Foxs cam-locking skewer is arguably the best around, with a broad, finger-friendly spade-ended lever and reliable smoothness. Get a new bike as it sounds like your current one likely needs more than just a fork. Fox 36 Float NA2 Air Shaft Assembly - 2021+. Travel options for 29ers are 100, 120 or 130mm, and the 27.5" models come in 140 and 150mm. Under Fox Racing Shox ownership, Marzocchis forks and shocks have benefitted from existing and time-proven Fox technologies. You get Foxs 15QR lever though which is a definite plus compared to the awkward lever on the Z1. Hatched in Yorkshire he's been hardened by riding round it in all weathers since he was a kid. But even the canyon nueron 6 at 2000 dollars does not seem worth it as the deurailer is only slightly better and it has low end rockshox, definitely more solid over all but it doesnt have one really strong point. 28.00 inc VAT. Fox 34 Float NA2 Air Shaft Assembly - 2022+. Copyright a360media 2023. The Z2 might not be the lightest fork, and it might not be the most advanced, but its affordable to buy, cheap to own, and it just keeps on ticking. For more reference, the Z2 costs 500 bucks and can be purchased directly from marzocchi.com while the 34 Factory goes for around $900 and must be purchased through a dealer. From what I can tell, the Bomber Z1 is just a rebranded Fox 36 Rhythm with a slightly reshaped arch. How much travel does your bike currently have? The crown and steerer assembly is nice and clean as well. Yea making a 500$ purchase of a new fork wouldnt really make sense then. And for the Z2, thats sort of the case. The EVOL air spring is backed up with an additional chassis air bleed to cope with the longest descents and altitude changes. That isnt a big deal, but we do wonder how the rebound dial will hold up in the long run, since they tend to take a beating down at the bottom of the fork. But is the Z2 just a cheaper Fox fork? It's got lots of support for pedaling and cornering, and it never goes all the way to the O-ring unless you make a hugemistake. However, the Z2 uses cheaper and heavier 6000-series alloy upper tubes instead of the 7000-series alloy found on the 34. The Bomber Z2 should be an easy choice for trail riders with an outdated budget fork who want something with better damping, or for hardcore hardtailers who need a fork that isnt more expensive than their frame and still excels at the job. If your bike currently has 100 or 120mm of travel I'd go with the fox. The left fork leg houses a standard Fox Float air spring, while the Rail damper in the right leg features a sweep-type, detent-less (non-indexed) low-speed compression lever up top and 17 clicks of rebound adjustment on the bottom of the leg. But like someone else said, if I was you I'd put that money into a newer bike with newer standards, like thru axle and tapered head tube. Even the air cap is plastic. Bike Magazine has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services. The most surprising fork in the Fox lineup is probably this super short (40mm) travel Adventure Cross version of a 32 Step Cast Performance Elite MTB unit. The Bomber Z1 is a 36mm crown fork, there will be both 29er /27.5+ with travel ranging from 130mm to 170mm and 27.5" versions where the travel available will be 150mm to 180mm. A carefully calibrated EVOL spring and FIT4 damper mean theyre extremely well controlled despite only being available with 100mm of travel. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. The Z1 was also accompanied by a dual-crown downhill fork called the Bomber 58, which was then later joined by an entry-level coil shock called the Bomber CR. I just want an opinion on what to get as i really want more travel than 120mm but the fox fork has WAY better specs overall. This one is a little different to the original though. Marzocchi Bomber 58 27.5 Fork $1,049.00 (3) Fox 34 Float SC Factory FIT4 29 2022 $1,019.00 (3) Ohlins RXF36 m.2 Trail Air 29 Fork $1,099.00 SAVE 19 % MSRP $1,350.00 (4) Fox 34 FLOAT Performance Elite FIT4 29 2022 $869.00 Fox 40 FLOAT Factory Grip 2 27.5 2022 $1,819.00 (2) Fox 38 Float Performance GRIP 29 2022 $989.00 Ohlins RXF38 m.2 Air TTX18 Fork Like the Z1, the Z2 is also an air-sprung fork, and you can adjust both spring pressure and volume. Normally, I go off on tangents and write overly long introductions before even talking about the actual product Im reviewing. The best mountain bike forks will add speed and control to your riding. Pricing is still slightly higher than the RockShox Lyrik but both forks feeling similarly superb on the trail. That being said, these products have a lifetime and will deteriorate over time and may require service to maximize its performance and functionality. Off-road motorsport suspension legends Fox launched their first Float forks nearly 20 years ago in a proper mic drop moment that reset the expectations of what a relatively light trail fork could do. There's a new sheriff in Affordable Suspension Town. Fox has resurrected the brand with that same ethos. Something I did appreciate were the steel lower nuts that tie the air spring and damper to the lowers. Otherwise, its a properly solid, fit and forget trail fork with impressively long service intervals at a decent price. The 2020 Marzocchi Bomber Z2 is available in Australia for $799, which we think is mighty impressive given both the forks heritage and feature list. But Im skipping all that this time. about 250 grams more than the comparable Fox 34. The shorter 27.5-inch format with Kabolt axle