Review: Bike Perfect - Marzocchi Bomber CR coil shock - 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Bike Perfect gives the Marzocchi Bomber CR coil shock a whopping 4.5 of 5 stars. Heres what they had to say:

Can the Marzocchi Bomber CR deliver that classic coil plushness on a budget? We’ve spent the last few months finding out.

When Fox revived legendary suspension company Marzocchi, it concentrated on rebuilding its reputation for super reliable, plush, uncomplicated suspension at affordable prices. To help hit cost targets, Fox has used a lot of proven tech from its own line, and the CR is essentially an evolution of Fox’s Vanilla RC. That’s great news though, as the RC is a much-loved damper. The CR is a worthy successor that’ll glue your bike to the ground on rougher, faster trails but still offers strong support for railing the turns. The basic adjustment is as much as most riders will need. It’s heavier than an air shock though (440g more than the Fox Float DPX2 XV that it replaced on our Specialized Status test bike), and it won’t ‘pop’ as well if you want a playful feel.

Construction

The shock uses a piggyback design with an extra damping oil reservoir, which might make fitting to some crowded or cramped bikes an issue, but otherwise, the fit is as universal as you could hope for. That includes metric and imperial sizes, with a conventional end of body eyelet as well as trunnion style mount. 

While external damping adjustment is limited to a rebound adjuster and a low-speed compression adjuster, the damper has two separate internal compression controls. A high flow stack using conical Belleville washer shims opens up to take the big slaps, with a shimmed mid valve ready and waiting if you need more control under high loads.

Performance

If you’re used to air shocks, then coil shocks have a very distinctive, almost inert feel. As they don’t need to be airtight (just oil-tight), the seals don’t drag as much so the coil spring is super plush off the top. That means you might need to add some low-speed compression to stop excess movement when pedalling, but the vibe is very much damped rather than bouncy anyway (especially if you’re running a light coil weight with the stock, relatively steady high-speed rebound tune). Even when you’ve got it dialled right, that will make the back end of most bikes feel less playful and ‘poppy.' Our Specialized Status host bike definitely felt less like a mullet and more like a twin 29er with the CR fitted.

Verdict

Marzocchi’s Bomber CR delivers all the stuck down, succulent traction, ultra-consistent and reliable benefits of a coil shock at a really good price. The massive range of fit and size options mean it’ll work on most older bikes and a lot of trail bikes, too.

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