Magura and Marzocchi Forks

[Morwa]

Hubbers,

 

Why don't we see more of these Magura and Marzocchi forks on MTB in SA? Does the Fox and Rock Shox brands have superior marketing campaigns, or importers and distributors in SA?

 

Spend so time reading on the Magura TS8 R 29er forks.... and the new Magura eLECT technology....seem to be very nice indeed.

 

Who distributes / service these Magura forks in SA?

[flat29]

CUTTING EDGE MARKETING CC

8 Saffierpark, Amatis Cres, Elarduspark

0181 Pretoria

MAIL: corrie(at)iconnection.co.za

Edited October 31, 2013 by flat29

[Hilton.]

I've seen the Magura fork a few times at Trailseekers and the recent African Cycle Fair. My impression was that they cost around the same as some fox forks (between R8k and R10k) or a Sid XX WC 29", so they'd have to do some hefty marketing of the advantages or differences of their forks to warrant buyers.

 

Two good writeups:

http://bikemagic.com/gear/reviews/magura-ts8-r-29er-suspension-fork-review.html

http://www.bikerumor.com/2012/05/26/2013-magura-ts8-29er-suspension-fork-ride-review-inside-look/

 

According to that first article, price in SA should be slightly over R10k, at current exchange rates

Edited October 31, 2013 by Peregrinate

[patches]

Marzocchi forks get dealt a raw deal in SA. (especially their "gravity" forks).

 

As SA consumers we're all so brainwashed to only want Fox or Rock Shox. In Europe, Marzocchi is rather popular, and many riders choose them over and above the RS or Fox equivalents.

 

Our motor industry is the same. We thing the 3 Germans (Merc, BM, Audi) are the be-all and end-all of luxury cars, and then we give great cars like Volvo's a bad rep because we slaughter them on hte second hand market. (But people will pay 80k for a used city golf... that's like buying a Mongoose Tyax for R8000.

 

I for one will definitely take Marzocchi and X-Fusion into consideration on my next fork replacement.

[Claudio]

I'm a huge fan of Marzocchi. They've always had that 'bolt on and forget' reliability. Not that I condone it, but I had Z1 Freerides on my old Heckler for 5 years and didn't need to service them once. I agree that it's basically all about marketing and if Marzocchi could make a bigger impact in SA then all the better. The thing with the RS Pike, you know, that bladder thing? Marzocchi have been doing that with their motocross bikes for ages, and have put it into their forks now too.

 

I'd like to see more than just them though. Like Manitou (which did have a presence at Africa Cycle Fair, see the half bike on the couch), BOS (which, based on reviews, sound fantastic) and X-Fusion (also sound great, and reasonably priced).

 

It really just comes down to what people see being raced too. What's winning is usually taken as best. Where it's actually what people are being sponsored by. The big guns have the big bucks to put their stuff on the winning bikes. My next bike will hopefully have a Marzocchi up front, if not X-Fusion or BOS if I had my own way.

[Skott5]

I'm a huge fan of Marzocchi. They've always had that 'bolt on and forget' reliability. Not that I condone it, but I had Z1 Freerides on my old Heckler for 5 years and didn't need to service them once. I agree that it's basically all about marketing and if Marzocchi could make a bigger impact in SA then all the better. The thing with the RS Pike, you know, that bladder thing? Marzocchi have been doing that with their motocross bikes for ages, and have put it into their forks now too.

 

I'd like to see more than just them though. Like Manitou (which did have a presence at Africa Cycle Fair, see the half bike on the couch), BOS (which, based on reviews, sound fantastic) and X-Fusion (also sound great, and reasonably priced).

 

It really just comes down to what people see being raced too. What's winning is usually taken as best. Where it's actually what people are being sponsored by. The big guns have the big bucks to put their stuff on the winning bikes. My next bike will hopefully have a Marzocchi up front, if not X-Fusion or BOS if I had my own way.

 

Yes please, I would love a BOS Deville

[Matchstix]

Marzocchi makes awesome forks< still enjoying my 2007 Marathon SL, I also have a (basically new) 2002 Marathon s fork.

The s weughs in @ 1.5kg with 80cc of oil in each leg.

Marzocchi in Sa has had a difficult time and changed importers quite a few times.

the seconfd Difficult part for them was that in a mainly XC based market their works were and might still be heavier than most of the other fork brands and pricey. eben their downhill fork were considdered to heavy compared to fox and rockshox boxxer.

In 2008 Marzocchi moved their manufactuering from Italy to Taiwan. . . which caused a lot. . and I do mean A lot of reliablity problems that took a while to get sorted out and the same problems recurring. which at the time gave them a bad name in their xc fork market.

But anyone in cycle industry will tell you you need decent backup (service nd finacial) to make a brand work and only through trail and error and time is this achieved.

Marzocchi still remains one of my favourite fork brands and hhave been on marzocchi forks from 2003

[dillon]

I am building my son's race bikes for next year I need 2 sets of shocks, someone sell them to me at cost less some % and we will race them A batch starts, minimum of 12 races

[droo]

A little birdie has told me that Marzocchi will be back up and running in SA soon.

 

As Matchstix said, they went through a bit of a rough patch a few years back but they're back to producing good quality components again. They will however never be the lightest forks on the market.

 

As far as service goes, we can do any maintenance work you may need - but spares are a bit tough to come by at the moment - expect long lead times on certain items - and it can get pricey.

[Morwa]

Like I said in the beginning, I'm really interested in the Magura range for the 29er's. Listen to this video from Interbike 2013....maybe old news to some. Their eLECT technology. High tech German stuff.

 

http://reviews.mtbr.com/magura-interbike-2013

[PhilipV]

Both Magura and Marzochi went through reliability issues. And the SA suppliers chopped and changed a bit. So the support was sketchy at times.

Both brands make great products though.

Will be exciting to see what the new local suppliers for X-Fusion and Marzochi do.

[Matchstix]

Johan Bornman of yellowsaddle has been the Marzocchi agent for a while, or at least the service centre.

Marzocchi's has great seals. Dust wiper and oilseal where fox and rockshx has one combined (unless they changed I or you have enduro seals installed)

[Danger Dassie]

Price is also one thing, which when it comes to OEM spec on bikes and you want to buy aftermarket. Pricing is very difficult to bring down competitive levels.

Although the arrival of X-Fusion forks is encouraging, damn good forks at the price. Doug Bradbury has had a good influence there, he was the Manitou man back in the day.

 

Sadly his departure from Tomac bikes also meant they eventually went under ... Now there was a bike.

One that was never done true service by local suppliers either.

[Adrian4Four]

CUTTING EDGE MARKETING CC

8 Saffierpark, Amatis Cres, Elarduspark

0181 Pretoria

MAIL: corrie(at)iconnection.co.za

 

These are the agents. I dont think they want to sell to the public actually. I know Epic Sports Cycles carry Magura shocks.

 

I've had the Magura Durin R100 for well over a year now and I love the shock. The main reason I think you might not see the Magura as much is because they are not cheap at all and servicing costs more.

[Aaron_B]

Any body know where I can get my Marzocchi TST 44 29"fork reliably serviced in Cape Town or South Africa? Can't get hold of Johan Bornman. Anybody have contact details for new distributor?

[flat29]

Any body know where I can get my Marzocchi TST 44 29"fork reliably serviced in Cape Town or South Africa? Can't get hold of Johan Bornman. Anybody have contact details for new distributor?

 

JB is now with cycle lab. In cape town contact on the hub, 5 posts up it this topic, Droo www.stokesuspension.com