Rockshox Tora 302, any good?
Discussion
Yes!
I had a pair on my hardtail and had no problems at all, just a bit heavy. I gave mine some abuse too.
One thing to note, I had the spring in mine replaced with a stiffer one because I found they were too soft and wouldn't ride over anything much higher than a couple of inches. I'm quite heavy though.
I think you would be hard pushed to find a better fork for the price, Kind of wish i'd kept them actually!!
I had a pair on my hardtail and had no problems at all, just a bit heavy. I gave mine some abuse too.
One thing to note, I had the spring in mine replaced with a stiffer one because I found they were too soft and wouldn't ride over anything much higher than a couple of inches. I'm quite heavy though.
I think you would be hard pushed to find a better fork for the price, Kind of wish i'd kept them actually!!
R1 GTR said:
Yes but the standard U-turn ones can be locked can't they? You just have to reach down the forks rather than flick a switch on the handlebars?
Even the most bog-basic,non U-turn Toras (302s) have lockout (on the fork).I have them on my bike. Personally I'm not in love with them. Bar the lockout, the supposed adjustments (Preload, rebound) do little, they're heavy (5lbs for a 100mm fork!) and even though mine are <1yr old, they're not sounding particularly healthy. Their action isn't particuarly plush either, and they're not that stiff.
Save a few more pennies and bag something a notch or two up, maybe SH and serviced. At least that way you'll get something worth bothering with.
Edited by SCOOTERMAN on Monday 7th July 00:18
Edited by SCOOTERMAN on Monday 7th July 00:19
Parrot of Doom said:
I have the Marzocchi Bomber MX on mine - well worth a look. They've been trouble free for a couple of years now, and have a nice soft action to them. Should be around your budget too. They look well made to me, nice little anodised metal caps to cover the valves.
It would appear that the MX Remote Lockout model is on offer at Merlin, very tempting.mk1fan said:
Mazzochi's are for those who don't believe in maintenance.
That a good thing yes? As in they will last for ever sort of thing?Heavily leaning on these right now unless anything comes up on ebay etc.:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...
My one question is, my discs are IS mounted, Will any old adaptor that I could get at my LBS fit as the forks seem to be post mount only?
R1 GTR said:
mk1fan said:
Mazzochi's are for those who don't believe in maintenance.
That a good thing yes? As in they will last for ever sort of thing?Heavily leaning on these right now unless anything comes up on ebay etc.:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...
My one question is, my discs are IS mounted, Will any old adaptor that I could get at my LBS fit as the forks seem to be post mount only?
Before you all go wild and rush out and buy Marzocchi, consider these points:
Marzocchi right gained a notoriety for forks that were bombproof when they released the 66 and 888 models, its was right around 2005 to 2006 when they were possibly the best forks on the market.
However, they tried to run with this sucess and released about a kabillion different models, diluting the market, and push their manufacturing to Taiwan.
Big Mistake.
This lead to higher warranty costs, a loss in face in terms of their percieved quality, and in the trade (and certainly if you talk to TFTuned and Mojo) are very much not favoured.
Add to this, in the last few days, they've been sold to a company in the states, with (if I am correct) $15 million debt - more than likely this will mean that warranty issues will become VERY hard to sort.
I would avoid Marzocchi at the moment with a VERY wide berth.
Rock Shox are the shizzle right now, and Fox a close second (they're not as great value, but boy are they well made).
Personally, I'd stick with either a RS Reba coil or a Fox Van R coil fork - light, easy to maintain and get spares, and cheap.
To add: Tim Flooks doesn't rate air forks AT ALL. Reason being: too expensive, go wrong too much compared to coil, and don't give the equivilent performance compared to the additional cost.
Personally, I believe him, especially when I was ready to spend £700 on some Fox forks from him, and he made me buy the £350 Fox ones...
neil_bolton said:
Chaps,
Before you all go wild and rush out and buy Marzocchi, consider these points:
Marzocchi right gained a notoriety for forks that were bombproof when they released the 66 and 888 models, its was right around 2005 to 2006 when they were possibly the best forks on the market.
However, they tried to run with this sucess and released about a kabillion different models, diluting the market, and push their manufacturing to Taiwan.
Big Mistake.
This lead to higher warranty costs, a loss in face in terms of their percieved quality, and in the trade (and certainly if you talk to TFTuned and Mojo) are very much not favoured.
