Marzocchi’s 55R is a simple, succulent and super-reliable long-travel fork for not a lot of money, making a great choice for hard-up hard riders. The 35mm stanchion chassis is the same as other forks in the 55 family but inside are coil springs and lots of open bath lubing and damping oil.
This makes it seriously heavy, but the upside of all that oil and the soft springs is a super-supple, richly lubricated stroke that Hoovers up small bumps incredibly well for extra traction. You do need to get the squelchy sounding rebound dialled in well to keep it under control on the return, but in terms of smoothness for price it’s outstanding. It’s also easy to adjust stroke progression just by altering the oil levels. Simplicity also means excellent reliability making it a true fit-and-forget fork.
This article was originally published in What Mountain Bike magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.
