Marzocchi Bomber DJ Suspension Fork [Rider Review]

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Suspension technology has come a long way in recent years, so its great to see those improvements end up on all sorts of suspension offerings, like the Marzocchi Bomber Dirt Jump fork. Our man Harrison got his hands on one for his DJ bike and has been loving the upgrade. Read on for more!

Overview

If you've been riding dirt jumpers for a while then you'll probably remember a time when fork selection was scarce and scary. I'll admit that I pumped my XC fork up way past the recommended pressure limits and rode it on the terrain it was not designed to go on. Well I lived to tell the tale and lucky enough companies like Marzocchi saw the need to build a product for that type of riding.

The initial impression was great and immediately after unboxing I knew that this was a quality-made product. The dials and knobs are made study so you don't have to worry about messing anything up when you throw your bike in the back of your Tacoma.

The first ride went as smooth as it could given my not so smooth riding. Living out in Frisco, CO I'm lucky to have one of the world's best bike parks and dirt jumps down the street. The jumps are nothing but a work of art, so it's honestly hard to feel the suspension fork working going off the lips or riding the flat. However, where I noticed the performance was on hard landings (so every landing).

The first thing I noticed when landing was how smooth the stanchions slid into the lowers.

I know that has to do with riding a bigger 36 stanchion than the 32 that I had been riding. That less flex really made for smooth and seamless use of the travel instead of binding and then blowing through the travel like I was used to.

I took the bike right next door to ride the cement park. It's got big bowls and some fly-out jumps all connected by a fast snake run throughout the park. The pumping transition felt smooth and fast. Nothing is worse than pumping down the backside or down a bowl and feeling all that momentum go straight into the fork squish. The fork did take some of the momentum, but I still felt myself gaining speed the more I pumped. Better yet I maintained speed even when I wasn't pumping.

The one thing left to do is take this to a pump track, so I'm looking forward to making it to a Velosolutions track. It's reassuring to see that current world champion, Tommy Zula has one equipped to the front of his bike when he's winning these world cup qualifiers.

Final Thoughts

Dirt jumpers rejoice, this could easily be named the Fox 36 Performance. No Kashima coating and no GRIP2 dampener, but all the internals of the tried and true 36. Since this won't be seeing super muddy trails I'll be serving it with the SKF Low-friction dust wiper seal kit. What that being said I have not felt a bit of binding, but I'd be interested in trying to get the maximum performance out of it that I can. If you're in the market for the best fork but not willing to pay for the Kashima bling, then the Marzocchi DJ bomber has got you covered.