Marzocchi Marathon

The Marzocchi Marathon

The Marathon was Marzocchi’s light cross-country and marathon-race fork. It appeared in 2002 with 30 mm stanchions and 80 or 100 mm of travel, and the name ran until 2015. Up to 2006 all Marathons have 30 mm stanchions; from 2008 the Marathon moved to 32 mm.

Marathon models by year

From the Marzocchi parts lists and technical documents in our archive (seal chart where no parts list exists):

Year	Models	Travel	Stanchion
2002	Marathon, Marathon S (also 29” for Trek)	80 / 100 mm	30 mm
2003	Marathon S Coil, Marathon SL (also 29”)	85 / 105 mm	30 mm
2004	Marathon S Coil, Marathon SL (also 29”)	85 / 105 / 120 mm	30 mm
2005	Marathon Race, Marathon SL, Marathon XC	80 (Race), 100–120 mm	30 mm
2006	Marathon Race, SL (Doppio Air), XC – each also with Remote Control	80 (Race), 100–120 mm	30 mm
2008	Marathon; Marathon Corsa LT and Corsa SL World Cup (seal chart)	80–120 mm	32 mm
2011–2015	Marathon R, Marathon LR (seal chart only)	80–120 mm	32 mm

How they differ, from Marzocchi’s technical instructions:

• 2005 Marathon SL: air in both legs, TST cartridge in the right leg, Doppio Air cartridge in the left; travel 100 or 120 mm set by the negative air pressure.
• 2006 Marathon XC: air right with TST cartridge, coil left with TAS travel adjust (100 / 120 mm).
• Marathon Race (2005, 2006): 80 mm, TST and Doppio Air.

Note: Marzocchi’s 2005 Marathon Race instructions are filed as “32mm”, but the text inside says ø 30 mm, and the parts lists agree — the Race is a 30 mm fork.

Which seal kit fits my Marathon?

• 2002–2006 (Marathon, S, S Coil, SL, Race, XC, 29”): 30 mm m-arch — Seal Kit – 30mm m-arch (DZ-SK-30M). The 2002 Marathon S, 2004–2005 SL, 2005–2006 Race and 2006 XC are confirmed by both the parts list and the seal chart; the other years by the parts lists.
• 2008 and later (Marathon, Marathon Corsa, R, LR): 32 mm m-arch on the seal chart — Seal Kit – 32mm m-arch (DZ-SK-32M).

Oil volumes from Marzocchi documents

All Marathons use SAE 7.5 oil (Marzocchi 550013). Typical for this fork: a small amount in the air legs — measure carefully.

• 2002 Marathon S: 115 cc right, 30 cc left (EBH 16 / SAE 7.5).
• 2005 Marathon SL: 40 cc right, 20 cc left.
• 2006 Marathon SL Doppio Air: 40 cc right, 40 cc left.
• 2006 Marathon XC: 40 cc in the TST leg.

Drawing, parts list and manuals

The exploded drawing and the parts list below are for the 2006 Marathon SL. The documents section holds the Marathon parts lists for 2002–2006 and the technical instructions; all of them are also in the fork documentation library.