Add to this, in the last few days, they've been sold to a company in the states, with (if I am correct) $15 million debt - more than likely this will mean that warranty issues will become VERY hard to sort.
I would avoid Marzocchi at the moment with a VERY wide berth.
Rock Shox are the shizzle right now, and Fox a close second (they're not as great value, but boy are they well made).
Personally, I'd stick with either a RS Reba coil or a Fox Van R coil fork - light, easy to maintain and get spares, and cheap.
To add: Tim Flooks doesn't rate air forks AT ALL. Reason being: too expensive, go wrong too much compared to coil, and don't give the equivilent performance compared to the additional cost.
Personally, I believe him, especially when I was ready to spend £700 on some Fox forks from him, and he made me buy the £350 Fox ones...
In some ways I agree with you, but Marzocchi still make damn good forks. I've been running 2 pairs of RS Revelations air u-turns and a pair of Rebas SLs (air) before that - as good performance as Fox for far less £££.Before you all go wild and rush out and buy Marzocchi, consider these points:
Marzocchi right gained a notoriety for forks that were bombproof when they released the 66 and 888 models, its was right around 2005 to 2006 when they were possibly the best forks on the market.
However, they tried to run with this sucess and released about a kabillion different models, diluting the market, and push their manufacturing to Taiwan.
Big Mistake.
This lead to higher warranty costs, a loss in face in terms of their percieved quality, and in the trade (and certainly if you talk to TFTuned and Mojo) are very much not favoured.
Add to this, in the last few days, they've been sold to a company in the states, with (if I am correct) $15 million debt - more than likely this will mean that warranty issues will become VERY hard to sort.
I would avoid Marzocchi at the moment with a VERY wide berth.
Rock Shox are the shizzle right now, and Fox a close second (they're not as great value, but boy are they well made).
Personally, I'd stick with either a RS Reba coil or a Fox Van R coil fork - light, easy to maintain and get spares, and cheap.
To add: Tim Flooks doesn't rate air forks AT ALL. Reason being: too expensive, go wrong too much compared to coil, and don't give the equivilent performance compared to the additional cost.
Personally, I believe him, especially when I was ready to spend £700 on some Fox forks from him, and he made me buy the £350 Fox ones...
Air has benefits over coil: lighter weight plus if you're like me, some folk can never find a coil spring that matches their weight perfectly (I'm always somewhere between a medium and firm spring - could never get it right).
But, I've just bought a pair of Marzocchi 55 ATA2s (air u-turn type) for my full susser and they're superb. Much stiffer than the Revs and no issues with build quality. I do know there have been problems with damping cartridges but a mate's whose were affect had his fixed under warranty inside 2 weeks. So I wouldn't discount Marzocchi's quite yet. Of course, if I had the £££ I'd have stretched to a pair of RS Totems...
a11y_m said:
neil_bolton said:
Chaps,
Before you all go wild and rush out and buy Marzocchi, consider these points:
Marzocchi right gained a notoriety for forks that were bombproof when they released the 66 and 888 models, its was right around 2005 to 2006 when they were possibly the best forks on the market.
However, they tried to run with this sucess and released about a kabillion different models, diluting the market, and push their manufacturing to Taiwan.
Big Mistake.
This lead to higher warranty costs, a loss in face in terms of their percieved quality, and in the trade (and certainly if you talk to TFTuned and Mojo) are very much not favoured.
Add to this, in the last few days, they've been sold to a company in the states, with (if I am correct) $15 million debt - more than likely this will mean that warranty issues will become VERY hard to sort.
I would avoid Marzocchi at the moment with a VERY wide berth.
Rock Shox are the shizzle right now, and Fox a close second (they're not as great value, but boy are they well made).
Personally, I'd stick with either a RS Reba coil or a Fox Van R coil fork - light, easy to maintain and get spares, and cheap.
To add: Tim Flooks doesn't rate air forks AT ALL. Reason being: too expensive, go wrong too much compared to coil, and don't give the equivilent performance compared to the additional cost.
Personally, I believe him, especially when I was ready to spend £700 on some Fox forks from him, and he made me buy the £350 Fox ones...
