totem coil toe to toe with Marzocchi 66ata 2007 models

[stinkblot]

Heya peoples,
can anyone help clear up this debate for me.
Am looking to buy either an o7 totem coil or an o7 66ata for my o7 norco atomik.
Am wondering which one you guys would go with?
Lookin at MTBR on reviews for both there are people saying go with the other on each review. ie in the totem thread they say get a 66 and vice versa...
Naturally this causes confusion... Of course they have their fans who would crawl over broken glass to defend them.
I want less biased opinions.
I don't have an opportunity to try either so it is all gonna come down to this thread.
In the Rockshox corner we have the totem... pros...looks sweet and I already own a rockshox pike 351 which is great.
In the Marzocchi corner we have the 66ata... adjustable travel, light
I have a super t on my norco which is heavy.
On the con side both forks get flamed from their actual owners, quite heavily on mtbr.
Becasue i am buying them 2nd hand they will not be covered by warranty and if something should go wrong with em... well that's me done.
So what do you think?
They are both around same price.
I am learning to fr and dh, not planning on any 10ft drops yet and am leaning more towards fr.
I think I will go best of 3 cause i need a new fork soon.

[dilzy]

A mate has a Totem coil which I've ridden quite a bit. He's never had any problems with it apart from minor weeping around the adjusters and he's the 2nd owner, the previous of which was an absolute test tube and rode the fuck out it. The guy who rides it now is around 120kg to.

It rides very nicely, although it does ramp up a little too much for my liking. It is fantastic for big hits though.

I would personally stay away from air sprung marzocchi stuff, as I have heard nothing but bad. The 66rc2x on the other hand seems to be the muts nuts.

[stinkblot]

Ok that's 1 of 3
Totem leads...
The main advantage the 66sl ata has is the adjustable travel, I would be more inclined to set it around 165ish becasue i am a short asse, and on my bike the 180 travel leaves little room for the family jewels. That being said if the totem is a much better fork then I would be willing to forgo future generations for a better ride, or so i say now.
But seriously, the lack of space is a bit of a concern,but so is the reliability of the 66 ata.

[udi]

You should compare apples to apples and look at a totem solo air against the 66 ATA (forget the 2-step, it has issues and I think they stopped making it - solo air is proven though).

Given that comparison, I think the totem will win out all round, because if you're even slightly mechanically inclined you can change the travel internally to whatever you want using all travel spacers (or make your own). I've seen people running them anywhere between 140 and 180mm with success.

I'd also agree with dilzy and suggest avoiding the marzocchi ATA stuff, it's whack.

[stinkblot]

I've seen people running them anywhere between 140 and 180mm with success.



Does that mean the top tube would be lower? In order to gain a bit more testicular clearance?
:eek:

[Smacks]

Given that comparison, I think the totem will win out all round, because if you're even slightly mechanically inclined you can change the travel internally to whatever you want using all travel spacers (or make your own). I've seen people running them anywhere between 140 and 180mm with success.

I've seen them run at 80mm for street.

[stinkblot]

Ok, will get the totem coil...
Think I might leave the lowering to the LBS, reading up on it the whole thing sounds hectic and would hate to endanger myself becasue of some minor detail.

[udi]

You can't lower the totem coil (well not without doing some real whack stuff, like cutting the spring), only the solo air.

[3viltoast3r]

Im hoping you read your other thread, but as i already said, lowering your forks will reduce your axle to crown length, throwing your bike geometry out, steepening your head angle.....In otherwords you will reduc stability at speed and make your bike feel lame and clumsy.....

In response to this thread i would be steering towards the totem, but the 66r and 66RCV will also do the job.

[No Skid Marks]

Im hoping you read your other thread, but as i already said, lowering your forks will reduce your axle to crown length, throwing your bike geometry out, steepening your head angle.....In otherwords you will reduce stability at speed and make your bike feel fast turning and twitchy.......
fixed it for you;)

[3viltoast3r]

fixed it for you;)
^^ thanks :D

[stinkblot]

Im hoping you read your other thread, but as i already said, lowering your forks will reduce your axle to crown length, throwing your bike geometry out, steepening your head angle.....In otherwords you will reduc stability at speed and make your bike feel lame and clumsy.....

In response to this thread i would be steering towards the totem, but the 66r and 66RCV will also do the job.

Read it, that was how I progressed to this thread :)

My final question is - Can I put a 160mm u turn domain on my frame....
Currently my bike is set on 170mm on Super ts, will 1cm make that much difference? If i could get a cheap 170mm fork I would happily but seeing as they are in short supply, there is a rc2x on sale here but the dude sellin them hasnt got back to me, plus they are 06 and i would rather get something newer for warranty etc...

Cheers for your patience and replies

[3viltoast3r]

If you buy second hand you will have almost no chance of getting warranty....Theres not too much that commonly goes horribly wrong.....Usually just seals/bushing/etc

Give the bloke some, he doesnt necessarily have to be on farkin 24/7...Also the '06 66 seemed to be one of the best forks zoke' has made...

160mm forks will work on your bike, but honestly get some 180mm totems or 66's.....

[stinkblot]

I had a look through this guy's post history and found this from 2006...

66 RC2X parts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What:im after the right hand cartridge out of the 2006 66 RC2X 170mm so the side with the rebound and compression on it
Price range/Willing to Pay:$what ever they worth
Location: Ballarat, Vic
Extra Info: i will pay postage, and just hoping someone has a old fork thats possible stuffed that the internals are still ok
__________________

In lay terms I am guessing the forks were damaged somehow, but not sure what this means in ultra easy to understand english...
I think it might be a bit too much of a leap of faith to assume the forks are back close to their previous condition...
Everything sounded good up until now.
Back on the hunt for totems or 66's (non ata)

[dilzy]

In response to this thread i would be steering towards the totem, but the 66r and 66RCV will also do the job.


The 66 or 888 rcv or vf2 as it used to be called is a pile of garbage, better reserved for dirtjumpes and 10 year old's who don't know a thing about damping.

I used to own a 888vf2 for quite some time.

[zaccyboy]

This (http://www.farkin.net/forums/showthread.php?t=142170) is what you want.

[3viltoast3r]

The 66 or 888 rcv or vf2 as it used to be called is a pile of garbage, better reserved for dirtjumpes and 10 year old's who don't know a thing about damping.

Oopsie! my bad........

EDIT: I must have been thinking of '08 'zoke :rolleyes:

[stinkblot]

cheers for all the help. Managed to track down a 3 month old totem solo air for 700 from a guy in nz, so happy with that. Gettin it next week!

[lobstar]

totem for sure, so much more adjustability in your ride and get it spot on with your shocks and for a specific track. the coil model also doesnt have the issues that the air had