Marzocchi Bomber Air Shock review

Marzocchi’s Bomber Air Shock is available in trunnion or standard-mount configurations, all with metric spacing.

There are eight eye-to-eye sizes available with standard mounts and five with the trunnion fitting.

The Fox-owned brand’s 'slightly off, for the slightly off' slogan refers to the non-linear alignment of the reservoir and the way its sponsored riders who helped develop the shock think a little differently.

Marzocchi Bomber Air Shock details and specifications

The asymmetric positioning of the reservoir and controls is designed to improve compatibility with a wider range of frames and to make it easier to access the adjustments.

These are fairly simple; you get a low-speed compression-damping dial with only a non-indexed half-turn between the firmest and softest settings, plus a rebound knob with 12 clicks (which can be tweaked to provide a narrower range of adjustment, if desired).

Six sizes of volume-reducer spacer are available, and detailed information on how the compression ratio changes per spacer in each different size of shock is available on Marzocchi's website.

Marzocchi Bomber Air Shock performance

I tested the 185mm eye-to-eye, 55mm-stroke rear shock, which came with one 0.4 cubic inch volume spacer, fitted to a 2022 Giant Trance X.

Fitment is a stress-free process, helped by the supplied hardware being high-quality.

A handy guide in the manual gives suggested rebound settings for each range of pressure, and I found that to be a good baseline.

It’s worth mentioning that the compression adjustment isn't claimed to be a lockout – it simply changes the shock from one that's firm for pedalling to one that smoothes out almost everything.

Testing was performed on a range of trails, including fast, flowing bike-park lines with plenty of jumps and steep, awkward hillsides littered with loose rocks and glassy roots. I experienced a range of weather conditions, offering a wide spectrum of available traction.

On the trail, the Bomber Air offers traction by the bucketload.

The suppleness in the mid stroke enables control even through the most chattery roots, without ever feeling bogged down.

There’s enough bottom-out resistance that even on the biggest features I’ve hit in a long time, there was no discernible hard stop, helped by the air spring’s increase in progression as it goes through its travel.

The biggest thing that seems to change when tinkering with the compression adjustment is exactly what you’d hope; pedalling efficiency.

Even wide open, it doesn’t bob too much and still pedals well enough that cranking for a big step-down would be a problem. Firm it up and it becomes a very real option for a hard-charging trail rider.

The compression adjuster being unindexed means a little more attention needs to be paid during adjustment to ensure it returns to the desired point, but this becomes a familiar process quickly. Both adjustments are tool-free, adding simplicity.

Marzocchi Bomber Air Shock bottom line

The rear shock isn’t often top of a rider’s list of mountain bike upgrades, but if you like to push yourself and your bike, this should probably be somewhere on yours.