Mountain Biking - MX comp ETA Travel

I've got some MX comp ETA 2003 model on my GT. When checking the sag using a zip tie I noticed the zip tie was only traveling 85mm up the stanchion, I thought my MX comp were 105mm travel, but I've been told that the 105mm travel MX comp forks only travel 85mm anyway. But I can't help feeling thats bull.

I've checked Marzocchi's website and the MX comp ETA's are stated as having 105mm travel, but there is a 85mm reduction kit availible. Basically do my forks have this reduction thing and can I increase the travel of my forks to 105mm?, I bought the forks under the assumption I would get four inches of travel.

Evo

drop the air pressure on the right valve and you should be getting more travel. If you want to stiffen it up again. Make sure you have a fork pump to pump it up again. Play around with it for the right combo.

By any chance, would you know which one is the preload? is it on the bottom left or right?

On the right leg (as your sat on the bike) is the preload, which is the air valve on the top, you adjust the air presure to adjust the preload. Adjusting the air presure also change's the spring rate though?
Well thats my understanding, the left leg has the ETA lever and supposedly if you remove the ETA switch, underneath that is the rebound adjuster. MX comp forks are different, I believe the MX comp forks have 2 air valve's??? but some forks I think have one side air the other is a spring, with those forks you adjust the air side to set preload.

Anyway my problem is no matter how I set the air presure I only get 85mm of travel (I think if I set it really low I can get nearly 90mm I'll check tonight), if I set the air pressure very high the travel will get less.
This is why I think my forks are set at 85mm. Can I increase this to 100? the forks are supposed to be 105mm so getting 100mm should be possible? As far as I can tell from Marzocchi's website, all MX comp forks in 2003 were all 105mm with a travel reduction kit availible. Is this right? does Marzocchi do a 85mm travel only MX comp ETA fork? And can I increase my forks travel to 105mm? How do I check to see if my forks have a travel reduction kit in them? Or do the MX comp only achive 85mm travel even though they are claimed to be 105mm

Has anyone here got Marzocchi MX forks, like the MX comp or pro's with ETA or not? if anyone has and there's are stated as having 105mm of travel, can you check to see how far stanchions travel into the fork body? I'd be intrested in seeing how much travel you get.

I hope you don't think I'm being pedantic but I bought my forks hoping to get at least 100mm/4inches of travel as this now seems to be the standard amount of travel that most trail bikers use. I was going to get the new 2004 MX comp's with 120mm, but went for the 105 because my LBS had them in stock at a very good price, now though I wish I waited, as having forks with 4inches of travel is vital to my future upgrading. Now though it looks like I will be selling my forks only months after I got them and will be losing money.

Would anyone be intrested in having my virtually new MX comp ETA forks at a bargain price? I live near Oxford in the U.K

Evo

My wifes MX Pro with ETA gets 105mm of travel.

to check the full amount of travel, let all the air out of the chamber and cycle the fork. If you have the preload set and are pushing down as hard as you can, you will doubtfully EVER get past 85 mm. The reason, DESIGN of the fork. It's designed to have more resistance as you increase travel. This is done so if you hit a jump or a drop and land front wheel first, the built-up air pressure acts as a "Top-out" bumper to prevent that SMACK!

Most likely, you are getting the full travel, just not in your garage. Keep the zip tie on and measure it after a good ride!

L8R

I've heard that if you are not getting full travel on an MX chances are there is too much oil in it. Also, are you sure your bike did not have an 80mm version? Some did, like the 03 Kona Kula, this fork was only available on a bike, not aftermarket so it was not on the marz website.

I've got a few rides on my new 03 MX Pro ETA and also am not getting full travel, however it's been cold 0C so that might stiffen it up and I've not done any good rides in yet, so maybe I haven't hit anything hard enough. That said...ooooohhhhhh, that fork is smoooooth, I love it so far!

Thank you for your reply's, I originally had Judy TT's on my bike, I bought the MX comp's Kris A, but as you said some bike's come fitted with MX (or MXR/MZR) forks as standard and some have there travel set at 80/85mm, as for my MX comp I still can not get a clear answer from Marzocchi dealers on the travel range of MX forks they seem to know very little about the?

I had also heard that some forks have to much oil in which restricts total compresion. I also understand that as the fork compress's it gets stiffer to prevent harsh bottoming out,
But when my forks are fully extended the distance from the top of the dust seal to the start of the fork crown is 110mm leaving only 5mm exposed if my fork was to travel 105mm, which make's me think my forks can't reach 105mm travel unless it has a travel reduction kit which if removed would make my stanchions longer. I hope you see my point.

