|
|
|
|
Buy and Sell the from our Classifieds.
|
Shop for Similar Products
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Submitted by
Iam "The Horse"
a Downhiller
from Leicestershire, UK
Date Reviewed: April 2, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Harlestone/Badby | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$850.00 | | Purchased At: | Off-Limits UK Distributer | | Strengths: | Cartridge Damper! Threaded Seals (screw on). Very plush
and simple to maintain! - Good value | | Weaknesses: | Upper tubes need reinforcing/external butting for strength around the crown area, Disc Mount flex's and needs to be better fixed to the dropout | | Similar Products Used: | Manitous, Boxxers, Bullets | | Bike Setup: | 99 Saracen Addiction Custom, XT, Goldtech, Sunn Doublewides, Fox Shock.... typical tricks | | Bottom Line: | I've had these forks for just under a year and brought them at the 2001 Bike Show for £430. My first pair had scratched Lowers and after having my second pair for a couple of weeks I blew the damper! Off-Limits wanted to give me a refund - which pissed me off a treat, but Bombshell (Precision Billet) sent me a revised damper from the US within a week (a seriously top show!) which I feel made up for any previous problems.
My first impressions of this fork we're "F*** its a monsta". Nice machining and they feel plush (shame about the grafix though). These forks are worth there money just to try! Mine have lasted pretty much a year and I've just bent them, I'm not a freak but I wouldnt say I'm gentle either and they've survived a Dragon race in Metabief, France too.
There very simply put together and the design concept(which is good) is similar to the old Bullet ZZYZX forks but these are inverted and have many good features like sealing, tough bushings, and the cartridge damper which features adjustable rebound damping.
This is a good design which unfortunately still needs refining, they are smooth and stay that way for a good few rides due to the foam wiper in the seals which lubricate the slider as it strokes the lower bush (a 5wt moto bike oil is best used). There is a small amount of play but this is acceptable and hardly noticeable, most of it comes from the Disc mount I realised!
The Disc mount is like the old Bullet design which is bad! Its held onto the dropout by three 4mm hex bolts which on my ZZYZX's I managed to destroy (threaded) by a obstical called a tree.
These forks are great for downhillers but if you like drops or big jumps!!! I think you need to be carefull, I'm not pissed with my Marilyns coz I think I bent mine through stupidity and maybee lack of luck! BUT no fork should bend and there is definitly room for more improvements Bombshell!
I just hope I will be sent a replacement pair of these (the original Aluminium type)!
4 more info feel free 2 mail me - but be patient! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John
a Weekend Warrior
from Webster, NY
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Tryon Park! | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$240.00 | | Purchased At: | Internet | | Strengths: | Simple design, adjustability, lots of travel | | Weaknesses: | Disc hanger compatibility, a little stiction | | Similar Products Used: | Stratos, Risse, Mr. Dirt, Boxxer | | Bottom Line: | I bought this fork from the previous reviewer (Chris). A lot of his complaints were due to the fork being put together wrong. I don't know if he did it or some hack shop did it, but the rebound cartridge had too much oil in it, and a spring was installed on the wrong side of a washer so there was no rebound damping. After I fixed that, I cleaned the inside up nice and lubed it up, now it is great. Also somone was using channel locks or vice grips or something on the adjuster knobs, which makes no sense. After rebuilding the fork and correcting the blunders of the last person to do it, the fork works very nicely. Sure it's not the best fork out there, but I've watched oil puke out of my friends Stratos, Boxxers, and Risse forks and lube up their disc brakes nicely, that will never happen with this fork. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Weekend Warrior
from Montreal
Date Reviewed: October 10, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | a friend... | | Strengths: | -External preload adjustment
-Sorta neat colors
-External compression/rebound adjustment (hardly works) | | Weaknesses: | -LOUSY SEAL SYSTEM!!
-Not enough lower tube overlap in upper tubes
-Weak disc brake adapter
-Sticky like crazy
-Flexy
-Upper tubes are too thin!
