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TPE15: Marzocchi Espresso Dropper Post drops in, plus new Enduro & XC Shocks, and more!

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Marzocchi Espresso Dropper seatpost first look and tech details

Marzocchi’s new dropper post has been spotted on rare occasions over the past couple months, but now it’s springing forth with real details.

The EPD, or Espresso Push Dropper, will be available in standard and stealth versions, and in 31.6 and 30.9 diameters. Travel is 125mm at launch, and later this year they’ll have a 150mm version, too.

The name comes in part from their slick Espresso coating on the stanchion, which help it stay smooth through all manner of conditions. Inside the post there are three roller key guides to keep it sliding straight up and down and prevent rotation, which seemed to work pretty well…

Marzocchi Espresso Dropper seatpost first look and tech details

They had one test sample with a claimed 100 hours of riding on hand, so I grabbed the top and base and twisted to check rotational wear. There was a bit of movement, about as much as expected for any well used dropper post and inline with expectations for a quality model. Of course, we’ll wanna get one in for ourselves to see how it holds up on our own terms.

Marzocchi Espresso Dropper seatpost first look and tech details

On the stealth version, the cable pulls a lever that depresses the valve from the bottom of the post, which releases the mechanism and drops the post or raises it. The button doubles as the valve cap to the air chamber, which lets you adjust air pressure to change the rate at which it returns.

Marzocchi Espresso Dropper seatpost first look and tech details

On the standard version with external cable routing, the valve and button are at the top, under the saddle’s rail cradle.

The cable feeds into the stealth version’s lever and rests in a slot. To remove the post from the bike, you can simply pull the post out, slide the cable off to the side of the slot and release it completely, all without affecting the settings.

Marzocchi Espresso Dropper seatpost first look and tech details

The top of the seat clamp is black and production models will be CNC’d to reveal a silver “M” logo. Saddle offset is 15mm, claimed weight is 530g including cable and cable actuated remote. They will be available by mid-June. Retail will be €339 for the external and €379 for internal. USD pricing should be very similar given the currently favorable exchange rate.

Marzocchi 053 enduro rear shock

New Enduro and XC rear shocks were spotted in rapid prototype form last year at Sea Otter and now they’re finally ready to be seen for real. The 053 is the enduro shock with a piggy back reservoir and gets a three position mode switch with an integrated “Gate Adjust” to control the lockout force when it’s in lockout mode. Force can be set anywhere from 100% locked out to about 60%.

Marzocchi 053 enduro rear shock

In the Open and Middle positions, you have full low and high speed compression adjustment using the orange (hi) and gold (low) knobs on the bottom. Rebound adjustments are on the top with a standard red knob.

Marzocchi 053 enduro rear shock Marzocchi 053 enduro rear shock

Marzocchi 053 enduro rear shock

An external remote can be added to it, but it gives up the middle position. Retail is €529, available at the end of April. Weight is 285g for a 200mm size shock. Sizes will range from 190mm to 222mm.

Marzocchi 023 XC rear shock

The 023 is a more XC/Trail oriented shock.

Marzocchi 023 XC rear shock

It keeps the three position adjustment and Gate Adjust with the same lockout range.

Marzocchi 023 XC rear shock

It only has a low speed compression adjustment, and the usual rebound adjustment knob. It’ll also work with the remote lever. Weight is 185g, sizes from 165mm to 200mm. Retail is €399.

Both shocks use their Espresso stanchion coating.

marzocchi-350-plus-forks-coming-soon01

On the forks, they’ve made a few small improvements to the damping cartridges, but the big news is that they’re taking the 350 fork all the way to 170mm of travel. The other big news? Literally, it’s that they’re making a bigger 27.5+ model to be shown at Sea Otter. It’ll have a bit shorter travel and get at least 5mm wider per side (10mm added width between stanchions minimum). The controls and features will all be the same as the standard 350 forks.

Marzocchi.com

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george
george
9 years ago

If I was a product manager and my designer brought me a dropper post with the cable attaching at the top, he’d be sent straight back to start again. It’s a pain. No new product should be doing that.

DK
DK
9 years ago

I think all their products looks amazing the adjustability is amazing. Trying to get one of the shocks but not sure if they will produce the right size.

Alex
Alex
9 years ago

@George – absolutely. WTF.

I’m wondering where is the 150mm 29er fork with 35mm stanchions that competes with the Pike?

Randy
Randy
9 years ago

What George said^^^^^^
A dropper with the cable that goes up and down with the post and gets snagged in the rear wheel is instantly obsolete..amazing this made it to market. Like introducing a Biopace sprocket…oh wait…..

phella
phella
9 years ago

A B+ fork with proper clearance could potentially fit a 29×2.3.

I hope the B+ option can be modified to 170mm and utilizes a 15×100 axle.

Bluefire
Bluefire
9 years ago

@Alex – I second that. 27.5+ might be a hot new market, but long-travel 29 is a well-established market. It seems like Marzocchi (and Fox and RockShox for that matter) would do better to market these forks as 29er forks that can ALSO, as an added feature, clear 27.5×3.0 tires. Or is there something I’m missing here?

Jeff
Jeff
9 years ago

I’m not an engineer, but why not an oval post properly supported to reduce rotational wear?

A bright ray of Light!
A bright ray of Light!
9 years ago

Oval or Hexagon or some shape like that. What does Cannondale do to make their forks so stiff?

Mark
Mark
9 years ago

Oval posts need oval seals which means extra costs.. but tech and designs from lefty are great.. or cannondale is working on a post based on that.. or I just gave them an idea.. yeah..

David
David
9 years ago

@Jeff that’s why your not an engineer, bikes have round seat posts not oval.

Willis24
9 years ago

I’m with Jeff on the oval post. I figure if Honda can make oval pistons work in an NR750 motorcycle, then Marzocchi or anyone else can surely design a round frame post that has an oval inner post.

Brian
Brian
9 years ago

Even though stealth dropper routing is becoming more common, still way more bikes out there without the option to use a stealth dropper.

Madm3chanic
Madm3chanic
9 years ago

that rear shock looks like a transformer… ?

JonB
JonB
9 years ago

@Jeff – I am an engineer, so here’s why you don’t see it often!

Ovals are much more expensive to produce accurately than cylinders, and require specialized equipment. For the tolerances necessary for suspension, centerless grinding and polishing or similar processes are often used, but this does NOT work with an ovalized form, only cylindrical.

Inside diameters are even harder to hold to tight tolerance, since you can’t use a reamer or boring tool to create an ovalized hole. You’re forced to run much slower processes with extra axes – expensive live tool lathes, or wire EDM, for example – or buy very expensive bespoke machines and tooling. For short features broaches would work, but with the complex internal geometry of suspension there’s still a ton of expensive post-machining to be done that would otherwise be done in one setup on a lathe.

So, it’s not done very often unless there’s a VERY good reason and the market opportunity will cover the costs.

There’s also the much, MUCH more complicated engineering to figure out the stresses you’ll see on those bushings and just how stiff you’ll actually be. It becomes a very nasty contact mechanics question with uncertain inputs (just what are standard torsional loads on a seatpost, anyway, especially in impact events?) requiring a ton of simulation with expensive nonlinear FEA packages that support Hertzian contact stress equations. Trust me… it’s ugly.

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