Marzocchi revealed three exciting new products at this year's Core Bike Show – a shock, a fork and a dropper post – which were proudly displayed in the Windwave booth aboard a Transition Patrol.
053 S32CR rear shock
The shock, dubbed the 053 S32CR, may not have a snappy name, but it boasts a wealth of interesting features.
It’s designed to match the 350 fork (see what they did there?) and has a slim piggyback to fit in awkward frames or around bottles on a modern enduro bike. On one side of that distinctive double-barrel piggyback is a three-position pedal platform adjustment leaver, allowing the rider to choose between three pedalling modes: 'up', 'ride' and 'down'.
This is nothing new for a shock of this type, but Marzocchi has combined this with a high- and low-speed compression adjuster, something that's normally reserved for downhill suspension. This allows the damping curve to be fine-tuned when in the 'down' mode. Yet another plane of adjustment is accessed via a floodgate blowoff dial, which affects the firmness of the 'up' mode by setting the force required to crack open the floodgate when the suspension is compressed.
Marzocchi's svelte twin-tube piggyback should fit where other, larger air shocks do not
The other side of the piggyback houses a rubber membrane which takes on the role of the internal floating piston (IFP) found in most shocks: allowing the damping fluid to move into the chamber as the shock is compressed, while separating it from the high-pressure gas in the piggyback. Marzocchi claims that this reduces stiction, compared to a traditional IFP.
350 NCR fork
The matching 350 NCR fork offers compression and rebound adjustment, as well as Marzocchi's eNduro pedal assistance switch.
Apparently, a dual remote is in the pipeline to allow pedalling modes on both the fork and shock to be switched simultaneously.
New dropper post
Like a rose between two roses sits Marzocchi’s new dropper post. It's cable operated, but has a hydraulic damping/locking mechanism which delivers a smooth action (we just had to have a go!) and can lock the post anywhere within its 125mm of travel.
Both external and internal cable-routing options are to be produced, and pricing is said to be £230 and £259 respectively.
The new Marzocchi dropper certainly looks promising
A release date for these products is yet to be confirmed, but March was mentioned as an estimate. We can’t wait!