I'm sure there's other stuff I forgot so read what I wrote. | | Similar Products Used: | Noleen Chubby, Hanebrink LT-8 garbage!, Risse Racing Trixxxy (really cool fork), Marz Shiver (amazing!) | | Bike Setup: | '00 Giant DH, Double Wide rims, Hayes 8" front and rear, AC cromo DH splined cranks and BB, Nokian tires....etc. | | Bottom Line: | First off, I'm talking about the Marilyn fork with the gray and black flames; previous to the new black one. I'm not ranting and raving, just giving lots of details. I've put a lot of thought and effort into this fork. Every week I'm screwing around with it. I've taken it apart a lot this summer and I've noticed a lot of problems with it. It's a copy of the Hanebrink fork, which speaks for itself. The seal and bushing system is stupid...a lot of dirt gets by. Don't take the fork out when it's raining or else it'll freeze up, reducing your travel to 3 inches. The upper and lower tube overlap is too damn small. You have huge, long tubes but the upper tubes overlap the lower tubes maybe 4 inches which causes the fork to flex and stick. The upper tubes are too thin. If you tighten the lower crown too much, it squeezes the tubes a bit so the lower tubes can't slide up inside all the way to give you full travel. So you have to keep them a little looser which can lead to fork twist. Next on the list, for all of you Marilyn owners...check to see if you're actually getting 8" travel. With mine, I realized I was only getting about 7-7.5" travel. For the damper fork leg to get a full 8" travel, it has to be compretely extended (or decompressed). But when it's like that, the leg is about 0.5 inches longer than the fork spring leg. So when you install the axle, you have to push the damper leg in a bit (to make the dropouts match) which makes you lose a bit of travel. So I had to cut the bottom out elastomer on the damper leg. The bushings are pretty crappy because it leaves play in the fork legs. In the damper leg there's a lot of air build up when it's fully compressed so I had to drill a couple holes in the dropout to let the air out so I would get that full damper feeling and not that built up air pressure feeling. I think that's about it...can't think of anything else. Feel free to email me if anyone has any questions!! By the way, just to give you an idea of performance comparison: it's no where close to the Marz Shiver and a buddy of mine said the Shiver is on par with the Stratos SuperStar 8. The SuperStar is only a couple hundred bucks more than the Marilyn. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Richard Donoghue
a Cross Country Rider
from Shirley, Ma, usa
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Temple mtn | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$529.00 | | Purchased At: | www.mid-statecycles.com | | Strengths: | BEEEEEEfy | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | 2002 psylo race | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz bullit with free ride kit the bike is the only bike to have | | Bottom Line: | If you are looking for plush totaly ajustable mean looking for that is as smotth as silk i do not no anyfork that can touch this one
I am talking about the Wicked Wendy (bombshell)
I could not figure out how to add a new product! so I put this here. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
gary
a
from Illinois
Date Reviewed: August 31, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | everything | | Weaknesses: | stickers | | Similar Products Used: | everything i could get muy hands on | | Bike Setup: | 2000 dare, race face(lrp), xtr/xt stuff,ryno lights w/motoraptors 2.4 azonic lounge , avid mech. and marilyn | | Bottom Line: | i started with a wendy on another bike....i like it ....had another manufacturors triple crown on my dare and decided to dump it and try the 2001 marilyn.....best thing i could have done......something as simple as idiot proof external rebound/compression knobs on the crowns was the first thing i noticed about the bombshell forks......it has 8 inches of travel but doesn't ride like it does (thats a good thing)...carbon/graphit wrapped uppers are amazing !! , the crowns a as beefy as you can get.....no twisting here!!!!!...the whole component reaks quality !!! its the quietest fork i have ever owned !! not to mention SMOOTHEST....It comes with quick release to keep the hubs tight and also come with lizard skins.......weight for this 8 inch fork feel almost like a single crown !!
For the money and this amount of quality YOU CANNOT BUY AND/OR HAVE A BETTER TRIPLE CROWN FORK !!!!!!! nuff said......BTW, Gary at Precision (BOmbshell) talked to me and compared with me for a hour !! if this is any evidence of the customer service at Precision , i'm impressed !!I can't comment on the other reviews for this fork but i can only imagine it was on the 1st generation marilyn not the newest version. I am actually going to own my third bombshell when they introduce the new BETTY !!!!!.........one comment....LOOSE the cheezy stickers !!!! bring back the flames , or leave the carbon uppers NAKED !! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Weekend Warrior
from Montreal, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 25, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | from a friend... | | Strengths: | -Long tubes
-Looks cool!
