Seen at Sea Otter: Marzocchi's carbon XC fork

Marzocchi looks to be maintaining its recent upward momentum with a preview of a new carbon-legged cross country/trail fork that reportedly weighs just 1,600g (3.53lb).

Instead of the usual magnesium lower leg casting, the Carbon 44 will use a minimal magnesium shell with carbon fibre moulded over the top of it. Marzocchi USA director Bryson Martin insists isn't just cosmetic and considering the Carbon 44 will lop over 200g from the current 44 Micro Ti QR15, we're inclined to believe him.

The lower legs will also directly incorporate 15mm thru-axle dropouts and post-mount disc tabs while the upper assembly will feature a forged alloy crown and nickel-plated 32mm-diameter tapered aluminum stanchions.

Internally, the new fork will offer up to 150mm of highly tunable travel. The air spring will feature adjustable chamber volume to customise the bottom-out characteristics plus a titanium coil negative spring to minimise initial stiction and keep weight low. On the other side, the TST Micro damper will include compression threshold, lockout and rebound adjustments, all with anodized aluminum knobs.

Pricing is set at a lofty US$1,000 and Marzocchi hopes to have the Carbon 44 available by 2010 or early 2011.

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