Marzocchi is Back with A Brand-New Bomber Z1 Fork

With the introduction of a brand-new Bomber Z1 fork, Marzocchi is back in the MTB game, and we're pretty stoked to see it. 

Remember Marzocchi? We certainly do, fondly at that. The Italian suspension brand more or less led the way for freeride mountain biking to evolve the way it did. For years, their moto-inspired forks like the Monster and Shiver graced the bikes of freeride pioneers like Richie Schley and Wade Simmons, to name a few. If you enjoyed hucking yourself off silly features on two wheels, a Marzocchi fork was probably on the front end of your bike.

Fast forward to the 2015, when FOX stepped in and revived the brand by acquiring certain parts of the company. Today, after nearly two years of waiting, Marzocchi announced two brand-new products: Enter the all-new Bomber Z1 enduro fork, and the Bomber 58 dual-crown DH fork.

In 1997, when the first Bomber Z1 was released, it threw out conventional wisdom about mountain bike suspension, instead opting for all-out performance and durability. The new version of the Bomber Z1 plays by the same rules: a low-maintenance and affordable fork to use day-in and day-out for heavy-hitting trail riding. With new forks these days costing close to $1,000, the $699 price tag plays nicely with your wallet, especially when the fork features the same technology and performance as its more expensive brethren. The trade off? A little bit of weight.

The air-sprung fork features FOX’s proven FIT GRIP damper, which was previously only available on their OEM performance series forks. FOX’s GRIP damper features different internals than the pricier FIT4 damper, less adjustability, and a slight weight penalty (by slight, we mean 80 grams or so for the weight weenies out there). However, the performance of the two systems feels nearly exactly the same, providing confidence inspiring traction and sensitivity on small bumps as well as big-hit performance when the trail gets rougher than expected. The stout 36 millimeter chassis and options up to 180 millimeters of travel make this a great choice for those who split their time between going hard on singletrack and hitting the bike park. When you're the kind of rider who wants to ride instead of spending hours tinkering with settings and fixing shit on your bike, this is exactly the kind of fork for you.