Evo

forks need air?

I have the same observation with my MX comp with Eta fork. I just came from a hard ride and the zip tie on my fork measures only 80mm. I am very much tempted to remove the ETA thing on the left leg and see for myself whether there is such an 85mm reduction kit on that leg. In comparision, I was riding with a buddy using a Foxforx rlc and the zip tie on his fork measures a travel of 100mm +, well at least he is enjoying the full length of the travel as indicated by the fork.

I am not really so concerned about this and I will continue to ride my bike with this wonderful fork but curiosity is really getting into me, so I guess I have to find out for myself.

I feel the same way as you edsol, I really like my MX comp ETA fork, in my opinion it is the best fork availible in it price range, and I really enjoy riding my bike with it, the fork will now be staying on my hardtail, and I will buy another fork for my next new bike.

But this is still something that niggle's me! Other friends I know have forks which achieve the full stated travel even when they set air pressure high etc.
In this months MBR mag they reviewed a load of forks the MX comp was one of them and they had exactly the same problem the fork is claimed to have 105mm just over 4 inches (which is supposed to be the new gold standard for trail forks!!) but actually only achieve's 85mm.

MBR contacted Marzocchi and they claimed its because the fork is new and needs 10 hours to bed in, but even after that time the forks still only achieved 85mm.
The annoying thing is these forks are claimed to have 105mm when they clearly don't! but they also offer a travel reduction kit to bring the travel down to 85mm??!! whats the point in that.
My LBS has contacted Marzocchi for me and it seems that a lot of people are angry that thier forks do not achieve the stated 105mm travel and it seems everyone who has complained suffer the same problem, that the forks only reach 85mm!! which I find very strange. But Marzocchi still say they need 10 hours to bed in.

And crucially once you have fitted them to your bike and then found out they only get 85mm you will not get your money back on the forks! unless the LBS is run by very nice people.

I can't help feeling this is a bit of a con! how can so many people have there forks stuck at only 85mm of travel? on a fork that is supposed to 105mm with an 85mm reduction kit!? very suspect

Still in that issue of MBR even though the forks only got 85mm they still gave them a 10 out of 10 score, the only fork to get 10/10 out of 14 forks reviewed.

Evo

Posted by kona_roastbika - 03-13-04 at 10:48 AM
forks need air?

Some do, others don't. Air forks like Air Judy, or Judy Air, whichever way that is said, requires air, although I m not sure if it has a coil spring. I've heard the Air forks/air assisted forks are more responsive than 100% coil spring forks.

I was in a bike shop again yesterday, and was speaking to the shop assistant about the MX comp travel, he had also come across this with a couple of customers who had bought the MX comp forks, but he got a different answer from the Marzocchi distributor Windwave in the U.k. They had said that to get only 85mm of travel from an 105mm MX comp fork was correct as the last bit of travel is to firm/hard making it not possible (rather than impossible??) for the fork to travel its full length. This is to stop any harsh bottoming out?

Maybe thats true but then why does hunters wife get 105 from here MX Pro? is it b'cuz its a better fork?

Evo

How many poeple on this forum have MX comp's?? I don't want to be dragging this thread out! But I'm still not happy and need to find out more info.

There is no way my fork can get 105mm of travel as there is only 110mm of stanchion visible, and I (and many others) only get 85mm of compression. But Marzocchi claim it only sells 105mm (& 120mm 2004) travel only! there was no 85mm versions sold and that all its MX comps/eta's were 105mm in 2003.

I know its only minor but it bugs me, as I want my 4inches as promised by Marzocchi. What bugs me the most is it seems MX pro owners get the full amount of travel. To me the MX Pro and Comp are very close designs so if the can get it right with the pro which differ from the comps by using better SSVF damping but other than that little else, the comp use's the more simple SSV damping but this should not make it much different from the pro.

I am just trying to prove that my forks are an 85mm version of the MX Comp ETA! As I am certain they are!! if I can do that then I can get my forks replaced!!

So I need someone who owns either the MX Pro or Comp fork that gets a full or near enough 105mm, I need to know how much stanchion is visible from the crown to the dust seal! in fact anyone who owns a bomber fork that has100mm of travel will do.

