Marzocchi 2004

Italian forkmeisters Marzocchi have had the digital decorators in and revamped their website. The new-look site also contains details of the 2004 range. There's not, therefore, a great deal of point us going into vast amounts of detail on the new range as it's all there. But we'll briefly run through some highlights.

The most obvious new thing is the single crown, 6in travel Z150 freeride fork (as pictured). It's Marzocchi's response to 1.5in steerer long-travel single crown forks, using a beefy steel steerer in the conventional 1-1/8in size to make the thing strong enough for all that leg. The stanchion tubes are also steel, and twin coils with air assist hold the things up. There's no weight posted on the site, but we suspect that "quite heavy" is probably about the mark...

Most of the rest of the range is familiar names on revised forks. The main changes are bigger tyre clearance, with Z1, DJ, Super T and Junior T forks now all able to take up to 2.7in tyres. The Dirt Jump forks switch to chromoly stanchions for extra strength. A welcome development is a travel boost for the more XCish forks in the range - the Marathon S coil, MX Comp ETA and MX Pro ETA will be available with 80, 100 or 120mm travel options. And the adjuster knobs have been redesigned, which is especially welcome on the ETA forks - the old bent metal microlever has been replaced with an easy-grip sturdy plastic dial.

All the new forks will be available soon from your local bike shop. UK importers Windwave should be able to point you in the direction of your nearest dealer...