Marzocchi 44 RC3 Titanium Fork – Tested

Jun 7, 2011 at 23:28

Marzocchi broke with convention by substituting a single titanium coil spring for the compressed air chamber that suspends almost every other trail fork sold today. The Bomber 44 RC3 Titanium is not the lightest fork in its class, but that title has never been bestowed upon a Marzocchi product. At 4.34 pounds (1972 grams), however, the 150-millimeter-travel 44 RC3 Titanium is less than 100 grams over its air-sprung competition, and once you ride the fork and experience its ability to digest almost any bump that is put in front of it, you may want to keep it on your bike if you were told that it was filled with lead fishing weights. Marzocchi’s Bomber 44 RC3 Titanium fork retails for $779.


RC 44 Titanium Fork Details
Marzocchi’s decision to suspend the 44 RC3 fork with a single titanium spring in the left stanchion tube is only one breakout feature of the fork. The 32-millimeter stanchion tubes are tapered aluminum, plated with a slippery nickel alloy finish. The RC3 open-bath type damper is in the right side, with the rebound dial on top and a low-speed compression clicker under the slider. Some of the fork’s weight is in the extra suspension fluid which is pumped through the damper and fed back into the fork leg, where it doubles as a lubricant for the sliding internals. In the center of the red rebound dial is the “Air Assist” feature – an air spring which is used to preload the fork and boost the ending-stroke spring rate to compensate for various rider weights and riding styles. The versatility that Air Assist gives the fork provides ample range for the medium (stock) and soft springs that Marzocchi offers to 44 RC3 owners.



Marzocchi sells the 44 RC3 Titanium fork with its own version of the new-standard 15QR axle, which operates in much the same manner as the Fox/Shimano original. The brake caliper mounts are the post type that fit six-inch (150 mm) rotors. The sliders are magnesium alloy, with Marzocchi’s signature “M” logo fork-brace arch. Steerer tubes are aluminum, available in straight, 1.125-inch aluminum or tapered. Our test fork had a straight steerer tube and uncut, it weighed 4.347 pounds.


Setting Up the Marzocchi 44 RC3 Titanium Fork
We tested the 44 RC3 on the steep descents of Vancouver’s North Shore where the fork does the lion’s share of the suspension work, as well as the fast-paced rocky trails in Southern California where small-bump sensitivity can make or break both bike and rider. Because there is no facility for spring preload on the left-side coil, suspension sag must be controlled by the Air Adjust spring on the right side (you’ll need a Marzocchi air-valve adapter for your shock pump). For the heavy hitting North Shore, five psi was enough to bolster the fork’s spring rate against botched landings and drops, while no pressure at all seemed to be the best option for the high speed corners and rocky off-camber descents down South.


Both low-speed compression and rebound adjustments seemed ineffective until we got the dials about half way in. We set both rebound and compression five clicks out. Compression damping was just hard enough to keep the fork from diving under hard braking, and we left it there for the duration, while we found that a little extra rebound force made the 44 RC3 feel like all the rocks were made of butter at singletrack speeds.

Riding the 44 RC3 Titanium
The first pleasant surprise that Marzocchi had in store for us was the 44 RC3’s excellent speed-sensitive compression damping. Previous Marzocchi sliders had very linear feeling compression damping that performed well, but for a relatively narrow range of conditions. The RC3 damper feels sensitive at low speed, and bottomless when the fork is really hammered into a bump.

The coil-spring advantage: Before we tell you how wonderful the 44 RC3 is over the bumps, we’d like to say that there is a lot of banter about the superiority of coil-sprung suspension that, quite frankly, is largely verbal crap spouting from the mouths of riders who are living in the past, or have yet to experience the impressive performance the modern, pro-level air-sprung suspension which is winning races on the World Cup Circuit. The advantage that Marzocchi’s coil spring brings to the AM/trailbike arena is based upon its coil spring, which makes the fork’s rebound damping more effective at low speeds and delivers a smooth feeling ramp-up with its linear spring rate in compression. The magic of the 44 RC3, however is the boost in the ending-stroke spring rate that the right-side air-spring adds to the coil when the fork experiences a full-compression event. The Air Assist function still boosts the end-stroke rate, even if there is no additional pressure in the chamber. Marzocchi’s hybrid spring truly feels bottomless – as if there is another inch or so of extra fork stroke hidden in the mech.
Stiffness: The 44 RC3 chassis feels plenty rigid and while it does not compare with the oversized stanchion tube forks like the Fox 36, its steering precision and G-out performance are at the top of the all-mountain/trailbike class of 2011.
Big-hit performance: After testing the 44 RC3 Titanium for over a wide range of conditions, we would happily run it down some technical descents that we normally reserve for our big bikes. Botch a drop and land nose first, and the 44 RC3 picks up the slack for you. We often used up its travel, but rarely noticed until we inspected the dust marks on the stanchion tubes.


What would we change?
Beyond its slightly porky weight figure, only two items, both minor, had us wishing for improvements in the 44 RC3 Ti fork. The first was that the post-mount caliper bosses were not perfectly faced, which angled the Hayes brake caliper slightly and added occasional brake drag to the party. Our second wish is more fundamental: the 44 RC3 Ti is such a great performer on trail, the addition of a part-time pedaling platform function would make for more pedal friendly ascending.

Pinkbike’s take on the 44 RC3 Titanium
Marzocchi’s Bomber series was the fork that launched the infant freeride movement. Now, as significant numbers of freeriders are venturing off lift-access slopes and back into the mountains on lighter weight, all-mountain and trail-oriented bikes, Marzocchi is waiting for them once again with a reinvented version. The 44 RC3 Titanium has the go-for-it technical performance of a big-bike fork, in a chassis designed to be light weight enough to enjoy all-day trail rides. The 44 RC3 Ti is the best trail/All-mountain fork to come from Marzocchi in a decade.


Contact Marzocchi USA to get a look at its complete suspension lineup, including the ROCO shock, and if you own or have ridden a 44 RC3 Ti fork, we’d like to know if you have any info to add to Pinkbike’s review.