A lot of bike companies come to Sea Otter with surprises up their sleeves. Marzocchi showed up with a new XC / All Mountain fork from their 2009 lineup, the 44 ATA Micro. As the “44” moniker suggests, Marzocchi is positioning the new fork as the smaller, lighter sibling of their 66 and 55 forks. The new 140mm travel 44 ATA Micro fork weighs just 3.92 pounds (1778 g) with 32mm stanchions and Marzocchi’s QR15 quick release axle. The 44 has Marzocchi’s ATA travel adjust system, lockout, compression and rebound control, and pedal platform.
Marzocchi’s new QR15 15mm quick release axle is compatible with the new Shimano hub standard as well as hubs from other participating manufacturers. The larger axle offers increased stiffness, safety, and performance, along with light weight.
April 18th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Why 15mm axle and not a 20. I hate having to use converters or worse having to upgrade a wheelset just to use a new product….
April 21st, 2008 at 11:37 am
Yeah the QR 15 is kinda stupid. I’d buy one of these in a heartbeat except I have to buy a new hub, too. Now I’ll look around first. But if Marzocchi is reading this “Get a QR 20 on those before they come out.” And I’ll buy the orange one.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:51 pm
This is an XC fork not a new light weight free ride fork. There is a standard 9mm QR version availible too.
As the wheel turns so does innovations, we look forward, we see that there is a need for increased stiffness in XC but without the weght penalty of a FR wheel set. Even if you look at this from the other side (XC), there is a need for a increased stiffness but without a weight penalty. So, as wheel manufacturers continue to produce cutting edge product they want to make sure that it is used for the appropriate application, like we (Marzocchi and the others) do. If you look forward you can see the need. The last thing we (or the wheel makers) want is for a super light XC wheel to get thrown on a 888 and taken out for a DH session. The lines are drawn in the sand.
If you want to go for it you can. If you want to use your older QR wheel you can. If you go to buy a “new bike” this is a viable option with a lot of performance value.
You will most likely be able to buy a 15mm wheel and have convertion adapters to go back to the “old” QR wheel.
Think about it….why do you want a road bike qr wheel on your mountain bike? Because that’s all you know….up til now. Innovations!
April 21st, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Thanks for the comments, Tom. As with a lot of Marzocchi forks, proper use guidelines are going to be key for the 44. Because of Marzocchi’s reputation as a freeride/DH fork maker, it’s easy to want to push some of the light stuff harder than was intended. So it’s important to make it clear that this isn’t a freeride fork. In the material Marzocchi gave me, they clearly said it was a “light” all mountain fork. I take that to mean general trail riding and aggressive cross-country, but not hucking or dirt jumps. I’d put it on a four or five inch bike or my singlespeed. But I wouldn’t put it on a Nomad or Slayer. That’s 55 territory.
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:59 am
Oh yeah, All Mountain….isn’t that XC? I’m sure there will be a warning sticker stating it’s intended use as an All Mtn / XC fork.