Marc

to check the full amount of travel, let all the air out of the chamber and cycle the fork. If you have the preload set and are pushing down as hard as you can, you will doubtfully EVER get past 85 mm. The reason, DESIGN of the fork. It's designed to have more resistance as you increase travel. This is done so if you hit a jump or a drop and land front wheel first, the built-up air pressure acts as a "Top-out" bumper to prevent that SMACK!

Most likely, you are getting the full travel, just not in your garage. Keep the zip tie on and measure it after a good ride!

L8R

Ditto that!

I've ben busy and unable to reply to this thread, i've also been so busy that I have'nt had much time to ride either.

Obviously I must not be explaining myself properly as the reply's have not been quite what I need, although all reply's are appreciated.

I totally understand what a2psyklnut is saying in the last reply by BD but that is not the issue or the problem I'm having. My problem is simply my supposedly slightly over 4 inches of travel rated MX comp fork actually only achieve's 80-85mm period! and with appropiate sag set I only have just under 2 inche's of travel (I know there is more to sag than that but that not of importance to my problem).

The reason I want to know more about my possible problem is because contrary to what BD and a2psyklnut say most 4 inch travel forks will travel virtually the complete travel after a very rough ride. Also other members on this forum have claimed that there! zocchi forks do travel 105mm and that they have measured it.

Also in bike magazines reviewers will measure the travel in the same way I do, to see if the forks achieve full travel quite often they do not! but one magazine's Marzocchi did get 100mm of travel another reviewing the same fork only got 85mm.

Now since I started this thread Windwave importer of Marzocchi in the U.K have admitted there is a problem and that some Zocchi forks were manafactured wrong!! The problem was caused by the machine that fills the forks with oil, it turns out that some batches of fork were filled with far to much oil!!

So I need to now know if my fork is either filled with to much oil? or has a travel limiter inside it? or worst case for me I was sold a 85mm version of the MX comp fork.

Unfortunatly I think my fork is 85mm travel only as the distance from bushing to crown is 110mm, which to me does not seem long enough? Now there are not many bike shops near me none stock Marzocchi forks I do not know anyone who owns a pair so I have NO ONE to compare with.

So I ask please please please can someone who owns an 2003 MX comp or equivilant fork to just check for me the distance between bushing and crown, so I can compare, particularly Hunter who's wife gets the full 105mm on her MX pro.

I've tried everything else letting the air out etc I can never go past the 85mm mark, at the same time I cannot feel it bottoming out so maybe just maybe there is more travel there and my fork has to much oil or a limiter, I'm not sure.

Taking my fork apart is the last option! I will only do this if it look like it could give me more travel, it has certainly worked for other MX comp owners.

I hate to knock a2psyklnut because I really respect his opinions, but to say its doubtfull you will ever get the full stated travel seems wrong to me if a fork claims to travel 4 inch's it should do it, although the last bit of travel should be very stiff to prevent harsh bottoming out and most forks are designed that way but if that designs limits the travel then the design is bad!! Most of the fork review I've read recently have also checked travel as it seems a more important issue. The major reason I changed forks was to get at least 4 inche's of travel as this now seems the norm for trail riding, I'll just have to write it off, and learn from this, I have only got back into bike's after 7 years without one, a heck of a lot has changed since then!


Evo

'My new bike? DMR switchback or Planet X Armadillo with MX Comp 120 ETA'

I've ben busy and unable to reply to this thread, i've also been so busy that I have'nt had much time to ride either.

Obviously I must not be explaining myself properly as the reply's have not been quite what I need, although all reply's are appreciated.

I totally understand what a2psyklnut is saying in the last reply by BD but that is not the issue or the problem I'm having. My problem is simply my supposedly slightly over 4 inches of travel rated MX comp fork actually only achieve's 80-85mm period! and with appropiate sag set I only have just under 2 inche's of travel (I know there is more to sag than that but that not of importance to my problem).

The reason I want to know more about my possible problem is because contrary to what BD and a2psyklnut say most 4 inch travel forks will travel virtually the complete travel after a very rough ride. Also other members on this forum have claimed that there! zocchi forks do travel 105mm and that they have measured it.

Also in bike magazines reviewers will measure the travel in the same way I do, to see if the forks achieve full travel quite often they do not! but one magazine's Marzocchi did get 100mm of travel another reviewing the same fork only got 85mm.

Now since I started this thread Windwave importer of Marzocchi in the U.K have admitted there is a problem and that some Zocchi forks were manafactured wrong!! The problem was caused by the machine that fills the forks with oil, it turns out that some batches of fork were filled with far to much oil!!