still weighs under 2kg (4.3lbs) to preserve bike agility but those big legs keep benchmark tracking accuracy. Most of the remaining ten percent get their suspension and tuning for free. The chassis is based upon the popular Fox 34 Float fork, with both forks utilising 34mm diameter stanchions. The review youre about to read will be simple and straightforward. For the money this fork is hard to beat. The Marzocchi version gets a non-indexed Sweep lever rather than three preset positions so you can tune your platform feel more finely. Marzocchi's air-volume spacers may be green, but they, and the Z-2's air spring are identical to those found in Fox 34 forks. The lower legs are also hollowed out more than normal, but theres still enough bushing overlap and top-end stiffness to keep them acceptably accurate. Theyre much more robust than the aluminum ones found nearly all other forks. Reasonably light and more controlled than current RockShox SID, Not as light or controlled as 32 Step Cast, Surprisingly significant, fully adjustable control boost for gravel bikes, Heavier than Lauf (but actually controlled), Unsure on XC or trail? Given the very linear feel we took off the top cap expecting to find no volume spacers but it actually comes with two pre-fitted (plus two in the box). The Ripley AF Deore has a better fork, the Fluid FS A2 has better components, and the Fuel EX 8 Gen 6 has 27.5 / 29 aluminum wheels and more travel. Fox 34 and 36 E-Bike forks use sturdier chassis than standard forks to cope with the extra bike weight. Continual evolution means the latest Factory options come in FIT GRIP2 or FIT4 damper options with travel up to 180mm in 27.5-inch or 170mm in 29-inch. Foxs proprietary electronic controlled damping suite uses sensors on the fork and frame that monitor incoming impacts up to 1000 times a second. While you're saving up, try rebuilding your fork. It seems fitting that Fox chooses to list price but not weight for the Bombers, and weight but not price on for the Fox Factory forks. BOMBER Z2 Full Rebuild. Company The tuning took a little while to dial in though. Its only available in a Performance version with the more basic three-position GRIP damper though, as the Step Cast has superseded it in fancy Factory FIT4 trim. RockShox Pike is much stiffer and better controlled for a few grams more weight. Everything you need to know about the current range of Fox and Marzocchi suspension forks. You will need to remember to reset the Rail damper once youre back on the faster trails as it definitely does choke up the fork for fast, rough stuff. Retailing at $499, less than their flagship Z1. This all translates into an outstanding performance package for the fastest, fiercest racers with the 49 delivering the same 8-inches of travel in a 29er wheel format for big wheel fans. Its worth noting that the air spring is exactly the same EVOL design that youll find inside the Fox 34 though, with a self-equalising positive/negative spring chamber and the same coloured plastic volume spacers used for altering the spring rate. Its still a smoothly consistent fork though and a valid alternative to the current RockShox SID for affordable race and light trail duties. There arent any indicators, so riders will have to remember where they like their settings, but its not hard. For this test, Mtbr installed a 130mm travel Marzocchi Bomber Z1 on a Scott Spark 900 29er that came stock with a 120mm Fox 34 Float Performance Elite. Its not pretending to be a fork for serial suspension tweakers or gram counters. Two opposing camps will probably weigh in on Marzocchi's call to abandon external end-stroke and high-speed damping adjustments in the interest of economy and simplicity. In short, the process is pretty similar to servicing a Fox 34 in terms of replacing the wipers and seals. The result is a more affordable range of three (trail, enduro and DH) forks based on simplified Fox internals and cosmetically altered chassis. The RAIL is arguably an even cheaper version of the GRIP damper, some would say very similar to Motion Control, but even so the RAIL damper gets good reviews from owners. Its capable, stiff, offers good service interval times and a genuinely pleasing price tag. That price puts it a fair whack cheaper than a Fox 34 Performance Elite Series fork ($1,189), and it also undercuts the RockShox Revelation RC ($999). This lets them fit a Boost width axle and disc/wheel into a narrower crown and brace architecture to reduce weight. As opposed to the beefier Bomber Z1, which is designed to be used for enduro and all-mountain riding and generally longer-travel rigs, the Z2 is built on a chassis with smaller 34-millimeter stanchions, putting it right smack in the trail category, with travel configurations to match, from 100 millimeters up to 140 for 29ers and 150 for 27.5ers. No extensive setup procedure or inconvenient service schedules. Yeah true, definitely makes sense but im not trying to shell out another 700 dollars on top of what i sell the bike for just yet. Rather than relying on expensive materials and offering up a zillion different adjustments, the Z2 instead strips things back to basics, with a keen focus on reliability and ease of use. Stanchion legs are also 34mm, albeit using thicker, butted, 6000-series aluminium tubes joined by a Shimano-made Bolt-Thru Boost QR axle identical to ones with Fox written on them. Cheaper Fox fork to beat currently has 100 or 120mm of travel I 'd go with extra. 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