BOMBER TIME–LINE
Brief run down of the past fifteen years in terms of downhill:
1996 Rob Warner wins Kaprun. First UK World Cup win
1997 Bas de Bever Stellenbosch/Animal Team on Mister T/Corrado Herin World Cup Champion/Bomber girls debut
1998 Bomber Superstar
1999 Super T available. CNC Super T. First 40mm stanchion tube fork
2000 Monster T becomes available
2001 Shiver
2002 Shiver SC
2003 888 becomes available
2004 Fabien Barel wins Worlds
2005 Fabien Barel wins Worlds
2006 Brian Lopes (actually Lopes rode in 1992)
2007 Gracia rides Marzocchi
2008 Tenneco buys Marzocchi
2010 Marzocchi back on the World Cup Scene
A VISIT TO BOLOGNA
Last summer Dirt visited the company out in Bologna, just half a mile down the road and about the same time as Rossi was in town to sign for Ducati. We spoke to Fabio Sturaro, one of the main men at Marzocchi, and later to Bryson Martin in the US.
When was Marzocchi first world cup win?
A VISIT TO BOLOGNADave Cullinan was World Champion on a Marzocchi 50mm travel XC400, Marzocchi rear shock and Marzocchi frame. It was the first frame of the future in Bromont, 1993 or 1994.
When was Marzocchi last World Cup win?Barel on a 888 circa 2005.
FREERIDE
There was a significant move to support freeriders around 2005. Is that correct?Actually we started moving to freeride before it was actually called ‘Freeride’. The time was 1996. Our US team was doing a lot of riding in British Columbia and felt the need to have better suspension in this harsh environment. That was the ‘birth thought’ for the Bomber Program. Christian Begin and Bjorn Enga really got us motivated to help promote the ‘sport’ called freeriding, we all brain–stormed together and thought that we needed a film to showcase this movement and products to go with it, the Bomber Program was born.
When was the beginning of this movement?The beginning was with Richie Schley, Wade Simmons, and Brett Tippie along with the film crew from Kranked (Christian Begin and Bjorn Inga).
Some moments to remember?There are so many, but a few stand out. When we mounted the first Z.2 Bomber, head tubes were still 1″ and bikes weren’t as robust as they are now. Needless to say, the fork looked HUGE! After that some samples were tested and our riders hit the road driving from California to British Columbia. After some meetings with large OE companies, we tested the fork with the boys from Norco and Kona, we went testing in the North Shore and they were completely blown away with its performance and the rest became history. A big thanks to Kona and Norco and the free ride boys for making it all happen.
Where are Marzocchi at with Freeride today?The global freeride market is slowing down and in 2010 we really moved heavily back into DH racing. We still support a lot of freeriders, it’s our core business. The 888 RC3 Ti is hands down the best DH race fork on the market, we need to show case it.
And obviously the Bomber has featured prominently as far as dirt jumping is concerned?Yes the DJ market has been a strong hold for Marzocchi since day one. We really moved quickly into this market which is quite natural for Marzocchi. The DJ market needs ‘bomb proof’ products and Marzocchi knows a lot about making products to hold up to the abuse.
PRODUCTION/OWNERSHIP
Bomber production in Italy up to 2007, that correct?
PRODUCTION/OWNERSHIPActually it was 2008 when we moved the entire production to Taiwan.
You still make products for motorcycles though?Yes, all Moto production is in the original Bologna facility. Our main customers are Ducati (60% share), BMW (75% share), MV Agusta (100% share), Moto Guzzi (100% share).
Lets talk Bomber. Bomber Z1 almost the beginning and end of real quality single crown forks in downhill in many ways?Yes it was, at the beginning we received negative feedback claiming the fork had too much travel and was too plush. In the end the fork was very much appreciated.
Where was the Bomber designed?The Bomber Project was a combination of USA and Italy. They called out for the ‘at the time’ oversized 30mm stanchion tubes, open bath damping, cartridge damper, coil spring, etc., and Italy made it happen.
Who designed it? It was not a single individual, the project was the result of a strong collaboration between USA and Italy.
Where did the name come from?The Bomber name came from the US and Italian team, while they were having dinner and discussing the project. We are now all familiar with the term ‘bomb down hills’ and ‘bomber reliability’. It was a natural name for a product that is bomb proof.
Marzocchi never attempted to attach ‘ultimate race fork’ label to their products, more a case of a quality piece of equipment needing less maintenance.Yes, that’s the core business competency of Marzocchi. Every business entity has a core competency, Marzocchi’s is ‘open bath’ hydraulic suspension. Back then there was a huge issue with blown Judy cartridges and deteriorating Manitou bumpers, the Bomber team wanted something that could withstand the abuse of the harsh Canadian riding conditions and open bath was the only way to go.
Fox and RockShox domination. Not even in top ten last season for Marzocchi. Can we expect to see a change?Yes! For sure, we are heavily investing in DH racing, we also have our own USA based Junior Pro Team with GoPro and a list of other DH teams we are supporting.
