I’m around 11.5-12 stone kitted up and I like my suspension soft, supple and plush – any ideas? And what’s the problem with the foam wipers, just out of interest? A few people seem to recommend binning them, whereas I just oiled mine because they were shipped dry. Don’t they serve a useful purpose?

Given that these forks have a 3 year non-service warranty, surely it’s worth speaking to windwave 1st? They’re a great fork & shouldn’t have any notchiness, so it may actually be indicative of other issues. That said, even if it just needed a service, how would you servicing them affect your warranty? Seriously, a 2012 fork costs daft amounts of money, so even if you do have to pay, £65 is a fraction of what you’d lose if you accidentally f###ed it up yourself.

Fair point, mildred. I run two pairs though, and the bill quickly stacks up. The notchiness on mine is weird. If I lean forwards on the bike while freewheeling, the forks go through around 3 inches of travel then ‘lock’. No amount of body weight shifts them – I have to suddenly pump them to get beyond the sticking point. Same on both pairs. Still trying to work out if it affects them on the trail or not.

I weigh about 12.5st and the 10wt oil makes them feel a bit more controlled (heavier oil slows things down) particularly in the mid stroke, the oil weights a pretty personal thing, if they feel fine as they are then stick with the 7.5wt but if your not happy it’s always worth experimenting.

Mine were notchy when I first got them, couldn’t really be felt on the trail but if I pumped them when sitting their they’d feel pretty sticky.
I put it down to needing to be run in and possibly not enough oil.

The foam wiper is sometimes the cause of the notchiness as it drys fairly quickly, it’s supposed to keep things lubed but causes more problems than it’s worth when dry. marzocchi actually recommend removing them on one of there service video’s (http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tuesday-Change-the-Seals-and-Fluid-of-Your-Marzocchi-44-For.html)

I also used a bit of fork grease on the seals before re-assembly and they’ve been butter ever since.

Cheers

Don’t know about your fork but can you email me about BV next year. 😀

Travo – cheers for that. Very helpful.

Stu – ayup there, hope you’re well. What you want to know? I’d love to make it to Bike Verbier at some point, but it’s not certain as I might head to BC to see my mate there. Don’t reckon I’ll be doing both, alas. BV was amazing this year, as always. Rode Spanish Inquisition for the first time – holy sh*t, what a trail. You’ve done it, presumably?

Any idea of dates if you do head back to BV?

To be honest it would depend whether I was heading out with the two Marks, or mates from York – I tend to give way to them on dates coz I’m more flexible. Ideally, it would be late August – a week (or two) when the lifts are all going. If I had to say, then third week in August would be as safe a bet as any. I can keep you posted though. Be great to meet up there.

Holy thread resurrection Batman!
I’ve been reading up on this (in the market to nab myself a pair) and from what i understand its to do with the shim stack: as standard they come with the largest shim on top, which results in the notchiness your describing. As the oil is pushed against the shim, when it reaches enough pressure it will bend it and flow past (the notch), this allows that firm feeling into corners without wallowing in travel – at least thats the idea. You shouldnt really notice it out riding, but otherwise you can just re-arrange the shim stack (smallest, in size order to biggest) to allow for a gradual change in pressure 🙂

also slight thread hi-jack ( 😈 ) but how heavy a rider does the standard coil support? (i’m 13/14 stone) and i’ve read that if you have to add too much air it ruins the suppleness of this fork 🙁 any help? thanks!

14 st here.

I have the 44RC3ti on one bike and the 66RC3ti on another.

The 44 has no coil pre-load. I run it with 10wt oil and a little air pressure (too little to register on my shockpump but maybe 5psi)

The 66 has coil pre-load so I use this to set sag. Still on original oil weight and no air pre-load.

Both fine.

13-1/2 stone and I run no preload air but the forks are a bit soft, which I like.

I run the normal weight oil but would like more damping, I run my ajdusters pretty much full open as when I add more Reb/Comp it gets clunky and they lock-up on repetative hits (the internals are very basic). I think I’ll try Travo’s suggestion above and use a heavier oil (If I put these forks back on the bike as I’m currenly running something else… more of which I will tell once this snow shifts!).

Thanks both! Means i can bite the bullet and buy myself a set – I’m a very happy rider