Another Forks query

[junglegusset]

I've got a Kona Explosif from back in 19 hundred and 99. It has a Marzocchi Z3 Bomber fork on it but this is getting a bit tired now. I use it mostly for commuting but also occasional off road forays, which can sometimes get a bit full on. What do people reckon I should do?

Should I

a) Attempt to service my Marzocchis mayelf
Don't be so silly and Pay a bike shop to do the above
c) Replace them with something newer (which may mean getting a front disc brake instead of the current Vs), maybe something with a lockout.
d) Go proper old skool and get some rigid Kona forks and to hell with the Machine Operators white finger and general comfort.

Any advice gratefully considered. Cheers.

 

[battered]

Nice machine. I take it that this vintage is ally framed? If so and I wanted it for off road use I'd stick with sus forks. If it's a steely and/or you want it as a towpath/park/lightweight/singlespeed machine then a pair of P2s would be nice, if you can live with their shortcomings.

Marzocchis are rebuildable by a good bike mechanic, so if you're up to it and have a place to do it then why not? Worst case is that you can't sort it and end up taking a pile of rusty, worn out bits to the shop for them to sort out, or replace if terminal. Terminal wear is unlikely on a quality item like these.

 

[junglegusset]

It's a steel frame, could be wrong about the year, might be 98, by all rights it should have replaced it now but it's a really nice ride and a great allround bike, I can't motivate myself to buy a new bike! My mates all ride round on nice top-end full sussers and laugh at me lots! I considered P2s, do they have other shortfalls apart from not being bouncy?

 

[battered]

I don;t think there is anything wrong with P2s, they are light, stiff and the geometry works with kona frames of that era. Only drawback I can think of is they don't have mountings for disc brake calipers.

The Explosif was well up the range, no? I fancy getting something like this and building it as a light bike for urban MTBing, but truth be told I've a pile of bikes already. One is a circa 2000 Cinder Cone in ally that I had recoated and I built it as a singly with a Pace fork and lovely wheels with Hope discs.

I did see a 94ish steel Kona that a guy had had to a framebuilder to fit disc bosses to before adding P2s, he said it was a lovely ride.

 

[User482]

Marzocchis are very easy to service (I had some Z3s from that era myself). So you can either do it yourself, or a shop shouldn't charge too much. Maybe worth finding out before splashing out?

 

[ChrisBD]

Get the Marzocchis serviced would be my offering..........BUT......


buy a pair of P2's as well. They are fab forks, no shortfalls, not even the fact there is no bounce to them.

Remember the World before "bounce"?

 

[homercles]

I used to have a set of really nice Marzocchis with the oil/air combination and the oil seals would give up after a while meaning a partial rebuild was in order. This was pretty straightforward though with just a few pesky circlips to deal with. I don't know how the bombers compare but I'm guessing the are similar? Elastomer/Spring forks are probably more difficult to service and I imagine they just fly apart when you have a go?

 

[02GF74]

^^^ what he says about the seals. About 3 weeks ago I took my Z1 apart due to oil weeping on one fork. Cleaned them out , changed the oil and not leaks so no seals needed to be replaced.

It is simple task to take them apart, if you cannot find manual, i can scan the Z1 manual for you, assuming the Z3 are very similar. (my Z1 date back to around 1998)