In some ways I agree with you, but Marzocchi still make damn good forks. I've been running 2 pairs of RS Revelations air u-turns and a pair of Rebas SLs (air) before that - as good performance as Fox for far less £££.Before you all go wild and rush out and buy Marzocchi, consider these points:
Marzocchi right gained a notoriety for forks that were bombproof when they released the 66 and 888 models, its was right around 2005 to 2006 when they were possibly the best forks on the market.
However, they tried to run with this sucess and released about a kabillion different models, diluting the market, and push their manufacturing to Taiwan.
Big Mistake.
This lead to higher warranty costs, a loss in face in terms of their percieved quality, and in the trade (and certainly if you talk to TFTuned and Mojo) are very much not favoured.
Add to this, in the last few days, they've been sold to a company in the states, with (if I am correct) $15 million debt - more than likely this will mean that warranty issues will become VERY hard to sort.
I would avoid Marzocchi at the moment with a VERY wide berth.
Rock Shox are the shizzle right now, and Fox a close second (they're not as great value, but boy are they well made).
Personally, I'd stick with either a RS Reba coil or a Fox Van R coil fork - light, easy to maintain and get spares, and cheap.
To add: Tim Flooks doesn't rate air forks AT ALL. Reason being: too expensive, go wrong too much compared to coil, and don't give the equivilent performance compared to the additional cost.
Personally, I believe him, especially when I was ready to spend £700 on some Fox forks from him, and he made me buy the £350 Fox ones...
Air has benefits over coil: lighter weight plus if you're like me, some folk can never find a coil spring that matches their weight perfectly (I'm always somewhere between a medium and firm spring - could never get it right).
But, I've just bought a pair of Marzocchi 55 ATA2s (air u-turn type) for my full susser and they're superb. Much stiffer than the Revs and no issues with build quality. I do know there have been problems with damping cartridges but a mate's whose were affect had his fixed under warranty inside 2 weeks. So I wouldn't discount Marzocchi's quite yet. Of course, if I had the £££ I'd have stretched to a pair of RS Totems...
The biggest issue is that Marzocchi are going down the pan, has been for some time, and the uncertainty at the moment over who, what, where and when regarding importer responsibility and warranties will mean that things will become rather tough.
You need to ask yourself why Marzocchi is not OEM on pretty much any bike this year.
As far as Air vs Coil goes, its very much personal preference, but I know exactly which one is more reliable and cheaper, and what I'd rather ride. Everyone can choose their own fork - however I take my advice from Tim with great respect - if the man suggests that I buy a 50% cheaper fork thus doing himself out of easy profit, I have to wonder why he suggests it.
Equally, I had a discussion with him yesterday where he told me that I shouldn't consider the top model Boxxer Solo Air WC's as the simpler Boxxer coil forks are the better performing models.
Granted, air has infinite adjustablity, but as one or two PH bike riders here know, I ride whatever is shoved in front of me, and just get on with it - I just want it to stay in one piece - I hate dodgy seals, cartridges etc. Yes, it may be lighter weight, but it should never take precedence over performance and reliability.
All I'm suggesting is be wary of a company that has just gone bust and been brought out by a General Motors type company. Its not looking great for Marzocchi fans (me included - I LOVE my 66's).
Fair points. I certainly wasn't aware of the buy out of Marzocchi until you'd mentioned it in your earlier post - not good. I'm not a bike fettler like some of mates are with their air forks, but as you say personal preference comes into it. I'm just a fussy bugger and wouldn't settle for something that's not quite right for me 
.
Re Marzocchi's not being OEM on any bike this year, you've got a point. But another way to look at it is to consider what happened with RS. RS used to be good in the late nineties but were utterly useless about 7-8 years ago. Nobody specced them OEM but it took a year or two of them being utterly amazing again (around 2004) before manufacturers bought into them again. Marzocchi last year started being not so good: this is the OEM response to that. Well, I hope so for my sake because I've just bought these 55s!!!
. Re Marzocchi's not being OEM on any bike this year, you've got a point. But another way to look at it is to consider what happened with RS. RS used to be good in the late nineties but were utterly useless about 7-8 years ago. Nobody specced them OEM but it took a year or two of them being utterly amazing again (around 2004) before manufacturers bought into them again. Marzocchi last year started being not so good: this is the OEM response to that. Well, I hope so for my sake because I've just bought these 55s!!!
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