So I need to now know if my fork is either filled with to much oil? or has a travel limiter inside it? or worst case for me I was sold a 85mm version of the MX comp fork.

Unfortunatly I think my fork is 85mm travel only as the distance from bushing to crown is 110mm, which to me does not seem long enough? Now there are not many bike shops near me none stock Marzocchi forks I do not know anyone who owns a pair so I have NO ONE to compare with.

So I ask please please please can someone who owns an 2003 MX comp or equivilant fork to just check for me the distance between bushing and crown, so I can compare, particularly Hunter who's wife gets the full 105mm on her MX pro.

I've tried everything else letting the air out etc I can never go past the 85mm mark, at the same time I cannot feel it bottoming out so maybe just maybe there is more travel there and my fork has to much oil or a limiter, I'm not sure.

Taking my fork apart is the last option! I will only do this if it look like it could give me more travel, it has certainly worked for other MX comp owners.

I hate to knock a2psyklnut because I really respect his opinions, but to say its doubtfull you will ever get the full stated travel seems wrong to me if a fork claims to travel 4 inch's it should do it, although the last bit of travel should be very stiff to prevent harsh bottoming out and most forks are designed that way but if that designs limits the travel then the design is bad!! Most of the fork review I've read recently have also checked travel as it seems a more important issue. The major reason I changed forks was to get at least 4 inche's of travel as this now seems the norm for trail riding, I'll just have to write it off, and learn from this, I have only got back into bike's after 7 years without one, a heck of a lot has changed since then!


Evo

'My new bike? DMR switchback or Planet X Armadillo with MX Comp 120 ETA'

Alright here it goes.

I got a 2003 MX Comp/eta.

Seal to where the crown start - 115mm

Travel with around 30-40psi of air preload - 80mm

I am sure that i can get at least 100mm of travel if i drop the air pressure.

I don't think you have the 85mm version since they only come on bikes and only way is to buy the spring. Unless you bought a bike that orignially came with it, odds are you have the 105mm version. THe oil level might be the problem here.

I've ben busy and unable to reply to this thread, i've also been so busy that I have'nt had much time to ride either.

Obviously I must not be explaining myself properly as the reply's have not been quite what I need, although all reply's are appreciated.

I totally understand what a2psyklnut is saying in the last reply by BD but that is not the issue or the problem I'm having. My problem is simply my supposedly slightly over 4 inches of travel rated MX comp fork actually only achieve's 80-85mm period! and with appropiate sag set I only have just under 2 inche's of travel (I know there is more to sag than that but that not of importance to my problem).

The reason I want to know more about my possible problem is because contrary to what BD and a2psyklnut say most 4 inch travel forks will travel virtually the complete travel after a very rough ride. Also other members on this forum have claimed that there! zocchi forks do travel 105mm and that they have measured it.

Also in bike magazines reviewers will measure the travel in the same way I do, to see if the forks achieve full travel quite often they do not! but one magazine's Marzocchi did get 100mm of travel another reviewing the same fork only got 85mm.

Now since I started this thread Windwave importer of Marzocchi in the U.K have admitted there is a problem and that some Zocchi forks were manafactured wrong!! The problem was caused by the machine that fills the forks with oil, it turns out that some batches of fork were filled with far to much oil!!

So I need to now know if my fork is either filled with to much oil? or has a travel limiter inside it? or worst case for me I was sold a 85mm version of the MX comp fork.

Unfortunatly I think my fork is 85mm travel only as the distance from bushing to crown is 110mm, which to me does not seem long enough? Now there are not many bike shops near me none stock Marzocchi forks I do not know anyone who owns a pair so I have NO ONE to compare with.

So I ask please please please can someone who owns an 2003 MX comp or equivilant fork to just check for me the distance between bushing and crown, so I can compare, particularly Hunter who's wife gets the full 105mm on her MX pro.

I've tried everything else letting the air out etc I can never go past the 85mm mark, at the same time I cannot feel it bottoming out so maybe just maybe there is more travel there and my fork has to much oil or a limiter, I'm not sure.

Taking my fork apart is the last option! I will only do this if it look like it could give me more travel, it has certainly worked for other MX comp owners.