-8" travel | | Weaknesses: | -Stick like crazy!!!
-Seals are weak
-rough bushing system
-Too much of a simple design (damper cartridge and springs) | | Similar Products Used: | Hanebrink trash, some Noleen stuff... | | Bike Setup: | '00 Giant DH, Double Wides, Nokian front and rear, 8" Hayes, some Raceface, some Azonic, some Shimano and some Profile. | | Bottom Line: | They look cool and you'll get a lot of looks. Here's where they start to suck...they stick like crazy. Maybe I haven't found the perfect lube for them but the bushings makes the fork sticky. So I'm trying different lubes and stuff but I still haven't found it's sweet spot (if there is one). It's tough to tell also because the fork is so long that on flat ground, they're not very responsive because of the slack headtube angle. I think that when you're flying downhill where the fork is at a more vertical position, they'll slide better. I got them cheap so I'm not too worried. Althought I wish I would of put out the extra cash to get a Monster T or something. You have to use fork boots (Lizard skin) or else the seals let in too much crap. Anyways, if you want to race, don't get this fork. If you're broke like me and need a quick fix, this is not too too bad. But there are better choices out there. The new Marilyn apparently has better features but do your research!! I don't see how people can give this fork five full burning horses! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hot Johny
a Downhiller
from Canmore, Alberta
Date Reviewed: May 14, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1100.00 | | Purchased At: | the bike shop | | Strengths: | Travel; ultra plush and active; need to ugrade to heavier spring to allow fork to perform as designed | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | stratos s7, MONSTER, BoXXer, Shiver | | Bottom Line: | Great fork at the price; though not an oil bath (and hence the smoothness of an oil bath), the fork in active and soaks up anything in front of it. True 8 inches of travel. Beatifully machined and anodized. Why can't other manufactures dress up their forks. Inverted design has better ride characterists than conventional forks (due to the placement of the weight). Downside is that lower sliders can get scratched up (though not as much as a problem as with oil bath inverts). Summary; best long travel fork deal on the market, easy maintenance and unbelievable factory tech support. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Aaron Hawes
a Downhiller
from Bucks, UK
Date Reviewed: April 24, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Woburn | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$425.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike 2001 | | Strengths: | -Price
-Crown Mounted Stem
-Strenth
-Exelent Service at Off Limits (UK Importers) | | Weaknesses: | -Seals
-King Of Stiction
-They make your front end very high, changes head angle and raises BB hight | | Similar Products Used: | White Brothers UD180, White Brothers UD150, Manitou X Vert Carbon (feel like RSTs) | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Super V4000 DH, Fox Vanila RX shock, Bomshell Marilyn Forks, Azonic Hammer stem, PDW Bars, 454 Cranks, Profile ring, XTR, Hope Enduro 4 + C2, Bulbs Michelins | | Bottom Line: | They feel really sticky out of the box, but once beded in, they feel ok. A bit of for and aft movement but they not exactly bank braking!!
After my first ride the damper blew, but i called Off Limits at 8 on a sunday and spoke to someone, who was verry helpful and they sent me a new set out.
If your mechanicly minded these are exelent forks, but if not, make sure you get your self some boots!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
A.S.
a Downhiller
from NY
Date Reviewed: September 18, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Plattekill | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$800.00 | | Purchased At: | Marketplace | | Strengths: | Hmmm...It looks good? | | Weaknesses: | There are quite a few. Please read my [follow up] review below. | | Similar Products Used: | BoXXer. Manitou X vert, WB UD180 | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Super 8 | | Bottom Line: | I just recently got rid of my Marilyn Fork. Here are the reasons why:
1. The seals are not designed well and let in a lot of dirt.
2. The bushings are not designed well and leave a lot of room for slop. I had mine replaced and they were still very sloppy, causing a considerable amount of play in the lower legs.
3. The fork is considerably longer than most frames can handle. There are several other forks on the market with 8+" of travel that are not as "tall" as the Marilyn. This fork will probably not fit your frame well.
4. The internals are "ancient" and "cheap." There is no oil bath, just a coil spring that is lubed up with a "Judy butter" type grease and a dampning cartridge that resembles the dampning rod found on cheap Hyndai hatchback.
