Review: 2014 Marzocchi 380 c2r2 titanium & service

As you may remember I won the 380 at bootbash and have been running it ever since.

The weight fit and finish are steller, its light, all the parts are beautiful, the machining on the crowns is impressive and the front axle is the lightest ever.

First impressions, at 150lb the stock spring is way to soft, way to soft, 5.5nm is almost equivalent to a fox black spring (less than the purple). I don't know how anyone rides it at less than teenage adolescence (trouble? lol) anyhow this is where I start to get frustrated.

I call Marz for a tuning spec, i speak with Massi, they say the springrate is correct and gave me a baseline, neither of with were remotely acceptable, considering I can get a reliable setup from any other manufacturer. I show Dave Meridith at fontana how soft it is and he give me a partyline bs, that the damper doesnt work without being pumped up.

So going down steep tech is sketch, and corners are no fun, front end dives, either ruining my corner or sending me OTB down rock gardens.

I switched to the Medium spring, which is steel, now I realize 2 things. first the smaller diameter of the steel spring makes the fork a clanky POS. SECOND IM ONLY GETTING 6IN of travel. With the light spring I hit the end so hard I thought it was ramping up and I couldnt bottom it out, but now its very apparent something isnt right. Oh and fox ti springs fit perfect but run different springrates.

So I call MARZ back...and I get Massi again, he gives me no feedback on the travel problem and says it has to be revalved. Meanwhile jay (420) tells me theres a known issue with a rubber bumper the limits the travel.

So I go over Massi's head to Mat Brown who says this, "What model year is the 380 that you have??? Is the stock spring in the fork or did you drop a heavier spring in???  What is your rider weight???

The re-valving/tune would not have anything to do with the travel. It only affects the range of adjustability of the rebound and compression speeds. So if you are having an issue with the travel then the fork would need to be brought in for assessment and possible warranty. The tune itself is not a warranty issue. The 380 C2R2 is meant as a high-end race fork that has the ability for custom tuning. We have base tunes for each spring rate so you cannot just simply drop a different spring in and expect the fork to function to its full capabilities. It is a finely tuned machine. With any purchase of the 380 C2R2 we do offer the tune for $50 (which is a discounted rate)."

Mat sends me back to Massi, and Massi seems irritated. At this point I give up and send the fork in. I feel this is ridiculous, I have a warranty concern and no other major suspension manufacturer requires a retune to change sprigs or an additional cost service to mask their warranty woes.

I get my invoice and after all my questions of why I cant get full travel this is in the scope of work
SPONSORED RIDER SENDING IN HIS FORK FOR A SHIM STACK MODIFICATION TO ACCOMMODATE HIS 6.5 NM SPRING. HE WAS QUOTED $50 FOR THE SERVICE. PLEASE CUT DOWN RUBBER BUMPER SO HE CAN HAVE
FULL TRAVEL.
RESHIMMED FORK
0204075 TORCO RSF OIL 7.5W (1 LITER) 0.5 0.5 0 15.00 7.50T
CONSUMER LABOR / CONSUMER 1 41.82 41.82 1
FREIGHT Shipped On: 7/10/2015 4:00:00 PM
Total Shipment Weight: 10.85


So I'm down $75 and a week and a half without my fork, The revalve might be cool, but I feel like they fed me a load of crap to cover up a manufacturing defect and they have no idea how to tune their shit.

All this has been addressed and fixed for 2015 as the new fork is spec'd with the 6.5nm spring and i assume a trimmed bumper.

So why all this and not DVO? opposite problems, Dvo has the best service, rider support, and service, but theres 2lbs of weight in the DVO that I dont want. Im very conflicted, and if I have to deal with Marz again I may just make the switch.

For those of you considering the 2014 380, let me lay this down like a jew.

2014 380 c2r2ti 6lbs of awesome =$700 only on PB

marzocchi 6.5nm ti spring =$ 220-discount that you will have to twist their arm for
or
Fox 40 blue purple or green spring off pinkbike =80?

Tune and trim: $80

total cost all ready to not have problems like jewpowered: $1000+/-
still a killer deal imho, just.... it is what it is.

/rant

How does the fork feel now?

If it still sucks call Naz in the Vancouver office or let me know and I'll try to help any way I can.

Hey jay, thanks for the info, i have not received the fork yet, should get it today or tomorrow

I got the fork in, not installed on the bike, i've tried all the springs and...... cant get more than 6" of travel, i have more tinkering to try before I put it back on the bike.

Got mine off PB. Best fork I've ever had.

I like the fork, hence why i havent installed my dvo. It feels like my 2013 coil 40 but less harsh and its as light as my boxxers.

So i got my fork installed, notes said the fork was valved for a 6.5nm spring and the rubber bumper was trimmed to allow full travel. looking down the spring side of the fork there is a post at the bottom that located the spring and I can see someone hacked that thing down. You may want to do this dirtbag.

with the new valving I wanted to check travel, so i threw in the 5.5nm spring, remember, I hated this spring and it used to blow right through it. Well now it feels pretty damn good, I ramped all the compression up and the preload (that were open with the stiff spring). Sag is about right, mid travel is plush and bottoming it out seems about where I would want it. If i need it to be stiffer I may add the 200cc of fork oil to the spring leg as dvo suggested.

I gave the bike to garrett (bottomer of all suspensions) and it held up pretty well, travel at bottom out was just under 8".


Need to get a park day in, but it seems better, alot better.....despite being valved for a heavier spring, I'm still skeptical of Marz's service team, but if it works out....I'm stoked

Better get all the parts you may Need now. Looks like they couldnt find a buyer and they are officially closed.

someone has to be waiting in the wings, allowing it to close its doors allows companies to get it even cheaper and without the cost if they decide to can people.

Mrp bought white bros and elka

Raceface was sold in bankruptcy and look at them now

syncros was acquired by ritchey who sold it to scott

gamut just bought point1 racing.


It'll happen, though I'm sure it could be better, maybe I can buy my parts cheaper now lol. They wanted $50 for fork seals. To be honest I'm tempted to do a charge back for the BS they pulled on me when I sent it in...who's left to refute it