I hate to knock a2psyklnut because I really respect his opinions, but to say its doubtfull you will ever get the full stated travel seems wrong to me if a fork claims to travel 4 inch's it should do it, although the last bit of travel should be very stiff to prevent harsh bottoming out and most forks are designed that way but if that designs limits the travel then the design is bad!! Most of the fork review I've read recently have also checked travel as it seems a more important issue. The major reason I changed forks was to get at least 4 inche's of travel as this now seems the norm for trail riding, I'll just have to write it off, and learn from this, I have only got back into bike's after 7 years without one, a heck of a lot has changed since then!


Evo

'My new bike? DMR switchback or Planet X Armadillo with MX Comp 120 ETA'

Unless you are really going big, a person generally does not use all of the travel.

Unless you are really going big, a person generally does not use all of the travel.

What's your definition of going big? I was able to get a full 105mm travel out of my Manitou X vert Super by just compressing it on the spot.

What's your definition of going big? I was able to get a full 105mm travel out of my Manitou X vert Super by just compressing it on the spot.

To be honest being able to compress a fork when standing there has nothing to do with whether it will compress when riding it. I can fully compress a monster T...when I ride it I sure don't bottom it out ;)...

To be honest being able to compress a fork when standing there has nothing to do with whether it will compress when riding it. I can fully compress a monster T...when I ride it I sure don't bottom it out ;)...

True...True...but when I hit a drop or jump I manage to use up the full travel. Whether it is a 3 foot drop or a 4 foor drop. Maybe I am crazy.........

True...True...but when I hit a drop or jump I manage to use up the full travel. Whether it is a 3 foot drop or a 4 foor drop. Maybe I am crazy.........

Well saying you shouldn't use all your travel unless you go big isn't really correct. If you aren't using all your travel during normal riding then your fork proberly isn't set up correctly.

This is a bit over simplified but the faster you try to compress the fork the more the damping will resist the forks movement. So you can end up compressing the fork the same ammount doing a small drop as a big drop. If forks didn't do that you would end up with a fork that either absorbed small bumps but bottomed out on large ones or you would get a fork that would remain rigid with small bumps and only work on large bumps.

O.K thanks for your reply's. Since my last post I've found out some more... things.

My MX Comp ETA's are deffinetly the 105mm not 85mm travel dimension's! I went to a bike shop in another town they had lots of forks on display, they had a set of MX Comp's in the 85mm travel guise and they were considerably shorter than mine, and by using the zip tie to measure travel achieved around 70mm! They also had a set of 105mm Mx Comp's which achieved around 90mm travel the same as mine.

The shop assitant did'nt know anything about the travel settings or Marzocchi fork's, but the mechanic working out back was supposedly a Marzocchi specialist's. And what he told me was that whilst the MX Comp's are a 105mm travel fork 90mm of that travel is positive and the other 15mm is negative! The 15mm negative travel is there to soak up any harsh rebound.

So when there is no load on the fork you should be able to extend it by 15mm? well I can barely move mine 5mm, It does make sense to me in principal though, but I think the way they have marketed the fork is a bit of a con, why 105mm anyway why not 100mm? I also get confused when people claim to get 105mm travel I'm not sure what they mean by that? and why do one of the top mountain biking magazine's in the U.K complain about the fact that the MX comps only achieve 85mm? Other mag's reviewing the same fork never mention the travel so maybe the other mag is wrong!

Or they are right the mechanic is bullcraping me and I could be getting more travel out of my fork who know's I probably never will. I will be buying a new pair of long travel forks with the intention of getting a new frame.

I suppose its my lack of understanding that make's me think you need loads of travel to tackle harsh terrain, and the fact I'm not getting a full 4inch's is not important. That was not important to me anyway it was the issue of how you measure travel, and I don't think I'll ever get the same answer.

I've bought all my mountain biking stuff to hastily its my nature, I buy something then see something else I like even more and wish I got that instead. It not all bad though as I've learnt a lot in the process. I now feel my bike is to XC oriented I want to get something more freeride/all mountain extreme, either FR hardtail or all mountain Fully sus. I'm not sure wether to build it custom or buy complete. A Cove Stiffie would be a dream hardtail for me.

I'm pretty sure than the OEM versions differ in travel from aftermarket models of the same fork. Perhaps that is what you are experiencing here?

6 month old thread but what the hey

I'm surprised nobody's said this but I'm pretty sure it's because of the marketing strategy in that the same way a 2" by 4" piece of plywood does not actually measure 2 inches by 4 inches and the same way a 40GB hard drive does not actualyl have 40 gb worth of storage.