Overall, a cheap and poorly designed fork that only fits big travel [big budget] bikes. It just doesn't make sense. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ScottyL
a Downhiller
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: August 31, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$700.00 | | Purchased At: | prefer not to say | | Strengths: | These puppys are BIG!
Lots and lots of Travel
If your bike has a steep head angle these should take care of it! | | Weaknesses: | Axle retention
Sloppy bushings
Maybe just a bit TOO big??? | | Similar Products Used: | Boxxers, X-verts, Monsters, Risses | | Bike Setup: | Slammer Mono with Risses (now), Hayes, Titec and Raceface bitz. | | Bottom Line: | I dunno, these forks saved my arse more than a few times when I was riding them, however...
...the axle-retention system, what the hell were they thinking??? Why not use the standard thru-bolt system that works so well (a la Rockshox, Manitou and every other fork manufacturer with a brain). I had a major mission keeping everything down the bottom tight, after two or three runs the whole hub/fork/axle interface would become one big sloppy mess.
Then there was a small problem with the bushings, they were quite sloppy out of the box, so I returned them to the importer and he got a new set made out of Nyloil no problem, nothing major, but do you want the hassle of doing this when you could be out riding?
Yet I've come across people who have had nothing but good experiences with these forks so I guess I could have been screwing something up, though I don't think that's the case.
Either way, I was happy to see them go, if you like them, cool! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Craig Nebeker
a Downhiller
from Provo
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | deer valley | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | It's kind of light. The annondization is cool. | | Weaknesses: | Sloppy and poorly constructed. | | Similar Products Used: | Almost every other DH fork out there | | Bike Setup: | CPC Patriot frame (cpcracing.com) Mr. Dirt fork lots of other cool stuff. | | Bottom Line: | In the first month a friend and I got ours My friend had to replace his cartridge and lock tight the internals twice. I took a lesson and locktighted mine right away. The fork feels plush out of the box but that is because everything is so loose their can't be much stiction. The fork has eight inches of travel plus one inch of slop and side to side play, remeber Hannebrinks. The fork also gums up quite easily because the seals are almost non-existent. Do yourselves a favor and buy a Risse or Mr. Dirt. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dan
a Downhiller
from san diego
Date Reviewed: December 31, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
mammoth,big bear | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Strengths: |
8 of travel,huge tubes,strong,it makes any other fork look like crap,colors look awsome with the black anodized | | Weaknesses: |
nothing exept you have to have it least 8 of rear travel. | | Similar Products Used: |
boxxer,hanibrink marzocchi,f1 | | Bike Setup: |
2000 khs dh,9 of rear travel bombshell accesories,and of course the marylin | | Bottom Line: | best fork you can get for downhilling just make sure you have 8 of rear travel | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
A.S.
a Downhiller
from NY
Date Reviewed: November 8, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Plattekill | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Strengths: |
-BEEFY!
-Excellent construction
-8 of travel! | | Weaknesses: |
-May be too big?
-Some stiction | | Similar Products Used: |
-BoXXer
-WB UD150 | | Bike Setup: |
-Santa Cruz Super8 | | Bottom Line: | This thing is HUGE. Makes the Monster T look small.
If you plan on buying one, there are a few things you need to know. First, you should really have 8+ of travel in the back, cause this sucker will throw off your bike's geometry a few degrees. Make sure you get one with an extra long steerer tube also. Unless you've got 11 in the back, you'll want to bring the fork legs up about a 1.5 from the top crown. This creates a clearance problem for the handlebars and when you go to clamp down the stem, the bar hits the adjusters on the top of the legs. Two ways to avoid this are; use a stem that's 80mm or longer AND/OR use a bunch of spacers to bring the stem up on the steerer tube.(thus the long tube)Performance wise- I took my bike out once with the new fork and rode some casual freeride. There's really no way I can evaluate the downhill performance just yet but I can say it feels nice slamming into 9 high curbs. I even manage to jump some steps and dropoff that were about 4-10' high- felt nice. With the front end so high up, the dropoffs were damn easy. Can't wait to point this thing downhill!
There is some noticeable stiction. I hope the fork just needs to be worked in or lubed. I'll let ya'll know next season. 5 stars (for looks) | | Overall Rating: |
| |
|
Photo Caption Contest
(sponsored by Maxxis)
|
Enter here
|
|
|
$ 1200.00
